Sarapes Restaurant

Sarapes is hands down the most authentic Mexican restaurant in Enfield if not the entire state of CT. I’ve had lunches there many times & it’s not for the faint of heart thou.
It’s a hole in the wall place, small, very limited parking & a bit on the dirty side, thus, I knocked off one star, otherwise, just the food alone will get 5 stars.
The two amazing tacos one must try: One is beef tongue taco & the other is beef lips taco, LOL, sounds a little bizarre but nothing like Andrew Zimmern Bizarre thou. Try it if you are a true Unilocaler & especially if you call yourself ELITE. They are to die for, so flavorful & so authentic.
I prefer one slightly more than the other but both are excellent, however, because I always order both, I could never tell which is which, LOL.

Worst service I’ve ever had. Not only did I find a hair in my food but when she replaced it I found another one shorty after. And when I tried to remove the hair it came out of the beans as if they placed it in there. And THENN the owner or some old man argued with me saying this is a clean place and there’s no hair. I recommend not going or wasting your time.

I really liked this place. People were friendly and the food was great. Kind of a dive looking place but don’t let that scare you off. I’ll be back.

Absolutely my favorite Mexican restaurant in the Hartford region. Not only is as authentic and delicious as the food I’ve been served back home in Southern California, but prices are reasonable. Order 2 – 3 tacos (carne asada, al pastor, and so forth) and a tamale (pork and chicken) — and walk away incredibly full and satisfied for less than $ 15.
I can go on about the food but their margaritas also deserve a mention. They are excellent — and again, authentic — replete with a dash of chili pepper.
Service is chill/​casual but friendly. The parking lot is small but there is plenty of parking in the back lot. Location is in a small (like really small), nondescript strip mall; the restaurant is squeezed between a laundromat and used car lot, which in my opinion just adds to its charm and authenticity.

I was visiting from out of town and read amazing reviews for this place! Wow is all I can say! Absolute hidden gem in this little town. Food was delicious and amazingly fresh! The salsa is to die for and well worth a trip here!

This place has really good authentic Mexican food — a hidden gem. Super friendly and prompt service with a quaint and cozy atmosphere.

This place is phenomenal. I’ve been here at least 2 dozen times over the years. The naysayers of Serapes obviously have no idea what delicious Mexican food is supposed to taste like. This is authentic as it gets. A+

Best Mexican restaurant in town. Authentic food, great service with a nice family atmosphere. Price is fair and it is always neat & clean!

Looked promising but 25 minutes later my daughter was violently ill. Had it coming out of both ends. Stay away from the steak! I had ground beef and was ok. Fingers crossed that we won’t end up in the hospital. Never again. I would not choose a star but it won’t let me proceed without at least 1.

I wanted so much to like this place that didn’t happen. Unfortunately after trying a steak taco and chicken tamale less then 2 hours later I got terribly sick. I’d like to be able to give them another chance but with the other reviews I’ve read I don’t think that will happen. Eating here might be a risk for you not worth taking.

Dinner here is delicious and at a good price! The limeade and horchata are great. Staff is friendly. Every dish is authentic and the portions generous.
Just tried their breakfast burritos for the first time. By far the best in the Springfield/​Hartford area. They remind me of the ones I had when I lived in Arizona and Colorado.
Truly a gem!

Really Tasty!
Best in the area for sure.
Service was pleasant.
My only issue was that the table was kind of dirty. :(

Where should I start. Well first of all this place is a hidden gem which I always love. It doesn’t look like much from the outside but once you go inside you feel like your in a family owned restaurant which means love is put into each and every meal. The server was great very attentive and honestly it was impressive that he was able to bus and server every table in the joint. I ordered the Mole which we were told was their specialty and man was it special if you don’t know much about Mole its extremely labor intensive and is only served a truly authentic Mexican restaurants. It was amazing just truly amazing by far the best mole I have ever had it was the perfect balance of chocolate and spice it was partnered with their rice and beans which were also very good. Great experience all in all for a restaurant that we stopped at for a quick bite.

This place has authentic Mexican ford BUT it is very dirty. The floors are dirty, the booths are dirty, blinds have never been cleaned. It needs a huge clean up Job! And that is the dining area– I wonder what the kitchen looks like. Yuck!’

Definitely as authentic as you will find, but I was a little disappointed. I ordered a Torta, but the bun was flaky to the point that it completely shattered apart with every bite. I was left with no bun and had to turn my Torta sandwich into more of a Torta bowl. Not very pleasant. Maybe that’s how they really do it in Mexico, but my gringo tastebuds prefer a Torta sandwich.
The other members of my party who stuck with the enchiladas and burritos seemed much more pleased with their orders.
We came during lunch time, and service was snails pace slow. The elderly man taking our orders also appeared to be the chef, waiter, and hostess, so you can imagine the efficiency there.
Definitely some confusion about whether they take credit cards. At the beginning of the meal we asked if they accepted credit cards, and he said yes. We told him we would need separate checks. At the end of the meal we paid with 4 different credit cards. The waiter went to the cash register for 10 – 15 minutes, an unusually large amount of time to swipe 4 cards, and came back very angry. He raised his voice and told us to look at the menu because it says no separate checks. He told us he was losing customers because he had to spend so much time on us (the only customers in the restaurant). We checked the menu and couldn’t find any such disclaimer. Nevertheless, I left with a bit of a bad taste in my mouth both from my disintegrated torta and the rudeness.

