Frontera Grill

This place is closed. It is shut down and packed up. Need to write more to get this as a review. Too bad. It was pretty good food, and good wait staff.

I asked the waiter to surprise me from three or four menu items I couldn’t decide between. He would soon return w a custom sampler — how can you beat that?! Ample HD TVs at the bar (important for us business travelers). *Salsa was watery, but otherwise a great experience with superb service and a delicious alround meal.

Best sit down restaurant in Meriden. The atmosphere is festive, the food is authentic, the price is good, and the service is great. We came on a Tuesday and it’s packed. Give this place a try.

Went there for a beer and apps… not bad! Mexican american more towards american than mexican… the bartender didnt pay atention enough to costumers. The food was ok! I had a taco witch was a good portion and rice and beans not so flavorful! The lady next to me complaint the food was not seasoned! Mine was ok. Besides the stomachache next day.
I would say it’s good for beers and appetizers and if you are not looking for authenticity.

Was traveling in the area for work. Came here for dinner, reviews were good. Great authentic Mexican food. Staff was great, bartender made me an awesome margarita. I would suggest this place. Cheap and yummy!!!

This place is the real deal. Stephanie– tending bar… knowledgeable, polite, and attentive. The locals are great– big shout out to Gerado and Mario. The food is outstanding and I have been to my share of Mexican restaurants. This place is a «must go»

This place was exactly what we were looking for. Clean and air conditioned Mexican food, nice bar, with good margaritas in big margarita glasses. I there are several types of margaritas so I asked our server, she recommended the «Bartender Margarita»: it has cranberry juice and Gran Mariner. My life partner had the «Azul Margarita» I ended up liking his better but mine went down just fine.
We scarfed down 2 baskets of warm tortilla chips and house salsa before our meals arrived.
I ordered the 2 item combination plate and chose a chicken Chalupa and a Tamales stuffed with carnitas. He got the trio of enchiladas: Cheese, chicken and beef. We both agreed that the ground beef enchilada was the tastiest. It was like if taco bell meat were higher quality, that’s how it would taste. I especially liked the cabbage-​slaw that came as a garnish or topping with my meal. I’d recommend it to anyone.

Pleasantly surprised! Will never travel down to milford or up to newington again for mexican. Margaritas were good, carne asada was good and service was great. And all less than a mile from my house! Looking forward to trying more things!

Nothing exciting here. Yellow cheese and hard tacos aplenty, two things never found in authentic Mexican food. Bland and flavorless enchiladas and did I mention hard tacos? They served me something they called carnitas but sure didn’t taste like the carnitas I know and love. If you’re a fan of chain «Mexican» restaurants, this is the spot for you. Do not come here expecting authenticity or flavor.
Service was nice so this review is based mostly on the tired menu. Look elsewhere.

I have hesitated about writing this because this really was my favorite local Mexican place. After a few days of it resonating though I feel I need to. First let me say that by saying it was my favorite place I am serious, we went here weekly. The staff is great and the food was always the best. Last time however half way through our meal there was a fly found cooked deep in the rice. We quietly showed the Manager, the place was busy we didn’t want to ruin anyone’s meal. I had my children with me and made them stop eating, kids eat slow so they were upset because they had pretty much all of their food left. The waitress came back and said that one of our meals had been comp’ed. One. One meal. I am pretty sure that all that cooked fly juice had come from the same rice bin. Being that we are regulars I was pretty insulted but we paid the bill and left quietly. I am upset that we lost our favorite place but not only that… I can’t even think of eating Mexican food right now because the thought of that fly is ingrained in my brain. Ugh.

Decided to stop by Frontera Grill randomly with my sister. The décor is nice and the staff was very accommodating. I ordered a mango/​strawberry margarita, which was perfectly made. For an entrée I settled with the aloha tacos, which were absolutely delicious! This restaurant is authentic and I would recommend people to check it out :)

This is one of the better Mexican restaurants I have been to. The deluxe burrito was huge and filled the plate from end to end. It had a little too much rice in it for my liking, but had a very good flavor. I also ordered a pork tamale that was VERY good and came with it’s own dark red sauce over the top. I am definitely going back.

Fantastic authentic Mexican food housed in an old Friendly’s restaurant. Home made chips, guacamole made table side, reasonably price for lunch and dinner. Very nice décor, wish there was an outdoor patio. I have a Skinny Margarita and Worlds best tacos was absolutely delicious! Highly recommend checking out Frontera Grill for fine Mexican food in Meriden!

Food was delicious and service was fantastic. Try it and see for yourself.
Food ⁸⁄₁₀
Service ⁸⁄₁₀
80% Overall

Fast & Friendly service. Really enjoyed the Carne Asada y Mas dish (Skirt Steak with a Burrito and side dishes of refried beans and rice). The menu also features a number of Specialty Tacos.
Would definitely go back.

