Went in with high hopes, judging by the three other Yelp reviews. In retrospect, I probably should have checked the dates. Note--This review applies to the restaurant, not the market in the lower level.
You enter the restaurant from the back of the building. My wife and I debated for some time whether or not it was closed and abandoned. The outside is dark, in disrepair, and has a patio full of broken and overturned furniture. We eventually tried a couple of doors and found one that opened.
Upon entering, we were confronted with a large, disordered, dining area and a non-functional bar and buffet. It was staffed by one, confused, waitress who spoke little English. She gestured to us to sit anywhere, so we picked the least dirty table and sat down.
She gave us a couple of faded menus and left. After a few minutes, she returned with a basket of greasy, stale, chips and a bowl of salsa. It took a bit to place our orders, as she literally spoke nearly no English and the first few dishes we each requested were met with a head shake and "no have". About five minutes after she left, she returned and pointed at me, "no have". At that point I defaulted to what I assumed was safe, tortillas, rice, beans, and peppers.
A word about the service. To say it was relaxed, would be pushing the envelope. It took fully 35 minutes to get our dinner and the appetizer was delivered simultaneously with it. Did I mention we were the only customers, the entire visit?
My wife ordered fried fish. It was an entire, large fish of indeterminate species. I suspect it was a tilapia, but if so, it was the king of tilapia, seeing as large it was. It was nicely deep fried and crusted, but quite bland, except for startling quantities of salt. She also received some elderly yellow rice and some very runny, refried beans.
My entree was chicken smothered in mole, the same geriatric yellow rice, and runny refried beans. It was OK, but lacking in flavor other than large amounts of salt. It might have been better had it been anything close to what I ordered. The tortillas we both shared were stale, but had a good, rich, corn flavor.
The appetizer was chicken quesadillas. It wasn't bad, save for the fact it was as salty as the ocean. As in really, really, salty.
Side note: The waitress brought three forks, one knife, and no spoons for two people. Not quite sure what was going on there.
Overall, the food was acceptable, if vastly over salted. It might have managed three stars, considering this is the middle of Missouri, but the remarkably slow service knocked it down to two.
Cost was relatively high for the area. $33 for two dinners, an appetizer, and two soft drinks.
With all the good, Mexican places nearby, we will not be returning. read more