Tres Machos — Restaurant in Lakeside

Immersive experience! Mexican food in a Mexican restaurant run and staffed by (mostly) Mexicans, and playing Mexican banda music (when I go to an ethnic restaurant I much prefer the music of the culture than Western music I can hear anywhere anytime). The bonus for me is I get to practice my Spanish bc even tho they spoke to me in English I’ll chat with them in Spanish 👍🏻

The food was outstanding as was the service. It was a quiet lunchtime but the staff was still super fast—chips and salsa were on the table before my butt hit the seat. I ordered chicken enchiladas from the lunch specials. The food came within a few minutes! And the plate was PIPING hot. OMG, hot food. How glorious! (I’m the one who usually has the honors at home so by the time I get to mine it’s merely warm ☹️)

The salsa was tasty n fresh and was yummy on crispy tortilla chips hot out of the deep fryer (I don’t mind an occasional splurge). Server(s!) were super attentive and super fast (did I mention that already?). I was taking my time eating (avoiding going back to a bunch of work piles yakking at me demanding attention); each one of them must have asked me at least twice, and my server a few more times, was everything OK.

Ripe diced tomatoes, crisp shredded lettuce and rice cooked just right—not soggy, not undercooked. I ordered a side of refried beans which were muy sabroso/very tasty! Creamy and not too salty. The chicken was breast meat and a tad on the dry side but still tasty. I wasn’t bothered by the chicken being a bit dry bc I mixed the pieces up with the creamy refried beans, rice and a dollop of the salsa which the server had topped up. I forgot I don’t care for corn flour/masa tortillas so ended up not eating much of the tortilla. I’ll work on remembering that next time and ask if I could get the wheat tortillas instead. Not exactly enchiladas, hey, it’ll work for me.

I also got quesabirría to go. The dish is best eaten asap but regardless of when it’s eaten, the accompanying beef stock/dipping juice is amazing. I’mna see if I can get a quart of it next time! 🤣🤣🤣 Seriously. It’s that good. And I’m a mostly vegetable & fruit eater.

If you decide to check out Tres Machos, I hope you enjoy your food and...

1st time eating here.with my daughter. Although I was surprised that the restaurant was kinda small, it was comfortable, clean and inviting. The menu had plenty of options to choose from with a large variety of appetizers, entrees and drinks. Our waitress who was very nice and very attentive to our needs only spoke to us in Spanish which was very entertaining as we only knew very little of the language but we managed to understand her and she appreciated what we did know of the language. She actually taught us how to order our food in spanish which we found to be helpful and entertaining. I ordered my favorite dish, steak fajitas and I also ordered a frozen blue margaritas. Their lunch specials ended at 3pm and we had just made it to get the discounted plates. They gave us a plate of chips and salsa while we waited for our food and the chips were nice and warm. Salsa was very good (not watery) very tasty. We also tried the corn on the cob with all of the creamy dressing on top. It was hot and very filling, but I didn't like it. My daughter enjoyed hers. It just wasnt my thing with all of the additives on top. Next came my drink which was huge for a medium. It was absolutely delicious! My daughter ordered a frozen mango drink which was also large (she ordered a medium) and SO delicious! My fajita plate was small (luncheon special) but came to the table sizzling and hot. My disappointment in the dish was that there were mostly peppers and barely any onions (I love caramelized onions!) Still I was satisfied with the dish. I felt as though the dish tasted the same as all of the other Mexican restaurants in the area. Nothing special with the flavors or preparations. It came with lettuce, pico de gallo, sour cream, rice and beans. I'm giving this place a 4 star but I plan to come back with friends for the drinks which are waaay better than the drinks at Top Golf where we go very often. We now plan to stop here for drinks first and then cross the street to...

Well this was my 1st visit to this place. The parking is tight. Once entering, I was in a small room that is closed off from the restaurant with a door. There is a window where the employees would be, I guess to take orders and/or to greet customers, but no one was there. It felt awkward!, because you don't know whether you are supposed to stay standing there until someone comes to greet you or???? When no one came, I opened the door & walked in. A woman came walking across the room & asked me something, I told her it was for take out (lunch). She did not have the most friendly demeanor at all. It didn't take very long to receive my order. Once I got to take a look, my first thought was they were pretty skimpy with the rice & beans.. I ordered a chimichanga. I'm used to the chicken being shredded, but this chicken was cut in pieces. It tasted ok, as did the rice & beans. The chips were very fresh & crispy. I'm a fan of white dipping sauce, but I really didn't like theirs. The red sauce was only half full in the cup.. That gave me a weird feeling like it could have been left over from someone else. I did not eat that. I may try this restaurant again & sit in, that will really give me a better idea as to whether or not this will be added to my favorites...