One of the Bay Area’s best home restaurants has moved into a light-filled space in Oakland.
Cenaduria Elvira, which for years drew people to a sunny backyard patio in East Oakland for specialties from the Mexican state of Jalisco, is newly open as a full restaurant at 468 3rd St. near Jack London Square.
The menu is largely the same — the impressively large tostada raspada, a football field of fried masa laden with meat, beans and cotija cheese still graces nearly every table, plus deep-fried tacos dorados and housemade salsas. Some appetizers are new, including beans with pedacera and pork tongue in salsa. Plus, diners now can order beer, alongside drinks like horchata and hibiscus agua fresca.
Elvira Varela, who was born and raised in Oakland’s Jingletown, started her eponymous restaurant there in 2020, serving tostadas and other Jalisco dishes out of her home on weekends. Chronicle associate critic Cesar Hernandez praised her tostada artistry as “on an entirely different level” and her tacos dorados as “elegant, with an ethereal crunch.” The restaurant steadily grew in popularity, landing a 2023 mention in a New York Times list of the best dishes in America. In November, Varela announced her plans to go brick-and-mortar in Jack London…