La Mestiza

I attempted to eat here tonight for the first time. I only ate a couple bites of my dinner. After ordering and looking around deeper, I saw half bottles of alcohol stored on the floor on a moldy tile covered wood shelf that was molding.
Then when my Mail came, it tasted like the cheese or something was spoiled. I would not recommend.

I would say 3.5 but my mother raves about this place so I figured I’d round up this time
Mexican food around Madison is a painfully dismal affair. The country has so much to offer culinarily but everybody seems stuck on 2 dollar tacos with refried beans and rice. Someone call Rick Bayless because we need some fucking help
This place is a touch more expensive and a touch more diverse than a typical Madison Mexican joint. If you only get tacos here you’ve lost the plot, kid. I get the sense that whoever is in the back only put those and enchiladas on the menu because of where we are. Word of advice: get the specials unless they sound awful. I like the cochinita pibil, sopa azteca is worth ordering if you have a large appetite. Chips and salsas are free
If you are looking for a beef burrito or some enchiladas I would turn 360 degrees and moonwalk out of there because you’re paying 3 dollars too much for what you get. Go to Tienda Los Gemelos instead which is equally diverse and much cheaper

I thoroughly enjoyed this place. I had a margarita lujo with fresh lime juice (very good). The fresh chips and two salsas they bring to the table were awesome. I had the appetizer platter as my dinner since I was short on time. All very good. Small place, nice ambience, super nice wait staff, fast service. I am coming back for sure.

The menu is very limited. We ordered and the first few customers ahead of us had a long wait for their food. We had about the average wait. Our food was cold and tasteless and my fiancé noticed his food didn’t match the menu’s description. The customers after us received their food in record time, which made us wonder if the food is pre-​made and heated up. We will not come back here.

Yet another establishment overrated on Unilocal.
When we arrived we saw no one for the first 10 minutes. The very small dining room was moderately full but no staff to be found. Ten minutes after arriving a young lady (clearly busy) tossed two menus on the table without saying a word. 10−15min later we ordered. Menu is lacking many choices. I ordered the carne asana tacos (my favorite Mexican classic). The meat was tender but there was a lot of grissle and little flavor. Chips and salsa were good. My daughter ordered chicken enchiladas mole. And basically ate the chicken out of the tortillas and nothing else but the rice. She is Mexican and knows what it should taste like and she wouldn’t eat it. I had a glass of sangria which was good. But overall this was not a good experience. It’s a little hole in the wall but lacks menu choices and the service and food are both mediocre. Won’t be back.

Foods pretty good and service is nice but nothing extra special or traditional about this place. I think the décor and service makes it seem like its nicer then it is.
The enchiladas verdes were good but again similar taste to other average Mexican restaurant around like Larados and Casa del Sol. Don’t get me wrong I like these places and La Mestiza. But La Mestiza hasn’t really stood out and because we’ve been going to other places for a longer time we just prefer them if we are going to get semi non traditional Mexican food.

Ummmmm. Margaritas made with real lime juice. Delicious vegetarian sides. Cozy ambiance. Handmade fried tortilla chips. Traditional Banda music. Outstanding service. Reasonable prices.
I wish they would open an actual restaurant instead of this rink a dink place in a West Towne strip mall! So far the best Mexican food we have had since moving to Madison. And I lived in Xalapa, MX for awhile so there is my credibility statement.
Buen provecho!

While the food at La Mestiza is decent, the prices are not. If you’re looking for cheap, delicious tacos, I’d recommend Taqueria Guadalajara instead.
The atmosphere of La Mestiza is rather pleasant. They have low lighting in the evenings which makes the warm colors of the walls and decorations glow. The entrance way is blocked off by hanging tapestries so the cold doesn’t blow directly into the restaurant which is nice as well.
My friend and I ordered relatively soon after sitting and our food came out in a timely manner (right as we finished our chips and salsa). I got the Trio de Taco (I ordered all steak tacos which is a dollar extra) and horchata on the side. The tacos were decent; nothing to brag about, but not bad either. However, I did not think they were worth $ 9. The horchata seemed to have more cinnamon than I’m used to, but that was fine with me because I love cinnamon. I was surprised that the glass my friend’s margarita came in was the same type of glass that my horchata came in, not a true margarita glass.
Overall, this restaurant was just so-​so. It was a nice atmosphere to eat my food in, but I would prefer the cheaper and more flavorful food at Taqueria Guadalajara.

The guacamole was good, my husband loved his quesadilla. I don’t remember what I ate, I would have to say that the guacamole must have made me forget :)

I have been here about four times for lunch over the last two years and each time it has been consistently good. I am not a Mexican food aficionado but it definitely seems different than the usual Tex-​Mex a la Laredos.
On my last visit two weeks ago, I had the 7.95 grilled steak lunch special. Rice and beans accompanied a nice grilled piece of flank steak covered with a deep dark mole sauce hinting of chocolate. Subtle + simple = sophisticated. Nice. Tasty and fresh guacamole too and homemade tortilla chips! It is not a large restaurant and some would say it is a little cramped. I call it cozy and serene.

We got food to go and ordered an order of chips and salsa with it. The food was good, the chips were good, but the salsa was almost non existent. It came in one of those plastic salad dressing containers — think Jello shot. It was enough for maybe 2 chips. WTH? It cost $ 1.99. I am not sure what is up with that or if you get more when you dine in, but the carryout version is a waste of money. Will definitely try eating there, but probably will not carryout again.

