Zarape Restaurant — Restaurant in Marlborough

If you’re unsure of what reviews to believe on Google like I usually am, do yourself a solid and believe this one.

I just don’t get how you can mess up Mexican food this bad. What my partner and I had for dinner tonight at Zarapes was some of the most uninspired Mexican cuisine we’ve ever tasted — and this is coming from someone who’s never had food from the west or the south of the US. I’ve only lived in the northeast, the bar is LOW and Zarapes couldn’t clear it.

Upon walking in, I thought the visual impression of the place was positive. 1 star earned from the appearance of the space. The place looked clean and put together — it gives family-owned-space-but-we-have-the-money-for-decor-and-real-hardwood-doors. Good for them. I thought this would go well.

We started with a Paloma and a Zarape peach Margarita. My partner didn’t like the Paloma, he said it was way too sweet, I felt it had a weird after taste. I actually liked my margarita, they didn’t skimp on their tequila so that earned half a star.

Jury’s out of the free chips and salsa. They’re too thick and unseasoned for me whereas my partner preferred chips that don’t get soggy, but my partner and I agreed the salsa had no flavor and was pretty watery.

The nachos weren’t the worst we’ve ever had but these didn’t leave a positive impression. The portion was pretty small for a shared appetizer. This was where I started to have my doubts — the “pico de gallo” was just pale diced pieces of tomato-on-the-vine and there was very little guacamole or sour cream. The cheese was just ok, they at least didn’t use bagged cheese from Market Basket.

It was all over once the tacos came out. First impressions — pale. The rice and refried beans looked like hospital food. They had no flavor. I’ve never seen such beige looking rice. I ate one and only one of my three fried fish tacos. The ONLY flavor I got relief from was the guacamole. The fish, the flour tortilla, everything was just cardboard, and dressed with pale lettuce and tomato again. The menu said something about pickled cabbage and that was clearly not present in the dish. I stopped after one taco. My partner tried to convince me to give it one more shot, until he tried one for himself and I’ve never seen him eat so slow and look so disappointed.

In hindsight, $100 later, we should have said something to the staff and just voided our entrees. We won’t be back. Management clearly doesn’t read these reviews, so I don’t see...

Best Mexican/Salvadorian food eaten in the US ever. We stopped by today at Zarape after a nice walk on the floating boardwalk on Williams Lake. It was after lunch rush. We opted for small plates. Yuca en ajillo was like light crispy cube fries in heavenly garlic butter with toasted onions. I never tasted anything that good. Street tacos (chicken) with dipping sauce were crispy and fragrant with fresh cilantro. The elote loco (street corn) was 10 times better than the one I make at home and I thought mine was great. Rich cheese and fresh lime with spices really elevated this dish. We love pupusas (Salvadorian specialty) and the pork and cheese ones from Zarape did not disappoint. The guacamole busted with freshness, along with the crunchy and freshly made corn tortilla chips. We also loved the chicken taquitos. The Zarape margarita (lime with sugar rim) that 2 of the guests shared was apparently excellent and quite strong. We had no room for dessert but we cannot wait to go back. We had plenty of food for 4 and were able to share generous servings of...

Hadn’t been to Zarape in a handful of years and decided to give it a try last night as we typically go to a different local Mexican restaurant. Nice new renovation but lost the vibe I remember it having. The remainder of the experience was a major disappointment. We sat at the little bar in front of the window where service wasn’t great. Truthfully the bartenders are slammed and having them break away from the bar to service us is probably a pain for them, but that’s on management to figure out. We went to order guacamole but were told there’s no guacamole due to an avocado shortage. I’ve had no problem getting it else where or avocados at the grocery store? Our food comes out and my chimichanga is soggy. I know the bottoms get a little wonky from sauce but this whole thing is a soggy burrito with no crisp. My husbands meal comes out and there’s guacamole on his plate, I just laughed. Refried beans were good, margaritas were good, the chips had either an over cooked or old oil sort of taste. There’s definitely better options locally - we...