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Went there for Dinner on a Friday night and I have to say I'm impressed by the quality of the food and the reasonable prices. There's a great deal of variety and some creative New Mexican dishes. I'd go so far as to say this is the best New Mexican restaurant in the East Valley! Its not super spicy like Los Dos but there's a lot more flavor and you'll still feel the burn.
Pro's: The Food and Service
Con's: Ambiance & decor could use a little jazzing up, location is not ideal
I wanted Mexican food. I've been on a Mexican food kick. Nevermind that I had Rosa's on Friday. I wanted Mexican food on a new day - Saturday.
A good girlfriend of mine suggest Blue Adobe. It's close to your house, she said. I gave a mental shrug and thought, "why not?"
I had passed Blue Adobe many times on my way to the Mesa Arts Center and had always meant to try it. But each time I passed, it always looked closed. The dark windows they have are very deceptive my friend, very deceptive. Plus, the lack of cars in the parking lot always made me think they were closed, too!
So I pulled up. Then I saw the cars parked *behind* the building. OH!
Walked in and thought it was decorated quite tastefully, although their chairs leave a bit more to be desired.
Chips and salsa were good, I'll give them that. Service was good, too. I think it helped that my friend had been there several times. When she arrived, the server's eyes perked up - I kid you not! He clearly had seen her in there before.
I looked over the menu and realized it's NEW Mexican cuisine. Sorry, I'm not a fan of New Mexico food. When I want Mexican, I want MEXICAN. Don't give me Tex-Mex or New Mex shit.
So...strike one for them.
My friend got the beef lettuce wraps. She raved about how fabulous they were. I kept looking at her lettuce thinking, "It's freaking iceberg lettuce. How can you be happy with that?"
I ended up getting their salmon, lettuce and tomato sandwich...it came with fries. The dish was aight for me, but it didn't make me want to do my little happy dance. The bacon was nice. The salmon was nice...and their bread for it was a bit like a ... pita? I didn't pay attention to the bread, thinking it would be a regular ole type of sandwich bread. Nerp. Toast has more substance.
The bonus about the fries? They were unsalted.
I read all the laudatory reviews - best new cafe in 2007, blah blah blah. Culinary delight to the senses...yada yada yada.
I can sum it up with one letter in quick succession: ZZzzzzZzzzz
I'll give this place another shot some other time, but for now I'm gonna leave it be.
If you like New Mexican cuisine, this is the place fer ya. If you want down home plain ole Mexican food, stick to Rosa's (which is what I will do). And hell, should I ever decide I can't hold out on a Sunday for Mexican food because Rosa's is closed, I'll go to Rosita's. Yea, their lack of windows still has great issues for me, but I will take their food any day over Blue Adobe.
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I had a very yummy lunch yesterday. I opted for the pork adovada? I think that's what it was called. very tasty. my friend ordered their spinach salad w strawberries and pine nuts and that looked super tasty.
I have two complaints:
the ceiling and the seating arrangements.
The ceiling is really yucky and the air vents are surrounded by black stain. it makes you wonder when the last time they cleaned the filters to make the air stain the ceiling like that. and all of the crusty yellow spots crumbling away? ew.
The seats, way uncomfortable!!! really old chairs w no tush cushion and no booths. I think it's time for an upgrade!
and lastly, it would be nice to see some more friendly lunch prices- we split the bill down the middle and it came out to $16 each, that's a bit high. I won't be returning for lunch but I would go again for dinner...maybe. when I think about sitting in those awful chairs i give it a second thought.
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Ok, so after the scathing initial review, I went back. The food's just that good.
Service was MUCH better than my first visit. Granted, I've had better service at 3:00am in the Jack in the Box drive-thru than I got the first time around at Blue Adobe. It HAD to be better. Not great service, but acceptable.
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Here's the deal....
I go to restaurants for two things -- food, and service.
The food at Blue Adobe…
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Blue Adobe Grille was perfect! We wanted to try some where new on a friday night. There were some mixed reviews on here from others, but we went anyways. I'm truly glad that we did. Both my boyfriend and I loved what we ordered and we even had desert - pumpkin cremebrule it was so good! I highly recommend this place to anyone. The service was great, very helpful to us knowing that it was our first time there. Chips and salsa were outstanding, and all the drinks we ordered were perfect! Will go back frequently!
