ZONA Cantina + Cocina — Restaurant in Mesa

First I will start off by saying I did not know this spot took reservations. My friend, daughter and me stopped here for a pre father's day dinner. A friend had suggested this place so we just decided to give it a try. First impression walking in was the inside dining area is definitely small and not many tables. but it's a nice atmosphere. There was a wait so we put our name down for a table. The hostess said it would be about 30 minute wait due to reservations that were already booked. We decided to wait in the car since there was no where to sit or stand to wait. (as a side note we did not know there was an outside area that had open tables since the hostess did not inform us.) At 35 minutes we decided to go and check how much longer. Walking in the hostess almost seemed surprised to see us back in. The hostess then advised me that it would be longer..like quite a bit longer due to again reservations that were supposed to show up soon. She didn't give a time of how long it would be this time but then suggested we could just go somewhere else to eat so we didn't wait. I was thrown off that this was the best suggestion. I honestly considered leaving but it was 6pm on a Saturday so I knew other restaurants would now be packed and probably have a wait time as well. We decided to just wait since we were here. I caught eyes with the manager a couple of times while we waited so he was aware that we had been waiting. The hostess then suggested they had tables outside as well but I decided not to since it was 90 degrees and windy out. my daughter and me both have allergies as well. Time wise we waited probably another 10 minutes before the Manager came over and informed us a reservation was late and therefore would sit us at there table which we really appreciated. The waitress we got was great. Very enthusiastic and knowledgeable on the menu and drinks. Now to the important part, the food. We got Birria tacos, grilled chicken plate and my daughter got the chicken strips or tenders..don't remember what they were called. The presentation on the food was very nice. The amount of chicken strips they gave on the kids plate was top notch and looked nice on the plate. They were delicious as well. Better than any other local restaurant we have been too. The Birria tacos were Soo good and packed with meat. Not like the taco shops that skimp on the meat these were definitely worth the money. The grilled chicken was good as well and seasoned good. The beans and rice were good. Not the traditional Spanish rice but rice with vegetables. It reminded me of rice that my mom would sometimes make. It was cooked perfectly and tasted good. The overall experience was very good once we got to sit down. I honestly thought I was gonna regret eating here but I am very pleased we decided to stay. Only suggestion I would have is maybe better training for the young hostess. She was nice just maybe not that experienced. I want to say thank you to the manager for taking care of us and the waitress for the great service. I will definitely be back and make sure to get a...

Update: the food is still amazing and even served hot now. They hired a new manger,Danny, and the ship is on a path to heaven now. If someone asked you to find a better restaurant in north east Mesa you would spend a life time looking for one. The new manager has everything thing running on aero-precision levels. If you are looking for a delicious bite. Do. Not. Hesitate!

Two stars and the only reason they got those is because the food is delicious, at least when it is served at the very least warm. Sat outside with 1 other person. The first meal to arrive took a little over an hour to arrive. The enchiladas were barely warm and the rice and beans were served cold. The second meal showed up about 5 minutes later and the temperatures were the same as mine. Thankfully the food tasted good and we got what we ordered. At no time were we ever offered water, not even in the 36 minutes I have been sitting here waiting for our check. Our cocktails have been empty for quite some time and again no water was ever even offered. The 2 couples at the tables adjacent to us experienced the exact same issues, cold food, meals coming out at very different times, and 1 of them mentioned they never received their appetizer. The issues were mentioned to the waiter/bartender that was working the section. He apologized and offered a comped dessert, we accepted and it came out about 20 minutes later.

Oh I forgot to mention, the $5 order of chips and salsa we got was half chips and half crumbs. Kind of ridiculous considering they charge $5 for it.

If the food was bad this place would be 1 star. If the service was better this place would be worthy of 5 stars.

FYI the short rib and chicken enchiladas were phenomenal even served cold, best enchiladas we’ve ever eaten. If we return I think we will try and sit at the bar so we aren’t forgotten and can receive better service.

All in all we were there for about 1 and 40 minutes, the bill was $88 for two people, the food was delicious, and the service...

Got fried fish taco platter, barria queso tacos. Was taco Tuesday so got 3 barria tacos only 4$ each, instead of the platter which comes with 3 tacos & rice and beans for 18$. I'll say the birria tacos were so full of meat it was a great deal for 12$ . They were very tasty but needed double tortillas to hold up to the dipping and meat, w/one only they just fell apart while eating. The consomme however was just really salty and lacked any good flavors- it took away from the tacos a bit even. Fried fsh tacos were really good and did have double tortillas to hold it all up well. The rice and beans are a pretty small side but both were very tasty and I had more than enough food . Chips and salsa for 5$ we didn't care for the chips and you get way less chips for the amount of salsa they give you but the salsa was pretty darn good. Looking at other diners tables everything looked really good! Made me want to try many other things just seeing it. Just know if you go here, bring cash because they pass down the credit card transaction fee of 3% of your bill onto you the customer and the bill can get pricy the more in your party, alcoholic drinks etc. It was charged as a convince fee and looked like the way they ring it in the bill you also end up paying sales tax on that transaction fee. Mind you we didn't spend that much at lunch but with larger checks that will add up really fast. Service was sufficient, atmosphere was really great in my opinion. Last note, for this restaurant and menu I was a bit taken back when we asked for any hot sauce (we like spicy!) And Tapatio was the only thing they have. Nothing housemade and delicious?! For how nice the food and menu was I bet if they try they would make an amazing house hot sauce for patrons like us, even if I had to purchase it as a side...