ASI Mexican Fusion Bistro — Restaurant in San Jose

Unique Fusion Spot With Great Food – Just Needs a Few Tweaks”

We’ve been to ASI Mexican Fusion multiple times as a family, and overall, it’s a unique and creative restaurant that blends Mexican and Middle Eastern flavors in a fun way. First visit was with my mom — we shared a molcajete and everything tasted great. The only thing that threw us off was the pricing on the sides. For example, 3 tortillas were $5 — which feels absurd, especially at a Mexican restaurant where tortillas are usually part of the meal. Because of that, instead of ordering tortillas and sides separately, we opted for a chile relleno plate so we could get rice, beans, and tortillas included. The food was good, but the pricing structure could use some rethinking.

Second visit was on Valentine’s Day. We got the Habibi molcajete again. Good flavors overall, but the steak this time was a bit on the tougher side. Still, the meal was enjoyable. My brother had tacos and my dad ordered enchiladas — both solid picks and cooked well.

On our third visit, we decided to switch it up. I ordered the Asada Kebab plate, expecting two steak kebabs based on the menu. Instead, it came with one steak kebab and one veggie kebab (onions and peppers). The portions felt very small, especially for the price. The steak tasted mostly charred and lacked the depth of flavor we’d had on earlier visits. Honestly felt a bit duped by the description on the menu — and my mom even said it looked like less food than usual. She got the chile relleno again, but this time the red sauce tasted different, and not in a great way. It was just inconsistent from the previous visit, which makes it harder to rely on a go-to dish.

We also ran into a small issue with the beverages. We asked for Diet Coke and were given two small 375ml glass bottles, which were noticeably pricey. We had assumed they’d be fountain drinks. After asking, we were told they also had Diet Pepsi on fountain, which would’ve been nice to know from the start. Fortunately, the owner’s daughter noticed the situation and didn’t charge us for the fountain refills — we appreciated that gesture a lot.

Highlights worth mentioning: • The pita chips and hummus they serve to start your meal are excellent. Super addicting — I could eat a whole bowl. • Service is generally friendly and attentive. • When the food is on point, it’s really flavorful and satisfying.

We definitely plan to come back, especially to try Taco Tuesday and sample every meat option. Overall, this place has a lot of potential and delivers some great dishes. Our only real feedback is to work on portion consistency, menu clarity, and pricing structure — especially when it comes to basic items like tortillas and drinks.

Not a harsh review — just honest, constructive feedback from returning customers who want to see this...

I love, love, love this restaurant!  What fist caught my eye was that it’s a fascinating blend of Mexican and Middle Eastern food, which turns out is an awesome combination.  They totally hit a Grand Slam with the food!  Soooooo yummy!   They’ve got dishes such as their Chicken Shawarma served with a Tahini Chipotle sauce that is to-die-for!  Or the Nabati Torta that ‘s one of my favorite dishes.  Its main ingredient is perfectly fried eggplant (I never really like eggplant until I tried this dish), and it’s served with their to-die-for Tahini Chipotle sauce that gives it a slightly spicy touch which is balanced beautifully by the cool, refreshing flavor of a Labneh sauce (which is a classic sauce in Middle Eastern cuisine made from yogurt).  The combination of flavors and ingredients in the Nabati Torta blew my mind!  I’ve been dreaming about it ever since.

And on top of their delicious fusion dishes, they also have some phenomenal Mexican dishes, like their mole that’s the best I’ve had outside of Mexico, and their “Enchiladas de Tinga” (another of my favorite dishes) which is served with an out-of-this-world Guajillo Chili enchilada sauce.  But be warned -- if you want ordinary enchiladas with the normal, ordinary enchilada sauce, please go somewhere else!  But if you want to go on an adventure and have your taste buds fall in love with you, try their Enchiladas de Tinga!  It’s so good that I nearly licked my plate clean before realizing I was in a public place, so I instead used my fork to scrape up every last drop of that incredible sauce.

And added to the incredible food is this warm, friendly atmosphere, which comes from the great staff who work there, including the woman who owns the restaurant, and her eldest daughter who manages it, along with 2 other daughters and other staff who work there who are all super friendly.  They’ve created a place that not only has insanely delicious food, but also is a warm, welcoming place that always makes me feel...

I was so wanting to give this place a 5 star rating, but just couldn't do it for the following reasons: Too many TVs. That is my number one issue with all restaurants in CA. I have never voiced it in a review before, but I am pretty sure others feel the same way. Not everyone wants to feel like they are in a sports bar. Why do all restaurants these days feel the need to do this? Do they all really get the sports fan business each week to justify this? TVs belong in Sports bars and pubs, PERIOD . On to the food. I love pork belly, and should have asked how they cook it. ASI over-cooked my pork belly to the point of dryness that was hard to chew and lacked taste. Pork belly should not be deep fried, but slow cooked low and slow in the oven, or air fried. (Pretty sure theirs was deep fried. It had that taste like the deep fryer oil.) I liked the fusion of salsa on the table with hummus and olives. (Aqi has been doing that for a long time with better results, though, not for free). The dish it is served in while "cute" is not easy to scoop from. The chips don't dip in smoothly and it is too steep sided to get enough product onto the chip. ASI tortilla chips to pita chips ratio was 80% overcooked pitas and just a scattering of tortilla chips, which was disappointing. The salsa is OK, but not at all anything memorable. The guacamole served with the pork belly was good and plentiful. The homemade corn tortillas served with the pork belly are good, They are moist, tender and flavorful. I prefer places that offer a choice between corn or flour, The service was friendly ,prompt and focused as it should be, I just wish I had more good things to say about the food. I may go back to try something else and I will be sure to ask the right questions...