This is a must try off of lake in Pasadena…read more Reliably good food every time I have been here. Chips and salsa with WARM chips. A to die for pork tomahawk. Amazing happy hour and I highly recommend the dos gringos. Every detail of that dish is made with thought and precision down to the proportions given and the wonderful crisp on the tortilla. Amazing deal! Be careful when ordering sparkling water because they'll bring you an overpriced bottle of sparkling water instead of just their fountain soda water without asking for clarification. I've made that mistake a couple times. Otherwise, I highly recommend Mercado; you can't really go wrong.

A little pricey, but it's well worth it! Came here with baby and my parents on a saturday and was…read moresurprising to find that they weren't all that busy. Their patio is nestled in a small little mall complex, and therefore is a bit more quiet and relaxing than the bustling Lake Ave in Pasadena. We went on a perfect weather day, and most people opted to sit outside instead of inside the store. We sat inside since we had a sleeping baby in a stroller, and was surprised to find there are a few others doing the same with a stroller also! Plenty of space for all of us too. Between the 3 adults, we had ordered 2 main dishes and 1 ceviche to share. It was the perfect amount of food and I'm glad we weren't overzealous and ordered 3 mains as it would've been too much. We got a mole enchilada, ceviche tropical, and the carnitas chilaquiles. everything tasted amazing and it was the perfect dish to introduce my parents to the unique mole flavor. staff members were very friendly and super accommodating, glad we ventured out to Mercado!

Great service. Food 10 out of 10 very well seasoned. The atmosphere is 10/10, Great music You can…read morestill hear yourself talk. It's very cute vibes for a girls night or a family night out. We got the chicken fajitas,Chicken Quesadilla, camarones a la diabla and the camarones al aljillo. We are here from out of town but we will definitely stop by on our next visit.

Went for a birthday and thought it was one of those expensive Mexican food for no reason! There…read morewas a reason... it was delicious Sunday brunch buffet was it Margarita pitcher was niceeee and yummy Buffet had tacos to ceviche and menudo The beef was tendor and flavorful Oh even has freshly made waffles or pancakes Kids had chicken tenders Options for everyone Dessert the flan yummers

I've been here five times and the service is always exceptional. Today i came in again for the…read morefajitas and the manager Krissi changed my experience from a 4star to solid 5star. Her professionalism and humor just made me laugh. If you're lucky you will meet Krissi. Must Go!!!!!!

My second visit to Cabrera's Mexican Restaurant and it didn't disappoint!…read more I had the shrimp cocktail it was good. My friend ordered the fajita plate with chicken, steak, and shrimp, served with rice and beans... it looked amazing and she loved it! We also enjoyed nopal, guacamole, and of course chips and salsa. The service was top-notch, the place is spotless, and the decor is beautiful. Definitely a spot I'll keep coming back to!

I must say I lamented the close of the "neighborhood" Mijares that had been at this location for…read more20+ years, and because of that I was slow in even trying the restaurant that replaced it (El Matador). Because I had a desire for mexican food and did not want to drive all the way over to the remaining Mijares thought I'd try something closer and this was my pick. Not being familiar with the El Matador menu decided on the El Matador platter. It was a choice that let me try many things all at once. LOVED IT ! Loved everything about the platter (including the price). This is now my new "go to" restaurant for good mexican food. The only negative would be the amount of salsa included with the platter. I can never get enough salsa for my meals. Check them out, I think you will find them to be a wonderful replacement.

First time coming here, and I've gotta say--the food is delicious. The place is on the smaller…read moreside, but there's plenty of indoor seating, and the whole atmosphere feels really welcoming. They've got TVs, Mexican artwork on the walls, beer, and sports playing, which is always a plus. Their menu has a great variety, from classic Mexican dishes to mariscos. Javier and Juan helped us out, and they greeted us with a smile the second we walked in. Their energy was great, and they were super attentive, making sure we had everything we needed. Amazing service. I'll definitely be back!

