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La Sirenita Restaurant
- Price Range:
-
$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Good for:
- Lunch
- Alcohol:
- Beer & Wine Only
4 reviews for La Sirenita Restaurant
This place is out of the way, but we stopped in on our way back from Ikea for lunch. We heard that this place can get loud, but at 4 pm on a weekend it was pretty sleepy. A few large groups with kids were there, but it was a pretty nice atmosphere regardless.
I can't speak much to the dishes as I only had the fried plantains (there are not a lot of veggie items). The plantains were really yummy but a little sweeter than I like.
Good:
-Super cheap
-Chips and salsa are free and really delish
-BEER IS $1.50. SERIOUSLY.
-Extensive menu
Bad:
-This place has very few veggie options!
-Service is spotty but friendly. I didn't feel like I needed to know a little Spanish like another review noted.
¡Que horrible! The famed chilaquiles are foul. But what really pissed me off was the blatant smack talking the patrons and staff participated in. I know when I'm being served the "Gringo-Special."
Pinche cabrones.
Our latest foray into Little Mexico came up with a mixed bag of results. My mini dining posse (Carlos and Steven) and I arrived just after 7PM to find the restaurant close to empty, just two other tables. Still the jukebox was turned all the way up, and as we ate the restaurant steadily filled with local families until, by the time we left it was nearly full.
The decor is quaint inside, with red chairs and matching vinyl tablecloths. The obligatory strings of Oaxacan cut-out placemats hang from the ceiling. Of all of the Little Mexico joints we've been to, it is by far the nicest in appearance.
Chips came, along with the house salsa, which I loved, but Steve and Carlos found to be TOO SPICY. Good sturdy chips that held up well to the house made guacamole, which ranks among one of the best guacamoles I've ever tasted.
Here's the rundown of food eaten:
Chile Rellenos: Outstanding! Poblanos stuffed with Queso Fresco, ultra thin batter and a delightful red sauce. High Marks.
Bistec Encebolledo: Good. Blanket thin marinated steak with sauteed onions. The steak needed more marinating and the onions needed more time in the pan.
Carnitas Taco: Outstanding! Tender chunks of pork, rich flavor topped solely with chopped onion and cilantro.
Chicken Tamale: Poor. Dry corn masa and wimpy chicken filling. I had to drown it in frijoles to add make it palatable.
Ceviche Tostada: Fair. Ultimately a successful dish, but not what I really like. More of a seafood cocktail, with chunks of squid, shrimp, and crab in a lightly spicy tomato sauce over a crispy corn tortilla. They used fake crab stick. Eeek. I guess I shouldn't complain when you consider that it was only $3.50, but I would have gladly paid more for a better product.
Corn Tortillas: Fair: Compared to El Tapatio's homemade tortillas, these were no match. Factory made and rather dry and chewy.
Rice and Beans: Fair. Bland, bland, bland. They weren't afraid to use salt on other items, I don't know why they missed it here.
Service was friendly but spotty. It's good to know a little Spanish here as La Sirenita is really a FMBM restaurant (you know... For Mexicans, By Mexicans). We gringos are certainly welcome and non-Mexicans will not feel uncomfortable.
Portions are HUGE. Prices are CHEAP. $32 for the three of us. The menu is extensive and we sampled just a small portion of what they have to offer. We will definitely return to try our luck again.
The rating is purely for the food. My favorite dish here is the chiles rellenos. They are great and contrary to the imitators of Mexican food, these are made with poblano peppers and Mexican cheese that doesn't melt away into nothing. I also love the steak tacos, which are made just like they are in any part of Mexico---topped with cubed onions and cilantro.
Their shrimp cocktails are also great! This place is 100% Mexican. Now, there may be a thing or two on the menu that isn't Mexican but that's mere adaptation to the environment.
The prices are extremely reasonable and the portions are very generous.
WARNING: This is a Mexican food restaurant. Do not go there expecting Tex-Mex or imitation Mexican food because you will be disappointed if you do.
The music is a bit loud from time-to-time and I would definitely not go there for dinner alone because it seems to be over-populated by blue-collar Hispanic men that have had a bit too much to drink.
