Casa Maria Tacos & Tequila — Restaurant in Amesbury

Having just moved back to Amesbury after 21 years, I have heard nothing but rave reviews about this restaurant. After an extremely long day, I did not feel like going home to cook, so I decided to try out Casa Maria tonight. I was told their QUESO was amazing. So I figured let me try just a small appetizer before I go spending $50+ on a dinner out.

Knowing myself at almost 45, I know I am somewhat picky when it comes to foods. So I figured I would just order their simple queso because if you can make that correctly then the rest of the food should follow suit ( for MY tastes, not anyone else's just so we are clear )

Upon arrival, I inquired about purchasing an extra bag of their fresh made tortilla chips because I have my pico de gallo I made at home and wanted this was the perfect opportunity to get them 😀.

I arrived home only living right down the street and couldn't wait to try a chip because the bag was still warm lol.

Chip secured in mouth while I'm trying to open the queso bag, yes definitely good fresh made tortilla chips I was thinking to myself. Opened the queso container and was unfortunately, met w an unpleasant experience. ( See attached pictures)

Being upset I figured ok, for $11 or whatever it was, if it's good, I won't even call to complain. I taste the first bite and it just tastes like melted cheese , like the kind that you bite into in a grilled cheese but w a lil kick because of the jalapenos. Im thinking hmmm is this what people raved about to me? THIS?? How is it possible that 8/10 _different ppl could have absolutely ZERO taste buds because come on. So I look at my recipet as I'm trying a second chip in case I just got a bad first one. Nope same taste, which was basically none and the receipt says CHEESE DIP. I got a, BARELY, half cup of melted white American cheese with jalapenos. If that's what I wanted, I could have made that at home for a quarter of the cost and made 4 times as much.

I attempted to call back to ask if they could remake my correct order but they did not answer the phone. After 6 tries, I gave up trying.

I'll eat the loss of $10/12 whatever it was, but Im highly bummed out because not only am I still starving 🤣🤦‍♀️ now nothing's open so I have to do exactly what I was avoiding that brought me to try them out tonight ...

My friend and I came out on 4/12 Friday at 5:30. We were celebrating being smoke free for a year. We love Mexican so we were very excited to get the flights of margaritas that we saw advertised.

We waited about 15 minutes to be seated. We sat and were given chips and salsa. They must make their own because the chips were overcooked and definitely on the verge of being burnt. We waited about 10 minutes for someone to come over to take our drink order. We finally stopped someone to ask who our server was. The gentleman did not know we were his table. We got our drink order in. 2 flights of margaritas. The margaritas get to the table. We tried each one and they were ok. There was one that that chile in it and it was very spicy. My friend was surprised. I tried hers and it was made very differently. Way less chile.

We ordered the cheese dip, chicken and steak fajitas, chicken quesadilla & 2 tacos. We were going to try everything. The fajitas came out not sizzling. My first bite was overwhelmingly peppery. I maybe ate a couple bites more and set it aside. The ground beef tacos were flavorless and super oily. When I took a bite the other side shot forth a forceful oil stream. Took one bite and wouldn't take another. The quesadilla was super greasy and just not good. The best part was the cheese dip and burnt chips. We spent about $100 and left hungry. It is early days of the restaurant. Maybe they'll get better. I'm not in a rush to go back.

The decor...

3 enchiladas Combo $17.00 3 chicken ...the chicken was canned..it was dry ..it was not freshly cooked ..it was chewy The sauces were tasty but skimpy The Mole sauce was tasty but very skimpy The tomatillo sauce was also very Skimpy (Suiza) The sides...1/2 cup of rice 1/2 cup refried beans They should have been on side dishes So..it was a large plate crammed With the 3 enchiladas And the sides The plate was suitable for 2 enchiladas It had no room for sauce and was flat ..no edge ..the sauce ran off. You know 17. Is a lot of money They could have been more generous with the sides And ,the sauces...and the chicken flavor and texture was disappointing I understand that we have inflation..higher prices But lower quality and lower quantity.. Also the margarita was tasty but for $11. Not generous ...others are more generous. And they asked too many times if we wanted another I realized they were not busy but.... I think the customers should be better served. The atmosphere is a matter of taste ..it was well done but ..too much pink. Also..I have been to Mexico 2x And have been looking eating Mexican food for years And last but not...