Salsa Rosada, companion restaurant to Mayo Ketchup, opens in Midtown

Both named after the same popular mayo- and ketchup-based condiment, the restaurants are owned by Mandy Estrella and Bradley Payne.

by

After opening the popular Mayo Ketchup four years ago, Mandy Estrella and Bradley Payne have opened a follow-up restaurant with a similarly inspired moniker: Salsa Rosada, featuring Colombian and Venezuelan street food, in Midtown. The lunch-only restaurant opens April 18. Here’s what to know before you go.

The Name

Estrella first made a name for herself in St. Louis while cooking Caribbean food at pop-up events and catering gigs—even adopting the social media moniker Plantain Girl—before opening her first brick-and-mortar restaurant, Mayo Ketchup, with Payne in Lafayette Square in 2019. The restaurant features foods from Puerto Rico, Cuba, and the Dominican Republic.

Salsa Rosada's name is derived from the same condiment that was the inspiration for the original restaurant. “Salsa rosada and mayo ketchup are the same thing, the same condiment,” Estrella explains, a combination of ketchup and mayo, generally one part to two parts, respectively, plus garlic, and lime juice, but it can be altered significantly to taste. “Like barbecue sauce, it can have many iterations and still manage to keep the name,” she says. Estrella finds that her “middle-of-the-road interpretation” keeps most people happy.

“Puerto Ricans call it mayo ketchup,” she adds. “You see it everywhere, and they put it on everything. In Venezuela and Colombia, the same sauce is called salsa rosada. The name works because it ties the countries together as well as our two restaurants together.”

The Concept

The decision to open a companion restaurant came about for several reasons. Estrella and Payne had been receiving requests to open a Venezuelan-Colombian restaurant (because many of the foods are similar) emphasizing some of the cultures' popular street foods served in stalls throughout Miami.

Then came the request to sell empanadas and Cuban sandwiches during matches at nearby CITYPARK. “That wasn’t going to happen unless we made some changes,” Estrella says. “Mayo Ketchup was busy at lunch and dinner. We were sending large catering orders to Busch Stadium three times a day. Our small kitchen was like a clown car. Plus, we needed space for private events we didn't have. Something had to give.”

When they discovered that the former Hugo’s Pizzeria/Hornet’s Nest space at 3135 Olive in Midtown was available and checked all of the requisite boxes, they signed on. The 4,400-square-foot space seats 100 inside and 30 on the rear patio. Two dining areas employ different service models: full table and bar service in one room and counter order/self-service in the other, with runners delivering the food.

The plan was to open Salsa Rosada during the day and schedule events, parties, and pop-ups at night. The kitchen was large enough to accommodate multiple on- and offsite events at once. “No more clown car,” Estrella says.

Due to the long expanses of existing brick walls, Estrella and Payne chose a more neutral, less whimsical theme than at Mayo Ketchup. The plan is to keep adding tropical plants “and maybe a few birds but not a zoo”, Estrella says, a palette that can be amped up to "create an elevated experience in the evening, in either space." Estrella thinks it's a winning formula. “Depending on the customer’s needs,” she says, “we’re either a catering and events company with a restaurant attached or the other way around.”

The Menu

Instead of a wide variety of disparate items, Estrella opted for the most popular Venezuelan-Colombian street foods presented several different ways. Among the options:

  • Cachitos (stuffed sandwiches) from fledgling Venezuelan bakery Pan Pa’ Ti Artisan Bakery in St. Peters.  
  • Tequeños (a popular fried, breaded cheese snack)
  • Arepas and pastelitos (round wheat flour-based empanadas) stuffed with beef, chicken, pork, or cheese
  • Cachapas (corn and cheese pancakes)
  • Bombas (filled donuts), also supplied by Pan Pa’ Ti 
  • Several varieties of patacon (a twice-fried plantain sandwich, similar to the jibarito at Mayo Ketchup)
  • Perritos Calientes (Venezuelan and Colombian versions of hot  dogs)
  • Side dishes include maduros, black beans with rice, yuca fries, French fries, and queso frito

“Foods from the Puerto Rican and Venezuelan and Colombian cultures is fairly similar, but there are differences,” Estrella says. “The Venezuelans tend to layer more than one sauce on a dish, for example. The presentations and the flavor combinations can get extreme—they serve their hot dog with four sauces on it—which is one aspect that really attracted me to the cuisine.”

Estrella is even considering a house hot sauce for the table. “Puerto Ricans tend to shy away from spice heat,” she says. “Venezuelans do not.”

Salsa Rosada

3135 Olive Street, St Louis, Missouri 63103

Tue - Fri: 11 a.m. - 3 p.m.

Moderate

Sign up for St. Louis Magazine's weekly dining newsletter to keep up with the latest in the local restaurant scene.
Or, check out all of our newsletters.