We rolled up to Madre Maiz Taqueria on a full-blown Mexican food craving mission and honestly... it…read moredelivered with personality!!! My coworker and I went all in on the birria lineup, because the whole office was talking about birria so we grabbed the Birria Papas (w added guacamole) and Birria Tacos. The papas came out swinging: legit hand-cut fries piled high like they had something to prove. Messy, loaded, and worth every napkin. The tacos were a little on the petite side, like "did I accidentally order the sample version?" but still tasty enough to keep me from complaining too loudly. Now let's talk about the secret hot sauce. First of all, why is it secret?!?!? 2nd of all, I get it. That stuff is not playing around. One bite and my mouth was on fire!!! If you like heat that punches back, this is your moment!! The spot itself is super clean, the staff is genuinely nice (not the fake "have a nice day" nice), and everything just felt easy and welcoming. Prices won't make your wallet cry either, which is always a bonus, esp how expensive everything is these days!! Only downside, the parking is a bit of a game of luck. We got there early and snagged a spot, but otherwise, you might want to park across the street and pretend it was your plan all along. Overall: great food, spicy surprises, and zero regrets!!! Would absolutely go back. Make sure to ask for the "secret hot sauce" you won't regret it!!!

Alright, so I gotta say food is pretty darn good. Just few things I can say that need improvement…read morebut all in all great flavors and service. Lots of seating, lots of parking( lot in the back). From the design and thought put into the decor, menu and all the other options (like candy, liquor, beer and wine) you get, it's pretty amazing. We ordered a plethora of items to see what would be our favorite. I gotta say it was pretty much everything. Super polite staff and the flavors of the food made you feel good. You're truly in for a treat. Asada burrito super bomb, great flavor decent size and for the price it's great. See I like to eat(like you!) so I wouldn't have minded if it was tad bit bigger and tad bit heavier. But flavor was super delicious. Crunchy potato tacos, like finger food, once I saw someone else's tacos I was like uh oh I'm gonna need a lot more tacos. Except we stuck to ordering a few items to just see how it goes. And yeah, like I said tacos are SMALL. Like baby size. Not normal if you ask me but to each their own I guess. Birria cup lacked meat, but the flavor was amazing, you get 3 baby sized corn tortillas and that's pretty much it. You would expect more meat but after looking at the taco sizes yeah. You ain't getting anymore! So order more! Asada fries as well, portion wise could have been more giving. Loved the house made fries, great touch. Or atleast I am assuming they are house made, tasted very fresh cut if you know what I mean. Except the portion is tiny, like everything else. So if anyone is understanding my lingo is that Madre Maiz doesn't really put out large portions, which makes you want to order more and spend more. Then again they have their flavor to compensate for the quantity? Last can't leave out the guacamole, fresh and delicious with the bag of chips. Now that food portion has been expressed, let's talk about the meat being slightly on the dryer side. Soft but definitely dryer than majority of the taquerias I have been too. The asada 100% was dry and lacked any form of juiciness. Flavor was there but just dry. 100% needed sauce. The red sauce was chipotle based, the orange was habanero, and the green was cilantro/maybe avocado based(no heat in the green). Every bit of sauce helped every bite. Was it worth trying and reviewing? Yes. Will I ever go back? 100% cause that burrito was pretty good. For 12-13 bucks it's not bad at all, might need two. Beautiful decor, and plenty of seating outside and limited on the inside.

Happy Hour margs, need I say more?! Hard to believe that this restaurant is over 100 years old, not…read moremany establishments can say that. It is a real cornerstone of Pasadena dining, there is a love or hate feeling when you bring up this restaurant among locals. Chips and salsa is provided with orders so it is the perfect after work stop. They do have better the ability to make quality margaritas for full price which is almost 2-3 times happy hour but if you like mezcal it might be worth it for a more refined taste. Conveniently located by the 210/134 freeway entrances, it has it's own lot that says a lot for Pasadena establishments.

Came here to have a nice lunch with the family. I was excited because I had seen the pictures of…read morethe food and everything looked good. This was not the case when we had our dining experience. We got the plate of chile relleno with a beef enchilada, the mole plate and a kids quesadilla with rice and beans. 1. The chile in the chile relleno was soooo tiny, the battered egg was big and fluffy which is why it looks big. The rice was crunchy and had pieces of overcooked rice. The beef on the enchilada was on top of the enchilada NOT inside and it tasted like boiled beef with no flavor! I put it to the side. The inside just had a bit of shredded marble cheese. So disappointed. The beans were ok, restaurant quality, canned flavored. 2. The mole was very sweet and although that's not a bad thing, it still didn't have any kind of authenticity in the flavor it was as though it was just packaged sauce dumped on the chicken. 3. The kids quesadilla has bellpeppers and onions inside! Which was not disclosed on the menu. My kid likes bellpeppers but not the green ones and not in her quesadillas... come on. I had to pick them off. Over all I'm glad I live far away from here because it was really bad quality food. The service was nice and attentive. The ambiance was empty and almost abandoned... and I even went on a weekend.

