Cuisine type: traditional Mexican
Atmosphere: casual, lively
Meal: dinner
Overall score: 8
Nina
I got two dinner treats for my birthday - one on the day of, and a trip to Napa the following weekend. On the actual day we were in a bit of a rush to make it to a show, so we wanted to find somewhere with nicer food, but with a somewhat casual atmosphere and relatively fast service. Fiesta del Mar fit the description and was close enough to work that it was easy to get to. Even though we got there during the earlier part of the dinner shift, they were already quite busy and building a line of larger groups at the door. Fortunately, they had one more 2-person table available so we were seated right away.
We got a trio of salsas with fresh fried chips, and ordered a pair of margaritas that came quickly and were delicious, balanced and cold. The appetizer we shared was a chile relleno, roasted, peeled then poached in a spicy salsa and filled with a creamy cheese mixture. The waiter lured us to upgrade to the seafood filling; it was tasty but I would not necessarily consider it an enhancement to the original dish, which was creamy and delicious.
My entree was a chicken enjococado, designated as "Great Grandma's Special" on their menu. It was a pair of breast pieces drenched in an orange colored sour cream based sauce, made with roasted guajillo chiles and herbs. It was rich and filling, the meat moist and tender. The flavor was predominantly sour cream, with mild spice notes and definitely reminiscent of chicken tikka masala in style.
Since it was my birthday, i went ahead and ordered dessert even though the meal so far had been quite rich and the portions generous. I went for the flan, since it’s something I always enjoy and often crave. The presentation was beautiful, with a perfectly shaped truncated cone of flan plated in a pool of runny caramel sauce and drizzled with strawberry syrup. The flavor was good, with a hint of nutmeg that really elevated the dish. However, the flan was a little too dense for my taste, and the texture was a little stickier than I would have liked. I suspect this was probably from the use of condensed milk, which I’ve seen in Mexican recipes for flan, but I have to admit I prefer mine with whole milk or cream.
Overall, it was a wonderful birthday dinner, with delicious food, friendly service and lively atmosphere. And as an added bonus, we made the show just before tickets sold out, so it was a perfect night end to end.
My entree was a chicken enjococado, designated as "Great Grandma's Special" on their menu. It was a pair of breast pieces drenched in an orange colored sour cream based sauce, made with roasted guajillo chiles and herbs. It was rich and filling, the meat moist and tender. The flavor was predominantly sour cream, with mild spice notes and definitely reminiscent of chicken tikka masala in style.
Since it was my birthday, i went ahead and ordered dessert even though the meal so far had been quite rich and the portions generous. I went for the flan, since it’s something I always enjoy and often crave. The presentation was beautiful, with a perfectly shaped truncated cone of flan plated in a pool of runny caramel sauce and drizzled with strawberry syrup. The flavor was good, with a hint of nutmeg that really elevated the dish. However, the flan was a little too dense for my taste, and the texture was a little stickier than I would have liked. I suspect this was probably from the use of condensed milk, which I’ve seen in Mexican recipes for flan, but I have to admit I prefer mine with whole milk or cream.
Overall, it was a wonderful birthday dinner, with delicious food, friendly service and lively atmosphere. And as an added bonus, we made the show just before tickets sold out, so it was a perfect night end to end.
| Food | 8 |
| Drinks | 8 |
| Atmosphere | 8 |
| Service | 8 |
| Value | 8 |
Ben
A very popular mid-level Mexican restaurant in Mountain View, this place is packed around dinner time. Three fresh salsas are served on the table, with some housemade chips (tasty, but little thick/heavy for me). The appetizer (chile poblano stuffed with shrimp / cream cheese) was pretty good, though a little heavy on tomato. I really loved the Mole Poblano Burrito I had; the mole was great - a deep, smoky pepper flavor - and was an overall fantastic combination with the chicken and pepper. I love - but don’t eat a lot of - mexican food, and this place is definitely a little bit of a step above the generic spicy burrito I tend to eat.
The dishes are a little more complex, the ingredients are generally quality and fresh. The salsa is decent but not particularly memorable, the margarita was pretty good, not too sweet. The prices are about double the run-of-the-mill mexican places, some dishes are worth it, many probably not. My experience was overall very positive, though I was not blown away (to be fair, my expectations may have been raised from the generally rave reviews I had heard / read previously).
The dishes are a little more complex, the ingredients are generally quality and fresh. The salsa is decent but not particularly memorable, the margarita was pretty good, not too sweet. The prices are about double the run-of-the-mill mexican places, some dishes are worth it, many probably not. My experience was overall very positive, though I was not blown away (to be fair, my expectations may have been raised from the generally rave reviews I had heard / read previously).
| Food | 9 |
| Drinks | 8 |
| Atmosphere | 8 |
| Service | 8 |
| Value | 6 |
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