My wife and I took a shortened work day as an opportunity to have lunch together. I had to get some work done on the Volvo so we can here to pass the time.
Seemed like a pretty run-​of-​the-​mill mexican place. Food was average. Nothing bad, but nothing that really stood out as a reason to return.
I had the tamales & chile relleno. The tamale was a tad bit dry, and the chile was super spicy. I wasn’t expecting the spice because most mexican places in CT remove the seeds & pithe before frying. It was a welcomed change.
Service was standard.
$ 18 w/​tax & tip for 2 for lunch. Not bad, they have a pretty good selection of lunch specials.

Housed in what used to be Friendly’s, Frontera’s transforms blah chain restaurant into WOW local hot spot for great food. This is authentic Mexican food, with friendly service and a nicely decorated interior. The Mexican music that played during lunch was upbeat, too.
For food we had the Arroz Con Pollo (chicken & rice), table-​made guacamole, & beef enchiladas. The portions were enough for two people on the rice dishes and the guacamole was fresh and nicely spicy, without too much cilantro!
I’ll definitely return. This was affordable, yummy and a refreshing change from chain food alley, which is most of what East Main has to offer.

Great Mexican Restaurant in Meriden! All freshly made food. From the corn chips, salsa and guacamole made in front of you at table side.
I had a mixed plate, tacos, enchiladas, beans. All excellent! The dishes are gigantic here also. And the Margarita’s are HUGE and potent!
I am still trying to find a Mexican place that has beef filled tamales in CT. No can do!
Frontera had tamales with chicken.
Our waitress was extremely nice and helpful too!
Glad this placed opened!

For me, Frontera Grill is pretty good Mexican fare. i dunno, maybe with all these 4 and 5 star reviews I was just expecting to be wowed, but left feeling like it was just another albeit slightly better than average Mexican joint (though much more exciting than a Frienly’s). Worthy of note also is that this place has nothing to do with the very famous Frontera Grill in Chicago run by Rick Bayless. I searched and was unable to find a website or menu online for this Frontera Grill in Meriden, but hopefully that changes — surprising for a place that has been open a few months to not be visible online.
We started with some fried appetizer thing that was ok and vegetarian friendly, and then i had the vegetarian trio that consisted of a chile relleno and some enchiladas. overall it was OK but i have an issue when they tell you how hot the plate is, and you touch it and it is very hot but your food is really only barely above room temperature. Another irksome issue is when your platter has three things that should all have unique flavors and they all sort of have the same non descript mexican flavor. Food looked great though, taste was good, service was pretty good… well i guess it is pretty good if you discount the fact that they waited until we were done with our meal to ask us if we wanted more chips — whereas the table behind us was offered chips and got refills 3 times before they even had their entrees.
Probably will be back, as they did have a bigger than average vegetarian section on the menu and a fairly large selection of Mexican beers. I was glad to be here when there was not a Mariachi. If you are sensitive to obscenely bright colored walls, stay away.

Frontera Grill has taken over the building that formerly housed the Friendly’s on East Main Street, and it’s a welcome addition to the neighborhood. While the exterior and parking lot still look tired and in need of updating like it has for years, they’ve done a great job with renovating the inside. I spent many mornings, afternoons, and nights in this building growing up when it was Friendly’s, but it looks very different now — lots of fresh paint and colorful tiles, new booths and tables, and even a bar in the far right room.
My brother and I stopped in for lunch this week and had a very good experience from start to finish. We got a basket of fresh tortilla chips and a tiny carafe of salsa that was actually spicy, packed with garlic, onion, cilantro, and tomato flavor, and delicious. Our waitress was very friendly, called us «amigos,» and brought us another basket of warm chips after we quickly devoured the first one. My brother ordered the seafood chimichanga, which had a good mix of seafood and was a fair price at $ 12.99. While it was good, we decided afterward that seafood wasn’t the best choice for a chimichanga. I got a combination platter where I was able to pick two things, and I got a chicken chimichanga and a tamal with carnitas for $ 10.99. My chimichanga was smaller than my brother’s because it was part of the combination, but all together, it was very filling (I had leftovers for dinner later), and a great deal. The chimichanga was crispy and flavorful with a good salty cheese on top, and I really liked the seasoned rice and refried beans that came with my meal. The tamal was a little sweet, and while the carnitas were nice and tender on the inside, the corn part was not as soft as I would have liked, and the sweetness threw me off.
I can’t tell if this place is a chain, but it feels a lot like a Puerto Vallarta, which isn’t a bad thing. Prices are reasonable all around, and I was able to use a buy-​one-​get-​one half-​off entrée coupon from a recent mailing. Frontera Grill doesn’t replace my favorite Mexican place in town, but it’s really good. If I’m in the mood to stick around for some drinks and pretty good Mexican, this is a great option to have.