Felicia Eby, left, and Samantha Steerman enjoy dishes at the bar of El Jarocho Mexican Restaurant in Astoria.

A new Mexican restaurant brings the cuisine and margaritas of Veracruz to Astoria’s riverfront.

Cinthia Inzunza co-owns El Jarocho Mexican Restaurant with chef Gerardo Sanchez. Opened in May at the Pier 14 Pilot Station building, El Jarocho is the duo’s second restaurant. Their Una Ves Mas restaurant has been serving Mexican fare in Seaside since 2017.

“We had been thinking about a second location for a while, just not looking,” Inzunza said. “Then we saw this opportunity, we walked in, and we fell in love with the place.”

The riverfront space has hosted restaurants in the past. Some decor from a previous restaurant still adorns the walls. “I liked the decor and so we didn’t make a whole lot of changes,” Inzunza said. “It’s not your typical colorful Mexican restaurant because I wanted it to be a little different.”

Sweeping views of the Columbia River at a location right on the Astoria Riverwalk combine for a steady flow of hungry customers.

“I was shocked how many people walk by here,” Inzunza said, including many familiar faces from the Seaside restaurant. And, she adds that the pair “get a lot of local support.”

The restaurant’s name originates in a nickname for people from the region of Veracruz, where Sanchez hails from.

“He puts his jarocho touch in his cooking,” Inzunza, originally from Mexicali, Baja California, said. The restaurant’s extensive lunch and dinner menus feature classic Mexican fare.

Original items include la botanita, a vast seafood appetizer platter, botana, with shrimp, mussels, clams, octopus and oysters served with fresh vegetables.

A not-so-secret, off-the-menu item is aguachiles, shrimp cooked in lime and served with a spicy green sauce, onions and cucumbers.

“We’re pretty open,” Inzunza said. “If you come in looking for something that’s not on the menu and we have the ingredients, we’ll make it.”

The restaurant’s main goal is to make customers feel at home, with good food and good service.

Sofia Rojas has been serving El Jarocho customers since opening day. “I enjoy what I do because we have customers from different countries and I can talk with people,” said Rojas, who speaks French and some Italian. “And I like to prepare drinks. You need to try the mojitos here.”

Margaritas at El Jarocho feature a homemade mix. In addition to the classics, house variations include pineapple-jalapeño, mango-chamoy, avocado and cucumber-lime.

In summertime, the restaurant has been turned into a late-night bar on Friday and Saturday nights, open until 2 a.m. A plan for next year is adding outdoor seating along the river-facing wall.

El Jarocho Mexican Restaurant

175 14th St., Astoria

Open Wednesdays through Mondays from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., extended hours until 2 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. Closed Tuesdays

www.facebook.com/eljarocho175