Urban Fusions offers an eclectic menu in downtown Vallejo

VALLEJO — Wendy Stevenson had always dreamed of opening a restaurant that would showcase the flavors she grew up with. As a Vallejo resident, it was important for her to open it downtown, so she could contribute to the revitalization of the area. Her goal was to create a welcoming place where people could have good food and build up a community. 

In September 2022, she opened Urban Fusions at 406 Virginia St., recruiting her sister Felicia Clifton, who had a background in restaurants and catering, as chef and manager. 

Originally, the restaurant was called Urban Cocina and offered fusion tacos. When they expanded the menu with full-fledged entrées, they changed its name to Urban Fusions in 2023 to better match the evolution of their offerings and their eclectic flavors.

Stevenson and Clifton’s parents and grandparents emigrated to California from Southern Louisiana and the Midwest. The sisters wanted to feature their traditional family flavors and cooking processes and add other cuisines they had discovered and liked during their travels. 

 “Our Southern plates have a Cajun Creole flavor, and the comfort food comes from the Midwest,” Clifton said. “We also have Southeastern influences in our curries, with Caribbean and Indian flavors, a dish called Spooner Bowl, which is a house stir fry that combines Asian and Hawaiian flavors, and Peruvian beans.”

Their most popular entrée is the oxtails stew and, for appetizers, the sweet, sticky ribs. 

“They fly off the chain through our online ordering every day,” Clifton said. “And if I were to pick two sides that are really popular, it would be the collard greens and the macaroni and cheese.” The collard greens, she pointed out, are very flavorful but completely vegan, and the cornmeal batter they use to fry fish or meat is a proprietary recipe.

Urban Fusions is open Wednesday through Saturday, but the sisters are planning to expand to Tuesdays and close later on Fridays and Saturdays (right now the kitchen closes at 8 p.m.). Their dinner entrées get consistently great reviews, but can seem a little pricey to some, with oxtails, the most expensive item on the menu, going for $33.

“Our food is unique, our ingredients are really high quality, and everything is fresh and cooked to order. Nothing is sitting in hot pans back there,” Clifton said. “If you compare your average meal at a fast food place, it’s going to cost you $20. Here you can get fresh food for as little as $20 and sometimes the chef’s specials are under $20.” 

Clifton also emphasized that they have a lunch menu from Wednesday to Friday for only $8 or $12 and that every day they create $7 cocktail specials available even during dinner. Happy hour includes a glass of house wine for $3.

The restaurant sports an original décor with faux black bricks and modern art in red and black over every booth. Four red armchairs invite you to linger in a corner, enjoying a drink. 

“I purposely wanted the vibe to be a comfortable restaurant/lounge type,” Stevenson said. “The wall decor was designed to bring a 1920s building up to the modern age and offer a grown folk vibe as well.”

Since its beginning, Urban Fusions has been able to cultivate loyal customers. “Most restaurants take four or five years to succeed, and we feel like we’re getting there sooner,” Clifton said. 

Staffing, though, has been challenging. “We believe in trying to hire locally, but people get other jobs and they move on or they decide it’s not a good fit for them,” she explained. “Restaurant work is not easy, it’s very fast paced.”

Early in their journey someone broke their front window. It was costly to replace it and add metal bars, but they haven’t had any more safety incidents since.

Customer service is a high priority for the two sisters. “We do our best to make sure that our customers are well taken care of and that we provide good, friendly service,” Clifton said. “And if you are not happy, we want to make it right.”