25 Aug Couple Bridges Culinary Cultures at MexiHibachi in Pinole

Silvia Cortes, left, and Francisco Arce own and operate MexiHibachi, a Japanese-Mexican fusion restaurant, in Pinole.

Story and photos by Denis Perez-Bravo

With roots in Michoacán and a background in Asian cuisine, husband and wife Francisco Arce and Silvia Cortes have turned their family-driven dream into reality with MexiHibachi, a Mexican-Japanese fusion restaurant. What started as a Richmond-based catering business has grown into a brick-and-mortar restaurant that is quickly becoming a Pinole favorite, even as the owners continue to face challenges along the way.

MexiHibachi opened in the Pinole Vista Shopping Center in January. The menu bridges two culinary cultures with flavorful dishes. The fun atmosphere inside the brightly decorated restaurant gives patrons an immediate insight into the creativity and flavor behind the food.

To Cortes, the restaurant’s two cuisines are a natural fit.

“Both Japanese and Hispanic people, we connect as far as, like, the seafood,” Cortes said. “Seafood is popular in Latin America as well as in Japan.”

The restaurant’s signature dishes showcase this unique fusion approach, featuring garlic fried rice with chicken, shrimp or steak, yaki-udon stir-fry prepared in either regular or spicy teriyaki sauce, and innovative hibachi burritos stuffed with rice, vegetables and the house “yum yum” sauce, alongside hibachi-style quesadillas.

The appetizer selection reflects this cultural blend as well, with edamame, vegetable egg rolls and mixed tempura sitting alongside jalapeño poppers, chicken wings and gyoza. Sides and extras include garlic butter, blistered peppers, tortillas and additional proteins such as lobster, salmon or New York steak. Vegetarian diners can enjoy options like tofu garlic fried rice and vegetable yaki-udon.

 

To satisfy the Central and South American love for spicy food, the menu leans into heat.

“The most popular dish right now has to be our half and half, which is the hibachi garlic fried rice with our spicy noodles,” Cortes said.`

But behind this carefully crafted menu and the colorfully decorated space lies a deeply personal story that fuels MexiHibachi.

Arce and Cortes prioritize their family in every decision they make, with none more important than the reason they started the restaurant in the first place.

One of their four children, Christina, needed eye surgery. As the medical visits and bills piled up, so did their courage to take on becoming brick-and-mortar business owners.

“To this day, I think Christina is still the main reason why we’re still here, where we’re still pushing. Because even after she had surgery, her eye is still not working as it should be,” Cortes said.

Doctors told the couple that Christina’s brain isn’t properly connecting to or controlling her eye, and if that doesn’t change, she could eventually lose her vision in it. That difficult diagnosis became the driving force behind their decision to open the restaurant.

“I don’t think it’s something that we had imagined, but now being here. And it’s definitely a learning experience,” Cortes said.

Arce, a skilled teppanyaki chef, had built a following by catering events and posting cooking videos online. Those times were filled with hard work and little sleep, he said, but the transition to a physical location has opened new doors for the family.

 

Cortes now runs front-of-house operations and handles the administrative side of the business. Today, the couple employs eight staff members including cooks and cashiers, bringing business to Pinole and helping out at Richmond events when they can.

 

Among them is Andrea Sanchez Rojas, 21, a cashier and server who sees growing interest from new customers every week.

“They see it online, and it grabs their attention,” she said. “When they see their dishes come out of the kitchen, they get excited.”

 

The restaurant’s growing reputation extends beyond Pinole. Phil Ferrero, 35, traveled from Istanbul to visit his mom, Heather, in Vallejo. After seeing a review on Instagram, they decided to cross the Carquinez Bridge to give MexiHibachi a try.

“I am super happy that we did,” Ferrero said. “It was bomb.”

Both of them ordered the hibachi steak and chicken burrito that includes rice, vegetables, steak and chicken in the yum-yum sauce wrapped in a flour tortilla. The meal made such an impression that Heather said she plans to keep coming back to MexiHibachi, even after her son flies home, now that she knows what the restaurant has to offer.

 

“The food looks too enticing not to come,” Heather said. “I’ll be back for sure.”

MexiHibachi is open from 12 to 9 p.m. on Wednesdays and Thursdays, 12 to 10 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, and 12 to 7 p.m. on Sundays. You can find it at 1578 Fitzgerald Dr. in Pinole and on Instagram, @MexiHibachi.