Birria - Bite los Arcos Mexican restaurant — Restaurant in Las Vegas

I drove away from Birria-Bite Los Arcos Mexican Restaurant, heading to I-15 and then home, finishing my short vacation in Las Vegas. The reason I had breakfast at this Mexican restaurant was that I was hunting for food I had never tried or even heard of before. I chose this one.

The restaurant was outside the main business district of Las Vegas, only several miles northeast of my hotel, but the traffic was crowded. It was located on a deserted street with only a few businesses near the intersection. The restaurant just stood there, looking lonely.

I entered through the side door since the main door was closed. The interior was very colorful--the paintings, the chairs, the bricks--everything felt very Mexican. I studied Spanish with Rosetta Stone 20 years ago and took another year with Duolingo last year. So, I can speak a little Spanish, enough to greet and order food without difficulty. I greeted the waiter and waitress and placed my order.

The waitress served me hot tortilla chips with a pink-gray bean dip. The dip was creamy, smooth, and delicious. I will try to copycat it in the near future.

The entrée I ordered was Goat Birria, a dish I had never heard of or tried before. Basically, it's slow-stewed goat meat without skin. It's very similar to Chinese brown-braised goat, except Birria uses various herbs while the Chinese version uses soy sauce. It was just pure goat stew without hominy or other additions. The Birria was served with three freshly made corn tortillas, and I made my own tacos with the birria and pico de gallo (raw salsa) that came on the side. The corn tortillas were very good--soft and aromatic--but since I didn't eat quickly enough, they turned cold and hard. How fast should I have eaten?

The portion of Birria was huge. Even though the bowl didn't look big, it contained a lot of goat meat. It had a slight gamey smell, probably because it was goat rather than lamb. The flavor was good, though the broth was a little too salty. Since the portion was large, I had at least half left over. I brought it home--I keep a frozen container in my car. I boiled it later with some added water and paired it with instant noodles. It tasted fabulous, and even the gamey smell was gone. But be aware, the dish had bones, tiny bones, so be careful.

For dessert, I had churros--the best churros I've ever had. Honestly, I haven't had too many churros before. These were served as half-sticks, crunchy on the outside and soft inside, with a very good texture. A churro must have cinnamon flavor, and this one was...

The best tacos I've ever had hands down , this was the case when we first moved here ... Last week I came here for birria with my wife I have to say that the service the food and the atmosphere all went from 4 or 5 to 2 stars. I can't believe the day would change the menu or the way that they cook the food. Why did you change was an awesome place to get queso birria and chivo even ... I will never come back to your place !! I make it better at home and have been recommending people to come there from out of town for years , you guys changed the flavors and quality as well. This is not the same place it was a few years ago. It just has the same name.

When I came there first years ago sat down at a table and they brought you out onions cilantro and there was hot sauces at the table all that type of stuff it was a really nice establishment one of those perfect hole in the walls spots unfortunately someone has decided to change everything and you've lost a customer and I guarantee you're still losing customers, should have kept it the same. I'm sorry but this went from a 5 star to a 2 ... Did the old owners open a new shop if so where ? This is not the same place I've been telling everyone I know to come to. Super...

Everything was great except for the price. $18 (not including tip) for 3 tacos is kinda ridiculous, no matter how good they are, for just beef and cheese is a stretch. Although, yes very good. For a place in this location, I was surprised as a local to have the feeling like I was on the strip being price gouged. Great tacos, but unfortunately I most likely won't be back. I don't think I've seen, let alone paid $6/taco that wasn't fresh wild caught fish in cali or the keys. On top of that, you have to buy 3 tacos to get the consome. I wanted 2, sad that, for still at that price point of $12 for 2 tacos, they cant even give you a small consome. Also saw that others received rice and beans for this same order in other photos and reviews, but I did not, and based off photos (see for yourself) my 3 tacos werent stuffed as full as even the review right before mine. I'm sure they're making up for their credit card processing and then some, by charging $1 for credit card use (not just amex, ALL cards). Definitely an authentic feel of Mexico, but not all in the positive ways. Inflation has hit this spot for sure, and feel like i got taken a little on this one... But again,...