MORELIANOS MERCER — Restaurant in Mercer

We love trying different Mexican restaurants in our travels, and the best we had found was in central Virginia, not a short commute from Upstate New York.

We recently moved to New Castle, PA and a woman I work with, who has dual citizenship in Mexico and the US, suggested this restaurant. It didn't disappoint!

Our table was quickly cleaned after we sat as it had just been cleared. There were a few booths and a couple tables, but the majority of the seating was in the rear of the restaurant. We looked over the menu as we munched on salsa, cheese sauce, and nachos. I chose to try a street taco and Pollo Asada while my other family members chose Enchiladas and Carne Asada. The presentation was fantastic! My server warned me of the street taco sauce being very spicy, so I heeded his advice and only put a small portion on my food. I squeezed lime over the contents of my street taco and folded the corn tortilla over. Delicious, but when I scooped the mezmerizing Pollo Asada out of the steaming hot metal pig bowl, the aromas ... I couldn't wait to put it in my mouth. I placed tomato, grilled jalepeño, and lettuce over the Pollo Asada, and entered into a realm of Heaven on Earth! The peppers had been grilled and had a bit of burn to them that brought the sweetness of the onion out and blended with the other spices and lean chicken breast. I revelled in the beans and rice, and until just this moment, I forgot I didn't place any hot sauce on them. I usually use hot sauce on my beans to add some flavor, but these beans were so tasty that I didn't add any! The second corn tortilla was filled with the goodness found in the pig bowl - the bowl had kept it steaming hot! Even when I went to put the rest in a container for home, the food was still hot!

Then there was the fried ice cream...massive amounts of goodness...

Go here. Just go. It's BYOB with free margaritas Friday and Saturday, and the best Mexican restaurant on the East Coast! Seriously! I am SO HAPPY to have this gem so close...and it's better than the one we found in New...

Today we came back from our camp near Pymatuming and stopped at Morelianos in Mercer. We had zero plans in stopping but I could hear the interest in my wife’s voice as we slowly drove by.

We got there around 12 and sat at the bar. The bartender explained that they had a 10 top and a 5 top already in the back and that she was a little busy. She was fantastic in helping us figure out what we wanted. She offered us two margaritas and took our order after explaining to us that they used family recipes, fresh ingredients, and the food was just delicious.

That’s when the chaos opened up on them. Within 20 minutes they had what seemed like the entire town of Mercer come in to eat lunch. Not only we’re they busy, but people were fine with waiting 20-35 minutes because they had eaten there before and said it was wonderful.

I had the fajita burrito with chorizo and pastor and it was nothing short of amazing. My wife had the tamales, and our son had the brunch burrito. We were all so impressed with the food and how nice everyone was even while getting absolutely slammed with orders and new customers.

The owner came in with her kids in tow (they were clearly enjoying a Mother’s Day themselves) and got right to work. You can definitely appreciate the work ethic because from the bartender to the owner, they crushed it. Our food came out in less than 15 minutes and it was amazing. Can’t...

I've been to many of the Mexican restaurants in Mercer County, and while some of them have some excellent high points, mostly I walk away thinking, meh, I've eaten some food. Not so with Morelianos. My wife and I both said that the best we've had in Mercer County cannot hold a candle to Morelianos. She had the burrito California, and I had the burrito Michuacan with shredded chicken. I asked for a side of the red spicy sauce shown on the tacos La Diabla, and it was so flavorful and pretty hot. The burritos were huge! For comparison, I usually get the tres Aztecas when we go to other Mexican restaurants, and I can finish those and all the sides with two bowls of chips and salsa. Last night, we ate until we were stuffed and wanted to eat more because it was so flavorful, but had to get to go boxes because our bellies had had enough! The party room in the back has a beautiful ceiling and wonderful atmosphere. We sat right next to the air conditioner because I like to be in a cool space, but my wife was a little chilly with the A/C right there. I have walked by Morelianos wanting to go in many times, and finally took my wife there for a date. I wish I had walked in sooner. But, now I know where we are going if we are craving EXCELLENT...