Gardens of Taxco
Tuesday, April 19, 2011 at 11:56AM Mark and I go out to eat for any number of reasons. Sometimes, we get excited about the hype surrounding a place and have to experience it for ourselves. Other times, we have a special occasion for which we want to dress up and celebrate out. We often make plans out to meet up with friends, or to show out-of-town guests around the town. And sometimes, we (I) just don't feel like cooking. I had purchased a coupon for The Gardens of Taxco Mexican Restaurant without any prior knowledge of the establishment, other than its proximity to our house. One evening a couple of weeks ago, with no plans and no desire to spend time in the kitchen, we decided to stroll down Santa Monica Boulevard in West Hollywood and take advantage of our deal.
We arrived relatively early in the evening, and waited to be seated in the lush dark interior, with its moody lighting, while the first dinner rush finished up. After about 20 minutes, we were led to a corner table and people-watched - the crowd was made up of mostly families and festive groups of friends. And understandably so - it seems as though the foremost priority of the restaurant is to make you feel like you're visiting the home of friends. More than once throughout the night, we observed the servers jubilantly serenading a table with both the American and Mexican versions of Happy Birthday. And as we listened to the sonorous voice of our server as the meal selections rolled off his tongue, we grinned at each other.
At Taxco, every diner gets basically the same treatment - a five-course meal for $25. With the exception of your entree, the courses are fixed. And, if five courses aren't enough, the meal begins with a round of chips and salsa and a huge bowl of pickled vegetables. We each ordered margaritas and received a giant carafe to go along with our meals. Word to the wise, if you have allergies or aversions, let them know up front, because once you've ordered the food starts coming to your table, fast and furious.
The first course, a simple cheese quesadilla topped with guacamole (below), was a decent start. Could you make this at home? Sure, and easily, too. But it was still pretty tasty.
The second course was the albondigas, or Mexican meatball soup (below). The soup tasted exactly like the kind of soup your mom made for you when you were sick as a child - nothing special, but homey and comforting just the same. My only complaint? I would have liked more meatballs.
We got two separate dishes for our third course of the evening. My hearty chicken enchilada was smothered in a creamy sauce and topped with an olive (below). Again, the dish landed in the decent range - while the chicken was underseasoned and a little bland, it was tender and juicy, and I did really like the creamy sauce.
Mark's crispy beef tacquito (below) was less successful, tiny, on the dry side and not very flavorful. No matter - we split our dishes (as we often do), so he was contented with his half of the enchilada.
Finally, we got our selected dishes. I opted for shrimp in salsa de Ajo Picante (below). The mildly spicy red garlic sauce was really nice, as were the perfectly plump shrimp.
Mark decided on the chicken in mole poblano sauce (below). The restaurant really hangs their hat on this dish- the 'best mole in the city' we were told. It may not have been the best executed mole we've ever had - the complexity of flavor you get with the best versions of the dish was missing here - but was definitely far from the worst.
The final dish was the bananas & cream, Rio Frio style - slices of banana, covered in a pudding (below). The dessert was light and inoffensive. The food is comparable to other mediocre West Hollywood Mexican restaurants (Spanish Kitchen and El Compadre come to mind), but Taxco woos with it's unique value, cozy atmosphere and one-of-a-kind service.
Taxco certainly did the trick on that particular evening - we were full and I didn't have to lift a finger. But just a tip? If you do decide go, hit the website and print the coupon for the early bird discount (offered from 4:30 to 7:00) - you can get the 5-course experience for just $14.95. You might also want to tell your server about any coupons ahead of time as ours became quickly unpleasant with us when we presented ours at the end of the meal.
Los Angeles, Mexican in Reviews: On The Town
Reader Comments (4)
I dined here once and enjoyed it for the most part. I really liked the shrimp dish you had as well. But other than that, I didn't think it was spectacular but definitely some of the better Mexican fare I've had in LA.
The shrimp was the best part of the meal, for me. Here's the thing, I'd like to find somewhere that DOES serve spectacular Mexican food - does that exist in LA? You'd think so, right?
Love that you went to Gardens - J's family in LA are regulars, and whenever the East Coast crowd is out there they always go. Turns out you can make a few special requests if you know what to ask for, but I'm not as advanced as one of our cousins. "Not hot, spiiicy." Awesome.
Oooh, I wish I would have known some tricks. The food was pretty decent, but for me the big draw is the atmosphere. Very family friendly and fun.