My family from New Mexico always asks me to take them here. I have not been let down once with their menu. I alway find something to hit the spot. Thinking of their food right now is making me hungry. The food is not HOT but has a nice spice. Great for out-of-towner's or just a local like me.
The series of 1 star reviews below is unfair, they place only has like 30 chairs in it total, in order to serve 30 people at one sitting, they would have to close the restaurant down. I wish there was a civil service requirement where everyone would have to work in a restaurant. The fact that these people assume they are the judges of east valley taste is ridiculous, I would hate to be around a table of 30 people all scheming to write bad reviews of the place their still in...
Enough ranting. The service here is very nice, the staff knows the place backwards and forwards and the decor is well kept and very Northern New Mexican. It's a little disconcerting from the outside, par for many great places in Mesa.
The food is spectacular. This is food that it takes time to make. Pecan wood smoked shrimp, pork abodova all take time and good ingredients to get right.
We did it right here. Had the New Mexican Corn Chowder to start, creamy and delicious. Margaritas are huge and very good.
For dinner I had the Taos platter, Tenderloin Rejeno, Shrimp Enchilada and smoked pork tamale. All of which were great. I am a huge eater and could not finish my plate.
We did have room for a glass of port, nice liquor selection btw and an order of their banana creme brule which was a nice end to a nice meal.
Great place, great way to ditch the sonoran mexican food blues. Unless you like Sonoran cheese and grease on a plate. These chips and salsa were great, verde salsa and multicolored corn chips. Yes!
Oh yeah, also very affordable, no dish is over $20, including the great steak my gf had.
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I wish I was rating this place higher. However, lack of follow through from management leaves me no choice.
Quick review: Got a big group? Don't bother calling and setting things up with Dianna. You'll feel like second-class citizens. It's sad, really.
I knew something was wrong when I called on Wednesday to try and see if this place could accommodate our #evfn (East Valley Friday Nights) group. When I asked the person if they could accommodate 30 people, he suggested I call back and speak with Dianna the next day. Odd, but OK.
When I spoke with Dianna on Thursday, I explained that we'd be bringing 30 people for a combination of dinner and drinks. She readily agreed that they could handle such a crowd, and said she would be happy to reserve A) a section of the bar and B) a group of tables contiguous to the bar, as not everyone would be eating dinner. Great. Sounds perfect, as some of us like to mingle, and setting us in one long table doesn't help with that.
When we arrived at the schedule time, we found four small round tables pressed together near the bar, where a grand total of three chairs were unoccupied. You do the math. 30 people it was NOT going to accommodate.
As the attendees began filing in -- and the space quickly filled -- we spoke to the management (possibly Dianna, though she never identified herself) and secured another table near us that was soon to vacate. Another four-top.
As our numbers quickly swelled to the promised 30, there simply wasn't room. And this was around 6:30, so it's not as if we were early. Some of our late arrivals grabbed an available table -- only to be rather rudely told by management that the table had been reserved and that she had "already informed them that there were no seats available.". Great. So much for making room for the 30 we had spoken about.
In the end, we called it short an hour into the evening. Having the bartender also act as our server was a huge mistake. The boy did what he could, but there was no way he could keep up with the growing bar patrons -- not our people -- and our swelling numbers. So everything was delayed -- including out trying to get the hell out of there so the place could return to normalcy. I'd not be surprised if some tabs went unpaid. Unfortunate if it happened, but patience only lasts for so long. And remember that they AGREED to allow us to bring the event to their establishment.
The kicker? When one of our attendees mentioned that things weren't going so well. Dianne's answer? "I told the man who called that we couldn't handle this size of a group, but you all decided to come anyhow!"
So in the end, the shitty review. You'll probably see more. Up front I said this was unfortunate. And it's true, for the food was excellent. I had chili rellenos and was quite impressed. However, I'll never go back to this place because of bad service. And mind you, all of this was pre-arranged. We never went over our promised 30 people. Hell, they couldn't handle us when we were less than 20. It's not even communication failure. It's follow through failure.
So feel free to try this group when it's a party of 2. Anything larger... you're on your own. And forget reservations. And abandon the idea of talking to Dianna. She obviously isn't anyone who can follow through.
