Raul’s Family Mexican Restaurant — Restaurant in Beaverton

I decided to eat here since it had been a while and I ordered the Arroz con Pollo. It is important to know I have a culinary degree, I have spent 15 years working in kitchens.l, both as a cook and as kitchen management. This meal that is marketed as "authentic" is anything but. The entrée had hardly any rice, very little cheese, and traditional recipes do not have mushrooms and it definitely is not drenched in salsa. It was also served with a romaine and red cabbage salad right next to the hot soupy mess that is the Arroz con Pollo. The salad was wilted and slimy because the salad was pretty warm, which is definitely not something anyone in the restaurant business should ever do. This salad mixture would do better with anything other than Mexican food. This dish should be rice, cheese, and chicken with spices. That's it. It should be called Salsa con Pollo instead.

And if anything should be served this, it should be shredded iceberg lettuce, pico de gallo, and refried beans, with a little bit of sour cream. And even that should be on a separate plate so cold items don't get warm and slimy.

I am just shocked that this simple dish could not be executed, when I have had other great meals here. The only saving grace of this dish is that it was delivered timely. But everything else was just appalling. The owners of this restaurant need to really examine their recipes because this dish is not only poorly executed, but poorly designed. This would have gotten one star, but due to the cleanliness of the restaurant and the colorful decorations and ambiance of the place gives it a two. Please, if anyone who works in this restaurant reads this, please take into consideration of my suggestions and critiques. I wish...

Updated 11/27/23: All things must pass, I guess. Since I started working from home I haven't gotten to this part of town quite as often. But I always looked forward to a meal at Raul's. The last couple of times have been disappointing, though. The service was slow and not as friendly as in the past. Last visit it was lunch rush and the place was crowded, so I can understand. This time I was the first and only patron for most of the meal. Sadly, the food also disappointed. This time the chili relleno was undercooked, almost no cheese stuffing and the chili was not fresh. Beans were runny and tasteless and the rice was - well, awful. And the food was barely room temperature. Last visit the food was cold but at least the enchiladas were palatable. I am sad that this will probably be my last visit to an old friend. Decent Mexican food seems to be rare in these parts, which is why I like Raul's. This is a friendly family owned place with flavorful and fresh food. I've never had a bad meal here. There are vegetarian and vegan options. Highly recommend the Rose Salad and Carne Asada. Chips come with a warm bean dip as well as salsa, and the salsa bar has something for everyone. I try to get here whenever I'm in the...

Average service, mediocre food. The refried beans are very obviously directly from a can with very little added, and tended to be pretty flavorless. The Spanish rice was very very underwhelming and tasteless. I ordered a tamales and enchilada combo, the ground beef in the enchilada was acceptable at best, and the pork tamale was flavorless. In almost any Mexican restaurant it is typically that the pork is superior to any other meat. Although, the redeeming factor is the price, when you are paying more for your margarita than for your food, you really can't expect top quality. Overall, the food itself is 2 stars, with a service of 3 stars, and an agreeable price. If I was bringing someone along that didn't have a taste for Mexican food I would bring them here, otherwise, I would visit somewhere else.

Edit: I forgot to discuss the wait time. My food actually came out very fast, less than 10 minutes probably. This isn't necessarily a good thing, it indicates to me that most of the food there is probably just sitting around in a warmer until they assemble it on your plate. The plates also come out MUCH hotter than they should be, they probably heat the plates up to keep the beans from...