Last July, the owners of El Chile on Barton Springs Road changed the location to El Alma Cafe Y Cantina.

The name change highlights the restaurant's focus on head chef Alma Alcocer's new menu. Before the change, Alcocer had been working with El Chile for three months as their executive chef and consultant.

"We just felt like she needed her own platform to showcase her own style of cooking," Marketing and Special Events Director Maribel Rivero said.

While Alcocer's menu is rooted in the Mexican fare that El Chile previously served, the chef applies her own style to mainstays such as enchiladas and pollo asada. Her dishes are informed both by her training at El Cordon Bleu in France and her upbringing in Mexico City.

For the coming year, Alcocer plans to tweak the menu by creating new dishes and adding popular specials as permanent items.

"We just want those types of opportunities," Rivero said. "We want to keep Barton Springs vibrant."

El Alma Caf Y Cantina, 1025 Barton Springs Road, 609-8923, www.elalmacafe.com