Denver’s first restaurant devoted to pozole (a type of Mexican soup) is La Diabla. Mile High Dining was exited to pair a bowl of pozole with mezcal. The chef/owner, Jose Avila, was previously at Machete and started La Diabla last year. The restaurant itself is an old-fashioned bar with only about 12 tables for dining. We dined on a Sunday evening and it was filled with customers. They even set up several chairs outside on the sidewalk and had a chef carving beef outside.
We had the Panela Asada (tostadas with cheese), pozole, a cocktail, and a flight of mezcal.
A different style of chips and salsa was presented with the Panela Asada dish. Just three large chips with limes and a bowl of broth with fried cheese topped with onions and an avocado. The warm cheese was delicious but you need more chips to enjoy all the sauce and cheese.
Next, the flight of mezcal was served with four different tasting salts and sliced jicama and orange slices. I had the “bunny slope” flight as I am a beginner to mezcal. The third tasting provided a big kick. The other diner had a fancy cocktail, apricot Princess.
The main dish of the evening was pozole which was served in a very large bowl. One order came green or mild and I had the strong one. Both pozoles are thick with corn, lettuce, sliced cabbage, radishes, onions, and we selected the pork from the cheek of the pig (cabeza de cerdo). Almost every other diner was also enjoying a large bowl of posole too. This is a very different style of Mexican soup so be prepared. They serve a few tacos but the pozole soup is the featured dish.
My ratings are: It’s OK, Good, Very Good, and Excellent.
The verdict ⚖️ for La Diabla is Very Good. Just enjoy a flight of mezcal and a bowl of pozole and remember this is not the typical Denver Mexican food.
@ladiabladenver
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