DINING FEATURE Azul Tequila Siblings have used family recipes from Mexico since 2001 T ucked away in the corner of a strip mall next to Target on South Lamar Boulevard is a small restaurant lled with Interior Mexican and Tex-Mex dishes called Azul Tequila. Started by three siblings, the Varela family consists of brothers Sergio Varela and Erick Varela and their sister, Sonia Varela. “We are third-generation restaurant owners,” Sergio said. “It started with my grandmother in South Central Mexico, where she sold tacos on the street.” Sergio said their mother, Virginia Dominguez, immigrated to the United States in the late 1980s. The siblings, who were no older than 8, remained in Mexico. Twelve years later, all three siblings joined Dominguez and made their way to Austin. After the start of the recession of the early 2000s, they decided to combine their talents and family recipes to open the restaurant. They began brainstorming with Dominguez and decided to open a restaurant that serves both Tex- Mex and Interior Mexican foods. Interior Mexican refers to traditional food from the interior, or central, regions of Mexico, and is heavily in uenced by indigenous and Spanish culinary traditions. Sergio said another way Interior Mexican di ers from Tex-Mex is by the ingredients used. While Tex-Mex generally uses spices such as black pepper, cumin and paprika as the bases for sauces, Interior Mexican food usually uses more fresh herbs, such as cilantro and mint, coupled with vegetables, such as peppers, tomatoes and onions. With that idea in mind, the family opened Azul Tequila on April 4, 2001. Sergio said the restaurant worked so well that they decided to expand Azul Tequila into a second location at 3815 Dry Creek Drive, Austin, in October 2014; but, they did not stop there. Aside from those two locations, the fam- ily took over three Papalote Taco House restaurants in the Austin area. Sergio said the family now has plans to reopen a popular barbecue restaurant on Research Boulevard that recently closed, but they are not yet ready to make additional details public; however, Sergio said their rst love, Azul Tequila, will remain open. Along with food, the restaurant o ers a full bar and mariachi on Fridays. In addition to beers and a variety of liquor, Azul Tequila o ers margaritas in a variety of avors—the most popular, however, is the blue margarita, he said. “I really think Azul Tequila o ers something very unique to our customers—we are the only restau- rant with these two special, but di erent, cuisines,” Sergio said. “The food—combined with the mariachi band—brings you into a nice festivity of avors and sounds of Mexico.”
BY AMANDA CUTSHALL
From left: Sergio Varela, Sonia Varela and Erick Varela, third-generation restaurant owners and siblings, opened Azul Tequila in 2001. (Photos by Amanda Cutshall/Community Impact)
Mariachi Relámpago plays every Friday at Azul Tequila from 8-10 p.m. 22 YEARS OF MARIACHI MUSIC
The Mole Poblano ($17) an Interior Mexican dish, features a grilled chicken breast with mole sauce.
The Cochinita Pibil ($18) is a spicy Mayan version of pork barbacoa served with achiote sauce and plantains.
Azul Tequila 4211 S. Lamar Blvd., A2, Austin 512-416-9667
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www.facebook.com/azultequilatx Hours: Sun.-Thu. 11 a.m-10 p.m., Fri. 11 a.m.-11 p.m., Sat. 10 a.m. to 11 p.m.
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SOUTHWEST AUSTIN DRIPPING SPRINGS EDITION • JULY 2023
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