Las Bugambilias settles into new home in Old City after a long run on South Street

The popular Mexican restaurant Las Bugambilias, which had a nearly 13-year run at Second and South Streets before closing in 2020, has a new home at 15 S. Third St. in Old City, where Farmicia was.

Chef Carlos Molina and his wife, Michelle Zimmerman, have new partners (sons Richard, 23, and Alex, 25) and much more dining and bar space in their roomy, colorful dining room, which also has a bar.

Molina and Zimmerman met at Tequila’s, the landmark at 16th and Locust Streets, where he was chef and she was a dishwasher. (Speaking of dishwashing: During my recent stop, I found son Alex, a former Marine, elbow-deep in suds in the kitchen. The boys have worked for their parents since they were small.)

Molina and Zimmerman opened Las Bugambilias in fall 2007 in the former Ristorante Primavera at 148 South St.

Its narrow storefront’s rustic decor included exposed brick and old-time Mexican cinema photos and curios. Back then, Inquirer critic Craig LaBan found the couple “channeling the authentic flavors of a taqueria, but presenting them in a more polished, upscale way.”

Molina’s preparation of the classics is “rendered deftly,” LaBan wrote, “with good ingredients and an attention to subtleties that are essential to traditional cooking.”

Until staffing can improve, restaurant hours are 4 to 9 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, 1 to 11 p.m. Friday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday.