Detail #1 is the most striking: Three bright and beautiful murals leap out in vivid color from the walls of La Gran Diabla, opening Feb. 14 in Oldtown Salinas, the goosebump-inducing work of local artist Brenda Scettrini-Saglio.
Detail #2: Additional decor like faux roses and disco balls hang from the ceiling, flanked by everything from neon party-friendly phrases and a skeleton on a trapeze.
Detail #5: A giant check dated Valentine’s Day 2025, when Diabla grand opens, adds still more evidence of the overriding festiveness at work. The winner of the debut-day raffle will get free daily tacos for a month. “It’s a fun restaurant, where the goal is to have fun,” Chacón says. “Like a Mexico City bar, it’s a crazy fun party.”
Detail #6, meanwhile, is the most…detailed: The menu arrives more populated than the decorations. We’re talking (deep breath):
– 16 appetizers ($11-$33) like octopus-shrimp-chili tostadas and chorizo “devil beans”; six cold bar options ($21-$29) like ceviches and aguachiles;
– four molcajetes ($25-$40) ranging from seafood-driven to a skirt steak-shrimp-scallops-chicken-chicharron blockbuster;
– 14 tacos ($4-$25) like the “Zarandeado” with grilled fish and mango in a lettuce wrap and the “666” with cheese “crust,” asada, Hot Cheetos and nacho cheese;
– eight grilled offerings ($15-$30) including achiote conchinita pibil and a Diabla Burger served to your table literally on fire;
– plus four tempura rolls ($19-$26), seven “sushi frito” special rolls ($16-$25), 11 “natural sushi” rolls, 14 “house rolls” and 11 nigiri two-piecers ($6.50-$12.50).
“It’s like fusion!” Chacon says. “Sinaloa-style sushi too.”
Detail #7, finally, resonates the most, even with all the other stimuli competing for attention: history. Sang’s Cafe was such a legendary former card room turned greasy spoon that it served as a John Steinbeck hangout and inspiration for a book compiling testimony from its founders—who happen to be Sara Sang’s dad and uncle—and legions of local diners. While the book is still in development, some of the cafe’s favorites, the Kip’s Special and country-fried steak breakfast, will appear on Diabla’s brunch menu.
“Sang’s is gone, and now we have this new evolution,” Sara Sang says, “We wanted to do something outside of the box.”
Gran Diabla, at 131 S. Main St. in Salinas, is open 3-11pm Monday, Wednesday and Thursday, 3pm-1:30am Friday-Saturday, 1-11pm Sunday, closed Tuesday.
More at La Gran Diabla’s Instagram.