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This was my second visit to Blue Adobe, and I won't be back. The first visit was for a family birthday dinner, about 10 people, and they had trouble coordinating our tables, goofed up our orders, and generally didn't seem to care about us much at all. But the food was tasty (once they got it right) so I thought I'd try again with the EVFN group.
Two of the staff seemed trying to help, but everyone else either ignored us or seemed inconvenienced by all of us ordering dinner and drinks. What a mess.
Now I know the service problem wasn't a fluke. It seems to be a restaurant living on a very good cook's skills in the kitchen, and those skills are the only reason it isn't getting a single star. For good New Mexican style food, I'd suggest Los Dos Molinos not too far away.
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One of the best restaurants in the East Valley. I've been going to Blue Adobe for about five years, and it's as good today as it was the first time I visited. The service is first rate and attentive, with seating prompt, and the restaurant is clean (including the bathrooms).
Blue Adobe is a great option for someone who likes Mexican but wants a healthier option. Nothing is smothered in cheese, is refried, or is greasy, even when fried. Portions are huge, but they aim for quality more than quantity.
My favorite dish the Adobe Salad (a large with added shrimp will put you back about $15, but it's worth every penny), made of baby greens, goat cheese, roasted red peppers, tortilla strips, and the most amazing and addictive orange/chipotle dressing and your choice of protein (tenderloin, shrimp, salmon, chicken, or none at all).
Another great dish worth mentioning are the tenderloin rellenos. Typical Mexican restaurant chili relenos are eggy with greasy filling; these are lightly breaded and filled with high quality cheese and meat. These rellenos hold their pepper shape well too; you won't find a chile flattened across your plate here.
The negatives: it can get kind of loud from conversation. I also thought their pizza was mediocre, but I think the pizza dishes aren't on the menu anymore.
Pay no attention to the rash of one-star reviews. Blue Adobe seats about 30-40; if the group had actually tried to make a reservation for a group that big, they'd have been told to rent the whole restaurant for the night. Shame on them for showing up with more people than promised and then flaming this review board.
But the food was excellent!
Too bad the service was so poor. I'd called earlier in the week (Sunday) and asked if the restaurant could handle a group of approximately 30 people from 6-8 on the following Friday. I was assured they could and that I should verify the reservation by Wednesday. They also suggested we choose from a shorter menu to expedite everything. Fine. The other organizer called to verify and was assured we were welcome.
I arrived early and found four round tops set aside for us, plus one end of the bar. We shoved the tables closer together hoping to get another one into that corner, but no such luck. The single waiter struggled to take drink orders and then food orders as half our group ended up standing and shuffling around other patrons attempting to get to the restroom. We did snag one more table but when we tried to get another one, a woman who I assumed was the manager asked those people to move - that table was reserved. (Though is was not used until much later as we tried to check out) A few of our group at the bar were at first told they couldn't order food, and another couldn't get water.
We realized they just couldn't hand us and tried to get our checks. I had to pay my drink order and my food order separately. Two people got their checks and the rest of us ended up standing in a line to pay our bills. Nobody helped this one poor waiter at all.
I realize we have a large group but we did call more than once in advance and were assured there wouldn't be a problem. When I mentioned to the manager that we were not please with the service she informed me that it was our fault, and that she'd warned us they were overbooked. Gee, I don't remember any conversation that went that way.
As far as I know, none of us had any complaints about the actual food though. I heard many compliments and my meal was very good. Its just that we were made to feel unwelcome, the service was very slow and the people at the bar seemed to have quite an attitude when our people tried to order anything but alcohol.
Don't say you can handle a large group and then drop the ball before we even get started.
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The food here is scrumptious, with an emphasis on seafood, south-of-the-border spiciness and some special touches from the chef. I highly recommend the green chile lobster dip as an appetizer--truly my favorite dip ever (the fresh fried flour tortilla chips don't hurt.) From there, it doesn't seem you can go wrong. Plenty of entrées to choose from, running the gamut from burgers to enchiladas to various fish. A couple of veg options. The green salsa is pitch-perfect. There are specials on the board when you walk in. I've always finished just full enough to not want dessert (though I could say I perpetually want sopapillas) but not needing to take home leftovers.
