Amigo's Restaurant and Cantina — Restaurant in Pasadena

We are regular patrons of this charming corner restaraunt in Pasadena, CA with its unassuming store front. There is some great outside seating along the side of the building facing a less busy street, and it is clear from only a couple of minutes observation that staff are very attentive. The parking lot is small and almost always full, but street parking can be found close by and typically with little searching. The inside is somewhat darkly lit, but is comprised of many cozy booths. It is welcoming and comforting. Online ordering through their website is organized and incredibly simple, and when they say it will be ready, it is ready. We have eaten almost everything on the menu and just about everything has been very good. My favorite is the carnitas burritos with salsa verde and cheese on top. The carnitas are obviously slow roasted and are then flash fried on the grill to give a great crust. They really are quite good. My kids enjoy the shrimp cocktail, which is essentially civeche, and they also like the flautas, taquitos and chilaquelas. Portions are very large and food is typically hot for the hot dishes and nice and frosty for the cold dishes. Quality is typically excellent and the flavors are equally good. Price is actually reasonable considering the portion sizes. Is it truly authentic Mexican food? I can't really say, as I am not from Mexico. But I will say that it is very good food, it fits the bill for us when we want the flavors of Mexican food, and it is one of those places where you not only feel comfortable trying different items on the menu, you actually will feel like you are missing out if you don't sample everything at least once! I rarely give 5 stars, but this place earns them in my book. I am a big fan of mom and pop shops, which this appears to be, and these guys are...

OK, there are TWO reasons for such a lot rating. I enjoyed, for the most part, the food. HOWEVER, why such a low rating? First, it's the low quality tortillas they use. Like Mission tortillas (or any other mass produced low quality tortilla you can buy in any grocery store). Since the tortillas are so bad, that makes their chips pretty bad as well. Almost like they are stale, which they aren't. It's just bad quality tortillas. (now i don't know if pasadena just doesn't have tortillerias or what, but any self respecting mexican restaurant should have decent tortillas). The second is their margaritas. They are very strong, I won't argue that, and there is nothing wrong with a strong margarita, BUT the flavor is severely lacking. I don't know if they make their own margaritas, but i DO know they don't make them to order, they're stored in huge canisters behind the bar. The taste of the margarita is similar to a store bought pre made margarita. Just doesn't taste good. They should switch to making them to order, and not this premade stuff that just doesn't taste good.

The salsa is yummy, the food (with the exception of the horrible quality tortilla) is overall yummy. If it wasn't for those two issues (the margarita really doesn't affect my star rating much, but the tortillas sure do, I could rate negative stars based on the tortillas they use) i would give...

My fiancee and I had a fantastic time. The laid back, quiet atmosphere was contrasted by an attentive waiter and extremely fast service. We received our food less than 15 minutes after it was ordered, and it tasted excellent.

I had the carnitas burrito ($8.25) with shredded beef; she had the double enchilada combo ($10.75). In total, our meal came to $27.80 after tax (2 meals, 2 soft drinks).

The meat was flavorful, tender, and juicy, and the tortillas were soft and chewy. The refried beans were excellent, tasted fresh and savory. The rice was deliciously flavored and also tasted very fresh. The green sauce on top of the burrito was excellent and abundant without making the food soggy. Finally, the soft drinks ($3.00 each, 1 free refill), while a little expensive, came in a large glass (just be sure to get it with little to no ice, they kinda overdo it on the ice here).

Another thing to note is that my fiancee is very sensitive to tomato based products (she gets heartburn easily from most of them, usually heavily processed ketchup, pasta, or pizza sauce), but she was able to eat the enchiladas in a red sauce without any heartburn whatsoever.

I would recommend anyone in the mood for a nice date-night atmosphere or looking to get some margaritas with friends to come here, as my fiancee and I could not help but tip greater 28% for the amazing service and...