Chef Alex Pineda has curated his new restaurant with his own art, he wants me to know. Que Mas, which opened in Beverly in July, has the look and feel of a modern art gallery. Think Pompidou. Think Guggenheim. Near the host stand, a display of tinned fish is encased in glass and backlit by neon. It’s his own personal collection, tins amassed throughout the year. Other standout pieces peppered throughout the design-forward space include a drawing by a German artist, a movie poster from the 1920s, and a Banksy-inspired print.
Near the mustard-walled corridor where the water closets reside, Pineda has curated his own curio cabinet, a glass room of his favorite things: sneakers, a gilded paintball gun, various mementos. The restaurant, with its herringbone wood floors and dark blue walls, defies the prototypical norms of modern industrial chic. Which is to say: it’s actually interesting. A memorable light fixture resembling neon worms hangs toward the restaurant’s rear. A private dining room, which can be left open or segmented off via curtains, boasts exposed ductwork, wine shelves, and original art.
The food, well, that’s interesting, too. (Pineda shares ownership of the restaurant with co-executive chef Noé Ortega, whose influence is evident in the cocktail list—more on that later.) Stoneham native Alex Pineda is the son of iconic chef Lydia Shire. His father is Colombian, and the influence of both parents comes across on the menu (for his own part, Pineda became a “Chopped” champion in 2021). The 120-seat Que Mas bills itself as Latin American, but influences are global. Off-menu, Pineda was running a special of pig ears, shaved thin and seasoned with tajin and served with pickled red onion and burrata over a bed of frisée. It was a symphony: chewy, crunchy, creamy, bright.
A quartet of oysters, which appear on the lunch menu, came barely bubbling in their shells, kissed with Sriracha and topped with a sauce made from roasted garlic. A grilled sweet platano tread a perfect balance between savory and sweet, beneath a blanket of crema fresca, tomatillo salsa, and fried shallots.
My intention was not to finish everything on every plate. I broke that promise to myself when my mussels, afloat in an achiote coconut broth, arrived. Served beneath a puck of grilled garlic cheese bread, they proved completely irresistible; I finished every last one. Next up: a lobster risotto, also billed as an appetizer (it could have stood in for an entrée). Studded with corn and ample pieces of lobster meat, it was a creamy and rich reminder of summer. On its heels arrived a plate of calabaza agnolotti, tiny, handmade pasta filled with winter squash and ricotta cheese and served with a pepita pesto and lollipop kale.
“The chef would like you to know that he enjoys making his own pasta,” the server let me know. In fact, the menu showcases several pastas, including a burrata-filled ravioli and cotechino with truffle butter and a pistachio pesto.
My guest and I couldn’t come close to finishing our fried pork chuleta, a play on Milanese: a pounded, fried pork chop topped with pepperoncinis and served with white rice and a creamy arugula and red onion salad. Was I done? Not quite. Pineda had an off-menu dessert in store, a perfect pavlova, large enough for a table of four and cloaked in a perfect lemon curd and in a silky whipped cream.
That was not, of course, the end of it. An ambitious cocktail program saw me through this parade of dishes. Noe’s Butternut Espresso Martini, made with dark rum, butternut purée, and espresso, was where my journey began. The bar was also experimenting with a soon-to-run peanut butter-and-jelly cocktail, made from fat-washed whiskey and served with a peanut butter-and-jelly macaron.
Que Mas is full of culinary surprises. The translation—what more, what else—feels apt. What other delights did Pineda have to unleash from the kitchen? I never was quite sure what would appear. In a culinary landscape where flavors and combinations and platings are confoundingly predictable, Que Mas is anything but, a refreshing fever dream of color and texture and taste. Beverly’s most exciting new restaurant? In fact, this may be the North Shore’s.