My Neighbor Felix Centennial — Restaurant in Centennial

My Neighbor Felix has officially opened their doors in Centennial and we couldn’t wait to check out the new location.

We arrived and were seated in a booth downstairs by the bar - this My Neighbor Felix location was massive and had two stories. The place was packed; I highly recommend making a reservation. The aesthetic of the restaurant was lively and fun with lots of Pan-American décor including Mexican star lamps, neon light accents, & greenery walls.

Our server Mariah was very sweet and made sure we had everything we needed during our meal.

We started off with margaritas. The Hibiscus Margarita was made with hibiscus infused tequila, fresh lime, and pineapple. The hibiscus gave the marg a nice lemony, cranberry tartness.

The Spicy Margarita was made with Tanteo jalapeño tequila, agave nectar, fresh lime, and habanero crystals. The spicy marg had heat from the jalapeño and the Tanteo tequila provided a smoky Chipotle after taste with habanero notes from the salted rim.

For Appetizers we had the Open Faced Quesadilla, Chile Relleno and the Queso Fundido Skillet.

The Open Faced Quesadilla was made with queso trio, caramelized onion, sweet peppers, cilantro crema and flour tortilla. We added on steak. The Open Faced Quesadilla was our favorite appetizer! The flour tortilla was lightly crisped and generously coated in the trio of melted cheese. The crunch of the tortilla and chew of the cheese went very well with the meaty steak bites.

The Chile Relleno was made with a tempura battered Anaheim pepper, chorizo, Oaxaca cheese, tomato frito, and pickled white onion. The fried pepper was stuffed with loads of melted ooey-gooey cheese and lightly spiced chorizo. The pickled white onion added a crisp tang.

The Queso Fundido Skillet was made with Oaxaca cheese, ranchero cheese, jalapeno, caramelized onions, and hibiscus chips. The queso was mild with a buttery taste and hint of salt. The Oaxaca and ranchero cheeses melted together for solid cheese pulls.

For Entrees we had the Carne Asada Fajitas, Tequila Shrimp Tacos, Lobster + Shrimp Enchiladas and the Pan Seared Atlantic Salmon.

The Carne Asada Fajitas were made with grilled skirt steak and veggies and served alongside beans, rice, cheeses, and sauces. The fajitas were a 'Tablas Fuertes For Two' entrée, meaning a very large portion. These fajita were massive! The strips of carne asada were hot and smelled of lime juice and marinade. The steak topped colorful, grilled fresh veggies.

The Tequila Shrimp Tacos were made with citrus marinated jumbo tiger shrimp, jalapeño avocado coleslaw, cilantro crema, cotija cheese, radish, and cilantro. The jumbo tiger shrimp made for meaty bites bursting with citrus that took my taste buds on a tropical getaway.

The Lobster + Shrimp Enchiladas were made with poached lobster, black tiger shrimp, avocado, tomatillo salsa verde, cilantro crema, pickled red onion, and smoked salt. These creamy enchiladas were generously coated in savory tomatillo salsa. The lobster and shrimp added a sweetness to the dish and the pickled red onion provided some bite.

The Pan Seared Atlantic Salmon was made with serrano chile, roasted potatoes, heirloom tomatoes, and chimichurri. The salmon fillet was flaky with a mild flavor of umami and butter. The heirloom tomatoes provided nice acidity to the fish.

For dessert we had the Cast Iron Sopapilla Cheesecake made with a cinnamon puff pastry filled with cheesecake, topped with caramel and housemade horchata. The Sopapilla Cheesecake is a must order - it had all of us drooling and we finished every last bite. The cinnamon puff pastry had a lightly crisped exterior & doughy interior that held the silky cheesecake filling. The sweet pull in texture of the pastry against the creamy cheesecake...

Despite having a very strange experience at this restaurant and being there for almost 3 hours for a lunch last year, my family decided to give it another try. We anticipated slow service based on our prior experience, and that was definitely the case. Everyone enjoyed the food, they actually have good food here and the food is not the problem! The first issue is that we ordered a mimosa tower. They came over after quite a long time saying that they had run out of the mimosa tower glassware. So they brought us 3 cups with juice in them and some warm bottles of champagne. We had to ask for ice for the champagne and glasses with ice so that the drinks were not warm. Yet we were still charged the same amount as the Mimosa tower, which is really not what we received. My sister tried to bring her baby to the restroom to change his diaper. She assumed that there would be a changing table in the handicap stall, but someone was occupying it for a long time. An employee happened to be in the restroom and said that she might be more comfortable in one of the handicapped accessible bathrooms, so they brought her there. There were no changing tables in those bathroom. On the way out, I asked to speak to the manager about the lack of changing tables. He did tell me that they had a changing table, which is all well and good, but doesn’t solve the problem now! I told him that an employee had directed my sister to a restroom without a changing table. I told him that I think when people are carrying an infant with their diaper bag into the bathroom that we should assume that they need a changing table. He adamantly believes that the staff should not assume anything about anybody, and that his staff made no error indirect directing her to a restroom without a changing table. As we were wrapping up, the waitress brought checks to our group at all different times. So then we had some people who had paid and were ready to leave and some people who had not even received their checks yet. I had to go up to the hostess stand to ask for the rest of the checks. This is our second time having a really weird experience at this restaurant and we will not be back. Sadly, it’s not because of the food or drinks, which are both pretty good, minus the mimosa tower incident! There are definitely some staff training issues and the manager was very combative rather than solutions oriented. The owners should definitely be looking at this if they want to get more than a four star review on Google! Which, based on the food alone, they...

Let's start with the "why not to waste your money here" observations. I've been here twice just to give the brand a fair chance to redeem themselves as I went originally on the 3rd day of their grade opening and it was a mess. From the outside it looks very inviting and begs you to come in but don't be fooled, it goes down from here. The interior design is a complete fail with an undersized bar for the scale of the overall restaurant, male bathrooms in which one stale you can't even fit in (see pics) and overall an architectural theme (including what is that upstairs turret for??) that doesn't make any sense. The interior designer firm needs to head out to Orange County, CA or Vegas and observe the brand Javier's to understand what a real high end mexican experience looks and taste like. The food: had several of the happy hour offerings including chips/salsa trio. Bland with no real spice kick or anything that would remind you of a great mexican salsa. Bust Entree: this is a real shame when you ask for a burrito but to leave off the slaw and they tell you they can't as the burritos are pre-made. What? Even Taco Bell makes your burrito to order. Once I heard that, I switched to the shrimp taco, hard to screw that up. Well, they did. Overcooked, chewy and just insulting for $20. Family had fish entrees which had a "fishy" smell and taste and overall a C for flavor, texture and price. Drinks: overall good margs and price for happy hour ($7) but not worth $13 post happy hour. Draft beer is the usual but for some reason (I'm sure profit margin is higher) they have several handles of their own View House beer which sucks. Owner - you don't mix brands EVER in a different restaurant concept. It just screams that you're a cheap a$$. Bar itself: like I said in the beginning, a complete design disaster with bottles of booze so high up in the air, you break your neck even looking that high (see pics). Why would you do this? Just bad design. Additionally the south end of the bar is the main "in/out" to the kitchen and thus you can't really stand on that end and make the bar even smaller than it already was. The bar is the cash engine of your business and you cut off one side of it due to poor layout is costing you money. Anyone reading my review will see what I mean when you walk in. Overall I can't recommend this place but if your curiosity is getting the best of you, try it during happy hour and save you money once you come to the...