From the outside, the restaurant doesn't look very promising, with its shabby exterior, location next to a paint-ball club on a ghetto stretch of Country Club Road (though which part of this road isn't ghetto?). Inside, the ambiance changes to comfortable, well-lit and nicely decorated. Enter and it will be worth your while. (Only caution is to open both left and right taps at bathroom sink or risk getting scalded)
I've gone to this location twice and haven't ever had trouble getting seating for two. Likewise I've enjoyed good service. It seems there have been multiple reservation fiascos because they haven't figured out how to handle larger crowds, which is a pity. I have yet to try their Scottsdale location but will report on it soon.
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Having arranged our large group in advance, we were given 1/2 the space we needed, the restaurant itself was uncomfortably warm, and the service was awful - to put it nicely.
After not being allowed to sit at one of the four open tables, several of us sat at the bar next to other patrons (not with our group) who were drinking and eating. When we mentioned to the bartender, whose attention it took almost 15 minutes to get, that we would like to order, he was clearly put out at the prospect of having to deal with it.
A few minutes later when I asked for a glass of ice water, the bartender said "NO. Not at the BAR".
When our food came, it was delicious (although one of the orders was wrong).
In general the entire staff at the restaurant seemed put upon by our group.
It's a shame, really, because the food was delicious. Pretty sure I won't be returning to Blue Adobe Grill.
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I was among the large group several other reviewers mentioned that visited Blue Adobe Grille. The points they made in their reviews were right on the money. Because of that, I'll keep this short and add just a few more.
The one server taking care of the group was hit and miss. He paid attention to some and seemed to ignore others. I was encouraging him to go around the table to take each order but instead would take one at a time back to the kitchen, and ignore others as he was walking away. Not very efficient. Still, he was trying, so I'll give him that. One of the two stars above goes to him.
I shared a chicken quesadilla and bean queso dip appetizer. Nothing complicated, but it WAS good. The plates others had looked appetizing also - when and if they ever got them. That accounts for the second star.
The manager, walked up to me at one point near the end of our visit. I was standing by our assigned 4 tables chatting with another person in our group. In an annoyed voice she said, "I'm going to have to ask you to not crowd the other tables." I was 3 feet away from the next table - I counted the tiles on the floor just to make sure. Is 3 feet considered crowding?
Those three blank stars? Lack of follow-through, lack of service and lack of accountability by the manager.
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First off, to that group of 30 who had such a bad experience and are now piling on the 1-star reviews: I'm sorry you had such a bad experience. You did your best to alert them to the size of your group and your needs, and they let you down. I get that. But piling on a ton of 1-star reviews, especially when most of you enjoyed your food, is over the top. IMHO there should be a single review for your entire group. But I digress.
I've been to this place 3-4 times now, and it has never disappointed. The food has always been fresh and flavorful, and from what I'm told, it's truly authentic New Mexico-style. The service has always been prompt and friendly. The only thing I don't care for is the noise - the place has a concrete floor and metal (low) ceiling, and it gets quite loud.. but not loud enough to subtract a star, the food and service makes up for it. Give it a try, and unless you have a huge group that overwhelms, I'll bet you love it.
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The chips and salsa, margaritas, and every dish I've ordered here has been fantastic.
I use to travel to Phoenix for work every now and again and would make a point teach trip to visit the Blue Adobe. Fabulous New Mexican and Tex-Mex, and the service is very friendly.
The occupancy varies. Some nights, we'd be one of only a few parties, and other nights it would be quite crowded. I've never had to wait for a table and have never made a reservation.
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I've been here quite a few times, as my family that comes in from out of town loves the place. They're very savvy when it comes to New Mexican cuisine and they say Blue Adobe's excellent.
One time I ordered their special which was some sort of salmon taco plate. Boy it was seriously one of the best things I'd ever eaten at any (New) Mexican restaurant period.
Another time I ordered the standard taco plate which was pretty good but not fantastic, but then again it's just tacos so I don't know what I was expecting. I've also ordered some of their spicier meat plates which have all been good.
Plates run anywhere from $11-$20, with most of them falling somewhere right in the middle of that bracket. It's not a cheap Southwest fare restaurant by any means. Although it's good I don't know if it warrants $16 a plate.
