Editor's note: The author of this article is over the age of 21.
As a fourth-year student grappling with my encroaching departure from Charlottesville, it is my goal to experience as much of the city as possible before May comes around — including the dozens of highly praised restaurants within city limits.
One of the first reservations I made was for Conmole, after a friend of mine shared their interest in going as well. Conmole is an Oaxacan Mexican restaurant in Belmont, about a 15-minute drive from Central Grounds. The restaurant was established in 2019 by Chef Benos Bustamante, fulfilling his dreams of bringing traditional Oaxacan family recipes to the city. It is open from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. on weekdays and until 9:30 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.
Literally translated as “with mole,” Conmole centers its menu on mole, a traditional cuisine of Mexico’s Oaxaca region, with roots dating back to the ancient civilizations of Zapotec and Mixtec. Mole is a sauce known for its blend of chilies, nuts, spices and even cocoa to create a complex flavor for any dish.
Whether for a meal with your family or a special night out with friends who have defined your experience on Grounds, I can easily say that Conmole is a vibrant, must-try restaurant for every fourth-year's pre-graduation bucket list.
I embarked to Conmole early the night before classes started with my best friend Marty and my boyfriend Drew. We arrived at 5:30 p.m. and were greeted to a quiet restaurant. Although the storefront is small, Conmole’s vibrant red exterior helps it stand out amongst the other restaurants on Hinton Avenue.
After we stepped inside and checked in for our reservation, the front-of-house staff promptly showed us to our seats on the front patio of the restaurant — a small section of tables near the sidewalk with a pleasant view of the sky and mountains in the distance. The light breeze and idyllic temperature in the low 70s made the patio a perfect setting for a relaxed dinner out.
Shortly after getting settled into our seats, our server arrived. Since it was our first time there, he thoroughly walked us through the menu, which I greatly appreciated. He explained that most dishes at Conmole are shared plates and recommended our trio get four to six dishes, providing concise yet detailed descriptions of each section of the menu.
While pondering over dishes, Marty and I sipped on our cocktails that we ordered — a pomegranate margarita for them and a mix of a paloma and a margarita in a colorful, hand-painted ceramic called a Palomita for me. To my delight, the bartender heavily salted the rim, which counterbalanced the citrusy sweetness of the cocktail. Throughout the evening and between plates, the cocktail was a refreshing taste of lime and grapefruit to cleanse my palate.
After much deliberation, we decided to get four dishes. For our starter, Drew selected the Tamale for $12, which arrived within mere minutes of us placing our order. Served in a banana leaf, the tamale was stuffed with a verde mole sauce, chicken and a respectable topping of cheese. Cheersing our forks, we all dug into the dish.
As someone who deeply appreciates a good verde sauce, I found the sauce in the tamale to be a bit bland. While it was light and did not weigh the dish down, I wished there was a bit more spice to it. The chicken was cooked perfectly, and the juiciness of the poultry mixed well with the cheese. However, I found that it wasn’t enough to uplift the Tamale as a whole. Overall, the dish was a bit lackluster, and not one I would order again.
While we waited for the three main plates we ordered, the conversation between the three of us deepened. Between sips of drinks, we relayed our summer stories and goals for the school year, assuring one another that our fourth year would be the best and most adventurous one yet. Thanks to the relaxed ambience and soft hums of cicadas, we fell back into our comfortable rhythm of three years of friendship as our server arrived with our main dishes.
Somehow, without knowing us at all, I believe Conmole captured each of us and our friendship in the dishes. Each of the three distinct plates offered something new, combining to create a beautiful scene on our table.
Drew selected the Mole Amarillo con carne. Priced at $30, the dish was a sizable portion of slow-cooked pork ribs accompanied by the titular mole amarillo sauce — which is a lighter style of mole made with tomatoes and an aroma of spices — and served with a side of rice. The mole amarillo was a deep shade of reddish orange that looked like it could be in a culinary magazine.
