| rev:text
| - I'm not sure I see the appeal of La Mestiza.
I've been twice now, once with a group of friends and once with my girlfriend, and both times I left with a lot to be desired. The atmosphere is agreeable, with a small selection of tables/booths and a quiet social feel. If there's any plusses that would be the biggest one. Most Mexican restaurants that I've been to in my life have been either noisy, basic, or non-traditional, and La Mestiza definitely gets points for having it's own style. As you walk in, they have the entrance blocked off by stage-like curtains, and the overall dining area is peaceful. One of the first things you'll encounter after sitting down is their lovely chips and salsas, which are delicious as others mentioned. There's something sweet in taste about the chips, and the green salsa is probably the only of it's kind that I've ever enjoyed.
Now that the good part's out of the way, let me tell you why I'm giving La Mestiza only 3 stars. First, they are extremely overpriced. The drinks and appetizers are reasonable, but almost every meal is $12-18, and for Mexican food that's just too much. If it were something I was impressed with, I'd be a little more generous in this area, but for food that came off as incredibly bland, this price is not something I can settle with. I've tried their first chicken dish on the menu (can't remember the name), the tamales, and their enchiladas. All of these selections had a very basic description, but once they were served you found yourself with a meal that was chock full of ingredients and smothered in unfamiliar sauces. My first Chicken dish had a handful of things I'd rather not eat, and so I had to basically take a few bites and then resort back to the free chips. The other two entrees were just bland, with a giant dumping of brown mole sauce and white unknown sauce slathered over all of it. I ended up cleaning my plate for both of those, but that just left me uncomfortably full and not satisified because there wasn't anything tasty about them.
Taste buds are different for everyone though, and seeing all the positive reviews here makes me think that maybe others just hit something that suit them. That said, I tried 3 dishes and they don't have a ton to begin with, so I'm still skeptical. There's also no hot sauce or flavor sauce of any kind, something that is a MUST for me at a Mexican restaurant.
Service was questionable. At first, it seems very personal, as there are few people in the restaurant and the waitresses come off as polite and prompt. But the politeness seems fake; both my girlfriend and I were like "what the hell is her deal?" almost the entire time, both times. Both waitresses read the options and specials off in a really robotic manner, and while they showed all the usual signs of courtesy, there was just something a bit off. I don't know how to explain it, and we certainly were in good moods both times so it wasn't something that we carried over from a previous activity.
It might have something to do with the patrons. The typical customer seems to be either older middle-aged white westside parents with a dose of snooty, or business women out for a work lunch. I guess if I was serving that type of clientel all day, I'd be putting on a front as well. Then again, maybe we just hit a string of bad luck.
So in the end I can't recommend La Mestiza. While there is truly a drought of good Mexican in Madison, this place just doesn't have enough shine to fill the gap. If you want good Mexican, drive to Milwaukee and go to the soutside. You'll get your money's worth, you'll be full, and you'll have a big smile on your face.
And for pete sakes, at least put some Cholula on the table.
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