Wilmer Valderrama 'Shed a Tear' and Had to Call His Mom When He Tasted a Dish at His New D.C. Restaurant (Exclusive)
- - Wilmer Valderrama 'Shed a Tear' and Had to Call His Mom When He Tasted a Dish at His New D.C. Restaurant (Exclusive)
Adam CarlsonFebruary 12, 2026 at 1:48 AM
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Wilmer Valderrama (right) at Elegancia in Washington, D.C.
Courtesy of Tony Powell for Elegancia
Elegancia, from Wilmer Valderrama and Daniella Senior, opened this week in Union Market’s La Cosecha in Washington, D.C.
The menu is “a culinary journey that's taken through Latin America,” says Senior
The sancocho, in particular, triggered some big emotions when Valderrama first tried it
The first time Wilmer Valderrama tasted the sancocho from Chef Jova Urriola, he cried a little and thought about his mom, Sobeida.
Immediately, Valderrama knew he had to call and “tell her I love her,” he recalls to PEOPLE.
It’s that sort of memory-infused menu that the NCIS star and restauranteur hopes will distinguish Elegancia, his new eatery and bar in Washington, D.C., with partner Daniella Senior.
Take the sancocho, for instance. The traditional stew or soup dish has many varieties across Latin America. At Elegancia, it’s being offered “like a hug,” with free servings at the end of the night. (The soup is famous for helping with hangovers.)
When Valderrama, 46, had his first sip of Urriola’s recipe — which features smoked broth, corn, chicken and ñame, he says, “I had to close my eyes for a second because it really was captured in a way that I really, truly remember.”
“And it triggered tons of emotions and tons of memories of me being a kid and walking into the kitchen,” he continues. (“He actually shed a tear,” says Senior.)
It was like “something that when it comes together and really downright, there's a healing power that comes to that soup,” Valderrama says.
From left: Daniella Senior and Wilmer Valderrama at Elegancia in Washington, D.C.
Courtesy of Tony Powell for Elegancia
Other dishes on the menu at Elegancia include eggplant tamal, choripán, empanadas with an Afro Caribbean twist and a sweet shrimp ceviche, among others; cocktails range from mango martinis to the sol de cacao, with an infused rum, and the café de olla, mixing vodka, mezcal and espresso.
“It's a culinary journey that's taken through Latin America,” says Senior.
Valderrama agrees: “I promise you that if you have that first appetizer, first drink, it's going to turn into a second and a third dish.”
“It could be date night. It could be anniversary night. It could be your birthday. It could be whatever it is — most importantly,” he adds, “it could be a place where you really treat yourself to something really special.”
That sort of together is something Valderrama draws from in his own family.
“Last week, my mom made a sancocho for us and then my dad made us a mondogo, which is like [a tripe stew]. So we really get down on food, and I think to me those are great,” he says.
“When you think about memories, I think about specifically my dad being hungover, my mom making him a potato soup with the bone and the meat,” Valderrama says. “Those are the moments that you feel like our food really has a healing power. That was the transfusion of heritage that we want to bring to it.”
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Elegancia opened on Wednesday, Feb. 11, in Union Market’s La Cosecha in D.C. In addition to the menu from Chef Urriola, Juan Coronado oversees the bar.
Valderrama is no stranger to the hospitality business: He previously had a stake in Dolce and Geisha House in Los Angeles.
“All these things really gave me the experience that the heart of the restaurant starts in the kitchen,” he says.
A new restaurant, now, seemed right, he says: “I’m going back to one of my passions, which is hospitality and going back to convenience and bringing people together.”
As for how Valderrama and Senior work together, she says their compatible on the tiny things: “He's as OCD as me when it comes to the details and I love it. We're very detailed. We have 10 meetings over a coaster. I'll just say that.”
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Elegancia adds to an already full plate for Valderrama. While he’s shooting full time on NCIS, he’s also adjusting to a busier home life. He and fiancé Amanda Pacheco welcomed son Wolf in July; they also have daughter Nakano, who is about to turn 5.
“I want to see my kids all the time,” Valderrama says.
One trick he’s learned is to make sure that Pacheco and their children have their own space in a trailer on set when they come to see him while he’s filming.
Another trick?
“It's time management. You also have to make sure that at 5 p.m. after 6 p.m. and on, it's sacred,” he says. “The mornings that I have off, they're sacred for me to take my daughter to school and have that experience with her.”
Elegancia is open now in Washington, D.C.
on People
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
