Carlos Camacho and Steven Bravo of Taller Pepe. | Source: Courtesy Phil Kim for Taller Pepe
A Mexican wine bar is coming to Central Richmond. Taller Pepe, which translates to Pepe’s Workshop, is a project from two of the top brass at Oakland’s Snail Bar: chef de cuisine Steven Bravo and GM and beverage director Carlos Camacho, both of whom are Mexican American. Pepe, the duo explain, was Gomez’s great-grandfather’s name and Camacho’s dad’s nickname. They see the wine bar as a way to advance the city’s progressive Mexican food scene.
“Food is, ultimately, identity,” Gomez says. “We cook California cuisine with a really heavy Mexican backbone.”
Taller Pepe will take over 2229 Clement St., currently home to Red Tavern, a 15-year-old Russian restaurant. (Owner Diana Shpak says Red Tavern isn’t done just yet; a new location could be on the horizon.) Gomez and Camacho expect to close on the property Oct. 27 and open their bar in the spring, after a renovation.
They plan to cook approachable, accessible California food with Mexican flair, like mole dashi or a quesadilla topped with locally made Queens kimchi (opens in new tab), creme fraiche, and Boursin. While Bravo was running his eponymous pop-up, he prepared carne asada- and bacon-wrapped hot dogs topped with avocado aioli. They plan to serve a reduced food menu Tuesday through Thursday, with full dinner service Friday through Monday.
The Mexican wine bar is expected to open in 2027. | Source: Courtesy Taller Pepe
On the drinks front, Camacho will bring the globe-trotting sensibilities he’s honed at Snail Bar. His selections can run the gamut from Rhones-Alpes Romain des Grottes to bottles from Oakland’s Offshore Wines. He and Bravo are both inspired by Bar Chenin in Detroit, as well as the Paris Mexican wine bar Tarantula and Berkeley’s Bar Panisse.
Gomez moved to the Bay Area in 2021 after a stint at Hock + Hoof in Los Angeles, where he worked with French Laundry alums who changed his perspective about the industry. He realized restaurants could be something he dedicated his life to, not just a job. During the pandemic, he started farming in Santa Rosa, picking peppers. Then he saw an Instagram post about Snail Bar, which put the Michelin Guide-listed wine bar (opens in new tab) on his radar. He started as garde manger before working his way to chef de cuisine. Camacho, meanwhile, spent five years managing Brentwood’s Imperiale Beer Project and working as an independent wine consultant before landing at Snail Bar, where the two bonded.
They joined forces on a New Year’s dinner pop-up at Ordinaire — where Gomez cooked birria soup dumplings and lamb heart skewers with salsa harissa and a winter citrus labneh — and it sold out. It was then that they began to believe Taller Pepe could have legs. They’re excited to be a part of the Bay Area’s flourishing modern Mexican dining scene, which, in addition to Snail Bar, includes Maria Isabel and Chicano Nuevo.
“I didn’t even know what Michelin was until I was like 32,” Gomez says. “We just want to keep pushing things forward.”
Taller PepeDate and timeOpening April 2027