Casa Gabriela in La Mesa Village delivers elevated Mexican cuisine built on the chef-owner's Guadalajara and Tijuana culinary training at 8384 La Mesa Boulevard. The chef-owner worked as a private chef for high-profile clients in Mexico before partnering with San Diego's Cohn Restaurant Group to launch this permanent Village kitchen, joining a La Mesa Boulevard wine-and-dine stretch that includes La Mesa Wine Works among its tasting-room tenants. Grandmother's recipes from Guadalajara anchor the regional foundation, reinterpreted with Baja California seafood in dishes like lobster flautas, beer-battered fish tacos, and a three-shellfish queso fundido bubbling with shrimp, lobster, and scallops in garlic butter. Weekend brunch adds birria sopes topped with poached eggs under guajillo hollandaise, and a weekday happy-hour menu rotates nine small plates paired with mezcal and tequila cocktails. The dinner menu spans Baja-Sonoran territory from achiote-smoked half chicken to lobster enchiladas, hitting a chef-driven range on La Mesa Boulevard's Village corridor alongside Antica Trattoria on the Italian side. The Parrillada mixta boards chimichurri-rubbed arrachera alongside guajillo-oaxaca enchiladas, roasted peppers, grilled panela cheese, and papas bravas, requiring synchronized grill-and-sauté timing across five protein and vegetable components on a single shared platter.