Mexicali Rosa's — Restaurant in Ottawa

Wow, just wow. So where to start we found three waitresses chatting up a storm by the kitchen as I needed to go to the washroom after waiting 10 mons to be seated and let myself in finished using the washroom and only then did the waitresses start seating people. For the record there had been two others needing seating before us. The restaurant was relatively empty. That should have been red flag number one. After that we were seated and our waitress came and asked for drinks. We double took as she seemed to have a very raspy voice and she joked after we asked for just water that she too needed it. She comes back coughing but more audible. I ordered the chimichanga and my wife gets the MexiCali nachos. Later we get told our original waitress left sick. She had served us our food. Now my wife's got a cough....

3 minutes later our food comes out Red flag number 2

I laughed when I saw the nachos. Be we digressed until we bit Into one and well your not supposed to judge a book by it's cover right? The starter nachos were better than the $11 nachos. You technically got more in the starter as well. The nachos were dressed with cheese and what we deduced as tomato paste and that was it. We we're given sour cream and there is never enough, ever at any restaurant, but even the sour cream couldn't save this unappetizing dish. The chimichanga meal had refried beans that tasted like Heinz brown beans and pork blended into paste and fried. The rice had to have been cooked 4 days ago and microwaved with Frank's hot sauce on it. The chimichanga chicken was at best congealed chicken broth with white food dye and black dots. The whole meal tasted like nothing; the texture was horrible. The tortillas were soggy and dripping of oil as if they too were made days ago, frozen, thawed on the counter, microwaved and served with lukewarm sauce. At this point I could go on but it's worth noting that I'm more Mexican than these two options could ever be.

Anyone at home with a microwave, salsa from a bottle, a bag of nachos and any cheese could make a more appetizing dish. Everything tasted like it was covered it Frank's sauce to try and give it flavor the only contrasting part was the beans.

To add onto this we never had a consistent waitress and at no point was any effort made to try and make better food. I mentioned to two waitresses and was told "that's how it is", and the other walked away.

If your in this area. I'm sure there are better Mexican places

TL;DR food tasted like nothing but Frank's sauce. Nachos came with cheese and tomato paste. Best part was the ice cubes in the water.

I like easy to chew icecubes. So 1 star for that.

Edited: added detail about sick waitress and fixed...

Edit (2022-04-23): Went back to one of my fav spots tonight...should have waited for a table elsewhere. Service started off well, but once our food arrived, things went downhill. 1 request & 3 reminders for some hot sauce. I got half way through my chicken chimichangas when I bit something hard, looks & feels like chicken bone. Show it to my server, her response was "sorry, looks like chicken bone, I'll comp something". So I'm done eating my meal (not risking more bone) but hubby orders another drink, and I LOVE deep fried ice cream. We order, and wait. Ice cream comes, but the cornflake crust is stale and chewy, not crispy & light as usual. Same on hubby's order. His second drink hadn't come, so the server checks to see if it's been made. Finally it arrives, although still delicious this Paloma is not the same recipe as the first (different fruit as garnish, tonic not soda). We ask for the bill, no comp. I remind our server about the chicken bone, so she goes back and removes $5. I had barely eaten half of my plate. Pandemic recovery is hard, getting enough staff, planning, etc...is hard, I get that. But chicken bones in a meal is not a small thing. I hope to be back, I love(d) Mexi's...but it will be a long while I think.

So glad this is back in Orleans! Good I'd better than before, but portion sizes are much more manageable....

Mass produced, bland food supported by pleasant service, cheap beer, and a moderate tequila list. Edit in response to the Response from the owner While the food may be made from fresh ingredients, they do a fantastic job of reproducing Velveeta cheese sauce. These same ingredients are then heated in a way that leaves the tortillas spongy with hard corners... similar to how they would be if microwaved. The fresh spices chosen for the meal have zero character and make the food more of a chore to eat.

Regarding the tequila list, what I was shown was two screen shots on my servers phone (who said she doesn't care for any of it). Looking through the provided list, it was sorted by brand rather than age (I prefer to see them sorted into blanco, reposado, anejo, and mescal... possibly served by someone who can tell me the difference between them). The brands listed were the common faves like Don Julio, Herradura, and other options typically available at the LCBO. To elevate the list, it would be nice to see some exotics imported specifically for your establishment (the LCBO will do this for you at a very reasonable rate).

In retrospect, I have adjusted the review to two stars because I still believe you have a fine wait staff, large areas to accommodate groups, and probably very good...