Hispania, a Mexican fusion restaurant located at 601 Genesee St. in Delafield, is expected to open on Friday, June 21 according to owners Natalia Aramoni and Juan Gutierrez.
The restaurant is the final addition to the Delafield Square space, which also contains Elements East, a furniture store, In Step Running, an athletic shoe store, and Oliva Di Vita, a gourmet food shop.
Hispania will specialize in seasonal cuisine from Southern Mexico created with local ingredients in accordance with authentic culinary tradition.
Gutierrez indicates that the restaurant will be offering a fairly limited menu to start. But, they hope to serve empanadas, sopes with meat, carnitas and a number of dishes made with fresh fish. Desserts will include classics like flan served with fresh fruit.
"Our strength is fish – halibut, tilapia, salmon," Gutierrez explains. "Southern Mexican cooking is filled with fresh flavors. And we’ll be focusing on foods that are both healthy and flavorful."
Gutierrez cites dishes like halibut served with cilantro couscous, and crab cakes served with mango tamarind sauce.
Healthy means more grilling and charbroiling, and less frying. The frying the restaurant does do will be done in healthier oils, such as Canola, Gutierrez says. Hispania will also make its own fresh corn and flour tortillas. Cocktails will include house-made margaritas, mojitos and other cocktails.
In addition to serving dishes from Southern Mexico, the restaurant will also carry a wide selection of unique, hand-crafted items available for sale. Proceeds from the sale of the items will go directly to the artisans from Chiapas and Oaxaca, Mexico who created the art.
Hispania will be open Mondays through Thursdays from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 4:30 to 10 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 10:30 p.m., and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 4 to 8 p.m.
As a passionate champion of the local dining scene, Lori has reimagined the restaurant critic's role into that of a trusted dining concierge, guiding food lovers to delightful culinary discoveries and memorable experiences.
Lori is an avid cook whose accrual of condiments and spices is rivaled only by her cookbook collection. Her passion for the culinary industry was birthed while balancing A&W root beer mugs as a teenage carhop, fed by insatiable curiosity and fueled by the people whose stories entwine with every dish. Lori is the author of two books: the "Wisconsin Field to Fork" cookbook and "Milwaukee Food". Her work has garnered journalism awards from entities including the Milwaukee Press Club. In 2024, Lori was honored with a "Top 20 Women in Hospitality to Watch" award by the Wisconsin Restaurant Association.
When she’s not eating, photographing food, writing or planning for TV and radio spots, you’ll find Lori seeking out adventures with her husband Paul, traveling, cooking, reading, learning, snuggling with her cats and looking for ways to make a difference.
