Santa Catarina Mexican Restaurant - Lakeway — Restaurant in Lakeway

Cousins Francisco Cortez and Jesus Hernandez opened the first Santa Catarina restaurant in 2010 in Lakeway, then expanded to Cedar Park in 2016. The extensive menu is authentic interior Mexican cuisine, built on recipes that have been in their families for generations.

Here are some things you should know. Almost everything I've tried has been excellent, but I could have only the chips and salsa and be happy, that's how good they are. Then there is the Botanas (appetizers) menu, beginning with the first item, Queso Fundido, which is so good it should have its own menu. Cheese, roasted jalpenos, tomatoes, and onions, served with handmade corn tortillas, flour and/or gluten free tortillas. Pure bliss. You can add shrimp, mushrooms or venison, but it's pretty perfect as it is. My advice is to eat it while it's hot and stringy, and be prepared for drips and drops. Bibs, anyone?

Lunch specials are served Monday through Friday from 11- 3pm. Who does that? Till 3pm??? But that's not all. The Happy Hour prices are amazing. Everything on the Botanas menu is half off. Seriously, all appetizers half off? So that's Queso Fundido, Cazuel on Pollo, Quesadillas, Totopos, Guacamole, Gorditas, Totopos Catarina, Sopes, Huarache, Ceviche, and Coctel de Camarones!!! And the drink menu looks beautiful.

Off the regular menu, I've ordered various shrimp, fish, and vegetarian items including their tacos, enchiladas, salads, and rellenos. The food is plated beautifully, there is enough for two meals on each plate, and their rice and beans are delicately prepared.

I spoke with Robert Revilla, the GM, and asked him what he liked about his job. His response was immediate and to the point -- "The customers. I like that we have a chance to get to know our customers and to create relationships." We continued to have a pleasant conversation, and by the end of it I decided I definitely need to try their Cedar Park location as well.

You need to know that the restaurant is in a shopping center that has a seriously annoying entryway from 620 if you're headed from 71. Basically, you drive past it because there's no left turn, then come to a light which has no left turn but you can do a U-turn if your car is so built, but if not you have to go to the next light... You can see where I'm going with this. I'm including a photo of the center's marquis in case that it...

One of the most authentic and flavorful Mexican restaurants that I've gone to in a while, especially so far away from South Austin. Came here on a whim while staying in Lakeway and this very casual spot is great for a group. We started our meal with their Queso Fundido with the added venison chorizo. It's a bit more complicated to eat than what normal Tex-mex fans would assume when ordering Queso, but this melted cheese is more like the cheese on a fresh hot slice of NY pizza than a liquid Velvetta. It's also served with their very wonderful homemade corn tortillas that you would have sworn were flour, instead of tortilla chips (which they do serve complimentary with a pretty spicy salsa with every meal.

The main course for me was their shrimp Mayitas, which starred gulf shrimp marinated in their achiote pepper sauce. It comes on a sizzling plate with sliced onions and jalepenos adding the additional heat with every bite. The same wonderful corn tortillas accompany the shrimp along with a barrage of sides including black beans, guac, rice, white cheese, pico, and sour cream. Honestly it's really a lot of food and everything was spicy, wonderfully seasoned, and cooked just right.

We ended the meal with splitting an order of their Tres Leches serving. The cake is not as drenched in condensed milk so it still holds a traditional cake texture for the top half while reaching optimal saturation on the bottom. A sweet strawberry coulis criss-cross on top of the sizeable slice and is a wonderful way to cool the spicy burn most likely lingering from the main entree.

The food was great, their cocktails were also very imaginative (watermelon jalepno), staff were friendly and courteous, and there's a pokestop right outside of the door. No complaints! Would definitely...

Santa Catarina opened in the spot that used to be Flore's, which is in a pretty nondescript little strip center in Lakeway. However, there is nothing generic about this "boutique" Mexican restaurant. The restaurant averages 4.5 stars on Yelp, and everyone seemed to comment on the interior flair of the food, and the fresh margaritas. Being somewhat of a margarita expert myself, I just had to try one.

What sets Santa Catarina apart from so many other Mexican food establishments is that they make all their own fruit mixers for their margaritas, and have plenty of great flavors to choose from (prickly pear, guava and mango to name a few). They're made with fresh juice and agave nectar, and I have to admit- the mango was delicious! It was still fairly sweet though, and plenty strong, so I stuck with just one for the night.

We have both been craving Queso Fundido lately, and Santa Catarina had that too. In fact, they had such an extensive appetizer menu that we ordered our whole dinner off of it. But there were plenty of delicious entrees to try, and I love the fact that they have some great vegetarian options as well (and also fresh corn tortillas made on site).

We also ordered Sopes. They are a masa disc covered with all kinds of good stuff, including an almost mole-flavored beef. Yes- I ate a little beef!!! They were amazing. We can't wait to go back and give some other dishes a try (and maybe their half-priced happy hour, too!) If you're in the area, or looking for something different to try, I highly recommend...