The aroma of sizzling spices and fresh citrus aromas welcomes you into the newest restaurant at Palo Alto’s Town & Country Village. With their original location in San Francisco, the new American and cocktail bar Horsefeather opened its Palo Alto location on June 27.

Nestled between The Stanford Shop and Sushi House, warm, shining lights glow from Horsefeather’s entrance, enticing passing visitors to take a look.

The restaurant’s interior has a contemporary feel with textured gold decor, while keeping it rustic and cozy with wood panel detailing. The softly lit cocktail bar offers a substantial space, hosting a comfortable atmosphere between bartenders and diners. Lively diners were comfortably spaced in various seating arrangements, from booths to high tables.

General manager Ana Maria Vasquez said Horsefeather has been heavily influenced by Mexican and Asian cuisines, with its most popular dishes being the Korean crispy wings, miso linguini, fried chicken and cochinita pibil tacos.

“Every item has something unique,” Vasquez said. “It has the touch of our chef, Johanna Frégoso Ruiz, who is inspired by her Mexican background, which she added to the menu.”

According to Vasquez, its dishes contain fragrant, cultural spices that are recognized by its customers.

“The Korean crispy wings have kimchi in them, and a lot of people with Asian backgrounds will taste it and recognize the flavor,” Vasquez said. “The cochinita pibil tacos contain chiote paste, which is a specific flavor used in Mexico that gives the flavor for the braised pork.”

According to Bartender Juliana Martinez, challenges have been around figuring out how to cater to customers.

“With any new opening restaurant, the challenge is to create an environment and a space where everyone wants to come,” Martinez said, “We’ve been changing the way we do certain things or how we say certain things. That way, we can kind of create an environment that is welcoming and makes people want to come back.”

Unfortunately, Vasquez said the restaurant has been struggling with business during the daytime for its brunch and lunch services, but is hopeful now that students are back in school to bring more customers in.

“We’re going to have a new menu for students, like sandwich options,” Vasquez said. “I feel like that’s gonna bring more people for the morning, but I feel like the challenge was for people to know that we’re here.”

According to Vasquez, Horsefeather sources ingredients from local vendors, reflecting the owners’ commitment to supporting nearby businesses.

We visited the restaurant for a 5:45 p.m. reservation and, after being seated immediately, our first dish was the duck fat fries, brought out within 10 minutes. By 6 p.m., we were served our jumbo prawn tacos and miso linguini. To finish the night, we ordered the chocolate cake with fig ganache. Our entire meal and service time took less than an hour after being seated.

Duck Fat Fries ($11)

The appetizer Vasquez calls “a must try for first timers” was umami-seasoned and crispy French fries topped with white and powdery duck fat snow, served with a side of curried ketchup. Our first bite was one of many, as we couldn’t stop eating the delectable snack. The salty-sweet seasoning mixed perfectly with the robust flavor of the ketchup — a tasty combination of familiar spice and tomato condiment we’d never had before. Although delicious, there was a lack of the dish’s main highlight: duck fat. The savory flavors provided a perfect harmony for our taste buds.

Jumbo Prawn Tacos ($23)

Our first few bites of the tacos were perfect, with tart flavor from a squeeze of lime, meaty from the fresh jumbo prawns, and just a touch of spice from the salsa roja. The fresh guacamole and tanginess of lime balanced the prawn’s saltiness. Garnishing of cilantro and pickled onions made for refreshing aftertastes. However, as we made our way to the middle of the tacos, we found it hard to finish as the tortilla was too doughy for our palates. Overall, the tacos were delicious with a homemade feel, but there could have been a better balance to counteract the ratio of filling to dough.

Miso Linguini ($26)

Our favorite dish of the night arrived with the delicious aroma of dashi and miso cream. Topped with crispy nori, spinach, cherry tomatoes, wild mushrooms, and a ring of lemon chive oil, this pasta dish had us wanting more with each bite. From its colorful and inviting presentation to the delicate noodles, we were pleasantly surprised that each ingredient could be distinctly tasted. The only concern we have is the amount of spices and sauce that made the sauce perhaps saltier than needed. Despite this, the noodles were worth the price and an evident highlight of the restaurant’s Asian-fusion cuisine.

Chocolate Cake with Fig Ganache ($13)

The perfect finale to our Sunday night meal — a chocolate cake served with chocolate chantilly cream, pomegranate ganache, charred fresh figs, pomegranate seeds, strawberries, and blueberries. We were expecting a heavy, dense dessert as online pictures resembled a molten lava cake, but we were pleasantly surprised when we took our first bites and were met by a light, fluffy dessert. The fresh fruits provided a refreshing counter to the bittersweet chocolate, balancing out the sweetness of the rich chocolate. The whipped chantilly cream and crunchy pomegranate seeds were a texture combination we’d recommend to dessert-lovers to try.

Horsefeather’s modern atmosphere and fresh dishes have us excited for future visits. The service was swift, and we recommend it as your next brunch, lunch, or dinner destination if you love fusion flavors with a modern twist.