Summer Restaurant Week: Chef Shaw Lash on the making of LILA Molino, a love letter to Mexico and Dubai

Dubai: The smell of freshly vibrant salsas and warm tortillas fills the air at LILA Molino, where chef and owner, Shaw Lash believes food is more than what arrives on the plate, it is a way to bring people together.

Tucked inside Dubai’s creative hub Alserkal Avenue, the Mexican restaurant has become a homegrown space built around community and a deep respect for ingredients.

Having lived in Dubai on and off for nearly a decade, the chef has watched the city’s culinary landscape evolve into one of the most diverse in the world. She and her husband returned to Dubai in early 2022 to open LILA Molino. "I thought there was a real opportunity to come back and contribute to the community because Dubai had become such an interesting culinary city," she says

That sense of belonging is at the heart of what being a homegrown restaurant means to her. While Dubai's dining scene is filled with global names, LILA Molino has carved out its place by staying deeply rooted in the city it calls home.

"For me, being a homegrown brand really means we're connected to our community," she explains. "We're connected to residents, locals, tourists, other chefs, we support each other, and we're committed to being here through the high times and the low."

That community extends beyond customers. It shapes the way she cooks, collaborates and even thinks about food.

Every winter, she hosts collaborative taco nights at the Farmers' Market, inviting fellow chefs to reinterpret Mexican cuisine through their own culinary lens. One collaboration with Jun's chef Kelvin leaned into Asian flavours, while another with French chef Adrien introduced foie gras into the mix. She even shares an instance where a four-hands dinner with Lily from Vietnamese Foodies revealed surprising similarities between Mexican and Vietnamese cooking.

"For me, that's the story of Dubai," she says. "Finding all these shared talking points through food." It also explains why she believes cooking in Dubai is unlike cooking anywhere else.

"You can't say you're serving one group because there is no one group," she laughs. "There are people from every nationality, every background, residents, people from out of the country, you have to create food that speaks to everyone."

That philosophy begins with ingredients.

Rather than chasing trends, LILA Molino focuses on doing the basics exceptionally well. Mexican avocados are flown in specifically for the restaurant's signature guacamole, tomatoes and tomatillos are sourced locally wherever possible, while heirloom Mexican corn is ground in-house every day to make fresh tortillas and tortilla chips.

Watching her pick up one of her tacos during our conversation, it's obvious she still gets excited by what comes out of her own kitchen. She pauses after the first bite, smiling, "I'm embarrassed to tell you how many time I've eaten this for lunch."

It's the reaction of someone who still genuinely enjoys eating the food she spends her days making. Her own tastes, however, are surprisingly uncomplicated.

Ask what she'd choose to eat if someone else were cooking and she doesn't hesitate. "A really great steak," she says. "There's something so pure about smoke, heat and protein."

Perhaps it's no surprise, then, that some of her earliest memories revolve around cooking rather than restaurants. Growing up, dinner was a family ritual. Her parents cooked nearly every evening, and over time she went from helping in the kitchen to taking over entire meals. By the time she was a teenager, she was cooking Thanksgiving dinner herself.

Those evenings around the family table laid the foundations for the restaurant she would eventually build.

"We're a very ingredient-driven restaurant," she says. "We lean into fresh ingredients, local produce and farms because it tells a better story. It's also better for the environment, with a smaller carbon footprint."

Even as technology and AI begin reshaping hospitality, she's convinced the industry's future will always depend on people rather than machines.

"Technology can absolutely help restaurants become more efficient and reduce waste," she says. "But hospitality has always been about people. AI can support great restaurants, but it can never replace the warmth of genuine service or the emotion behind a meal cooked with care."

The same people-first philosophy is what excites her most about the next generation of chefs across the region. She sees young cooks embracing different cultures, questioning sourcing practices and putting sustainability at the forefront without losing sight of tradition.

"I hope they continue to respect tradition just as much as they embrace innovation," she says. "That's where the most meaningful food comes from."

Not every trend wins her over, though. She talks about the recent obsession with turning everything into a burger. "Great food doesn't need to fit a format," she says. "It just needs to be well made and full of flavour."

Instead, she believes the movement towards seasonal, farm-sourced ingredients is here to stay, and that's something worth celebrating.

Five years from now, she isn't hoping for awards or viral fame. She simply wants people to remember LILA Molino for staying true to itself.

"I hope they say every meal felt honest," she says. "That every tortilla was made with intention, and that we helped people discover a deeper appreciation for Mexican food."

For a restaurant tucked inside Alserkal Avenue, that intention is evident in every detail, from the handmade tortillas and collaborations with fellow chefs to the wagging tail greeting guests at the door. In a city constantly chasing the next big thing, LILA Molino's biggest strength may be something far simpler: making people feel at home.