Though Miguel Guerra always loved cooking while growing up in Venezuela, he initially thought he would become an architect. After taking a post–high school gap year in New York City, his path shifted toward the culinary world, and he enrolled at Le Cordon Bleu in Miami. Although he enjoyed the first six months, he soon became bored, realizing he learned far more on the days he staged at a local restaurant than in class.
He connected with Juan Manuel “Juanma” Barrientos, the chef behind the visionary Colombian tasting menu restaurant Elcielo, which had a location in Miami. Although Guerra came from a savory background, he took charge of the pastry program. Aside from a period working for Brad Kilgore at Alter, Guerra spent much of his career with Barrientos, who sent him to Washington, D.C., in 2019 to help open a new Elcielo location. The restaurant was set to open in the Union Market district next to La Cosecha, a multi-concept Latin marketplace that includes Serenata, a cocktail bar with luxe bites inspired by culinary traditions across Latin America and the Caribbean. It was at Serenata that Guerra met one of its owners, Tatiana Mora.
The pandemic delayed the opening of Elcielo, so Guerra and Mora began creating vegan Latin American dinners to go under the moniker Mita, a name formed from the first two letters of each of their names. “We wanted to put vegetables on a pedestal and showcase what can be done with them,” says Guerra.
The pair transitioned to hosting pop-up tasting menu dinners in the jewel-box demo kitchen at La Cosecha, which consistently sold out as they built a fervent following. The response gave them confidence in the concept and inspired them to create a stand-alone restaurant. In late 2023, Mora and Guerra opened the brick-and-mortar version of Mita just off Washington, D.C.’s bustling U Street corridor and across from the iconic 9:30 Club. The restaurant earned a Michelin star in 2024.
