McALLEN, Texas – Blu Brasserie has earned Wine Spectator's Best Award of Excellence less than a year after opening in McAllen's Mercado District, placing its wine program in the publication's second-highest recognition level.
The award, represented by two wine glasses, recognizes restaurants with broad selections across major wine regions, depth in leading vintages and a program that complements the food menu. Approximately 1,800 restaurants worldwide hold the designation.
Owner Fernando Rocha developed Blu after operating a boutique wine shop in McAllen. He said the restaurant grew from demand for food designed to accompany the European and California wines his customers were buying.
Blu's list includes more than 600 selections, with particular depth in Burgundy and Bordeaux as well as aged Napa Valley wines. The cellar ranges from accessible bottles to rare vintages, including high-value French wines. Three sommelier-trained employees work the dining room each evening to help guests with selections and service.
The upstairs restaurant has 88 seats: 55 in the main dining room and space for 33 in a private room. Its menu includes fresh fish, caviar, truffles, dry-aged and Wagyu beef and handmade pasta. Rocha has also sought to keep an entry point for local diners, including a three-course option beginning at $36.
Rocha said earning the award required attention to the list, cuisine, glassware, inventory and staff knowledge. His longer-term goal is to pursue Wine Spectator's top Grand Award and help establish McAllen as a destination for serious wine dining.
The recognition is based on the restaurant's wine program and should not be read as an overall ranking of every aspect of the restaurant.
