No Mames Mexican Cantina Opens in Wethersfield With Tulum Vibes & Vibrant Flavors

At No Mames, there are also no rules. The modern Mexican cantina by DORO Restaurant Group, which opened in Wethersfield April 30, is intended to be a fun escape with fresh flavors and beachy Tulum vibes.

No Mames (a Mexican slang phrase for “no way,” says executive chef and partner Ryan Van Grouw) opened this week on the Silas Deane Highway, in a shopping plaza between a Marshall’s and a pet supply store. Van Grouw says he wants guests to come in and “be blown away by the experience.”

“They’ll come in here after [shopping], not even realizing that we’re here, coming in to get tacos, and the next thing you know, they won’t know what hit them,” he said. “They walk in, the place is beautiful…everything is done with purpose, everything is done for a reason.”

The 120-seat restaurant’s decor is inspired by restaurants in coastal Tulum, with high ceilings and a breezy feel. A semi-open kitchen gives diners a glance at the work behind the scenes, as cooks press fresh tortillas, grill peppers and tend to a slowly rotating trompo, or vertical rotisserie, cooking a stack of marinated pork to be shaved for al pastor tacos. 

Van Grouw was part of the catalyst to open the new Mexican concept, which joins DORO’s Italian, French and Mediterranean restaurants in Newington and West Hartford and its casual burger eatery in Manchester. The classically-trained chef moved to Connecticut from Brooklyn in 2022 to take the executive chef role at DORO’s Àvert Brasserie, and began chatting with DORO partners Dorjan Puka and Scott Miller about delving into Mexican fare, sharing his experience living in Tulum and his passion for the cuisine and its traditions. 

Puka and Miller were indeed interested, and the team began doing research and development, traveling to New York City and Miami to eat at similar restaurants and even taking a trip to Mexico City to experience the food and culture. Van Grouw said No Mames is heavily inspired by the rich, vibrant colors of fruits and vegetables at Mexican markets.

“It’s new, modern Mexican, if you will, where we allow the products and produce to do the talking for us,” he said. “Everything [at No Mames] is done from scratch, like the tortillas and salsas; we’re roasting lots of tomatoes and chiles. What I've always found amazing about Mexican food is that even though it seems simple on the surface, there's so much love and tradition that's involved.”

The result is a menu designed around Mexican street foods, with a variety of tacos on housemade tortillas, shareable plates like elotes, tostaditas, queso fundido, taquitos and chicharrón; seafood cocktails including shrimp ceviche and tuna aguachile, and larger “platos fuertes,” which Van Grouw said can be treated as main courses or shareable plates, reiterating that there are “no rules.” A large-format “para la banda” option features a protein with rice, beans, escabeche and tortillas, encouraging groups to enjoy a 20-ounce portion of braised short rib with guajillo glaze, a whole fried red snapper with chile de arbol or “parrillada” - a mixed-grill type serving with pollo asada, carne asada and chorizo.

Guacamole is available in three preparations: a traditional recipe with lime and cilantro, a seafood version with lump crab, sweet corn and jalapeño; and a showstopping piña asada presentation, served in a carved-out half-pineapple rimmed with housemade chili salt and topped with grilled pineapple, chipotle and pickled onions. They’re served with housemade totopos and crudités.

Desserts, by DORO’s executive pastry chef James Arena, include treats like passion fruit flan, coconut tres leches cake with grilled pineapple, spiced chocolate pot de creme with horchata foam and vanilla bean churros and a grilled plantain sundae with cajeta and peanuts. Van Grouw also had the idea to serve raspados, or Mexican shaved ice with fruit purees, from a push cart as a tableside presentation. They’re available in cantaloupe, cucumber and strawberry chipotle flavors, with an option to make them boozy with a shot of tequila or mezcal.

Bar manager Nico Cabral is behind No Mames’ dynamic cocktail menu, with variations of margaritas and other libations featuring tequilas, mezcals, rums and Brazilian cachaça. The Guavalajara melds habanero-infused tequila, pureed guava, Rhum Clément, lemon, pineapple and honey, and a unique Peruvian-inspired Pisco Like It’s 1999 uses roasted corn-infused pisco with mezcal, fresh lemon and egg white. 

Another drink plays with sake, tequila and pureed chayote, and an espresso martini variation is crafted with reposado tequila, Bumbu rum, and a dash of Vicario liqueur, which Cabral describes as a mix between black Sambuca and chartreuse. Cabral has also organized several tequila and mezcal flights, along with mocktails and non-alcoholic options like aguas frescas and housemade horchata.

The Silas Deane Highway space also houses DORO’s commissary bakery, where teams prepare breads, croissants and baked goods to supply its restaurants and its DORO Marketplace cafes in West Hartford, Windsor Locks and just down the street in Wethersfield. Miller said the group plans to open two more locations this year, in Old Saybrook and Plainville. 

No Mames is at 1140 Silas Deane Highway in Wethersfield. The restaurant is serving dinner only starting at 3 p.m. until May 5, when regular business hours start daily at 11:30 a.m. 959-666-2637, nomamesmexicancantina.com.