El Axolote — Restaurant in San Juan

My friend and I are visiting for 1 week, we decided to stop in here because it was in walking distance to where we are staying. We came in an about 1 & a half to 2 hours before closing so we expected it would be an in and out ordeal. Our waiter didn’t seem very pleased with the fact that he was our waiter. I asked for birria tacos due to several reviews I saw posted about the “offmenu birria tacos” and when I inquired he told me that I must have the wrong restaurant. He did later on inform us that he was new which was appreciated. Initially he came off as very rude but by the end of the meal he did seem to be a bit more pleasant. We started with two margaritas rimmed with tajin, they were decent. I wouldn’t order them again but they weren’t bad. We ordered the Queso Fundido with chorizo for an appetizer which was not bad, very cheesy & thick though so if you’re looking for “Americanized” queso this would not be the place. I ordered the Al pastor tacos which were great with the green sauce that comes on the chips. The food came out very fresh and hot and was definitely aesthetically pleasing. My friend got the carne asada tacos and complained about the appearance but stated the taste was great. The tacos come with refried beans and rice. Towards the end who I am assuming was the bartender came out to tell us about the kitchen closing and the bar still being open. She was honestly the most pleasant part of the whole experience. She was very positive, smiley, and friendly and brought 2 of the green sauces for me after I stated I liked them as well as provided us with...

Impressive cooking!

Axolotle is a Mexican restaurant run by a Puerto Rican chef. Moses, the chef was serving us our dishes for the day. If you're Mexican then you should definitely try the quesabirria and tamale de mole. These two dishes were suggested by Moses and we trusted him and boy was our intuition correct.

The tamal de mole was our appetizer. You can immediately tell that the corn for the masa was made in house because it has the same natural taste from back home in Mexico. The mole was sweet. My sister was not a fan of sweet mole but she said an exception was made for this because it was not super sweet and packed a lot of flavor! Moses said that he had learned how to cook tamales in Los Angeles a few years ago.

Then we had the quesabirria. Duuuuude. It was so good. I was homesick during my visit in Puerto Rico but the quesabirria brought me back home and revitalized my spirit to keep traveling and exploring Puerto Rico! The cheese was melted in the center and fried along the tortilla rim. The consome was on point! The birria had the classic flavor and had the familiar deep red hue. This dish is served with two salsa cups, green and red. My preference was the green because again, Moses has captured and mastered the flavor.

The drinks were so natural and refreshing. We got pineapple and tamarind juice. You can tell that they were freshly made in house. Be careful, the menu might advertise out of season fruits that might not be available upon your arrival.

10/10...

Food taste and presentation is ok, but, If you are very hungry and are expecting to eat and be full after eating one main plate, do not come here. Food is too expensive for the amount served and menu options are very limited. After eating three tacos I was still hungry (they are small) and if you want a fourth one you can’t because they only sell them in orders of three (very inflexible menu), and one order is $14+. Soups are $6 for a very small cup. If you are a person that appreciates quantity and quality of food for a fair price, this is not the place for you. Oh...and add the $5 parking fee, which is not included in you food bill.

The service would be fair if the amount of food served was increased or if they decrease the current food prices and make the menu options more flexible to the costumer. If they do this, maybe I would consider recommending the place to friends and family, otherwise, big “don’t go” from my part!

I have eaten in many Mexican restaurants in San Juan and I suggest you drive a little bit further in Guaynabo and go to Huachinango, where the amount of food is much more, you get free chips and salsa, parking is free, food prices are better, quality is good, and you won’t leave hungry...