My friend and I wanted to try this relatively new upscale Mexican (less than a year old) restaurant nearby the Roseville Galleria mall. The blurb I had read promised innovative and authentic cuisine. We ordered a variety of items and while everything was OK, nothing stood out as spectacular or crave-worthy. There were also some issues with temperature. 411 on the food: Our order:Salsa (four offerings) and chips $5Nachos ($10)Chicken Tacos ($16) -served with refried beans and rice) Steak with chimichuri sauce) $37; also with beans and rice MocktailChurros with caramel and Mexican chocolate sauce ($11) I was a little baffled with the salsa platter. Not sure why the pickled red onions were there (after reading the reviews it's also a salsa, but one you need a fork for...) One of the salsas was roaring hot, none were particularly enjoyable. The chips were stone cold and thick cut yellow corn, but despite these flaws were not bad. The nachos used the same chips with refried beans, the green salsa, and an unusual pinkish orange cheese sauce garnished with crema and Cotija cheese. We agreed the cheese sauce was strange in appearance and taste. It was also congealed and cold. If we ate around the cheese, the other elements were fine. But isn't the cheese sauce the main point of nachos? Entrees arrived and this aspect was my favorite. I tried to pick up my taco and the tortilla fell apart, so it is a knife and fork taco. Odd but it tasted good. However, be aware you are getting four tiny street tacos. The chicken was marinated with a delicious flavor (I'm guessing tequila and lime) but the total protein was probably one chicken tenderloin. The toppings- romaine, cilantro, red onion, pico served on the side- tasty. I make my own pico de gallo (Roma tomatoes, red onion, cilantro, jalapeño, line juice, and salt) and I've had people rave about it, and I'm just going to say...mine is better and I don't run a restaurant. That being said, I was a member of the clean plate club. My friend enjoyed her steak and sauce, which looked delicious, so I was happy for her. We both agreed the sides - refried beans were tasty but also not warm when arrived- and the rice tasted like just rice. After one bite- not worth the carbs. We indulged in the churros for dessert and agreed the Mexican chocolate sauce for dipping was incredible. The churros were tasty, but I thought a bit too greasy. There was an ample ring of oil on the churro perimeter which indicates the oil temp for frying was too low. But, they were freshly made and we enjoyed the sweet end to our meal. The atmosphere: I had made a reservation and was able to choose patio seating or indoors. The indoor seating is rather dark and has loud music. There were lights added as it got dark lending a disco vibe. I went with the patio even though it was 92 degrees F in Roseville in the evening. 10 degrees higher than my 'hood in S. Sac...the asphalt and no trees thing definitely hits here. Since we were a party of two we were placed way at the edge, very far from the fans outdoors....and it didn't really cool us down. However, I definitely preferred the outdoors as my friend and I wanted to catch up and we can talk a LOT...and the music was lower volume outdoors. The space is dominated by a huge bar which I'm sure offers the 60 plus tequilas they specialize in. The front staff was very cordial. Our waitress was phenomenal and made our dining experience stellar. So the service aspect is definitely there. Our complaint (and my friend and I agreed) is that the food was not outstanding. There were issues with temperature and the taste profiles were not what we expected, particularly with the appetizers. The service was great, the restaurant was run well, the restrooms were spotless. The environment is not conducive for quiet conversation but seems perfect for a convivial group enjoying lots of drinks with a side of food. The voices definitely got loud as the night went on. I know my Mexican brother in law would be laughing at what we paid for dinner, but we had an overall good experience but it's not likely we would come back for dinner. Looks like a perfect place for Happy Hour and the patio is a great asset to this location.
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"We go to the Saigon Alley by our house Natomas area ! Came here the food is just as good .Ambiance is great !Service was on point Will be back anytime in the downtown area"
"I've always wanted to try this place but was never really a priority because I hate pretentious semi 3rd world food.If I can go to a street taco guy for tacos and get them for $2, why would I consider paying more?That being said, this place is actually mostly worth it. Although a still on the pricier side, it could have been worse, but the food was actually delicious.The whole table got the taco combo, which is 4 tacos of two different types of meat for a little more than if you got 3 of the same tacos. Come with a nice sized side of rice and beans making the meal actually filling....even though the tacos are tiny.The aguachile was amazing. Although I wish they would cut up the shrimp into smaller pieces. When you're sharing and the entire thing had massive pieces of whole shrimp it kind of makes it difficult to share. Flavor was awesome though. So much so that we were scooping the juice into our tacos.Salsas were nice although I felt like none had any real heat to them.At Happy Hour prices, this place is amazing and would highly recommend to try. At regular price it's a nice place to dine with a good intimate ambiance, but without wrecking your wallet."
