New Mezcal-Focused Listening Bar Brings the Party to Platte Street

Chef Jose Avila is a little crazy. But in a really good way.

He commands attention when he walks into a room, but his confident demeanor is always accompanied by a sly smile and a twinkle in his eye — a hint of the endless ideas always bubbling in his brain.

His latest idea-turned-reality is Malinche Audio Bar, which is now open at 1541 Platte Street, and it’s undeniably cool. Inspired by the listening bars of Japan, this is a watering hole like no other in town.

Avila is the owner of Michelin Bib Gourmand eatery La Diabla on Larimer Street, where the tacos, posole and mezcal are all reasons to visit. Before opening that eatery in the Ballpark neighborhood in 2021, he introduced the metro area to sheep barbacoa in the style of Hidalgo, a state near Mexico City, with his Sunday-only El Borrego Negro pop-up in Westwood. Recently, he launched El Borrego Negro in the mini food hall he’s working to open in the building next door to La Diabla. Also in the works: a brick-and-mortar location of X’Tabai Yucateco, Avila’s former Yucatan food truck, near Union Station.

He’s on a roll, and Malinche Audio Bar is poised to be another hit.

It’s All in the Details

“Ninety-five percent of everything in here is handmade,” Avila says of his new bar, pointing to everything from the speakers and amps that blast out tunes from his own personal collection of vintage Mexican records to the tables and bar top.

On Friday, October 10, when Malinche welcomed its first guests, not all the details were quite in place. A cord for the speakers was MIA, so the music was played through a portable speaker until that problem was solved. Once the music came on full force, though, it drew in passersby excited to peek at the new addition to the neighborhood.

The maitake mushroom dish is supposed to be served with a dramatic, smoky reveal, but the smoke machine wasn’t working. The taco truck out front, Tacos Los Primos, which Avila brought from Mexico City to be a permanent fixture on the street, is still awaiting its permits. And Avila’s own mezcal, which is supposed to be central to the beverage program, is stuck in customs.

But no hiccups could stop the energy. Staff, guests and Avila himself were all feeling the party vibes. It was easy to get swept up in the fun, but worth it to stop and notice the little details that were in place.

There are the light fixtures made from bright orange cans of jalapeños en escabeche. The walls are covered with a mix of clay, hay and mud, creating a cozy, transportive vibe. Mezcal is poured from glass vessels traditionally used to age the spirit, which hang above the bar. And overseeing all the action is a vibrant statue of Mayahuel, the goddess of mezcal.

Denver has other mezcal bars — including chef Johnny Curiel’s Mezcaleria Alma, which is located just over a block away and earned a Michelin star this year. But Malinche brings an identity all its own, one where Japanese influences blend into this homage to Mexico, especially in the food offerings.

The Food

“Nikkei-Mexa” reads the top of the succinct menu of dishes on offer at Malinche. “Nikkei” is a term used to refer to the Japanese diaspora; in Peru, it’s used to refer to the fusion cuisine that has emerged from the Japanese immigrant community there.

At Malinche, it’s a nod to the Japanese influences found in dishes like the Sabana de Atún, or “tuna blanket,” an actual sheet of tender tuna glazed with a tare, a Japanese sauce made with miso, guajillo chiles and yuzu. Topped with agave-cured egg yolk and pickled nopale, it’s smartly served with tortilla chips fried into pieces of nori, creating the ultimate fusion carrier for the flavorful fish.

There are only seven dishes in total on offer (including dessert), which makes sense for the small space that is more bar than restaurant — though the food alone is reason enough to visit.

Dishes range from $13 for Tempura de Hoja Santo with cuitlacoche cream (which one employee described as “weird, but really good”), to $23 for the Pulpo, Miso Negro & Chilmole, or fork-tender roasted octopus glazed in black miso and Yucatecan chilmole, a dark mole-like sauce, plus pickled black radish and mezcal seaweed.

The standout on day one, though, was the Tamalito de Conejo, nixtamalized masa and rabbit wrapped in an acuyo (hoja santo) leaf and paired with a complex fig mole and fall-perfect mashed sweet potatoes topped with fig and peanut togarashi crumble.

The Drinks

Like the food menu, the drink selection at Malinche is a tight spread of two beers (Certa Blanca and Bohemia), tejate (a non-alcoholic traditional Oaxacan beverage made with maíz, arroz and cacoa — the lone N/A option besides Coca Cola, a rotating agua fresca and Agua de Piedra sparkling mineral water) and five cocktails. Plus a selection of mezcals and other agave spirits, of course.

As is typical in Oaxaca and throughout Mexico, the mezcals are listed by the type of agave from which they are made. The best way to get a feel for what you may like best is to chat with the staff, who are happy to provide guidance, and order a flight so thata you can taste the differences. Don’t miss out on other options like sotol, which is made not with agave, but from the plants of the genus Dasylirion.

The cocktails, priced from $14-$16, are all named for ingredients, like the Maíz. The boozy version of tejate, it’s spiked with Cupreata mezcal and corn liquor and served in a coconut shell with cacoa beans on a spoon as the garnish.

There’s also the Pepita (sotol-based and pumpkin seed-centric), the Cacoa (a blend of mezcal, Amaro Averna, Campari, cacaoa and chocolate bitters) and the bright and citrusy Tomatillo, which comes adorned with an edible Malinche logo printed on rice paper.

The final cocktail brings in Japanese influence once again, combining wasabi with epazote, a Mexican herb. The neon green-hued drink combines raicilla, another agave spirit, with tequila and citrus plus its namesake ingredients for a beverage that’s a little earthy and a little bright with a wasabi kick — just be sure to stir it, otherwise all the wasabi tends to fall to the bottom.

A Party on Platte Street

Platte Street is definitely going through a transition phase. While My Brother’s Bar continues to anchor the area, there have been recent losses like Inside Scoop and the upcoming closure of ten-year-old Brider on October 23. But there’s new energy too, from additions like a Leroy’s Bagels outpost, coffee shop Kaffe Are, and the new location of the Devil’s Drink in the subterranean space that was once Ste Ellie.

Now, Malinche Audio Bar is upping the fun factor, with a combination of music, food and booze that’s pure party energy. It will also open during the day as a coffee shop serving fresh-ground Convivio Cafe coffee, housemade pan dulce and “a simple pre-Hispanic-Nikkei salad menu,” according to Avila. Once that taco stand opens, get ready for party vibes on the street, too.

Malinche Audio Bar is located at 1541 Platte Street. For more information, follow it at @malincheaudiobar on Instagram.