Overall: 3.75 Stars…read more
There are several Mexican restaurants in Starkville and this is the newest one. Open in June 2025, so they will be hitting their one year anniversary.
It is near Sprint Mart and Clarion Pointe Hotel on hwy 182.
Ambiance: 4 Stars The restaurant used to be a Chinese restaurant and the decor on the outside is subdue. However, once you walk inside the decor is pleasantly bright and displaying their Hispanic culture. Tables are clean and not sticky, and have a chill vibe to it.
Pop Latino is playing and is not loud. You can hear conversations with your mates or yourself. LOL
Ordering: you order at the front counter. Menu are displayed on the monitors or laminated sheets.
Staff: 4 Stars
the employees were friendly, pleasant and professional. Our helper enthusiastically made several suggestions and we order two of the items she recommended. After ordering the items and grab our drinks, we sat down in one of the many tables they have.
It only took about 10 minutes for our food to arrive and the staff brought two different salas (salsa verde and rojo) that were flavorful and not overly spicy.
Authentic food from different regions
Food: 3-3.75 stars
1. Child's portion: 3 Stars queso quesadilla with refied beans and rice. - your typical quesadilla. Good for the child.
2. Burrito California - 3.5 Stars. A large carb heavy burrito. Protein was steak (carne asada), loaded with fries, rice and cheese. Pretty dry however the person ordered like it that way. I took a bite and it required salsa and I thought the meat to fries ratio favored the fries.
3. Quesabirra - 3.5 Stars - A flour quesadilla filled with the birria (a slow braised beef) that is shredded. Served with the birria broth to dipped the quesadilla. The queso blanco melted evenly throughout the flour tortilla. The tortilla had a crunchy exterior from the broth and the inside was hot.
4. Birria Tacos - 3.75 Stars - Four corn tortilla tacos filled with the birria beef, shredded cheese, cilantro, and fresh onions. Served w the birria broth. The was delicious and flavorful from the juicy beef. However, it required some lime, for acidity, to cut some of the fatty beefy flavor. Wonderful tacos.
5. Birria Ramen - 3.5 Stars
a fusion of Latino and Asian dishes ( yummy birria with broth, and cilantro) over ramen noodles. Served in a to-go container and a separate bowl to self-pour, the ramen dish was hot (temperature) and beefy. The broth contained the spices of red chilies, cumin, cinnamon, cloves, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper, Mexican oregano, bay leaves, all spice, and a touch of cider vinegar for acidity. Due to nature of slow braised beef, the broth is rich in flavorful and slightly fatty. Adding lime for acidity helps cut the deep beefy flavor.
6. Carne Asada Plate - 3.25 Stars a pan seared ribeye steak served w grilled onions, arroz (rice), and frijoles negros (black beans). The steak was good. However it cooked well done. The marbling kept it tender and juicy. The frijoles were somewhat "blended" but there were whole beans in it. The rice was fine. You are served with corn or flour tortillas, shredded lettuce, and diced tomatoes. I recommend to cut your steak and use the corn tortillas as the base to add your carne asada and sides to become a taco. Add the lime and salsa and you will be satisfied.
Note: we don't ordered any drinks but they carry wide variety of sodas, cervezas and aqua frescas. Next time, I will order one of the aquas frescas. They are homemade and I had a taste test on the Jamaica/Hibiscus. It was slightly sweet, fruity and very flavorful. The hibiscus flavor is on the front end of tasting it but not overwhelming.
1st time here and it won't be our last. Enjoyed it!