Mala Pata Molino + Cocina — Restaurant in Raleigh

Amazing on all fronts! Food is NEXT LEVEL, service was great, ambiance in bar and dining room is cozy and inviting. Go with a group to try as much of the menu as you can.

Food Highlights:

-Aguachile - refreshing with a kick, spicy enough to feel it without it being an overwhelmingly spicy dish. Shrimp were treated perfectly and the house made crispy tortilla set it off. A Light flavor bomb to start the meal. Layers of flavor and texture in every bite.

Buñelos - oh. My. Gawd. These were better than I could have imagined. Melty cotija cheese inside a fried ball of goodness. Light and airy crust, and an agave butter to drag them through. Sweet savory melty crispy all at once! Something like the lightest, hush puppy filled with glorious cheese. Please order these!

Rajas enchiladas with cheerwine mole. I repeat, cheerwine mole!!! The sweet savory combo in this sauce is next level. I could eat this dish daily and never get tired of it. I will dream of these enchiladas, and the mole most of all. I’m not a vegetarian but this dish ticked every box I could ever want in an enchilada. Hearty enough to be filling, complex in flavor with a sublime crema and pickled onion to set it all off. I will order these enchiladas every time I visit.

-Lechoncito de Oro- best pork tacos I’ve had, maybe ever. topped with crispy chicharrones for a nice texture component to really accent the pork that basically melts in your mouth, wrapped in freshly made, soft tortillas. You’ll want to wash these down w a nice cold beer.

Tres leches- fluffy cake with a caramel and cinnamon streusel topping that added great texture and salt to balance the dessert. A magical end to a delicious meal.

Beverages: Had drinks the peyote mini bar before our reservations in the main dining room. Plenty of non alcoholic options with some of the delicious cocktails clearly labeled as having a spirit free option. Cocktail list is inventive and feature primarily tequila, with creative takes on classics and fun flavors to try.

The fuego margarita was as advertised, fuego! Spicy and fresh! And not to mention a beautiful, vibrant green.

Didn’t dive into the wine offerings but plan to visit again soon for the fish tacos and white wine!

Make your reservation ASAP! This place will be full all the time once the word gets out that Chef Angela and her team have done it again! Raleigh is lucky to have another homerun addition to our...

Overall rating 9/10

Was lucky enough to go on opening night of this gem of a place. The flavors they are exploring seem to redefine Mexican food and in an extremely good way. We tried 5 dishes and were overall impressed with the dishes. I feel there some minor nick-nacks that will be ironed out over time. The thing that I love was the amazing atmosphere of the place and it was infectious! I left inspired by the exploration of flavors and thus plan to come again. Dishes reviewed below: Pina y Queso -9/10 You must get this dish especially in the current heat! Very refreshing with an addictive queso cream sauce (I am guessing some mixture of queso fresco and table cream), layered with zing from shallots and vinaigrette rounded off with the tang from the grilled pineapple. My only comment on this dish - more pineapple - so that you can get one with every bite. Guacamole - 10/10 Best Guacamole I have had at a recent. Love the chipotle salsa on the side. The marinated tomatoes were the best burst of flavor and highly recommend. Aguachile verde - 7/10 Very standard appetizer but had a nice kick pairing shrimp with the serrano. Honestly it was good, but everything else was much better and had a lot more rounded flavors. Flautas de papas - 8/10 Nice inversion of the fried/grilled potato flautas available at other places with a fluffy potato filling. Would have loved to see a layer of sauce inside the flautas or some other flavoring in the potatoes for a better flavor. Colombian Buenolos - 9/10 I loved this! Reminded me of Pao de quejo but my partner found it to be a bit oily in the mouth feel. Replacing the chili oil with chili crisp might help? Latte Tres Leches - 8/10 Great cake that was more caramel focused than coffee. Would have liked it more with a slightly higher coffee kick.

All of this came to just over hundred bucks and felt very reasonable for the number of things we got to try. Can’t wait to...

Overall, my experience was very disappointing. The way management had handled my experience was like no other. The fillet fish had about 12 pin bones in just half of the tail. I never found out how many potential pin bones might’ve been in my meal since it was more of Hazard than a meal. I’ve worked in the restaurant industry from the kitchen to front of house service. In my early years of work, I’ve debones, a few fish manually by hand. It is very simple to double check if a fish is completely deboned by running your finger through the fish. Management had completely downplayed the kitchen error and offered to replace my meal with fish tacos instead. After we declined the offer, they had proceeded to deliver just one fish taco. Instead of offering the original dish I had asked for correctly or discounting my order. I’ve dined a handful of times at the Mala pata I’ve always had a great experience with the same items I order every time. I believe today’s service has caused the mala pata to lose a customer. I don’t see myself coming back due to the food and service. (I was charged the full tab my final total was 115.26 with Gratuity ) please take Accountability, If you’re going to charge high prices, provide high quality.

Ask the server Sarah that had viewed my napkin on the floor full of fish I spit onto the napkin due to all the bones in the fish. we did not consume more than half of the fish be honest and truthful. I am a honest person, giving my honest opinion. You can happily keep all of the money. ( I did enjoy the rest of my food that’s why I was full not because of the fish). The reason we didn’t complain earlier ask the rest of the staff or the host we had lost our server. She wasn’t the...