Red Luna Seasons — Restaurant in Mahtomedi

First, this place is totally different from the Red Luna on Hwy 61. (That one is more like Chipotle with a very simple menu and fresh toppings.)

Red Luna Seasons is great for sitdown Mexican/Ecuadorian dining and loads of Margarita options. (On the rocks only, no frozen/blended margaritas.) All beer is bottled or canned and served with a perfectly chilled, frosty mug.

The chips and salsa were, unfortunately, meh. The chips were blah and slightly stale. The salsas were plain - either no heat or lots of heat, but lacking notable spice or herb flavors. (Please fix.)

Almost our whole table ordered the Queso Birria Taco Plate - a variation of street tacos with deep fried cheese-covered hard taco shells, birria shredded beef, cilantro, onions, and consummé, an au jus-style sauce for dipping. My husband (practically a Master Chef) tried a sample and audibly said, "WOWWWW." (That's a huge testimony. I definitely want to try that next time!)

My hubby got the chicken chimichanga, which was giant sized -- like a Chipotle burrito. The beans came inside the chimi, which he wasn't expecting. It had a lot of the traditional chimichanga "gravy" sauce; my hubby wasn't a fan and would have preferred more white queso instead. He said it was good, but not great. (His tastebuds were clearly tainted by trying the Birria Tacos. LOL.)

I got the "Puffy Tacos" with carne asada and black beans. The deep-fried tortilla shells were thick and delicious, similar to Taco Bell's chalupa shells, but notably smaller. The toppings were way better than Taco Bell, though! Because the shells were so small, I wasn't able to fold them for eating, which was a disappointment. Only 2 puffy tacos were actually a small meal; they were delicious, though!

The venue is not very large, but there are a variety of table sizes that can be adjusted as needed. We went 7pm on a Friday, and sufficient seating was available for our group of 6. (As more people learn about their Birria Tacos, I don't expect that to last!) The chairs and booths have acceptable cushioning if you have back issues like me.

Dining for 2 was about $40 with drinks -- totally reasonable. I look forward to checking out more menu options on...

Don’t waste your time at “the new spot in town”. Waitresses and cooks were all high schoolers just doing meal prep basically. Their menu looks so effortless like it was printed up in 10 minutes off google docs and their decorations were falling apart on us while we ate. The food, haha the food. My “steak” fajitas were chopped up hamburger patties and overcooked peppers in some microwaved tortilla shells. Found not only the one but a few large black hairs buried in the little cup of queso and my girlfriend and I are both blonde. We also saw their cook dancing around in the back with sunglasses on while he cooks the food…can you even see? They had us turn off the open sign for them because we heard them talking about a customer that called and wanted to come eat but they didn’t want them to come in an hour before they close. Not to mention all the other weird complaining we heard them say about the other people eating in the restaurant. Wouldn’t recommend it but if you do want to try it, lower your expectations. The high school staff will make you feel uncomfortable and talk about you in the middle of their quiet restaurant. You’d think they’d be trying a little harder considering they had just opened, kind of disgraceful for “authentic...

It pains me to write this review, as we adore the Red Luna Taco Factory Hugo location, but I feel like they've made multiple errors at this location. First the menu - Should have just kept the other menu, this site can't decide what it wants to be (I don't want to get french dip and tacos from the same place. Pick one thing and do it well), and what is available for the taco/Mexican food-like items is more limited than in Hugo. Its more expensive and of lesser quality than their other locations. Its like they were trying to pay an homage to the prior restaurant at this location, which is a poor business decision. Service was not great (even for being new). I was really excited for this given how we feel about the Hugo site, and it disappointed me so much. Won't be going back. Eat at the Red Luna Taco Factory in Hugo or don't eat Red...