Items Tasted:
Tamarindo Agua Fresca
Jamaica Agua Fresca
Housemade Chips and Salsa
Complimentary Mini Quesadilla Appetizer
Shrimp with Scallops, Peppers, Onions and Cheese served with Refried Beans, Rice and Salad
Molcajete el Chupy's with Carne Asada, Chicken, Shrimp, Nopales, Avocado, Cheese, Cambray Onions, and Jalapeno Peppers served with Refried Beans and Salad
Shrimp Aguachile with Onions, Cucumber and Lemon
Carnitas Burrito with Beans, Rice, Lettuce, Tomato, Sour Cream and Red Sauce served with Rice and Salad
Mixed Fajitas with Beef, Shrimp and Chicken served with Guacamole, Pico de Gallo, Refried Beans and Rice
Recently opened at 5795 West Tropicana Avenue, the former location of an Indian Restaurant that has been lightened up and rebranded with a Mexican Menu, it was with friends that dinner was enjoyed on Saturday at Chupy's Mexican Restaurant, the sizable space yet to catch on but likely only due to a lack of advertising as the flavors tend quite authentic with good prices for this style of Cuisine on the West Side.
Owned by a husband and wife couple out of California, the Chef formerly splitting time between four locations on the West Coast before moving his family to Las Vegas, it was just past 7pm that the party of four sat down at a table near the bar where Agua Fresca's are currently made and kept alongside soda, a liquor license yet to arrive but reportedly on the way though apparently tied up by Sin City's lengthy wait list.
Redecorated with backlit Mariachis, character painted walls and old photos of Mexico, the overhead music appropriate and not overly loud with a festive feel, it was shortly after seats were taken that both the restaurant Manager and Chef stopped by to offer their greetings, a laminated menu displaying several plates visually with several dozen choices including choices as traditional as Aguachile and Molcajete all the way to Nachos, Tacos and Fajitas.
Carefully balancing authenticity with broad appeal, the fact that everything save for Desserts are made in house daily speaking of ownership not looking to cut corners in winning over a crowd, it was prior to orders being placed that a large basket of Housemade Tortilla Chips were presented warm alongside Salsa with a medium amount of heat, the quality of both impressive compared to most Off-Strip spots while a complimentary Quesadilla Appetizer was pretty standard stuff, though the toasty Flour Tortilla was quite fluffy despite being pan-seared around Cheese.
Not dissuaded by the lack of Margaritas, though certainly many do come to a Mexican Restaurant with expectations of such, it was instead with Water and two Agua Frescas that the Meal was enjoyed, the uncarbonated Hibiscus Flower version mild like herbal Tea while the pale Tamarind drink was fruity and refreshing between bites including a starting duo of Shrimp and Scallops served in white-hot porcelain with Cheese, Peppers and Onions served alongside the equally sizzling Molcajete filled with a Tomato-based Sauce heavy with Chiles as well as Garlic below a rim ringed in Beef, Shimp, Chicken, Cactus and Cheese.
Serving well-seasoned Mexican Rice and scratch-made Refried Beans with most plates, the latter showing a lot of care in terms of texture and flavor with great smoothness and just a touch of Cumin and Salt, it was with the first two plates still being enjoyed that a jumbo Burrito stuffed with Chorizo and all the traditional fixings was served next to Aguachiles so spicy and clean that one may assume that they have crossed the border, the Chef even going so far as to leave the tails on as they do in Mexico City which, although authentic, may come as a surprise to less experienced or unsuspecting diners.
Rounding things out with a Mixed Fajita platter, the choice of housemade Corn or Flour Tortillas a nice touch with everything on the sizzling plate meeting the same high standard as those before it, it was after hearing that Desserts were thus far outsourced that the decision was made to end the meal with a bit more of the Burrito, the smoky Red Sauce having at this point penetrated deeply with both the Rice and Meat inside well saturated and all the better for it.
***1/2: Just starting to get up to speed, the failure to secure a liquor license prior to opening and virtually no social media presence to speak of seemingly rookie mistakes for someone with previous Restaurant experience, Chupy's shows a lot of promise for those seeking both Authentic and "Americanized" Mexican Food from a kitchen and ownership that so far seems committed to doing things right.