Restaurant Review #5

After a long pause, we are finally getting around to posting a review of the two Mexican restaurants we have been to here in Bucharest. The first one we went to, El Torrito, is on the same small, almost abandoned looking street as one of our favorite Indian restaurants, Karishma. The second one we went to is Don Taco, which is only a few blocks from our apartment.

Back in December, when we had taken a cab to Karishma for a nice dinner, we decided at the last minute to check out El Torito. Initially B was not sure (as he almost always wants Indian food), but he agreed to try it since I was clearly interested. As we walked towards the entrance, I noticed a sign noting it was WiFi Hot spot- pretty cool already. While the street on which the restaurant is located isn't much to look at, the restaurant itself is quite nice. We were seated in an actual- separated- non smoking section. To start B ordered a Corona and I a margarita and we got some chips and salsa. The beginning was quite good, though the amount of chips and salsa we were served as compared to Mexican places in the US was small, the taste was really good. For our entrees I ordered a vegetarian enchilada and B got chicken fajitas. Both quite tasty! Overall, we were really pleased and even B was happy we had diverted to El Torito from Karishma. But, don't feel too bad for him- we ended up going to Karishma the next night! We have since returned to El Torito once more (a nice Valentine's lunch) and we were not disappointed. This time, B got shredded pork tacos and I got a bean burrito. Both were great. The portions of the entrees are quite generous and the size of my burrito was similar to what one might get at Moe's or Chipotle and the taste would rival any decent Tex-Mex place in the US. They even had black beans! All in all I think we would give El Torito 8 samosas.

Our trip to Don Taco in January was by far a completely different experience. We were hopeful that we had in fact found a decent Mexican place a short walk away from our place. When we first walked into the restaurant, which is part of a small strip mall off of a somewhat busy street, we were immediately faced with the choice of sitting in the Romanian or Mexican section. This brought on the first twinges of concern. We were seated in the Mexican section and began to peruse the menu, which actually was pretty small. We ordered again a Corona for B and Margarita for me. For our appetizer we ordered chips and guacamole. The chips and Corona were fine. However, the margarita was so-so and the guacamole seemed to have little to do with avocados aside from being green. The guac did not taste bad, rather it had no taste at all. For our entrees, B ordered a beef taco, and I ordered the only vegetarian item, a chile relleno. My chile relleno was actually pretty good, but tiny. B's taco however only loosely resembled a taco. His plate had pieces of beef that had been sauteed with some veggies and had some white "cheese" melted on it covered by half of a grilled tortilla with something we surmised was supposed to be refried beans (in a ramekin that would normally hold a side of mustard) and some rice. B's dish was not at all reminiscent of Tex Mex and was a disappointment. B's meat and veggies were fair, but the rest of it did not cut it. We both agreed that the trip to Don Taco did not live up to our expectations. We would give Don Taco only 2 samosas. We will not be returning anytime soon.

So far in Bucharest we can say if one wants Mexican food- we would suggest El Torito without a doubt. -S

PS--There used to be a Mexican restaurant in Bucharest called Amigos, and the last time I was here (the summer of 2007) I went there twice. The place was a favorite haunt of expats and embassy staff, and except for the waiters I don't think I ever saw any Romanians in the joint. From what I recall, the food was good, but pretty expensive and with small portions. During the interval between that trip to Bucharest and the current one, Amigos has since closed. I don't think that a similar fate will befall El Torito. It is always busy, full of locals, and the prices are reasonable, the portions quite generous.-B