The one thing that really turns me off is how bad the acoustics are in the restaurant. It gets EXTREMELY noisy in there, so much so that you can't even hear the people you're sitting with as they're screaming at you from across the table. I went here for my birthday with my mother and fiance recently and it turned out to be a huge headache because none of us could hear one another talk. I think because the place is just a large open room with cement floors and no partitions makes the sound bounce like crazy. I've tried sitting in all areas of the restaurant, and unfortunately you can't escape the noise.
That alone will probably keep me from going back again, but I wouldn't let it dissuade anyone from checking it out. Just be forewarned that if you go when they're busy, you're bound to get an earful.
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Am I blue? Only in a good way... as in the BLUE ADOBE GRILLE variety, baby! This is one of those restaurants that serves REAL southwestern (New Mexico style) cuisine... not some chain themed thang. Naw, this is the real deal.
I have only visited the Mesa location, and while its not much from the outside, its got everything you need on the inside. Like the Prickly Pear Margarita for starters -- sweet and refreshing on a hot summer evening. I had the Tango something or other... which is not currently shown on their website menu. It included a mushroom enchilada that was to die for, as well as some fresh zucchini and carrots julienned and I believe a polenta/seafood thang which was scrumptious. Their salsa is down-right addictive!
Service is excellent. I will be back without a doubt. Website and menu design needs help.
http://blueadobegrille.../
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Blue Adobe is a little blue sapphire in the rough!
The service was prompt and courteous. The complementary chips and salsa were yummy....but I wish they had a hot salsa option. I went for lunch, and had the portobello mushroom enchalada with rice and beans. The enchalada was very rich with Adobe cream sauce and cheese. It had a very unique flavor....oddly familiar. I couldn't pin point it until I asked. It was ameretto. Ahhh!! That's it! The ameretto added a distinct flavor, but I think it was almost overpowering. Just a tad less would've been nice! The rice and (pinto) beans were flavored to perfection!
The New Mexican cuisine was a delight! Enjoy!
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To simply label this another variety of Mexican restaurant would be disingenuous. On any given night when it's cooler you can smell the Pecan wood burning in the grill when you drive past. The menu is labeled by the owners as "New Mexican" cuisine, and can pass just about any sort of snob test for its price range and even a bit higher- although the facade of the building and the overall feel of the place is a bit downscale.
The salsa is medium with a genuine smoky flavor, the salads are fantastic with European style Goat and Mexican Cotija cheeses, and the Chicken and Pork entrees are far and away better , and more original, than anything you will find in a shopping center close the I-10. If you choose something other than the normal Southwestern style fare: Enchilada/Relleno/ Chimichanga (which are good), you will most likely be treated to the taste of a real pecan fire. For dessert try a Southwestern Tiramasu- Wow.
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Solid restaurant, I went here b/c it was close the Mesa Arts Center ([rave] that place is awesome! [/rave]) and was pretty pleased with the experience. I'd heard good things about it on Chowhound, and so was expecting solid food. They have a very New Mexican menu that seems to be heavy on the seafood special. I got the blue crab enchilada and was quite pleased with the flavors and freshness of the sauce and rice, while the enchilada itself was literally stuffed with tender, moist crab. I also had a delicious prickly pear margarita.
The atmosphere is kind of interesting: the decor is surprisingly stylish, with the specials written in chalk on several big boards on the wall, and an inviting, pleasing palette of colors throughout. The open layout was kind of funky, and I was a bit disappointed there were no booths in the entire place. You could tell they didn't have a huge remodeling budget when they opened, but they did pretty well with what they had. The neighborhood isn't great, but I don't hold that against the place. I do think the time is ripe for a West Mesa revival, a la 7th and Melrose or the Sunnyslope area. You heard it here first... (I really need to get a blog again)
Overall, a good-to-great experience, and I'll definitely plan on going there again prior to MAC shows, but I doubt I would drive out to downtown Mesa to eat there again just for itself. It's not quite a standout in a pretty crowded genre, but it's certainly a solid choice for those in the area.
