Classic Mexican cuisine, served in a spacious dining area with a full bar—or on the large patio perfectly positioned to catch summer breezes—has pleased La Fiesta’s diners since 1995. The restaurant came into existence because of a chance encounter three years earlier.

Owner Fernando Serrano was visiting a friend in the Rogue Valley who offered him a job at a local Mexican restaurant. Thinking he’d stay only a short time, Fernando said ‘yes.’ But he never left, because…

“I met Mai,” he says, flashing his ever-present smile.

Fernando’s petite partner Mai flashes a similar smile. “I was working in a Thai restaurant that sold liquor,” she relates. “So I went to an OLCC class to be certified to serve it.”

By chance, Fernando attended that same class. “We talked,” he says, “and I told Mai my plans, that I was here only temporarily—”

They both laugh as Fernando shrugs and concludes his sentence: “Well, I’m still here!”

As a couple, he and Mai worked together at several Rogue Valley establishments, until they learned that the space in Jacksonville’s 1872-built Orth Building was available. “So we decided to open our own place,” Fernando says. “We had to redecorate. The first thing we did was expose the brick on some walls. We’d just chip away at it,” he recalls with a chuckle, “like we were breaking out a prisoner or something!” Today the homey interior, which includes rustic fireplaces, photographs, and colorful artwork, takes diners back to old Mexico or, perhaps New Mexico.

“Our menu is a combination of my mom’s recipes, some dishes I learned working at restaurants like La Tertulia in Santa Fe, and a few we’ve created ourselves,” Fernando says. “Our chef, Elder Nuñez, has been with us twenty-one years, and our assistant chef, Raul Ortega, for fifteen years. Those guys are great.” Fernando tends the bar, specializing in his Margarita mix (“I’ve tinkered with it over the years”) and the compliment-collecting Sangria recipe he brought from Santa Fe.

Mai is quick to point out her favorite dish on the menu: Arroz con Pollo. “We’re the only restaurant in the area that serves ‘real’ arroz con pollo sauce,” Fernando explains. “It originated in a small farm village named Cuautla in Jalisco, Mexico. The orange color is different from any other sauces.”

Asked what dish he’d recommend to new customers, Fernando says, “You can never go wrong with our Fajitas. We marinate the meat (beef, pork, chicken, or in some varieties, shrimp) in our secret marinade recipe, then we char-grill it, sauté the vegetables—and you do the rest!”

LA FIESTA
150 South Oregon Street • 541-899-4450
Tuesday-Sunday 11:30am-8:00pm