Restaurant Mexico

What Phoenix-area restaurant holds the record for the most locations occupied? It's unlikely there's an official record kept anywhere, but a top contender might be Restaurant Mexico, an institution in Downtown Tempe. Over the years, the restaurant has occupied four different locations, all within a half-mile radius of one another, moving each time as the neighborhood has changed. Way back when, the restaurant originated on Mill Avenue. More recently, it spent a long time in the Arches shopping center on University Drive, a location it had to vacate to make way for a multi-story building currently on hold due to the implosion of the real estate bubble. Since the 2007 demolition of its former home, the restaurant has returned to Mill, this time to a restaurant-dense block just south of the Mill Avenue / 3rd Street station. It's a stretch of the street not overrun by chain restaurants and a good fit for the latest incarnation of Restaurant Mexico.

The newest site has updated decor, but is also simple and reassuringly familiar to those who have eaten at the restaurant for years. A long, narrow dining room extends back from a cashier and host station. Up front, in the waiting area, clippings on the wall depict the restaurant's history and various awards throughout its several decades of operation. In the dining room, high ceilings, wood tables, and tile create a sense of minimalist openness and activity. One wall of brick adds to the back-to-basics look, while the opposite wall is covered in wallpaper that looks like something Jackson Pollack would have created had he been restricted to earth tones. The restaurant is just right for lunch with coworkers or friends, but probably not the ideal site for a romantic dinner given the chatter and clatter in the background. For anyone wanting a more quiet environment, there is also a small covered patio in the back of the restaurant.Ceiling fans make the patio a viable choice even in hot weather.

All meals begin with crisp chips and a red salsa. The salsa may be a let-down to anyone seeking a thick, spicy dip. Instead, it's thin and, like most food at Restaurant Mexico, on the mild side. Bottles of Tapatio hot sauce are placed at each table for anyone seeking a little more heat. Nibble on the chips and think ahead to the main dishes, which come in both a la carte and combo platter configurations. Restaurant Mexico does not serve the Sonoran style of food common in many Phoenix-area restaurants. Instead, the food reflects a slightly different style from the interior of Mexico. There is less emphasis on gooey melted yellow cheese and instead judicious use of crumbly white cotija cheese to accessorize most dishes. Expect more frequent use of corn tortillas, which are favored over their more familiar flour counterparts in the quesadillas. Similar, small thick corn tortillas are fried to a crispy state in the sopes, a dish halfway between a taco and a tostada and topped with beans and the customer's choice of avocado or meat. The beans in the sopes, as with many dishes, are whole pinto beans rather than the refritos seen at just about every Mexican restaurant in Phoenix.

Whole beans also appear in one of the restaurant's signature dishes, the Clare enchiladas (center photo below), where they join guacamole rolled inside corn tortillas. A Clare burro and a Chris tostada (right photo below), featuring the same guacamole and bean combination, are available as well. A variety of tacos, burros, and tostadas with beef and chicken are among the standards available, and daily specials include dishes like chicken mole, bistek ranchero, and chiles rellenos. Pork also shows up in a few dishes, but seafood is generally not an option. In a way, the absence of much aquatic on the menu is disappointing, but it may contribute to the moderate prices at Restaurant Mexico, with entrees generally under $10. The rice, included automatically with most combinations and specials is a good version of the usual Mexican restaurant preparation; it's soft, airy, and thankfully not oversalted.

Restaurant Mexico does not have a full bar, but beer and margaritas are available. Non-alcoholic beverage choices include sodas, horchata, and iced tea, which is unsweetened but features a cinnamon flavor with just a little kick. Most beverages include free refills, which are proffered with amazing regularity by a responsive staff. The kitchen is quick enough to enable the restaurant to work for quick workday lunches or pre-event dinners. Restaurant Mexico has high chairs and is casual enough to be a good choice for family dining. Despite its numerous changes of venue, Restaurant Mexico has succeed over the long term by focusing on basics and doing them right. Compared to some of its neighbors on Mill, the restaurant is definitely not flashy or even innovative. Instead, it's sort of an old friend, one that is not necessarily the trendiest or hippest around, but always reassuring to run into after a few years of separation.

423 S Mill Ave., Tempe, AZ 85281 Map
(480) 967-3280