Alicia’s Latin Cuisine — Restaurant in New Brighton

Maybe this was an off night since the reviews are generally good, but I cannot recommend it based on our experience tonight.

It's my 40th birthday today and I was hoping for someplace family friendly and down to earth but with a lot of soul (think Homi in St. Paul) so I could enjoy a rare meal out with my wife and two young daughters.

Our server was friendly but missed multiple opportunities throughout the evening, and it was not busy. I counted approximately four people at the bar and another ~2 parties in the restaurant.

Trying to fit in a little celebration where possible, I got their feature drink (top center on the drink menu). It was not bad, but heavy on ice, and the salt on the rim was 75% missing (see photo). Presentation was poor in my opinion.

We got the guacamole (typically one of my wife's favorites), which I believe was house made, but came out just pressed into a serving dish. In both my wife's opinion and mine, it lacked vibrancy in both look and flavor. We also ended up stalling out here because we ran out of chips. I think it's the first time I've seen her not finish an order of guacamole.

I had fried chicken over a slaw over some fried plantain chips, which seemed to me like it wanted to be the restaurant's feature dish. The fried chicken was probably the highlight for the night. It seemed prepped fresh in house and was easily into "good" territory. It was cooked quite respectably and the breading was very nicely light and crispy, but could have used more seasoning in my opinion. I also question the butchering (don't know if this was in house or not), as one of my four pieces was the spine and about 1/4 - 1/2 of a breast.

The plate was obviously dressed from a condiment bottle and the dressing was good. Nicely acidic and flavorful to provide balance to the fried chicken.

The slaw was not great. It was not quite as crunchy as I'd hope for and putting the chicken on it resulted in it being room temperature-ish. It had been dressed with something but it didn't come through enough to really stand on its own.

I enjoyed the plantain chips; mainly the ones around the outside as the ones in with the slaw quickly got damp and stale-ish textured.

My wife got a steak, eggs, beans, plantains, and tortilla dish. Good news first, the eggs were delightful and she said the beans and 1/2 of a plantain were good. The steak however was probably the low point of the night. At about 2" x 2" by maybe 1/4" thick, it was very overcooked and I really don't have anything positive to say about it.

Overall, we came in hopeful as we miss our food options here vs. living down near midway and frogtown and we really wanted a hole-in-the-wall with a lot of love in the food and to have a local, family business we could frequently support. Unfortunately, we came away...

Cinco de Mayo Dining, 4pm

We didn't realize this restaurant was no longer Acapulco until we arrived, but we were happy to check out someplace new. Sadly, we were very disappointed. The chips were cold and overly oily, and the salsa very bland. I had an underwhelming Cadillac margarita. I ordered the carnitas; my companion ordered the chimichanga. I expected the carnitas to be super tender on the inside with a crusty char on the outside. However, they were so overcooked I could barely chew them. The sides were also disappointing, except for the rice. (I normally don't like Spanish rice, but this was fluffy and mild but nicely flavored.) The beans were bland, as was the guacamole. I asked for verde sauce to jazz things up; what I received was a creamy green sauce, also very bland. I told the server about the meat, and she offered to replace it, but at that point I didn't want another entree.

My companion said the chimichanga had a soggy instead of crispy tortilla, and the chicken was very dry. It had tinga chicken, usually on the spicy side but again, very bland. She echoed my thoughts about everything being woefully under seasoned - and she's not even a fan of spicy food. She did question having a rice side when the chimichanga was loaded with rice. She requested refried beans - $3 for a small bowl!

The service was pleasant and adequate, but given how few people were in the restaurant side, could have been more attentive.

The meal, with tip, came to $55. The are many Latin/Mexican restaurants in the twin cities that have far better food at equal or lesser prices. We won't be returning to this one.

NOTE: It was Cinco de Mayo, and in addition to specials, they had a tent outside with a DJ and a...

Finally I can get delicious, authentic Mexican food and a pleasant sit-down dining experience right here in New Brighton! They also offer other types of Latin cuisine in addition to Mexican dishes. Fantastic micheladas!

I ordered a side of fried yucca, which came with a tasty, spicy sauce (I think it was a creamy chipotle sauce). This wasn't listed on the menu, but I just asked for a side of yucca and my wish was granted.

I had their sopes, which were every bit as yummy as the pictures led me to believe. My husband ordered tacos, which he really enjoyed - he's from Mexico, so he knows what a good taco is.

I can't wait to return to try several other items on their menu, like a mojarra (fish), a chicken tinga quesadilla on a homemade tortilla, and their quesabirrias. I get hungry just thinking about it. I hope they add mole de pollo to their menu someday!

Our server was friendly, attentive, and bilingual. Alicia's is our new go-to restaurant...