Customers will fine authentic food, vibrant art at Viva!

The Desert Sun • January 14, 2010

With walls painted in merlot, blue, orange and pumpkin and covered with Mexican artwork, a Mexican restaurant has come alive in Old Town La Quinta.

Josh Devane, owner of Devane's Old Town, opened Viva! Cantina and Grill last month.

"Viva!' translates in English to ‘alive' so we wanted the feel of the restaurant to convey life," Devane said.

"We wanted vibrant colors in a high-energy place to make it a bright and fun place to be."

The 3,800-square-foot restaurant has indoor dining, a cantina, an outdoor patio and a take-out area in the back of the restaurant.

Devane has been planning for the Mexican restaurant for a year and said it completes "the east end of Old Town."

"I think Mexican restaurants are appealing to a wide range of customers," he said. "We wanted something that had a broad appeal."

To help him develop the concept, Devane turned to restaurant manager Gus Luna, who was born in Mexico and has an extensive food and beverage background in various desert locations, including The Vintage Country Club and the Tradition Country Club.

The restaurant serves authentic Mexican dishes that are made "fresh from scratch" like salsas, enchiladas, chicken moles, along with cheese and chicken enchiladas, Luna said.

Viva! also has a combination of art "from Cancun all the way to Mexicali." There are several paintings done by a famous Mexican artist named Rochlem from Guadalajara, Luna said.

Little table centerpieces hail from Oaxaca, and the cobblestone tiles at the main entrance were made in Puebla, Luna said.

Customers can see the chefs making their dishes in an open kitchen through a colonial wrought-iron fence made in Mexicali, Luna said.

"We want to be something different from other Mexican restaurants," he said. "We want to build also a nice environment that people can really look forward to."

The colors of the paintings were "pleasing" and made part-time La Quinta resident Karen Huffman feel "very comfortable" when she dined at Viva! for the first time on Saturday.

"I think it is beautifully decorated and has a great atmosphere for the type of food that it serves," she said.