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I did enjoy this place. The chips and salsa were good and the wait staff was nice. This place gets super loud and I don't know why, it was kinda frustrating. I got the chimichanga, it was good and the beans and rice were fantastic but the chimi was super greasy. It even formed a noticable pool of grease on my place. That was kinda sick but its still tasted good. Blue Adobe is a bit pricey for what it is but I would go back there again.
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Had lunch here again yesterday. The outside of the building is deceiving, as the interior is nicely decorated and offers a dark, modern, comfortable atmosphere. The menu is unique and exciting. They offer lunch sized portions and heartier dinner sized portions.
Their southwest pork tenderloin (i think it was a dinner special one night) was a real treat, and the chimis are perfection. Definitely request their "hotter" salsa.
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Blue Adobe is a favorite of mine. I have been coming here for years and loved it every time. The… Read more »
Lucky for my hubby and I, the first New Mexican restaurant that we were going to go to was closed so we ended up at Blue Adobe. The previous Yelpers warned me not to worry about the neighborhood and exterior of the building so we didn't and proceeded. It was a wonderfully clean and smelled intoxicating!
I ordered the green chile chicken corn chowder and the lobster tamale and portabella mushroom enchilada with an amaretto mushroom cream sauce. The corn chowder was fantastic! It was presented beautifully and was delicious. Okay, enough of that...let me say that I can't imagine ever ordering anything but that mushroom enchilada again!!! The mushrooms were perfectly sauteed in butter and the amaretto sauce is something I never would have dreamed up. Incredible!
My husband ordered the Red Chile Pork Posole soup and a combo platter that had a bunch of different stuff on it that I couldn't pay any attention to. I was too full even before finishing my own meal. He did say that it was really good and would come back again.
Oh yeah, the Peach sangria was the strongest sangria I've ever had. It had peach schnapps in it...a lot! Well worth $7.00.
If you're in the mood for some delicious New Mexican food, THIS is the place to go! The portion sizes seem small, but in reality, they're perfect; especially following a round of yummy chips and salsa. As an appetizer, we ordered a Mexican pizza with green chilis (not on the menu, but pretty much a staple anywhere), which was a great way to start off the meal. As an entree, I ordered the beef chimichanga. The beans and rice were fantastic; lots of flavor, and the chimichanga was amazing! It was nice and crisp, and the beef was shredded perfectly (no chunks, gross...). For a table of four, the prices were good, and the service was even better. We had a fantastic waiter who was very much on top of everything we needed, and was very fast. One recommendation: make sure to make a reservation. We didn't have a reservation and ended up waiting about an hour before being seated.
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Really enjoyed this meal. Great service. The chips were good and the salsa was very tasty. The margarita on the rocks was pretty good. The stacked enchiladas with grilled pecan shrimp were very good. I would definitely return to try some other items on the menu.
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Great food and Ive never been there with more than 6 people so my service experiences have been top notch.
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This was the first restaurant we tried when we moved to Arizona. It was absolutely delicious. This place serves New Mexico cuisine, which is a world away from your average Mexican food oozing in cheese and red sauce.
The carne adovada sliders are to die for! The slow cooked spicy meat is nestled between a fried tortilla cut to look like little burger sliders. It's served on top of a bed of lettuce and is enough food to be a meal than just an appetizer. My husband consistently order the Jala Holla steak with its jalapeno hollandaise sauce. My friend loved her green chili crab dip served with fresh tortilla chips. This place has pretty good fresh fruit margaritas. I really loved the mango margaritas!
I really liked the one in Mesa, but the neighborhood borders on sketchy. I tried the one in Scottsdale when it first opened and it wasn't as good as the Mesa branch. However, when we moved to North Phoenix, we settled on going to the one on Frank Lloyd Wright. The chef owner is very pleasant and has remembered us in both locations!
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Several of our friends just LOVE this place. But our experience has been just so-so. In fact, similar to Mike W.s.
We brought our kids -- who are very well-behaved and restaurant savvy I must add -- and the service was cool-to-just plain rude. You would think they would realize a big tip was possible what with us ordering almost $100 in food!
But noooo...
Anyway, the food was good, but since I can get pretty defensive when it comes to my kids, I probably won't go here again.
