El Borracho

El Borracho is a Mexican restaurant brand operating in Washington State, United States. The business originated at Pike Place Market in Seattle’s Central Waterfront and later expanded to the city’s Ballard neighborhood and to Tacoma. Its menu has centered on familiar Mexican-American restaurant formats such as tacos, burritos, and burrito bowls, while also emphasizing an extensive margarita program and seasonal or occasion-based food and drink promotions. The brand has operated with a casual, festive positioning. Coverage has highlighted its flavored margaritas, including cucumber-honeydew, coconut, hibiscus, habanero, pineapple-jalapeño, and tamarindo varieties. Its food has at times extended beyond standard fillings, with reported offerings including rabbit in chipotle tomato stew and braised beef tongue tacos with salsa verde. Happy-hour discounts on tacos and margaritas, together with Halloween specials, have formed part of its promotional identity. Kittie Davidovich announced an expansion from the Pike Place Market operation to Ballard in 2013, and the Ballard restaurant opened in February 2014. That same year, the Pike Place Market location attracted attention after its sign was stolen; Davidovich publicly offered a bar tab and limousine ride for its return. The Ballard location later closed in 2022. The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted all three El Borracho locations. The Pike Place Market restaurant subsequently used curbside and patio service in 2021. In mid-2021, the business introduced an entirely plant-based menu, replacing beef and carne asada with products such as Impossible Burger and seitan. Other reported meat and seafood substitutes included tofu, plant-based “chikin,” and “shrymp,” while soy-free and dairy-free cheeses and dressings were also used. The plant-based conversion represented a significant product and positioning change rather than a move into a separate sub-brand. El Borracho continues to be associated with its Pike Place Market location and a Tacoma operation. Its regional profile has been supported by coverage in Seattle restaurant guides and local dining roundups, including recognition of the brand’s Seattle locations as neighborhood Mexican restaurant destinations. Available public material does not establish a founding year, corporate parent, public listing, official website, or financial performance figures.

El Borracho began as a Mexican restaurant at Pike Place Market in Seattle’s Central Waterfront. Public reference material does not specify the founding year, but the Pike Place Market operation was established before the brand’s first documented expansion announcement in 2013. The restaurant developed around Mexican staples including tacos, burritos, and burrito bowls, complemented by a bar program centered on margaritas. In 2013, owner Kittie Davidovich announced plans to open an El Borracho restaurant in Seattle’s Ballard neighborhood. The Ballard location opened in February 2014, giving the brand a second Seattle presence. During the same period, the Pike Place Market restaurant experienced a small but publicized incident when its sign was stolen. Davidovich responded with an unusual incentive: a $100 bar tab and a limousine ride if the sign was returned without the person responsible being caught. The brand’s food and beverage identity combined conventional Mexican-American restaurant fare with playful variations. Restaurant coverage described specialty margaritas in flavors such as cucumber-honeydew, coconut, hibiscus, habanero, pineapple-jalapeño, and tamarindo. Reported food options included both common taco fillings and less conventional preparations, including shredded rabbit in chipotle tomato stew and braised beef tongue with salsa verde. Discounted tacos and margaritas during happy hour, as well as Halloween specials, added a promotional and occasion-driven dimension to the business. The COVID-19 pandemic created a major operational interruption. All three El Borracho restaurants closed during the pandemic. The Pike Place Market location later returned with curbside and patio service in 2021, reflecting the limited-service formats used by many restaurants during that period. In mid-2021, El Borracho made a substantial menu and strategy change by adopting an entirely plant-based offering. Beef and carne asada were replaced by alternatives including Impossible Burger and seitan. The menu also used tofu, plant-based “chikin,” and plant-based “shrymp,” along with soy-free and dairy-free cheeses and dressings. The Ballard restaurant ultimately closed in 2022. The brand continued operating at Pike Place Market and in Tacoma. Its regional visibility has been documented in Seattle dining coverage, including neighborhood restaurant guides and Mexican restaurant roundups. Available sources do not provide a confirmed founding date, a corporate ownership structure beyond the identification of Kittie Davidovich as owner, financial results, employee figures, or a formal national expansion plan.

• 2022

  Ballard location closes

  [1]El Borrachoen.wikipedia.org

  The Ballard restaurant closed while the Pike Place Market and Tacoma locations continued operating.

• 2021

  Pike Place Market service resumes in limited formats

  [1]El Borrachoen.wikipedia.org

  The Pike Place Market location later operated through curbside and patio service.

• 2021

  Full plant-based menu introduced

  [1]El Borrachoen.wikipedia.org

  El Borracho converted to an entirely plant-based menu using meat and seafood substitutes and dairy-free or soy-free accompaniments.

• 2020

  Pandemic closures

  [1]El Borrachoen.wikipedia.org

  All three El Borracho restaurants closed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

• 2014

  Ballard location opens

  [1]El Borrachoen.wikipedia.org

  The Ballard restaurant opened in February 2014.

• 2013

  Ballard expansion announced

  [1]El Borrachoen.wikipedia.org

  Owner Kittie Davidovich announced plans to expand El Borracho from Pike Place Market into Seattle’s Ballard neighborhood.

A casual, festive Mexican restaurant brand with a strong margarita program, regional Seattle identity, and a fully plant-based menu introduced in 2021.

• Mexican food

  Tacos

  Tacos are a core El Borracho offering. The restaurant has served both familiar Mexican-American fillings and more distinctive preparations, including reported options based on rabbit in chipotle tomato stew and braised beef tongue with salsa verde. After the 2021 conversion, the menu used plant-based fillings and accompaniments.

• Mexican food

  Burritos and burrito bowls

  The brand’s menu has included burritos and burrito bowls as substantial, customizable formats alongside tacos. These offerings formed part of the restaurant’s established Mexican menu and were adapted to the fully plant-based approach introduced in 2021.

• Plant-based Mexican food · 2021

  Plant-based menu

  Introduced in mid-2021, the all-plant-based menu replaced beef and carne asada with alternatives such as Impossible Burger and seitan. Other reported substitutes included tofu, plant-based “chikin,” and plant-based “shrymp.” Soy-free and dairy-free cheeses and dressings were also used.

• Beverages

  Specialty margaritas

  El Borracho has been associated with a broad margarita selection, including cucumber-honeydew, coconut, hibiscus, habanero, pineapple-jalapeño, and tamarindo flavors. Margaritas have also featured in the restaurant’s happy-hour and seasonal promotions.

• Happy hour

  United States

  El Borracho has offered discounted tacos and margaritas during happy hour, reinforcing its casual and beverage-oriented restaurant positioning.

  Outcome. No independently reported performance outcome is available.

  Source
• Halloween specials

  United States

  The restaurant has offered special food and drink promotions tied to Halloween.

  Outcome. No independently reported performance outcome is available.

  Source

• 2022

  Close the Ballard locationOther

  Background

  The Ballard restaurant was part of the brand’s multi-location footprint after opening in 2014.

  Action taken

  El Borracho closed the Ballard restaurant while continuing to operate at Pike Place Market and in Tacoma.

  Aftermath

  The closure reduced the brand’s Seattle presence to its Pike Place Market location.

  Source

• 2021

  Convert the menu to entirely plant-basedStrategy

  Background

  Following the pandemic disruption and limited-service reopening period, El Borracho changed the composition of its menu in mid-2021.

  Action taken

  The brand removed conventional beef and carne asada and introduced substitutes including Impossible Burger, seitan, tofu, plant-based chicken, and plant-based shrimp, together with soy-free and dairy-free cheeses and dressings.

  Aftermath

  The conversion became a defining feature of the brand’s reported menu. No financial results or customer metrics were publicly supplied in the reference material.

  Source

1. 1El Borrachoen.wikipedia.org