The Battleground Mexican Kitchen — Restaurant in Kent

NOTE: they have Gluten Free options! My review: I really loved this place, I thought the atmosphere was wonderful (very classy!) and the waitperson and staff were extremely polite, friendly and prompt. Food was served surprisingly fast! The live music that night often asked if the sound was too loud for the audience. After reading the other reviews, it sounds like they are actually reading the reviews because many of the issues mentioned in lower reviews seemed to be things they visibly addressed while I was there last Friday night (8/13/21). I'm sure having the right waitperson helps though. We had a really nice waitress who was very patient with us and helped with recommendations (even when my husband was obviously acting stubborn and picky lol) I do understand that there may be communication pitfalls with staff, especially when hiring in a college town, but we didn't seem to have any problems on the night we were there and saw other tables getting the same attention and service as us. The food was great for me, I loved eating something that was different than the usual, and the combination of flavors really was a fun change. I went there fully aware that it wouldn't be the type of food I was used to at other 'mexican' restaurants, and that was what I was looking forward to!! Of course, I tried a couple things and not everything was for my particular taste, but I loved my chicken taco and the corn, and the salsa was awesome for me! (I took some home too, but would definitely say a bigger serving of the salsa would have been nice.) My husband said it wasn't for him, but everyone has a different taste. It wasn't at all what he was expecting and I think you have to go into a new restaurant without preconceived expectations in order to really enjoy the experience. (He hadn't read the website before we went so he was expecting... well, something more "typical".) I really loved the way the patio was set up and look forward to seeing how it evolves over the next few years as some of the small trees and bushes grow and create more of a boundary. I feel like this restaurant is still growing, but they have a lot of uniqueness and it's a whole experience. I can't wait to see how it grows! The one thing I would warn everyone about is to be careful where you park. The parking lot is small, so if you show up on a Friday evening when it is packed (get there before 5:15!), you may have to park a block or so away on a side street or something and WATCH FOR THE NO PARKING SIGNS! The surrounding neighborhood has limitations on what streets you can park on, so be careful about that. Hopefully the restaurant can work out something to help designate proper overflow parking within the community that they can convey to the customers. That was one of our struggles. We got a parking ticket parking on a side street where the no-parking sign was covered with a tree. We notified the city about the sign visibility, but it still sucks to walk back to your vehicle and see a ticket. (No fault of the restaurant's, so I didn't knock off a star...

I reserved a spot on their website (or their affiliated site). Easy enough. Got a text asking if I am really coming the next day. I said YES. Got another text 10 minutes after being sat at our table seeing if we were coming. OK, whatever. Five minute later, got a text asking if I wanted to mute or silence my phone. I tried to negate that but my phone was nevertheless shut down. After a few minutes of trying, I undid that intrusive effort.

Not a busy time at all. Just a few tables of two's and three's when we sat down.

Glasses of water were waiting -- on every table. No ice. Pre-poured glasses seemed kinda gross to me. They sat there on other unoccupied tables for the entire time I was eating. We also got a bottle of lukewarm water to fill our water glasses No ice provided but then again, I didn't ask.

Eventually the server stopped by. We ordered drinks and...

We ordered chips and salsa. The chips were stale with no salt. The roja salsa was pureed but did have some heat to it.

Okay. If you're looking for traditional ground beef in you Mexican dish, there's none here. Just a heads up there.

Food came out in a reasonable timeline. I ordered two tacos (chicken and coconut shrimp) and they both were served in corn meal tacos. They both "melted" through the two and three layer tacos--after I wondered why they served them with a three layer taco (Oh that's why). Just a mess. Not a terrible taste though. Just messy.

Ordered second beer as soon as food came. After one taco was done, server came by again and I said it sure would be nice if I had a beer to drink with my dinner. Maybe she forgot, but she did go get it for me. A short time later (surprise) the lady that owns the place came by and asked if everything was okay. Hint: when people finish a beer and want another, they want it faster than it takes to cook a dinner.

When finished with the dinner, asked for the bill, promptly put down the credit card, and waited. Server did her thing for awhile, then came back toward us and veered to the right to take the orders for a 12-person table. Crud. I took the bill to the bar. Maybe the ONE server should ask for others to help her take care of bills??? That was really frustrating.

Theme and menu is different and that makes it interesting. Servers worked hard but just didn't "click". Maybe the restaurant needs a better plan for serving customers? Work smarter not harder?

In summary, it was just okay. After dinner, we did look out back behind the restaurant and they had a nice large area for dinner. That...

Tonight, my wife and I finally had a chance to try this place, and I'm glad we did!

We arrived today (a Saturday) a few minutes after they opened, and by the time we were finished and walking to the car I was glad we showed up for an early dinner.

The restaurant had two places for outdoor seating along with indoor seating as well. We chose the patio in the back as it looked the coziest.

Shawn was quick to take our order and offer helpful answers to my questions regarding the menu. We started with a small order of the guacamole with pico: it tasted to me like it was made to order. It was just beyond fresh and flavorful. We kept our drinks simple since it was the trial run: water and Diet Coke.

My wife’s main course, she selected the Chile Sopresa, which I have no doubt she enjoyed by how quickly she cleared her plate. She talked about how she wanted to lick the plate clean, so thankfully we had leftover chips from our guacamole order, and she just made do with those.

For the main course I tried two of their tacos. The first was the Asada and it’s clear to me why it’s on the top of the taco menu: the meat was cooked perfectly and was flavorful on its own, while the rest of the ingredients just made it all the better. The second one I tried is not on the online menu, so I regret not keeping my receipt, but I believe the protein was pork and it had a very strong pineapple salsa on it. Both tacos were fantastic, but the Asada Taco stole the show for me easily.

It’s also worth mentioning that the restaurant uses two handmade tortillas for each taco, which was a plus considering how messy tacos can be.

Shawn did check on how we were doing a good number of times, even though the place was filling up rapidly. The owner herself also stopped over to have a chat, which I personally think is a nice touch of any establishment.

As a person who is just now starting to feel comfortable going to restaurants again, The Battlefield was a breath of fresh air. It’s my understanding this restaurant opened right before the start of Covid, so to see how filled the parking lot was on departure really speaks volumes. I cannot wait to revisit and try more of what’s on the menu, and that...