Great little beer spot in old town Pasadena…read more We arrived around 6pm on a Saturday and the place was packed, but we were able to find 2 seats at a communal picnic table inside. Small joint but they have a few bar seats and picnic tables inside and a nice outdoor patio with more seating. They don't offer food but usually have a food truck outside. We ordered a flight of beer to try a few different styles. The guy behind the bar was great and the beers were tasty.

Small local brewery in Pasadena that's beneficial to the community, have seen people reserve a few…read moretables for parties and they have meet-ups. For example, they have a Spanish Language Brewery Meet-up every 3rd Thursday from 7:30-9:30pm monthly. Parking is street only so be mindful of the neighbors. There is no food service at this location but they seem to partner with a couple food trucks serving tacos. Some inside open air seating but the main draw is the relaxing patio. I liked their hard seltzers with fun flavors as jicama, tamarindo and passionfruit. I didn't like so much their signature Yerba Mate Pale Ale, but thought it was an interesting concept. The happy hour special is Monday all day and Tuesday-Friday open until 6pm $2 off full pours. Very family friendly, I always see a couple tables with children and dogs at them. Maybe I'm getting to be an old fuddy duddy but I hate when parents let their kids go free range. Screaming and running around like the establishment is a park these kids becoming trip hazards. There needs to be a revamp of their board game collection. There three boxes of games that looked incomplete or used up, not good with such games as Scrabble and Pictionary. Free Wifi with log-in is a bonus!

We were seated right away when we arrived, great service, the margaritas were delicious !!…read moreMy daughter and I ordered the " Cochinita Pibill " it was delicious came with black beans and Rice, we had ordered Guacamole it was home made Came with "Chicharrón Never had it served that way, it was delicious. They had patio sitting we sat indoors since it was a cold night. I definitely recommend and will return.

Pleasantly surprised at how much I loved this place. I was nervous because it had 3.5 stars on…read moreYelp. Idk why. It was such a lovely experience. I came with my husband and family. We celebrated my mom and my birthday. They allowed us to bring our own cake from Portos. It's such a lovely place! The ambiance is intimate so it is perfect for a date or low key event. The food came out so quickly and everyone loved their food. They offer complimentary chips and salsa. Our table ordered shrimp tacos, chilaquiles, mole enchiladas (chicken), and two chicken fajitas. Everything was absolutely delicious. My mom is incredibly picky and she didn't have one complaint. We didn't order alcohol but I had El Pepino mocktail. It was refreshing and delicious. They offer both indoor and outdoor seating. The staff were friendly and attentive. Highly recommend.

Really good service! Food and drink are great, come out quick. My server Giovanni was amazing, set…read morea great tone for the restaurant.

Lively atmosphere with great service!…read more Looking for pretty drinks? Loved the margarita flight with bits of fresh fruits and purées. The sizing was perfect for trying the different types of margaritas and it is so beautifully presented. The food is reasonably priced. There were many choices available on the combo plate. I enjoyed the enchilada de mole, potato (sweet potato) taquito and chile relleno. Will be back for Happy Hour and Margarita Monday for sure!

Amazing flavors. This place is fantastic. I had never had Peruvian style food and I hooked…read more Great service too. I loved the setting and the vibe in the restaurant too.

First time eating at a Peruvian restaurant and oh my goodness I loved it! We called a few hours…read morebefore for a reservation for 8 people on a Saturday night at 7:30pm and they had a spot for us. I believe they have seating in the back for larger parties! The portions are huge and I would recommend sharing if you're not so much of a heavy eater. We got the Milanesa de pollo which was bomb paired with the pesto pasta! Service was great, the servers knew their menu and ingredients so well. My friends ordered the ceviche which was delicious and one of their most popular! Our other friend ordered the lomo saltado which was great but just a little salty in my opinion. However, overall we loved it and would definitely be a place to recommend other friends to go to.