Estrella de Oro — Restaurant in Carmel

This is the building on Rangeline that used to be the Cancun Mexican restaurant. We hadn't been here in a while, so I'm not sure if they made many changes, but it seemed mostly similar to what we recalled from before.

They promptly seated my wife and I in an elevated area to the right of the entry by ourselves that was separated for the larger family tables that seemed to populate the majority of the space. It was nice to be separated from the noise from elsewhere, although it was a tad chilly each time folks opened the doors when entering or leaving the restaurant.

They promptly brought us chips with 3 small bowls for dipping as well as took our orders. My wife intended to order the margarita special for $10 that she saw on the specials sign when we entered. She also ordered a chile relleno ($16), which came with rice, beans, and tortillas. I was intrigued by their taco offerings and chose 4 different ones [blackened calamari ($6), blackened salmon ($6), portobello ($5), and potato ($4)] to get a sampling of what they had.

Our food arrived somewhat promptly, in fact before her margarita. When we mentioned this to the gentleman who brought our food, he said he would check. They soon brought out a HUGE fish bowl sized glass, which was not what she expected. She said the chile relleno was pretty good, but the rice was dry, which she countered by adding some of the salsa for the chips to it. My tacos were decently sized and full of ingredients. They didn't skimp on the calamari nor the salmon, but the portobello was minimal compared to the onions and peppers and the potato was difficult to distinguish from the lettuce and crema. To be honest, I probably prefer the taco flavors and value at Torchy's in Fishers, but I was impressed by the calamari taco.

The primary reason for my 3 star rating beyond a couple of misses on my tacos and the chilly breeze intervals was that when we got the bill, I was caught off guard by the $22.50 that my wife's margarita cost. We could have brought it up to someone, but we realized it was probably the appropriate charge based on the size she received. It simply wasn't the one she ordered. Not sure if it was a language barrier or why the mistake occurred, but we just paid it anyway. Wouldn't be opposed to returning, but won't go out of our...

This restaurant is awesome! They have great food great service and it’s all reasonably priced, right in the middle of downtown Carmel… What are you people waiting for!

Formally “Cancun” this Mexican restaurant is now called ESTRELLA DE ORO (GOLDEN STAR) and while it may look closed from the outside, it’s open!

I have enjoyed the quesadillas, the fajitas, the tacos, and of course the special price margaritas!

Also, they have those really fresh, thin tortilla chips with tomato salsa brought to your table upon being seated.

This is one of those places where you can be an absolute pig and still have some to take home!

There’s lots of flatscreen TVs if you’d like sports or American ninja and a great mix of Mexican tunes.

Special, thanks to Elizabeth my server I’ve had her twice, and she actually makes the food taste better with her beautiful smile and amazing personality!

My only suggestion would be to turn ON on the patio lights so people know you’re open!… lAlso, maybe dim the inside lights a little at dinner time

UPDATE: I happened to drive by the restaurant the night after writing this review and noticed a beautifully lit patio with elegant lighting. fantastic lights on around the patio even though it’s in the middle of winter…this restaurant genuinely strives to improve and takes customer feedback seriously. Love that!

Muchos gracias a todo!!! Regresso...

So the food here since the new owners has been majorly upgraded. Do kind of miss some of the ground beef stuff. The new servers are terrible compared to the old ones. A few of the old servers have stuck around, but some have also left for a while they were giving you just a tiny little bowl of salsa for the whole table, but I’ve noticed on some visits you get bigger ones. The salsa, the tortilla chips and the queso dip have all been drastically changed for the better. They have done some revamping of the inside in. It definitely is better. There has definitely been a price increase and unfortunately they no longer make the frozen margaritas which was a big appeal...