Acapulco Fresh Mexican Grill — Restaurant in Kenmore

I tried a chicken and pork taco combo with beans and rice, plus chips, salsa, and horchata.

The tacos themselves were alright. The chicken actually had some good grill flavour to it and generously filled the tacos, but the tacos aren't served with lime or cilantro, so you'll be missing that acidity and zest if you're used to traditional street tacos. Overall, I'd give the tacos themselves 3.5 stars.

The first cardinal sin comes from their horchata. Instead of powder or sticks, they make it with artificial cinnamon syrup, causing it to taste like you're drinking a Hot Tamale or something. It's absolutely vile and, in my opinion, a red flag for a restaurant's authenticity.

The beans had good texture, being cooked just long enough to be called refried, but it was almost like they just bought a can of pinto beans and heated them up. The beans and rice both had no flavour.

Their chips were notably stale and all of the salsas tasted kind of mass-produced. Not the biggest deal, but with so many other things going badly, this kind of sealed my impression of Acapulco.

Overall, I doubt I'll be trying this...

Acapulco is the type of place you want to discover when looking for good Mexican food. Lyrics in Spanish flow from some older speakers, the menu is written on a chalkboard, the salsa bar is properly chilled, and the owner is likely to have a conversation with someone who is at the register because he knows them. And he'll meet you halfway if you know some Spanish.

This should tell you everything you need to know about whatever food you're going to get-- and if you guessed it'll be really good, you're absolutely right. This is the only Mexican restaurant that I've encountered in the PNW since moving from Arizona that really delivers that really good food, and the atmosphere is always welcoming.

So, if you've made it this far in the review, you need to give it a go. Stop by, get an order, and make sure you get some salsa from the salsa bar--...

So glad my partner and I stumbled onto this place! We were looking for a place open for dine-in to have lunch.

It's a very small place in a mini-mall, perfect for grabbing a quick inexpensive bite. It's cheerfully decorated with friendly staff.

I'm gluten free, so I was delighted that the menu clearly stated whether the items used corn or flour tortillas.

They advertise freshness, and that's no lie! I got tacos and my partner got a burrito. Both were made with simple fresh ingredients that were delicious! They have a self-serve salsa bar to dress up your food with, with several varieties of salsa made in house. Fresh and bursting with flavor! And we were so appreciative that the food wasn't overly salty like so many places these days.

I can't recommend this place enough. It may be our new favorite...