First, I don't know anyone who has eaten there, worked or presently works there or who owns this restaurant. I only chose this place due to location (proximity to where to my visit to the centro) and because my MIL wanted a chile en nogada and I saw on their website that they offer those.
Second, I rarely write negative reviews and am not comfortable being a "complainer" or overly picky about details. I have eaten bugs in Africa and from dirt floor kitchens on more than one continent. I am not a picky eater nor all that difficult to please.
So, upon arriving to Casa Real Poblana shortly before 4 p.m. on a Saturday (today actually), we were informed that we could not choose from the menu, but could eat from the buffet or chile en nogada (not part of the buffet). This was fine as my MIL really wanted a chile en nogada and having checked Yelp and their website beforehand, I was reasonably assured that it would probably be good.
All I can say is that we were all disappointed with lunch today. The buffet was lukewarm across the board. The fried fish (whole fish) looked a little questionable but I tried it. I only managed less than a full bite. The flavor is hard to describe, but honestly, it simply tasted something like dirt for lack of a better description. I didn't eat it. There were a couple of items that were ok, but I wouldn't call them "good." I tried the vegetable soup which I would say was average or slightly below but was edible. It was nearly hot. I also tried some sort of fruit salad that was covered in a creamy sauce. I think it may have contained some grapefruit, but I'm really not sure. It was bitter like grapefruit can be, but due to the white-colored sauce, I couldn't tell. I'm not supposed to eat grapefruit due to medications I take. It won't kill me, but that was not a pleasant surprise.
I'm always eager to try mole poblano. The chicken had a slightly odd flavor, but I felt safe eating it. The mole itself was bland with surprisingly little flavor. I didn't know this was possible with mole poblano. I don't always like it, but it always seems to have a strong flavor. This one was simply lacking much of any detectable flavor, at least nothing like mole poblano. My wife tasted it on her own plate, but she decided that it wasn't good enough to eat.
The chile en nogada was fair. My MIL said it was edible and she did finish it. She noted it was "capeada" which she thought was unusual. The ground meat inside was warm which is apparently not rare, but my MIL was expecting the filling to be cool/cold as is traditional (at least that's her understanding). She said she wouldn't go back for another one in the future.
And I can conclude by saying neither my wife nor I would go back and I'm a little nervous about how I may feel later tonight. Hopefully, nothing was of the sort to cause illness, but we didn't leave with a very good feeling in our stomachs. I would say at the very least, we were not pleased with the quality of the offerings of the buffet and I would have probably felt like it wasn't worth it for even 1/3 of the price we paid. It was that lamentable. Sorry to say, we can't recommend this restaurant. I am surprised that the reviews seem to be so positive. I'd have to say for this price, it was the worst restaurant I've been to in this price range anywhere in central Mexico having lived here for 14 years. read more