Las Guitarras Restaurant Breakfast-Mexican-Steaks-Seafood — Restaurant in Boerne

When I first heard about this restaurant offering New Mexican cuisine in Boerne, Texas, I was skeptical. New Mexican food is nearly non-existent in Texas. However, my curiosity got the better of me, and I decided to give it a try. To my surprise, I found some of the best New Mexican food I’ve had. I never expected to find such authentic flavors in a small Texas town.

I was seated quickly, my drink order taken and brought out promptly along with some chips and chunky red salsa.

The menu was extensive, featuring a blend of Tex-Mex and New Mexican dishes, including some unique offerings like blue corn puffy tacos.

What Makes New Mexican Food Unique? Hatch Chiles: These are a staple in New Mexican cuisine, grown in the Hatch Valley region. They are renowned for their distinct flavor, which is influenced by the region's soil and climate. Hatch chiles can be used green or red (when ripened) and add a unique depth of flavor to dishes.

First Impressions of The Food When my plate arrived, I was surprised to see that my enchiladas were stacked, I had missed that on the menu description. Stacked enchiladas arent very common in Texas, where they are almost always rolled. This was the very first indication this might be authentic New Mexican food. The red sauce was a deep, dark red, and the green sauce visibly full of green chile. I had to try the Hatch chile first, and it did not disappoint. The green sauce was savory with a perfect balance of flavors—neither bitter nor bland, but the best was yet to come.

The red sauce was fantastic, clearly made from dried red chile. It had the rich, savory, and slightly bitter flavor characteristics, that any native New Mexican would instantly recognize. The red sauce made the meal, but it served alongside the green sauce added a wide swath of flavor across the plate. Which truly exhibited New Mexican flavors.

The rice was fluffy with bits of corn and peas, and the refried beans having a nice flavor as well. As I ate my meal, I found that nearly every item on my plate benefited from the red sauce, eating some on my beans and rice as well.

The Owner After my meal, I introduced myself to a man I assumed was either the head chef, the owner, or both. He turned out to be Fernando, the head chef and owner. I had seen him walking around the restaurant, checking on customers as I dined. I asked him where he was originally from. "Santa Fe," he replied, which explained the authentic New Mexican flavors on the menu. I mentioned the items like stacked enchiladas, blue corn, Hatch chile sauce, red chile sauce, and Christmas style, which is almost non existent in Texas. Fernando smiled, as he knew these were the items that really set New Mexican cuisine apart from Tex-Mex.

I asked about the red sauce, and he confirmed that it as well as everything else, was made from scratch. The red sauce, made from dried red peppers (on a ristra), was soaked, blended, strained, and seasoned with just a few ingredients: garlic, oregano, and salt. I mentioned some of the other places in Texas where I’d found New Mexican food, and Fernando mentioned he might work on recipes for Indian frybread/tacos and stuffed sopapillas after mentioning they were pretty hard to find around these parts. I really enjoyed the entire experience, Fernando was very friendly, and it was clear he took pride in the food he was serving. In a small town like Boerne, this is exactly the type of place I love to support and spread the word about.

I also saw mentions of live music after 6pm some days, and a possible Sunday...

My husband and I shared the fajitas (steak & chicken at lunch ) They were so moist and tender with wonderful flavor! Everything was absolutely perfect ! The vegetables , the guacamole, , salsa, rice , beans , and soup! In our opinion these are by far the best fajita’s in the whole San Antonio Area and really the whole State of Texas ! And we have eaten allot of fajitas all across the USA and I actually would say these are by far the best I’ve had anywhere ! The restaurant was clean and the atmosphere was very friendly and welcoming! Our waiter was extremely attentive and worked very hard to make sure everything was as we so ordered ! The owner himself was on site verifying orders and personally checking on customers to make sure everything was as should be ! He is a very hardworking and extremely passionate about his restaurant and quality of food ! Very kind attentive and dedicated man ! We traveled 30 minutes out of our way just to eat here and will continue to do so in order to get this quality of food ! Thank you so much for the wonderful lunch ! We give this place our highest recommendation! They score a perfect 100 in our opinion and we’re pretty passionate about the food we choose to eat out these days as the cost has risen so much over the past few years ! That said , we order steak and chicken fajitas for one and shared and were so completely stuffed that we didn’t even have room for dessert unfortunately ! Just ordered water to drink !

I will remember that next time ! Lol Also , although I wasn’t able to order a margarita for myself today , I Watched with my mouth watering , others drinking them with much delight written across their faces ! So they must be good ! Our cost today before tip was a very reasonable $21.60 including tax! We left there extremely pleased but extremely full ! Thank you again for such an amazing lunch and dining experience! We will be...

Las Guitarras was certainly abuzz with diners on Christmas day. And the best gift Santa could bring to a restaurant owner is a restaurant full of holiday customers in a spending mood as was the case during our visit.

We found the traffic inside the restaurant was much busier than what we had encountered on our way here. Tables were full of felicitous patrons with nimble staff balancing over filled trays of food slaloming between tables and the influx and exodus of customers.

Fernando (the owner) was in rare form directing the hustling wait staff like a traffic cop during NIOSA. He visited our table numerous times to inquire after our satisfaction and trade a joke or two. As we finished eating Fernando asked if there were any complaints. I said, "yes". "I am way to full". He grabbed my shoulder in a playful manner and chortled with a big, appreciative, good hearted grin.

The menu here is full to overflowing with delectable versions of tex-mex dishes expertly rendered and pleasingly presented, reminiscent of the pulchritudinous cuisine of Soluna. No Christmas punch, but the cold Negra Modelo I ordered kept my jalapeno laden nachos from reaching ignition point.

Plump grilled shrimp in a garlicky olive oil with sautéed onions and peppers served with white rice graced the plates of two diners (me for one). The kitchen was accommodating for minor modifications to dishes. A sign of scratch preparation, kitchen skill and definitive customer appreciation.

Despite the crowd at a few hours after midday, we waited just minutes for a table of five. It was a very pleasant brinner though the conversational level probably exceeded 85 decibels as one would expect from a crowd filled with the joy of the holiday season, a few margaritas and some very...