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With summer and outdoor dining in full swing, Mojo RVC officially launched its own weekend brunch menu.
On its outdoor patio, the restaurant now provides a more toned down atmosphere on Saturdays and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., compared to the city-like nightlife patrons enjoy in the restaurant on a Saturday night.
“We cater to all kinds of people,” Chad Leo, Mojo RVC’s general manager, said. “The vibe that we created in the dining room is more vibrant with the Latin American music we play. But brunch is a little more mellowed down. We entertain everybody.”
Since its inaugural brunch on June 25, the restaurant in the heart of the village at 300 Sunrise Highway, has served up hundreds of mimosas and house-made bloody Marys. The kitchen cooks up chicken and maduro waffles, served with maple syrup and turkey bacon gravy (a secret recipe of the chef’s mother), as well as churros pancakes and other delights.
Mojo at night
The second Mojo restaurant from owners Mohammed Shakib, Alex Marquetti and Peter Kambitsis, following the Forest Hills location that opened in 2019, celebrated its grand opening March 12. Since then, guests have flocked to the Latin American experience in the heart of the Village of Rockville Centre for great eats and nightlife.
As reggaeton, hip-hop and salsa fills the air, guests eat, drink and dance under a ceiling saturated with floral arrangements and aglow with polychromatic beams of light.
“Rockville Centre needed something like this,” Mojo RVC service manager Bernard Montpeirous said. “The vibe that we created, you won’t get it anywhere else.”
Now, Montpeirous said many local fans return to order their favorite dinnertime eats for brunch, especially the Mojo wings slathered in a mango glaze.
“Even if you have our wings without the marinate, you will love them,” Leo said. “Me, I eat the wings without the glaze on the top, but people love the homemade mango glaze.”
Among the restaurants other popular dinner dishes is the jumpin’ lomo, a stir fry that includes skirt steak chunks, tomatoes and red onions in a smoked soy sauce reduction, served with white rice and truffle French fries. There’s also the grilled ribeye and the seared chicken Mojo, served with beurre blanc-cream sauce, seasonal grilled veggies, rice and maduros.
‘The sky is the limit’
To keep the serene patio vibe available all year round, Montpeirous is looking to install a retractable roof over the patio. While that is in the works, the managers consider what they can offer next on the menu.
“The menu is forever changing, as our chef is a scientist with food, always creating new dishes,” Montpeirous said.
“We play around with the menu based on the comments of the audience,” Leo added. We talk to all the guests, we’re always open to tweaking this menu.”
Looking beyond Rockville Centre, the managers said they may open more locations in Nassau County, as well in Suffolk County and in New York City.
“As far where we are going with this brand, the sky is the limit,” Leo said. “We want to take it all over Long Island.”
