We ate at Mexico Lindo for the first time last night. It’s a new restaurant here in Charlottetown on University Avenue right across from Metro Credit Union. We’d heard mixed reviews from others, about 50% good and 50% bad. Here are my impressions.
Pros: the Mexican chef is incredibly nice and attentive (he paid particular attention to Oliver which, as regular readers will know, is a plus in my world); our waiter was pleasant, had a command of Spanish (or was a good actor), and was generally attentive; there was a nice tangy salsa served with the complimentary corn chips; the refried beans (usually a monotonous weak spot on the menu) were fantastic and served at just the right temperature; Catherine’s steak was cooked exactly to her liking; the tequilla mousse that I had for dessert was served hot and was very interesting; the after dinner mints were high quality.
Bothers: the parking is precarious and hard to locate, as is the entrance to the restaurant itself; the host forgot to give us menus and I had to get up and get them myself; the complimentary corn chips were cold and thick and too greasy; silverware management was weak and I ended up without proper dessert tools.
Cons: the rice served with both Catherine’s meal and mine was bland and served cold; my enchilada was cold and uninspiring; the sauce on Catherine’s steak wasn’t all that tasty; the deep fried ice cream wasn’t anything to write home about; our server overcharged us by $8.00 on the check (credit to the host for catching the error).
Taste-wise it’s important to mention that the host warned us that the chef would, unless otherwise instructed, serve the dishes without a lot of spicy heat; it’s our own fault for not requesting something more than “no spice at all.”
Mexican food approach-wise, if our meals were anything to judge by, there’s a commendable attempt to avoid the Pat & Willys / Lone Star / Taco Bell school of Mexican food (serve really huge portions of a generic tomato-based ricey dish and hope nobody notices).
While many components of the experience came off well, there was a certain “we just opened and we’re not really sure what we’re doing” quality about the place; this is understandable, as they just opened, and they probably don’t know what they’re doing.
We’ll go back. But we agreed that it would be hard to recommend to anyone else just yet, and we wouldn’t take anyone from out of town there, at least until things move up a notch or two.
I’d welcome reports from others.
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Comments
We will have to try. I
We will have to try. I think the attempt in itself is daring and I hope the location does not pose too great a difficulty. While I do not have great expereince with real Mexican food - or even bad Mexican food - someone willing to try is well worth support. By the way, you are having a bad streak of rice luck what with your disappointment with the Harp and Thistle’s basmati. Did you get your hands on Thai red rice?
Being neighbors to Mexico
Being neighbors to Mexico Lindo and having eaten there quite a number times I feel I should respond to some of the comments to give a different point of view.
I have heard nothing but good things from Mexico Lindo. People seem to tell me their thoughts all the time (for some reason - probably because we’re neighbors). The chef from the Delta was there the other night and said that Mel (the chef) was the best mexican chef east of Montreal.
They do have a parking sign out by the entrance, however due to city bylaws, this sign isn’t allowed to be any bigger. The size of your signage is determined by the amount of street frontage you have and unfortunatly, they don’t have much. A hop, skip and a jump will take you from one end to the other.
The corn chips, as well as the salsa (mild and hot. If you like hot, ask for it or you’ll get mild), are made in-house and are not your regular, run of the mill corn chips that you would buy at Sobeys.
I am guessing that you had the steak with the green pepper sauce. I infact quite enjoy that sauce and this is more of a matter of opinion then taste. I don’t care for any seafood dishes, it’s not that I don’t find them tastey, I just don’t like seafood.
I agree that you must ask for your food to be spiced up if thats what you want. When they first opened I believe the food was a lot spicer but they had some comments that it was too spicey, so they’ve softened the taste to a more general PEI taste level. The salsa we had on opening day caused flames to shoot out of our mouths for hours after we ate there.
I say go give it a try and order some of the real Mexican dishes. They’ve got a couple of dishes for which the chef’s won awards.
For dessert I recommend the “Flan”. If you don’t like the Flan, come next door to the office and I’ll personally reimburse you the cost!
I recommend the Flaming
I recommend the Flaming Bananas. The are delicious and you get to meet Mel as he comes out and cooks them in front of you!
I was visiting P.E.I. not
I was visiting P.E.I. not long ago and I did have the chance to go to this place, (MEXICO LINDO) and let me tell you , this guy is definitely not the best chef east of Montreal, I did hate the food, and the place is poorly decorated, service was bad, and for that price, well….. I warn you is not a place that I would recommend for Mexican food, and I am a Mexican-Canadian living in Montreal, so I know my Mexican food, if you are into TEX-MEX it’s ok, but if you are a real Mexican food lover , forget it! I would rather go to Taco Bell, thanks,
Manuel.
Several of my friends and I
Several of my friends and I visit Mexico Lindo at least once a week. It offers an amazing atmosphere, whether your looking for a romantic evening or a night out with the girls. With friendly and courteous staff, Mexico Lindo has a wide variety of classic mexican dishes, and the deep fried icecream (Island Fantasy!) is to die for! With prices that can’t be beat, bright, creative decorations, and good food, Mexico Lindo is an overall good eating experience!
I eat regularly at Mexico
I eat regularly at Mexico Lindo and rarely hear of any complaints regarding the food or service. I feel it is hardly fair to condemn the chef for lack of spice in the dishes if you were forewarned. In fact there are dishes on the menu that are specifically noted as being hot and spicy.
For a real treat I recommend the mussels. I have had several friends try them and they were extremely pleased!
My greatest recommendation, however, is not to let someone else’s tastes be your guide to eating. Why not let your tastebuds be the judge and give Mexico Lindo a try!
My wife and I ate at Mexico
My wife and I ate at Mexico Lindo recently. I am a PEI native and not very educated in Mexican food. That being said, I enjoyed the Chimmy Changas, salsa, atmosphere, and especially the deepfried ice cream. My wife lived in California all her life until 1 year ago. She has had extensive experience with Mexican food and said that it would be a very high end restaraunt in California and probably charging twice the price. She said the Mole sauce was the best she has had, and the sals was escellent. She found the guacamole a little lacking in cilantro, but admitted that it was a personal taste issue. All in all we give it a 9.5/10. Highly recomended
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