El Nuevo México Restaurant — Restaurant in Georgetown

EXTREMELY LOUD! That was my main impression. It was so overwhelming I honestly don’t remember much else. The cement floors and lack of anything like low walls or hanging fabrics to baffle the sound made it a terrible decision for them to have live mariachi music with roaming singers amplified on loud speakers throughout dinner. This was the one evening we had with a friend visiting from out of state and with 5 of us at a table, we couldn’t even have a conversation until we were out in the parking lot after dinner. We had made reservations, so I wish they had told us when we made them that there would be live music so we wouldn’t come expecting to be able to visit with our friend over dinner. My food was just ok. The chips were good and but the salsa was probably a little spicy for someone who prefers mild. The flour tortillas that came with the fajitas were too hard and the rest was just average. I’m giving two stars because my parents apparently like the food here although it seemed very average to me in an area with MANY choices in Mexican food. I would say I won’t ever be back but unfortunately I had already agreed to plans to come here today with my mom and daughters before I realized last Friday’s dinner was at the same place. Hopefully there won’t be music on a Wednesday and I can just have a salad. UPDATE: Well I went back with my mom and daughters and paid closer attention to the food. It was still noisy due to the lack of sound baffling, but at least they didn't have extra amplified singers in the middle of the week. The food was honestly very bland. We ordered guacamole and it seemed to be just smashed avocados. No tomatoes or chiles, no seasoning I could detect. Our whole table of 4 agreed we had to add salt and scoop some of the salsa into the "guac" to give it some kind of flavor. Since I had already had Mexican food that same week, I was looking for something on the healthier side on the menu. Obviously not many choices at a Mexican restaurant but I chose the Ceviche Salad even though it was only shrimp ceviche and didn't have any other fish. One of my daughters got the same. It turns out they should just call it shrimp on salad because neither of us could taste any lime (which is supposed to be strong with ceviche) or any other dressing for that matter. Again, bland. We asked the waiter for extra limes so we could squeeze them onto the shrimp. My other daughter got cheese quesadillas and they were actually pretty good. My mom got a tamale plate and even though she was the one who wanted to go here twice, she didn't like the tamales. She said they were hard and the meat was stringy. So they lost another star since even Mom doesn't like them anymore....

Service was terrible.

After I sat myself at the bar, the host brought me a menu & asked "how many?" I said just me, then she asked again. Again, I said just me. She then rolled her eyes and asked "1 or 2?" I said just me - 1. She then asked AGAIN, and I pointed to my chest with one hand and put one finger up with the other hand and said "one." She finally left me alone.

This place has a nice enough bar, but they don't utilize a bartender. They instead have random servers, who have tables & guests in the restaurant, come all the way to the bar in the other side of the restaurant to serve bar guests. The server asked what I wanted to drink & I told him I wanted a tall Pint House beer. He looked confused and asked again. This time as I answered, I pointed at the Point House beer tap that was directly in front of me. He looked at it, looked at me, then asked again. I answered a third time and even told him which tap handle it was. He looked at the beers, looked at me, then looked at another employee who was sitting at the bar top. This gentleman finally poured me a beer (but he asked if I wanted the rim - of my Pint House Electric Jellyfish IPA - salted. For future reference, guys, nobody wants salt on this beer).

When I was done with the beer, I placed my debit card at the edge of the bar to indicate I was ready to pay out. Many minutes later when the server had time to check on me (don't forget - he had tables in his section on the other side of the restaurant), he asked if I wanted another beer. I said no and he immediately turned to walk away. He didn't make a move to pick up my empty mug with my card sitting right beside it. 10 min later, he again asked if I wanted another beer. This time when I answered, I physically pushed my card even closer to him... and he saw me pushing the card toward him... but he AGAIN JUST TURNED AND WALKED AWAY. When he finally came back and ASKED A THIRD TIME, I picked up the card and said "I just want to pay and get out of here."

What a horrible experience... which is a shame, because I just moved to within a mile of this place and won't be back even though it looks like they have a pretty...

Five star experience. I'm honestly shocked that this restaurant is rated lower than the other local options. I can only speculate that it had to do with growing pains from their opening, because we had a perfect experience. In all honesty we came in with some apprehension because of the prior reviews, but they outperformed all of our expectations.

Service: Great! We were quickly seated at a booth. Jose, our server, was very engaging, knowledgeable about the menu, and ensured we were taken care of. The staff made sure our chips/salsa bowl were kept full for the duration. Bill came out correctly and quickly.

Food: The best in town! We've gone to different Mexican restaurants in Georgetown (not to mention domestically and in Mexico), from hole in the wall, to on the river. I feel their flavor and quality lands them in first place locally, and fairly high up in the Austin area. The fajitas for two were high quality with generous portions. The best Mexican street corn I've had, that I can remember (less cream, more flavor). I could eat bowls of it. My wife is a salsa lover, and she rated the salsa top notch. Rice and beans fairly standard but good. Ranchero sauce, delicious. Even the tres leches was quality compared to the usual overly sweet and loaded with milk ones I've had in the past. The menu is extensive, and there's so much more I'd like to try.

Price: I felt the price was fair for the quality of the food and location. Not the cheapest, not the most expensive. I'd say $$ out of $$$$.

Ambiance: Very clean eating area, and nice bathrooms. Pro and con that it's really open and spacious. Pro in that you have plenty of space. Con in that it's a bit clinical feeling with how spread out it is, and as others have mentioned it can get loud without much to soak in the noise. All minor things, none of which would keep me from coming back.

Based on my experience, this will now be my go-to Mexican restaurant for the foreseeable future, and I plan bring my family...