After arriving in the early afternoon, after check in and the getting settled after another day of traveling, it was about 1530. Proximity was the name of the game with two hungry kids and two hungrier adults. Staying at the DoubleTree, this place was about a 5-7 minute walk, but that's where any kind of greatness this restaurant had going for it ended.
We were greeted as we walked in and sat without wait.. 1530 though, why would there be a wait anyway. For some reason we asked to be seated inside, maybe because it was a bit muggy and it felt cooler when we entered. As the our time there went on, the interior became increasingly more and more muggy as if we were outside. Our drink order was taken right away, but it was a good amount of time before having our food order taken.
The menu has a few different sections: tapas, Mexican, and Argentinian steak. There may have been another one or two, but the split second decision to get Mexican on our way to a different restaurant remanded us to that section. We ordered enchiladas verde, a chimichanga, a chicken quesadilla for the kids to split, a soft drink each for the four of us and one 250ml bottle of water.
It took quite a while for our food to arrive, especially for such simple dishes. When it finally got to our table, both the chimichanga and enchiladas were significantly undersized. The chimichanga was barely larger than my wallet in length and width and the enchiladas were about the same in length while having the circumstance of the handle to a bat. To my surprise, my enchilada verde (which means green, if you don't know, meaning it should have a good portion of, if not be bathing in, verde sauce on top of it) were very not sauced with just a very small portion maybe a red enchilada sauce on it topped with cheese (as referenced in my picture). In the moment, I put that aside for the sake of hunger. Aside from the small stature of the chimichanga, the appearance was fairly decent, although it was in fried too long giving a dark brown color to the tortilla. The quesadilla had some grill marks, but generally looked under grilled.
Taste.. uhmm.. yeah. There was none to be found. What little flavor managed to reveal itself was terrible. Dry. No seasoning. No taste in a literal sense that there was just no taste. The chicken had an unappetizing grey color to it as well in all three dishes. My kids ate the quesadilla with only one complaint, but they're still in the "picky eater it's a quesadilla so it can do no wrong" phase. The complaint was there being lettuce and a slice of tomato inside it, like burger topping style, no shredded and diced like some places include. Inside both the chimichanga and enchiladas were celery which, while providing a taste in the absence of any, was just the taste of celery with flavorless mush of chicken. I only ate one of the two enchiladas and tried to pass it off to my older child since she finished her half of the quesadilla but she wasn't into it either. The dishes arrived with yellow pilau rice instead of any kind of Mexican rice, a spoonful of salsa, guacamole and sour cream on it, as well as an out of place garnish salad. They also came with "Mexican beans," which you'd think would refer to refried beans, but they were some manner of whole bean in a salsa-ish sauce.
An unpleasant bonus to this meal was a server walking in wearing street clothes and heading to the unoccupied dining area to the right, which is still visible from the dining section we were in. He placed down his bag and proceeded to take off his shirt and change into his work shirt. I'm not offended by a guy changing his shirt and he didn't appear dirty or grungy, but you just can't do that in the dining room of a restaurant with customers in it.
64€ for this disasterpiece of a meal. Mexican food in Amsterdam, we knew better, but overwhelming hunger and the allure of it after living in England for two years without it won out over logic. We walked back to the hotel and ordered room service and we're worlds happier. Just avoid this place. read more