Chico's Cantina — Restaurant in Florida

Husband and I are HUGE Mexican food fans. I’m from California and we have traveled to nearly every state in our RV travels and eat Mexican in nearly every city. This was BY FAR the worst Mexican meal we have ever experienced. I usually ask the waitress “what’s the best thing here” and did, she quickly suggested the fajitas so my husband and I took her suggestion and ordered the fajitas for 2, chicken & steak. First off, the salsa was VERY good as were the chips. But then… the food arrived. The fajita’s arrived in a bed of julienne cut zucchini, carrots, bell pepper and onion, mostly zucchini. On top was lemon and a fancy cut radish. It immediately looked more like Chinese for than Mexican. Because our waitress was Asian, I am lead to believe the cooks might be Asian. But… looks can be deceiving so I loaded up a decent (store bought) tortilla and loaded it up. It was not good, at all. I powered through and finished it bei was starving. Curious as to why it was horrible, I tried each ingredient separately- rice and beans were pretty tasty. Steak was pounded thin and had ZERO spice. Chicken pounded this had only a detectable spice of black pepper. Guacamole tasted like it was 3 days old. The rest of the meal consisted of a tortilla filled with beans and salsa. To add some flavor I asked for a small side of enchilada sauce to add into my bean burrito. The enchilada sauce was good but likely canned. My ice tea was very good, husband said margarita was your typical pre-made margarita. We’re pretty positive when it comes to meal reviews and rarely leave one. This was such a bad experience and we commiserated into the next day about how dissatisfied we were, I felt a need to warn others. If you are railroaded into going here, perhaps , an enchilada meal might be a...

Interesting place for sure! Staff was wonderful and very knowledgeable of the menu items. I gave it 4 stars because though I didn't order top menu items I felt the food really wasn't anything to "write home about". The nachos I ordered appeared to be a mix of shredded cheeses melted. While it wasn't bad it wasn't fantastic either. Part of me had hoped for a more Mexican style nachos with queso than the shredded cheese. I know the location is advertised as TexMex but like most things that can be open to interpretation. Also I would advise to pay attention to the menu and really read your fine print (we did based on others reviews so luckily no surprises). It can add up on the bill super quick!! I know things have to travel quite a distance to get to places in the keys and higher prices are understood, but I felt a bit nickel and dimed. We didn't outrageously splurge on food and drink items and our bill came out to be over $60 for two. I just wished that for that price I could excitedly share how wonderful I thought the food was but it unfortunately was more mediocre. Again, food was by no means bad! Just not show stopping, and be sure to pay attention to fine...

As soon as you enter Chico’s you know you are in a special place. You are greeted warmly and it’s usually by the owner, Jeff. The atmosphere is inviting and you know your meal is going to be extraordinary. We dined on Cinco de Mayo and the restaurant had a perfect low key celebration. We dined out on the patio and the temp and surroundings were just right. The chips and salsa are memorable and there is a reason they are additional for refills. It’s that good and worth it. The star of the day was the daily specials. We had the Quesa Birria Tacos and the Chicken Pipian Verde. These two dishes were 5star prep, taste and portion. Jeff’s son Ashton was our server and you can tell he has the same love and philosophy for the business as his father. There is a reason Jeff has been in business for over 39 years. Here’s to another 39! Parking is really not that bad. Be patient, kind and you’ll get a spot. Jeff, Ashton and Team have created an exceptional place to be with friends, family and have a 5 star meal.

Don’t even think about it. Go right now to Chico’s. You can thank me...