Upon my first bites, the dish had a strong saltiness to it. While normally this would be overpowering, the taste of tomatoes in the mole provided a fresh, slight sweetness that paired together well. I personally found the dish to be a bit oily, but neither Drew nor Marty agreed. Despite my gripe, with each taste, this dish gave me an immense feeling of comfort. Although the Mole Amarillo was neither spicy nor revolutionary, it was reliable and restorative.
Marty, the boldest of the bunch, picked the Pulpo — pan-seared octopus tentacle served beside a jicama and avocado salad with a spicy citrus dressing — for a total of $28. The purple skin of the tentacle was electrifying next to the green shade of the salad.
Personally, I do not love seafood, but I am always willing to try something new. The taste was definitely too fishy and briny for my palate, but Marty greatly appreciated its flavor. Despite differing taste buds, we both agreed the best part of the octopus was the texture. With the suckers on the tentacle, we expected the texture to feel bumpy and discordant, but it was perfectly smooth and cooked just right, not too dry or slimy.
The octopus may not have been for me, but the jicama and avocado salad that accompanied it most definitely was. The soft meltiness of the avocado balanced out the crunchy root vegetable of jicama. The initial notes of citrus in the dressing strengthened the earthy flavors of the salad, but they were followed by an intense heat that took the dish to a whole new level. I had to reach for water to cool my mouth every bite, but I could not put my fork down. The two flavors of the dressing were addictive and stayed with me long after we got the check.
As an indecisive person, the server helped me pick my dish. Prior to arriving for our reservation, I knew that I wanted to have a darker mole, which is known for its complex flavors and inclusion of cocoa. I was stuck between the Mole Frijol Molido and the Mole Negro, both of which were highly recommended online. He said since Marty and Drew had never had a dark mole sauce before, he recommended the Mole Negro con carne to start with.
The Mole Negro con carne was $30 and consisted of slow-cooked chicken swimming in Conmole’s homemade mole negro sauce — a traditional family recipe made of a blend of chilies, cacao, herbs and seeds. The mole was a deep brown, topped with sesame seeds and an avocado mousse. On the side, there was a bowl of rice.
With my first bite, I knew this dish would become one of my favorites in Charlottesville. The sauce was decadent and unique in flavor. It was a perfect balance of sweetness, spice and smokiness. The chicken was cooked excellently, falling off the bone easily. With each bite, I was sure to add as much sauce as possible, evening scooping my rice into it to soak up even more. While the inclusion of cocoa may seem odd, not trying it would be a disservice to yourself.
As the three of us swapped stories and spoons, a comfortable buzz settled between us. We compared schedules, uncertainties and the stresses of fourth year as we slowly drank our drinks and took in the much-needed time with each other. Despite our plans to only get four dishes, when our server came by with the dessert menu, we decided to splurge for one, opting for the Tres Leches as our final shared plate.
The Tres Leches cake was chocolate cake base drenched in milks with an icing and dusting of cocoa powder. The dairy-soaked cake was light and sweet, while the frosting and lightly powdered cocoa on top added a layer of bitterness and richness. Each bite practically melted in our mouths — a fantastic end to our meal. When the server cleared our empty plate, I quickly scraped as many crumbs as I could onto my spoon for one last taste.
As much as I loved many of the dishes we had that night, the best part of Conmole was not the flavors, it was the service. Everyone we interacted with — whether it was the bartender, table busser or our server — was absolutely incredible. The front-of-house staff at Conmole seems to have mastered the art of service — attentive and welcoming, without stopping by too frequently.
Our server was patient as we debated which dishes to choose. Even as the dinner crowd of families and date nights seeped into Conmole, we never felt rushed. We were able to sit back and enjoy each other’s company.
Properly full and ready to pay for our expensive but special meal, Drew, Marty and I continued our conversation as Selena Quintanilla’s angelic voice played softly from speakers. For a brief moment, our new fourth-year status and the growing uncertainty in our lives disappeared. All that really mattered was the food on our plates and the comfort it gave us.
Our dinner at Conmole — between the phenomenal service and delicious flavors — was a chance for old friends to catch up and take things slow before life forces things to speed up.
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