When Jesusita Mijares arrived from Jalisco, Mexico in the early 1900s, she brought with her a repertoire of recipes and the determination to feed a community. By 1918, she was cooking for neighbors from a small tortilla factory and boarding house on South Fair Oaks Avenue, filling the empty plates that locals would bring to her window with tamales, tortillas and homemade specialties.
A century later, Mijares Restaurant celebrates its 105th anniversary, and the flavors that first put it on the map remain the backbone of the menu. Diners still crowd in for freshly made guacamole and baskets of warm, crisp chips — the opening act to meals that carry the same sense of tradition that Mijares stirred into her earliest recipes.
Among the enduring favorites is the Chile Colorado, a slow-simmered beef dish cooked gently in red chile sauce until tender and rich. Paired with Mexican rice and beans, it is a plate that regulars describe as pure comfort food, a dish that recalls the restaurant’s beginnings when Mijares cooked with both efficiency and care, quickly serving hearty meals to her neighbors.
The expansive menu today reflects those roots. Tamales, once the signature that drew in the first crowds, still carry her hallmark twist: a raisin or olive tucked inside, a personal stamp that let neighbors know they were eating something made by her hands. The chicken enchiladas, too, tell a story — layered tortillas with the meat spooned generously on top rather than rolled inside, a presentation that offered more flavor and more substance, and became a restaurant signature.
Even as the restaurant grew from a boarding house kitchen to its current Pasadena landmark, continuity has been key. Chef Antonio Campos has been in the kitchen for four decades, trained directly in the family’s style and steeped in its recipes. Before him, it was Mary Recendez’s grandfather, who cooked until his passing. Through each transition, the flavors and methods of the founder have been preserved.
The restaurant also remains deeply a family affair. Relatives manage the front of house, the books, the marketing, and the legacy. Customers, meanwhile, still recount memories of birthdays marked with plates of enchiladas, tamales, and bowls of guacamole shared at long tables.
For 105 years, Mijares has been more than a Pasadena institution — it has been a reminder of how food, prepared with tradition and care, can become a family’s story and a community’s comfort.
Mi Casa Es Su Casa will host its annual tequila tasting on Wednesday, Sept. 17, from 4 to 8 p.m. at Mijares, 145 Palmetto Drive in Pasadena. For more call (626) 792-2763.
The event will feature a selection of premium tequilas, chef-prepared small bites, fiesta-inspired party favors and live music.
Tickets are available in advance through Eventbrite.
