Noche Cantina & Cocina opened on Jan. 29, and it was an instant hit: Social media feeds were filled with praise for the new West Side culinary destination.
Managers and staff at Noche have worked ever since to sustain that momentum, with positive results. It’s evident especially at dinnertime on weekends, when the sidewalk level and upper floor dining spaces are bustling with patrons.
“Everyone wants to get dinner and drinks as a combo, and not just one or the other, on Friday and Saturday nights,” says General Manager Blake DeWeese.
The Evansville region, of course, has multiple Mexican restaurants, many of the Americanized variety and a few others that are more authentic. Noche is in the latter camp, and it’s unique to the market for a few reasons.
First, it’s the only Mexican place on the West Franklin Street corridor. Second, DeWeese points out as he shakes up some drinks behind Noche’s bar, it pairs authentic cuisine with high-end craft cocktails.
Let’s start with the food, prepared under the keen supervision of kitchen manager Victor Perez, whose 20 years in the industry have taken him through numerous American and Mexican restaurants’ kitchens.
“I love cooking,” Perez says. “It’s part of my heritage, and I love people.”
Perez and his team make everything fresh, including the dips. We recommend the sampler of house salsa, jalapeno cilantro ranch, and a choice of guacamole, classic queso, chorizo queso, or street corn dip.
Dips obviously require chips. At Noche, chips and tortillas are supplied by Tortilleria La Milpa of Newburgh, Indiana, and the tortillas marry up perfectly with an extensive list of tacos designed for multiple palates.
Chicken on the Beach tacos wink at a favorite Evansville dish and are Noche’s best seller; they feature grilled adobo chicken, Spanish rice, queso fresco, pico de gall, chipotle aioli, and crema. Chipotle chicken tacos are close behind, with other taco choices like voodoo chicken, carnitas, chorizo, brisket, carne asada, mahi mahi, shrimp, fried cod, ahi tuna, guaco taco, and veggie chorizo.
Appetizers include The West Sider Nacho. True to its surrounding neighborhood, the plate starts with barbecue Grippo chips topped with brisket, street corn, pico de gallo, barbecue and ranch sauce drizzles, and queso.
Burritos are stuffed with your choice of protein and other fillings, and they come covered in queso. Other entrees are rice bowls and quesadillas – again, you pick the protein – and Chicken on the Beach. There’s also a taco shell salad with shredded chipotle chicken and a grilled elote salad topped with adobo chicken.
Room for dessert? Try churros or deep-fried tres leches.
Noche’s commitment to freshness extends to its drink menu.
“For all the cocktails, we use lime juice, lemon juice, and grapefruit juice that’s all freshly squeezed,” DeWeese says. “We order the fruit, and we hand-juice it.”
The top-selling drink easily is the Noche Margarita. That drink and the La Fuego Margarita – jalapeno-infused tequila adds some kick – comprise about 60 percent of Noche’s cocktail sales, DeWeese says. In all, Noche has more than a dozen cocktail options, plus wine.
Noche servers also tote out numerous Mexican beers, including a non-alcoholic Corona.
Noche’s building at 2215 W. Franklin St. used to have an insurance office at ground level, with an apartment on top. You’d never know that these days – the property underwent a full makeover, but diners are not greeted by the typical colorful décor found at most Mexican restaurants.
The clean, modern look with high ceilings and tile floors was created by West Side resident Amanda Rohleder, who DeWeese says worked over several months with Noche owner Richie Patel to create a design and feel that both liked.
DeWeese worked at other restaurants Patel owned before taking the general manager’s role at Noche upon its January debut.
“I started at the Rooftop with Richie, and I have followed him with everything he’s done, from The Landing in Newburgh, to Birdies, to Pip’s Pub,” DeWeese says. “I was there for two years, and I learned the ropes before we did something like this.”
The fact that Patel owns other restaurants is advantageous from a staffing standpoint because it creates cross-training and staff-sharing possibilities, DeWeese says.
Noche is open every day except Sunday. A Sunday closure wasn’t part of the restaurant’s initial plan, but DeWeese says that Patel cited a need for one “reset” day.
“It’s hard as a small business to take any days off, but I feel like we’ve earned it here,” DeWeese says.
With some early success behind them, DeWeese and his crew strive to do even better and make new Noche fans.
“We’re still trying to hit the nail on the head when it comes to service and food, and we continue to do that,” he says. “It’s important, because there a lot of first impressions every day.”
Noche Cocina & Cantina
2215 W. Franklin St.
11 a.m.-10 p.m. Monday-Thursday; 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Friday-Saturday
