Havah S.
Yelp
I have family in Raleigh, but live in New Mexico, so when it was suggested that we go to this place I was a little weary because I really do judge Mexican food by a number of things as I'm so familiar with it and usually find it lacking on the East Coast. But I was truly impressed. While I would say that this place does seem to have more cuban leanings than Mexican, it was still delicious and I didn't care what it was classified as.
The ambiance of this place is simply amazing. There are stars all on the ceiling, and if you go to the bathroom, it's SPOTLESS. I mean, squeaky clean, in the University area, which is a feat in itself. The skulls remind me of New Mexico, but they're cool. On the way back from the bathroom you will see a world map, and people have visited this place from all over the world. You should go look at the bathroom to marvel at how clean it is and visit the map to wish you'd been all those places.
Before you start your meal, they ask you if you want the guacamole. GET IT!! They make it perfectly and it's fresh. If you don't like things to be spicy in terms of salsa, don't be afraid of it, the salsa is chunky and mild (if you are used to spicy you will think it's mild, and if you are not good with very spicy dishes you will think it's handleable... They did a good job measuring the audience of North Carolina... But the guacamole is WOW).
We ordered three dishes. I ordered the special, the fish tacos, which were simply fanstastico. Like, whoa whoa. And I have mexican tacos on a regular basis. They had three layers on them. the bottom of the taco had a heat to it, but it wasn't hot... more flavorful, a smoky and slightly hot base. the fish was cooked perfectly, and the top had cabbage, which I really liked, and the usual taco toppings... However these tacos were clearly taken up a notch to another level. I do like spicy so I added the tomatio dressing they provided on top and it was heavenly to me and my son devoured one of the three they gave me.
My son got the quesadilla, and once again I was impressed, definitely not the standard run of the mill, but also not deviating to the point where it wasn't mexican.
They are generous with their plantains! If you upgrade you have to pay $1.00 more but it's so worth it, they give you two whole plantains and they are cooked to perfection (more cuban than mexican).
My family member got the Nachos Gabachos, which I have attached a picture of. It was impressive upon first sight, but it's the only thing we got that I feel I cannot truly rave about. The flavor was there, and it was good, but it was huge and since they had mixed everything together the nachos got soggy in short order, and by the same token the texture was the same throughout the entire dish, and every bite was just that... the same.... It needed more texture. It needed some differentiation so you could continue to appreciate it. However we did enjoy our experience, and the dish did get eaten... But I just wouldn't recommend it. I would however, recommend the restaurant
And this place is definitely hip.
Worth going to for sure :)