Discovered this place awhile back when family was staying at the hotel down the road and we wanted somewhere within walking distance. Thank goodness we did a Unilocal search, otherwise we never would have seen it! It’s small and in a random strip mall… but don’t judge a book by its cover. The décor is very neat and the food is incredible! The chips are always warm and delicious, and La Mestiza has some really unique entrée options when compared to Mexican places I am used to. However, the organization of the menu is a little confusing, and the service is hit or miss. Easy things to overlook– I would definitely recommend La Mestiza!

Very underwhelming experience. In town with family from San Francisco and seeking an authentic Mexican restaurant in Madison.
The food in general was bland, baskets of chips inadequate, service was poor.

My favorite place for Mexican food in Madison. Tamales are great!!!

My wife and I went with her parents for lunch the other day, and we both had an identical experience, which was, «This is tasty, but it’s definitely not what I ordered.»
She sent her tacos back and got them replaced and they were fine. I ordered the huevos ahogados and got huevos rancheros, which is puzzling, because the waiter actually came back to ask me to clarify what I wanted, and it said huevos ahogados on the ticket, but something happened somewhere that resulted in my being unable to acquire the desired drowned eggs. I was planning on ordering the huevos rancheros the next time anyway, so I’ll just flip-​flop the sequence, but 50% of our table had a mistake in their order, and I wish it hadn’t been the case.
Other pros: good chips, very good salsa, pretty reasonable prices for upscale-​ish lunch plates.
Cons: service was slow/​inattentive, mistakes in our orders
I’ll give this another try, and there’s potentially another star in it for these guys if future experiences are better.

Good chips.
Decent happy hour adult beverages.
Somewhat confusing happy hour entrees. Every time I go to happy hour someone disputes their bill as they failed to read the fine print on the poster leading into the restaurant.
It would help customer relations to give everyone a happy hour menu that explains the taco trio is happy hour eligible when steak is not selected as a meat.
Customer service is good, entrees are a bit more expensive than you may assume, but the quality of the entrees reflects the price.

Came here for lunch with a friend. Cute, quaint little place. There were only two other tables dining, so it was not overly busy. However, it took a little bit of time for someone to come over to us … But our server was nice, and we were not in any rush so we did not mind.
Their menu is small; I hate when a place has pages upon pages — it’s too overwhelming. I went with the vegetarian enchiladas rojas with a Pacifico. (They have Pacifico and Modelo Negro on tap, for those who are curious). I saw they had Horchata on the menu as well, so I also ordered a glass of that. I was a little disappointed by the flavor of the Horchata; it wasn’t very sweet and needed more cinnamon :(
The food came out fast. It was hot and seemed to be fresh. Perfect sized lunch portion, too. You get a small basket of tortilla chips and salsa (I noticed on the menu that if you want an additional basket of chips or more salsa, there is a small charge). But for my friend and I, this was the perfect size!
Overall, it was pretty good. Fair prices (for lunch, dinner entrees are a little more pricey), and our server was friendly. I enjoyed the relaxed and quiet atmosphere. It’s nice to go out to dinner and not have to scream over the loud music or chatter of 100 other diners. I would like to come back and try a few more things on the menu, maybe go for a mojito or margarita next time, too :)

I have no idea why a previous reviewer would give this restaurant a 1 star review, saying it is on par with Taco Bell. In my opinion, the 1 star review is undeserved. My husband and I had lunch here today and we had a wonderful experience. The food was excellent and made from fresh ingredients. The waiter was efficient and extremely friendly. The prices are very low —
most lunch entrees are between 6 and 7 dollars. The décor is colorful and fun with local artwork on the walls. I highly recommend this restaurant for a casual lunch or dinner.

This is my favorite Mexican restaurant in town. So many reasons — and every time the hubby wants to go to the Other Decent Mexican place, I have to run through my list!
1. The best chips in Madison– are freshly fried and served with 2 homemade salsas, spicy chipoltle and avocado/​salsa verde. These are brought out right away. (we have never waited longer than 1 minute.)
2. The margaritas are made with real lime juice and are delicious!
3. They have Negro Modelo on tap, most nights.
4. The chef KNOWS what he is doing in the kitchen. He cares and this is shown with the way he plates his food and the general freshness and attention to flavors. The guacamole is fantastic. The cochinita pibil is Amazing. The steak ranchero is perfectly cooked. And the lamb chops!!! The fish tacos are very good. All the other tacos are great too.
After 3 years of eating here, we finally met Chef Antonio because we go crazy about the lamb chops special. This is only available sometimes on Wednesdays and only if you ask for it. :) (OK, now I have let the cat out of the bag)
But You can have chicken enchiladas if you want.

I am not an expert when it comes to Mexican food, and I am definitely not the expert on the authenticity of a Mexican dish. But I absolutely loved my experience here, and I can say that the Mexican food and the drinks I’ve had here makes me want to return again and again.
I came here for dinner on a Tuesday night with a few girlfriends. We were seated right away and immediately greeted. The restaurant is small and seating is pretty limited (absolutely not recommended for a party larger than 4). However, the smells are inviting and savory, and we felt welcome and comfortable.
I ordered the traditional margarita and had the mojito after. Mojito, hands down, best mojito I’ve ever had. Fresh, minty, sweet perfection, and if I had the choice, I would’ve had seven. For dinner, I had the enchiladas pollos verdes. Chicken was shredded and moist. And the sauce was delicious. Rice was forgettable, but the entrée and drinks made up for it.
Service after receiving our meals was spotty, and it took some time and effort to receive our check. However, I plan on returning again very very soon!