Eaon R.
Yelp
We went to the new Baja Bistro location in North Beacon Hill and sat in the Cantina area. From the moment you step into the place you're welcomed by a beautiful and thoughtfully designed space with an amazing bar display and plenty of seating.
The services was good but not great. It took a while before the waiter even acknowledged our presence; almost to the fact that we began to think that we did something wrong. We stood for a while at the from door waiting for some semblance of acknowledgment and indication that it was ok to sit anywhere where space was available but when we didn't get any sort of acknowledgment from any of the staff, we just went ahead and sat down. After sitting it took quite a bit longer before we were acknowledged and given menus so, that's why we thought that perhaps we did something wrong by seating ourselves. We definitely were not singled out though because the same thing happened to a group that came after us. Nevertheless, once we received service, it was decent and fast. I'd be remiss to not acknowledge that it was a busy bar so the server could've been mentally preoccupied.
So, one solution to this would be to simply have a sign on or at front door that says "open seating" or "please sit where available" or something like that. Yes, bar areas are normally open seating but the setup here doesn't quite give that indication that it's a bar area, we thought we were simply entering the restaurant lobby and not the bar area of the restaurant (apparently there's a few entrances).
Food was decent with large size portions but menu seemed a bit "cliche" and the flavor a bit "westernized". They get buns points for homemade corn tortillas but lost points for cold tortilla chips. Nevertheless, it should be noted that the chips and salsa are complimentary so, I guess you can't look a gift horses in the mouth. Where the food really lost points for me is the poorly executed chimichanga. The chicken in the chimichanga is a bit bland and the outer shell too soft with a noticeable lack of melted cheese. I understand there a many was to prepare this dish but, a chimichanga should at least have a crispy outer shell; otherwise it's just a burrito by a different name (which was precisely the case). Solution, don't pan fry you chimichanga, deep fry it...if you're trying to accommodate the health conscious patrons for this dish...don't, let them order something else and keep to the true Mexican form of a chimichanga.
To end on a good note, while I'm not quick to return here due to the subpar food and there being better authentic Mexican restaurants in the immediate area, I would recommend this place to those looking for good drinks with beautiful decor and decent speed of service.