Breathing life back into a long-closed—but extremely beloved—restaurant takes a special kind of grit and perseverance.
But anyone who knows chef Josh Gil, one of the co-founders of Santa Monica’s still-missed fish taco and tostada joint, Taco Punta Cabras, understands that these qualities only begin to describe the self-described cooking “pirate.” Now, he has successfully revived the dead—in the form of vermillion fish tacos on handmade corn tortillas, scallop cócteles, and many more dishes fans have been craving to see come back.
All this while battling stage four colorectal cancer with everything he’s got and litigating with his ex-business partner from Mírate.
“I’m just fighting to be able to keep fighting,” he tells L.A. TACO while preparing for the grand re-opening of Three Flames Mongolian BBQ, a 52-year-old bonafide strip mall gem he has taken over for his latest project.
Here, he will offer all the greatest hits from his Taco Punta Cabras and Hamburguesas Punta Cabras menus, but that’s far from all he has in store.
Two months ago, Gil sold out his last Supper Liberation Front dinner pop-up at Surfas Culinary District, where beloved chefs like Diego Hernandez drove all the from Valle de Guadalupe, along with winemakers like Lulú Martinez Ojeda to cook with him, along with local respected chefs like Francisco Aguilar of Carnal in Highland Park and Brad Miller of Inn at the 7th Ray.
“Sharks die when they stop moving," Gil says about what inspired him to re-open both his Punta Cabras concepts, albeit under a different name.
Fans of Gil’s unbeatable (and gluten-free) fish tacos and fish sauce-spiked cocteles de camaron will be able to relish his one-of-a-kind modern mariscos thanks to Frank and Vanessa Casares, who run Surfas. The tacos come on unique handmade corn tortillas—sourced next door at Maria’s Tortillas and enhanced with mochiko rice flour and olive oil.
It all started when the Casareses had a random craving for Gil’s tostadas with cauliflower ceviche and cashew crema.
“They texted me one day, ‘You know what sounds good right now? Your cauliflower ceviche!’” the chef recalls.
So he responded, “Well, find me a spot, and we’ll do it.”
The former owner of Three Flames Mongolian BBQ, which opened in 1973, was ready to retire and had just listed the space. It was all charred noodle-and-taco-strip mall serendipity.
The menu amalgamates all three concepts: Tacos Punta Cabras, Hamburguesas Punta Cabras, and Three Flames Mongolian BBQ. According to Gil, the only way he was able to re-open his Punta Cabras concepts at a neighborhood favorite gem like Three Flames was to pay homage to it and keep the noodles on the menu.
“It was the right thing to do,” he says. He then hired the graffiti collective LOVECREW to restore the restaurant mural.
He’s also adding a few more items to Punta Cabras’ menu, like a shrimp patty burger for pescatarians, using chef Eric Greenspan’s delightful New American Cheese on squishy Martin’s potato buns, as well as a new albacore tostada, layered with his part-Chinese Sonoran grandmother’s smokey and nutty sesame seed salsa.
“Not resting on old laurels. Shocking, right?” Gil jokes when asked about the new items.
The tiny restaurant also had a beer and wine license, which means fresh local beer from Smog City Brewing on tap and anti-cruda micheladas made with Gil’s seafood coctel mix. There is also Mexican wine from Valle de Guadalupe, both natural and old world, available by the glass.
He’s using local vermillion rock cod and only charging $15 for a seafood cocktail brimming with sweet scallops and rock shrimp.
While Gil oversees everything, since he cannot work in the kitchen for long hours while he focuses on healing, he has Anthony Rodriguez, the former Executive Chef from Mírame, in charge of daily operations as Three Flames Mongolian BBQ’s “Jefe Chef.”
“I’m using a lot of the same seafood that chef Gilberto Cetina is using at Holbox, and what he’s done is really inspiring,” Gil says.
He’s using local vermillion rock cod and only charging $15 for a seafood cocktail brimming with sweet scallops and rock shrimp. Gil has also lightly refreshed the Mongolian menu, by making his own Malaysian-style sweet soy glaze, a fried shallot furikake, and switching out the old floppy thick chow mein noodles to more al dente yakisoba noodles.
There will even be an off-menu “mongolito” taco that will blend both the restaurant’s Mongolian and Mexican flavors, using buttermilk-tomatillo karaage and crispy fried noodles.
“I’m just grateful to be able to continue and share my food,” Gil tells L.A. TACO. “We are our own inspiration, and I want to help others beat the impossible, too.”
Three Flames Mongolian BBQ will open this Saturday, March 1, 2025, and offer customers free beer upgrades to celebrate.
5608 W. Manchester Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90045
