Castillo's Mexican Restaurant has been described both as the best and as the worst Mexican restaurant in Mariposa County. For reasons well beyond my control, I am forced to agree with the latter description. One of a handful of restaurants in Mariposa, Castillo's Mexican Restaurant serves bland food with decent service. This, of course, is an inadequate combination.
The food here was edible but strikingly bland. In fact, my dining partner described the meal as the "worst ever" in her lifetime. I ordered one of the combos, which included a single beef enchilada, a single beef taco, a chile relleno, rice, and beans. The food brought me back to taco day at my elementary school cafeteria. A hard-shell taco slightly soggy from the flavorless juices of its entrails, filled with shredded beef (the beef was actually fine, but I was unknowingly charged extra for it), some iceberg lettuce and tomato, and a bland cheese. The tortilla of the enchilada was exceedingly chewy, which points toward kitchen staff who sadly do not know the proper way to heat a prepackaged corn tortilla. The chile relleno tasted of freezer burn. I am not sure if this was because of a mysterious seasoning or because it had, indeed, been frozen. This is not for me to say. All of the food seemed to only been seasoned with salt. Is salt even a seasoning? Perhaps to the many reviewers who laud the flavor of this restaurant's food, but not to me.
My dining partner ordered what was marketed on the menu as a "tostada." But a taco salad by any other name would smell as sweet. Yes, this was indeed a taco salad, and to call it a tostada is an insult to tostadas as an institution. Similar to my dish, every item within the taco salad tasted the same--that is, tasted of little at all. Its entrails mysteriously coagulated to form a brown, soggy slop. I could not help but think that the president, a lover of taco salads, would love this plate. The meal drove my dining partner into a bout of nausea before she could finish, and she took to her bed in a feverish sweat immediately after the meal. Fortunately, she recovered by the next day.
Perhaps two (2) stars is slightly generous for Castillo's Mexican Restaurant, but the tragic thing is that I truly got the sense that everyone in this restaurant was doing their best. This goes for both the service and the kitchen. The server was perfectly attentive and friendly. It is not the fault of the cooks that it is easier to defrost a frozen chile relleno than to make one fresh. Also, the menu was astoundingly designed, and deserves some award for its graphic design.
As sad as it may be to say, I would not return to Castillo's Mexican Restaurant nor would I recommend it. read more