El Santa Fé Mexican Grill — Restaurant in Largo

The best parts of our visit was the service ~ outstanding; and the skinny margarita (even though $8 at happy hour is CRAZY ridiculous) was delicious. The food, unfortunately, was only so-so. The tortilla chips were warm, made in house and tasted very fresh; however, while it tasted fresh, the salsa was very watery and bland. Yes, once asked, we got a spicier version, but it was still lacking. My granddaughter ordered Hawaiian steak and shrimp fajitas that arrived missing the pineapples. When she asked for them they arrived cold and out of a can. Disappointing. My daughter ordered chicken enchiladas with rice and beans, extra cheese. No such luck. The enchiladas were ok but lacking true flavor, the rice cold, and the beans were more of a soupy texture with only a sprinkle of cheese. No spices, so very bland. I ordered a la carte, a chicken enchilada, a shredded beef enchilada, and beans with extra cheese. Again, ok flavor on the chicken, but I got ground beef in my second enchilada that was not flavorful at all and the same pasty, soupy bean mixture as my daughter (no extra cheese). Honestly, I've done a much better Mexican dinner at home and at 1/4 the cost. $65+ for good service and fresh made tortilla chips just really doesn't cut it for me. Somehow, I expected real and authentic Mexican food from this establishment. Not so. Do yourself a favor and look up a few recipes: I have no doubts even a beginner could do better. I would not recommend this restaurant.

UPDATE 5/25/2019 Visited again today at the insistance of my daughter, who was craving a skinny margarita and warm chips and salsa. I was bordering on starving, Mexican sounded good, so 8 agreed BIG MISTAKE. This visit was worst than the last in that this time the margaritas were as bad as the food and the food itself was even worse. Margaritas overly sweet, packed with ice and when I asked for fresh ones with less sweetener the owner/manager actually tasted my drink before agreeing to make a fresh one Only, it wasn't a fresh drink because she said she wasn't going to pour the original drinks out and waste them. She would just redistribute the makings into two new drinks. Yeah. That didn't work. So far we've wasted $20. Next up the food. In order to minimize the damage and cost, we ordered the special of the day: street Tacos at $2.50. More waste. The steak was seriously overcooked and so salty I could feel my blood pressure spike. Once again the owner /manager had to see for herself and ATE OFF MY PLATE to determine for herself if the food was good or bad. Someone needs to tell their cook the time for tasting is before the food is served. I was offered a choice to reorder so II and I went with a Shredded beef burrito I figured I'd give it another try. ANOTHER BIG MISTAKE. The beef was bland, overcooked and dry. The flour tortilla was actually rubbery and soggy; reminiscent of a dumpling It was covered in a watery sauce that did nothing to help the flavor, texture, or appearance. Instead of complaining, we opted to just pay our bill and get the hell out. Not coming back here. I'll make skinny margaritas at home and cook my own fabulous Mexican food.There is absolutely no value for cost in Santa Fe Mexican Grill....

Went in for lunch a couple weeks ago with my uncle who frequents this restaurant almost weekly. Our waitress seemed out of it, like in la-la land. We waited forever to get our drink and food order taken, then we needed refills and she was no where to be found and the staff including the manager walking by didnt bother to ask if we needed anything. I believe the waitresses name started with a J. Anyways, we ordered two chicken fajita Express lunches. When I went to pay I was very distracted by my 7 month old daughter and just gave them my credit card. Once i buckled my baby in and drove off my uncle asked about the total of check. I told him and he said I was over charged and that I had most likely been charged for dinner fajitas. I called the restaurant and spoke to Maria Luisa whom i believe was in charge that day. I went on to explain what we ordered and that we specifically told the waitress we wanted the fajita express that is only under the lunch menu. As I was talking to her on the phone, I could hear she began talking with someone else. She was basically yelling at someone else and ignoring what I was saying. I said "hello, are you there?" a few times. I believe this was very rude. She went on to tell me 4 times, not just once that "if i see alot of food on my skillet then I should have known it was the dinner portion". Then she said that if it's on a skillet that means its dinner. I was like how was I suppose to know that. She basically made it sound like I was stupid. Then she went on to tell me that if I wanted my money back for the difference in price that I would have to go back to the restaurant and get it back in cash instead of just crediting my money to the card I paid with. Anyways, i did go back and when I went in the restaurant I again waited around until she was done talking to her staff and AGAIN she told me about "knowing that if it's on skillet and if I saw a large portion I (the customer) should have know it was dinner...instead of lunch. She added that I should have told the waitress right away and that this incident would not have happened. I was in SHOCK and chose to walk away because obviously this lady has no customer service skills and there was no use in me trying to explain the situation again. I definitely will not be returning to this restaurant. Oh fyi the food is bland and the rice is dry. The cheese dip is very watery and makes a mess every time you try to dip it and eat it. It's literally like water. The...

I stopped in for dinner after a long day driving. I was in the mood for some Mexican food! It was a solo trip, my Fab One back home tending the herd. LOL

It was after 8 pm and the place was about half busy, or half full depending on your outlook. I was seated immediately, and Leonel came right up to get my drink order. It took a little while for him to return with my tea, and it took a while for that familiar basket of chips with a side of salsa. But, the salsa was very good, so I was felt like I was in for a treat, as a first-timer.

Decisions, decisions, decisions! I wanted to try their tacos. But I was craving a ooey gooey cheesy chile relleno. A hot tamale sounded nice, though. Soooooo, I spotted the Special Dinner menu item. Although it would be a lot of food, it combined everything I was craving on one plate. A chalupa, a chile relleno, a taco, an enchilada, a tamale, along with some rice and beans. ¡Olé!

I REALLY enjoyed the chile relleno. It had that robust chile flavor with a touch of char, and the bubbling cheese was delicious. The tamale had that wonderful sublime undernote of soft savory. The sauces for each item complemented the flavors perfectly. It was fun tempting the taste buds with a bite of this and a bit of that. I was thoroughly pleased.

As I crunched and munched on this kaleidoscope of kolours I did some perfect people watching. It's fun watching a young couple with infant in tow testing the taste barriers of their cherub. And it's delightful seeing Octogenarians in love, sharing some spicy selections, throwing heartburn cautions to the wind!

The ONLY thing I found as a negative, for me, was the dated and tired decor. There were rope lights devoid of light in the windows. The paper doll place mats hanging from the ceiling looked drab and ready for recycling. The place just looked like it could use a salsa splash of fresh color and a dash of spicy bright!

Tell them John sent ya, when you order that...