Blue Margaritas — Restaurant in Peoria

All I can say is the decor is the most impressive thing about this restaurant. I hadn't been here before, but a neighbor recommend it. Now he knows I come from a border town and I know what mexican food is supposed to taste like, this barely qualifies.

First of all several of the staff were wearing masks improperly, it is supposed to cover your NOSE AND MOUTH or it isn't effective. If it was just one person I would have been less concerned, but there were at least 3. They were polite and courteous, but a bit inattentive, with the exception of one lovely young woman who was very personable, but not our server. They didn't provide menus, you have to ask for them and it took 5 min to get them. They offer a QR code menu which is a neat idea unless you have trouble reading small print. I couldn't read the menu on my phone because it has little contrast. Their regular menu is poorly designed and uses a modern 2-digit pricing which I like but it isn't offset enough from the item enough to be clear. My companion is older and had a difficult time understanding. 10 min after getting our menus, someone finally came over to take our order. It then took 30ish min to get our food from the time we ordered, and with the reduced capacity due to COVID, it shouldn't have taken that long.

Second, onto the food. The chips and salsa were very good, actually the best part of the meal. Not sure if the salsa is out of a bottle or house made, which is a plus, and the chips were crispy without being overcooked or greasy. The remainder of the meal wasn't quite up to standard. The sampler platter we got as an appetizer was overcooked on the outside and chewy inside. The guacamole and canned cheese sauce were the best things on the plate. Our entrees weren't much better, and suffered from an extreme lack of salt. The beans and rice were BLAND, but that was fixed by the aforementioned salt. Please understand that it is really bad when I have to add salt. The enchiladas were sad. The sauce was thick and gloppy, with an odd texture, sort of like it had been reheated several times. The tortillas were undercooked and the chicken they were stuffed with was completely flavorless, it needed seasoning desperately.

I normally would give a restaurant a second chance before posting a bad review, particularly in this difficult time, but there was too much for me to ignore for one visit. I will go back at some point to see if I just caught them on a bad night, and update my review if anything...

Blue Margaritas 9010 N. Allen Rd. North Peoria IL. 61615

I didn’t plan on reviewing any Mexican restaurants. It’s not that I don’t like Mexican food, I love it. It’s just that it doesn’t really vary that much from place to place around here and it is all pretty mediocre. Just as it was my experience at Blue Margaritas. Come on let’s face it. The décor and the decent albeit, kinda cold service. It’s the same ole salsa and chips with the same ole cheap margaritas. It’s like the entire experience comes out of central casting at a Mexican soap opera.

I like the décor and the way the booths are personalized not like the standard tacky Mexican restaurant booths with the stereotypical scenes of 1800s Mexico. I like the plates and the presentation. The salsa and chips were good. It was a Monday night and there were not that many people there, so service was hard to get a grasp on. I ordered Carnitas of which I am a seasoned pro. I can rock them out better than any Mexican restaurant I have ever been to so I am kind of jaded but they are good here. The chunks should be a little smaller to absorb more seasoning but I liked them. One thing I can say is that the rice and beans are fantastic. I think it is the beans. They are exceptional.

According to the Big Food Jerk.

This place is your standard Mexican food joint. The food is good. The service is adequate. The atmosphere is OK. I’d go back and yes I recommend them. Other than that zzzzzz. PS Mrs. Jerk doesn’t think I am giving Blue Margaritas a fair shake. So I am including that here. I love and respect my wife’s opinion because she is a fellow foodie also. So take that into...

Excellent food; Awesome Margaritas (house Mix); Prompt service; competitive pricing (low, actually); and ,possibly, the best tasting Salsa and Chip combos I have had this year. Compared well to even the likes of Topolobampo, in Chicago. [Disclaimer: They had special on 16 oz Margaritas. two each - do the math: 64oz of booze. May have affected the review.] #1- These guys are great. Place was VERY clean. Got seated within minutes of arrival. Probably due to hour (about 2pm). Plenty of tables were filled (popular). #2 - Service was fast getting to table. Waiter showed up within a couple of minutes. #3 - The salsa was possibly the best salsa I have ever had. Flavor was tasty, spicy, not over-hot, - we even ordered a refill (rare for us. One bowl is usually enough, but, Damn - it was tasty (the chips too). #4 - Pricing was quite reasonable (did I mention: $3.margaritas. Yes the margaritas were, in my opinion, properly made. Some places (I won't mention the names, but their name has two words starting with B it it) their house margarita mix has so much sugar they are almost like syrup. These margaritas had a crip flavor, chilled, and the glass rims salted (optional) and matched the best I have been served in California. With TWO entrees, and 64 oz of margaritas, bill was only about $28 bucks. I added a $5 dollar tip. I felt VERY satisfied. Plan to go back, probably with the redhead, and try their...