Pueblo Viejo — Restaurant in Fort Collins

I'm rarely in Fort Collins and idea was to go to bbq place next door but it being close and not wanting to search decided to give this a try. I had previously searched and looked at photos of various places in the area but many were pizza and burger joints and was seeking more a meal; despite not being tempted decided to try it.

Upon entering I was mesmerized at the nicely decorated restaurant. Much nicer than most I've been to so I was pretty impressed at that point.

The staff was pretty attentive and friendly. I got seated within a couple of minutes and asked for recommendations and finally decided on one of them. Which is a dish I frequently like to order because it's a good dish to gauge their authenticity.

almost upon being seated I was brought chip salsas and mashed beans as a dip.

I had to wash hands and proceeded to so so. There was a first con upon entwring I thought at minimum could use a deodorizer or scent sprayer. While it was nicely decorated and wasn't trashed perhaps it did need a deep cleaning.

So went to get started and was pleasantly surprised how delicious the beans were and the chips; I hardly had much salsa while not bad wasn't much more tasty than jarred chipped salsa at least flavor wise for comparison.

So I decided on the "molcajete yautla " which was a recommendation and often highest priced plate in Mexican restaurant. Reason I love molcajetes is because food remains hot while you enjoy your meal. Also you could say it's the Mexican Style of Hibachi as often the meats are left to be finished cooking in the hot lava stone Molcajete.

For drink I ordered coffee which was ok nothing special didn't get much aroma or flavor from it.

Sobupon ordering food probably took less than. 10 minutes to arrive and I was surprised and Moreno when it arrived in a regular dish. From there after having high expectations I just tried to enjoy my meal as much as possible.

So the pros? Atmosphere decor Staff attentiveness.

Cons? Not quite authentic on my first experience. For the dish I ordered and what i recieved I felt swindled.

You would be better most likely with under $20 dishes.

So what was so bad about the molcajete. ?

For one it was not a molcajete it was more like a bowl. You could name it a protein bowl?

Protein salad?

Second a molcajete generally consist of mostly meats and this one had way too many fillers such as onions, green onions, tomatoes, avocado, mushrooms . Surprisingly you know what? While I believe too many of those don't belong in a molcajete they were what I enjoyed the most and while some may call it sustained meal it was lacking in other aspects.

Third and most important. Molcajete should be made fresh and while it possibly was I got the impression cook just threw together some tacos meats as they were diced. Also they were to thin. The quality of beef was not up to or worthy of molcajete. Last the way it was cooked and not seasoned is what really made me not eat it. I brought it home and I'll try to season see if that's all that it was lacking. The cherry on top there was no salsa homemade which is the unique thing of molcajetes. A molcajete is usually a nice experience and this was not it. I've had once a molcajete without much salsa but full of flavor well seasoned and perfectly cooked meats.

I wanted to enjoy it but I was dissapointed. I'm glad perhaps that the demographics of Fort Collins enjoy it as they provide pretty good serve and great for them but I'm not sure I would return.

Also didn't in because it was cold and didn't want to walk around anymore.

So since I enjoy3d the b3ans with their flour tortillas I can't guarantee tee they are made in house or not but I enjoyed them. Some reviewer said they were "soggy" well there's whole, there's semiashed and mashed not sure soggy is a very descriptive word as those are preferences and differe t methods restaurants will serve them.

I originally thought of ordering a Chile verde burrito but opted not to being it was such a nice atmosphere wanted...

Good service, got refills timely, order was correct and our food was hot. Unlimited chips and salsa, they also bring some housemade beans out for dipping. The salsa is fresh with good flavor but is not hot so if you like hot salsa you'll be disappointed. We tried the Pueblo Viejo combo, the chicken taquitos were good, they had a lot of chicken, the quesadillas were ok, my favorite part of the appetizer were the nachos. They remind me of nachos from one of our favorite places back home (El Cholo), real melted cheese on their housemade chips sprinkled with very well seasoned beef and a cup of spicy nacho cheese for you to dip your chips into or pour over the top of your nachos for extra cheesy goodness. Loved the nachos! We also tried the carne asada plate, it was cooked exactly how my husband liked it, good carne asada seasoning/flavor. Fajita burrito; it was good, the nontraditional addition of mushrooms to the onion & pepper mix was very tasty. Carne asada quesadilla; like most others, it was good. Enchiladas Rancheras; very good. I was happy to see that the enchiladas were traditionally made with the corn tortillas gisadas in the sauce, wrapped and topped with traditional mexican toppings, not TexMex or oven made. Over the moon about the enchiladas. The beans and rice were also good. I especially liked the rice, I rarely say this about Mexican restaurant rice, but, it was actually good. Someone back there certainly knows how to make authentic Mexican rice. Most places out here do not. I was a little disappointed by the dessert, churros with ice cream. I was expecting traditional churros, fried with a dusting of sugar and cinnamon. They were fried but had no topping and the ice cream was freezer burnt and you could taste it a lot. I think if you stay away from the desserts you'll be fine. All the food was very good. It wasn't busy when we went, relaxed atmosphere, not too loud, family friendly, casual wear. The restrooms are dated but clean and actually smelled...

Pueblo Viejo... Ah, yes. A sucker's delight. If you find yourself thinking that this is great Mexican food, then you, mi amigo, are a sucker. Maybe it's because I'm from the southwest and know what real Mexican food should taste like (even Tex-Mex would do), but my meal was quite possibly the worst, most overpriced sludge I've had in FoCo.

I had the Ranchero enchiladas. Should be an easy and simple dish to make. Nope, not here. No sauce. Ground beef tasted like Taco Bell. Enchiladas were tough (old). Rice was really bland.

My boyfriend had a chicken enchilada and beef burrito. Chicken was super bland. The burrito was sloppy and deflated, with basically no filling. They didn't put any cheese on his meal, so when he asked for some extra shredded cheese, they charged us a $1.50 for it. I kid you not.

It is true, Pueblo Viejo, that there are some white people out there who can actually distinguish between terrible and decent Mexican food. And let me tell ya, yours is terrible.

Don't waste your...