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'It's Mexican food captain, but *not* as we know it. I was introduced to this place many years ago and I keep coming back because the food is good and I've never found another place quite like it. The flavors are a little different than what I'm used to. This is New Mexican food as in that state next door, not New as in nouveau or anything pretentious like that. The speicals are usually decent but I'm a sucker for my old standbys. The spooning rellenos plate and the Sante Fe which is a sort of mix and match create our own which I always get with a chile relleno, a cheese enchilada and either a beef taco or a beef tamale. Mmm!
They have two sorts of sauces that get draped over stuff, red and green. Green is spicy. Red is hot. If you don't like hot, don't say I didn't warn you. I always order it on the side. It feels a little bit prissy but that way I don't have to deal with too much sauce if I don't feel like it. And hell, I'm the one who has to eat it and pay for it, so I want it how I want it.
I'm surprised at the reviews for bad service as I've always had good service there. I must just be so charming that people go out of their way to be nice to me. Yeah that's it! So if you go, remember to be charming, and bring your Visa card.. because they .. oh wait, they do? Nevermind.
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A great find. One of our new favorites, the Santa Fe style food here is some of the best to be found in the valley. The atmosphere inside is quite charming and our server was attentive and friendly. Highly recommended.
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A pleasant Oasis of quality, affordable Mexican cuisine smack-dab in the middle of fast-food hell, I found The Blue Adobe to be a refreshing break from the seemingly endless array of franchise-clones that plague every corner of the greater Mesa area.
My first visit to Blue Adobe was immediately following a 14 hour drive from San Francisco with my ladyfriend Tassie and two drugged-out cats that somehow managed to howl most of the way down. We were tipped off to the place by another colleague of mine that had moved to Sun Valley about three years prior. I was a little worried when I saw the establishments Howard-Johnson's style exterior, but all fears evaporated when we entered what I consider to be a first class effort at creating a great dining environment, and doing so without exuding the slightest bit of pretentiousness.
The menu was pretty interesting too....it was creative without resorting to obnoxious San Francisco-style creativity where the menu description gives little clue as to what you'll be served. To the contrary...the menu did a great job of describing traditional Mexican fare, skillfully presenting additional nuances that came across as tempting details rather than vague liabilities.
The food was great...tasty, and with several marks of distinctions that set it apart from anything else I've had in the Mesa area. Skillful presentation, creative seasonings, and the absence of excessive fat were among it's strong points.
We went here twice, and both times we sung it's praises. But Tassie returned here with her relatives one day, and not all went well. The staff was friendly as usual till one party showed up with a infant/toddler. It took eons to get a high-chair, and from that point on the level of service went from warm-and-fuzzy to cold-and-distant. I still give it thumbs up for grownups....but reports from afar tell me that this place is anything but kid-friendly.
People thought this was:
Great little restaurant for any occasion. It's comfortable inside and the staff is very personable. They make Patron margaritas and the salsa is tasty. I've only had the Chimichilada ... but that's because once you taste the amaretto mushroom cream sauce, you won't want anything else.
Surprisingly good. Didn't look like much on the outside, or inside but the food was good, but the service can be suspect
Mesa does not have a lot of fine dining, so Blue Adobe is really a gem. I love the Vegetarian Chimichange and the fish tacos. But perhaps my favorite part of the meal is the dinner salad. They really know how to put together greens. I highly recommend the entire experience.
People thought this was:
This place is great, It was the first place i dined when I moved to the valley and i continue to go back. The food is outstanding and the service is great. I always get the enchiladas and my girlfriend always goes with the salmon. She always says its the best fish in town, and after trying it she is right. If you want great food and service at a reasonable price go with the blue adobe. Also, they have some of the best chips and salsa.
Blue Adobe Grill isn't bad, but somehow, I'd prefer a chain Mexican food restaurant over this place. Weird huh?
I don't know, maybe it's the mix of Mexican/Southwestern food items and the way they add corn to everything- yick. But there's just something about this place I don't like.
My advice is to skip it if you already have some great Mexican spots that you really like going to.
People thought this was:
great chips and salsa, had the lobster tamale gf had the salmon something or other. everything was tasty and spicy. great service
Mesa, AZ
Category: Mexican
Mesa, AZ
Category: Restaurants
Mesa, AZ
Category: American (Traditional)
Tempe, AZ
Category: Mexican
Mesa, AZ
Category: Mexican
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