Holy Moly! Talk about mouth watering Mexican food! I am from San Diego, where there is a huge abundance of awesome Mexican food. We even had 24 hour drive-​thrus that served deliciousness all night long! I was having mad cravings when the fiancé made the suggestion for this lovely joint. He had heard from a friend that it was seriously good.
He was right. The food was perfect! Just how I remembered it as a kid! I was in love. I devoured my food to the quickness. I ordered the carne asada plate, go big or go home, right? With a side of Horchata, you cannot have Mexican food without the scrumptious sweet drink to help all the goodness go down. They serve tortilla chips with fresh salsa, the tortilla for my plate was hot and fresh. My son, who does not like experiencing new stuff, was able to get chicken and fries, score!
My recommendation is to get the check as soon as you order and get there as early as possible. The food actually comes out rather fast, but when the joint starts to fill in, the service is really slow. I would totally come again! Loved the food.

Headed to Sarapes for a celebratory dinner with my husband. Drove right by the little strip mall where it’s located. Fortunately we turned around.
Very good, friendly service. Enjoyed the chips & salsa while perusing the menu & enjoying a Dos Equis. I really like the combo specials because I couldn’t make up my mind on what to order! Ended up trying enchiladas with chicken in red sauce, as well as stuffed poblanos. Huge plate of food with rice & beans along side. Very, very tasty! Ask for their hot sauce… both green & orange varieties are excellent! Husband destroyed a giant burrito, declaring it the best in the area. So many reasons on the menu to return!
Thoroughly enjoyed our evening at Sarapes and look forward to our next trip down.

This place is pretty flipping stellar; I’ve been here about 10 times so I feel qualified to give an informed review.
Ambiance: Let’s just say you won’t be blown away by this place’s interior. Everything could use updating from the lighting to the booths. Honestly this doesn’t bother me in the least. If they were touting they were fine dining then I would expect the ambiance to reflect that.
Service: When they’re not busy the service is very attentive/​friendly. Normally we go on weekdays and earlier than the dinner rush so we get plenty of attention. We recently went on a Friday night around 7pm and we had a very different experience. We always order the same appetizers (which we normally do as soon as the wait person arrives). We waited ~10 min after getting our menus before we were even given our waters, which is when we had the opportunity to order. They were pretty busy and they had one person waiting tables, with a runner for some of the food. On the busier nights they need at least one more person in the dining room because the wait was way too long.
Food: Onto the part that everyone cares about, when it comes to making your belly happy, this place excels. We always order their nachos (which we get with chorizo); they are the perfect gooey blend of cheese, peppers, beans, and chorizo. If you don’t like these nachos you really need to have a long period of introspection, and fucking fix yourself, they are the cat’s pajamas. Their burritos are equally awesome I’ve had the El Pastor and the Carne Asada… both will not disappoint. Their tacos are very authentic: fresh corn tortilla, your choice of meat, grilled onions, cilantro, and a wedge of lime… then end. In addition to cow tongue (my personal fave) they also have beef lips, which I had never tried before. The beef lip taco reminded me of the fatty part of a roast (flavorful but not my favorite texture). Personally I think their rice, beans, and house salsa are very flavorful. I think people’s main issue with the salsa is because they’ve spent the majority of their lives eating Americanized Mexican food. That salsa is pretty authentic and definitely made fresh. My biggest gripe with the salsa is the little cup they serve it in is woefully lacking paired with the basket of chips. Serve me two damn salsas for Christ’s sake! I always ask for two, you guys should know this by now. I’ve had their enchiladas with a green sauce and a mole sauce. The green sauce was awesome, and our friends assured us the mole was awesome as well (I’ve come to the realization after trying various mole that I’m not a fan). Their sangria is pretty good as well with plenty of fresh fruit mixed in.
Here is the very short list of food that I wasn’t really a fan of.
Queso: Instead of being a thick and creamy it was beans with a layer of normal cheese that seemed to be melted with a microwave… very unappetizing. I also went for breakfast and got their huevos rancheros. They were quite bland and lacked anything aside from eggs, red sauce, and a little bit of meat mixed in.
Bottom Line: A pretty solid place to try out, especially if you try when they’re a little dead. Definitely try the nachos, and their various tacos that they offer, you won’t be disappointed.

Very good for CT.
Its easy to find mexican food in the Northeast, its much harder to find someplace that is good. We had the standards, and they were fine…
Its a pretty basic place, kind of like a luncheonette or a diner.

Dined here with some co-​workers before our flight back home so this was my first time here!
The PROS
–excellent service that was polite and helpful
–good menu that offered something for everyone
–large portions
–super good brewed iced tea
–reasonable prices
The CONS
–parking lot is a bit awkward, especially when driving a larger vehicle
–no queso option for tortilla chips
Overall this is a pretty freakin good authentic Mexican joint that are not always easy to come by! Recommended for locals and business travelers!