I stopped in Bakersfield based on yelp! Reviews when I needed a quick lunch. I was able to walk to the restaurant from the convention center and was quickly seated at the bar. The environment of the restaurant is trendy/hipster with lots of wood, exposed brick and iron embellishments. I was somewhat surprised that this was a taco/modern Mexican joint since nothing about the name, atmosphere or staff seemed to reflect the food.
We ordered the chips and queso and I got the Willie salad. The chips were crisp and salty, just like I like them. The queso was not spicy and lacked flavor, but if you are looking to fill your cheese fix, this will do it. My salad was really incredible and huge--I wasnt able to finish it after filling up on the chips so I was sad to leave it behind. There was a good emphasis on fresh ingredients, which I always appreciate.
The only reason I was not able to give Bakersfield a full 5 stars was the service. We sat at the bar, right in front of the draft beer, in hopes of quick and efficient service since we were on a time crunch. This was a Saturday afternoon and the bar was moderately busy. The bar tender must was been new because he wasn't familiar with the menu or ingredients. But he was also pretty slow and lacked attention. My water glass sat empty and in clear view most of my meal and until I waved someone down and asked for a refill. I'm sure this could be a fluke, but it certainly impacted my experience.