Restaurant Mary — Restaurant in Santa Ana

For someone that comes from Michoacan, this establishment definitely hit the mark!

Restaurant Mary's is an amazing, small local restaurant in city's downtown area. The decor is simple but gorgeous. Heavy wooden tables lined with hand carved and painted chairs, each one with a different design. The server was very kind and attentive. We were given some chips with house made salsa to start, the chips were fresh and delicious. The green and red salsa were homemade and the red salsa had a very nice heat to it, made me perspire a bit lol but trust me when I say that I love spicy food and this was a solid 7 of 10 on the heat scale. The appetizer we ordered was their choriqueso, melted cheese topped with sautéed to perfection chorizo. Rich and delicious! The tortillas, the deliciously handmade tortillas!! Wow what a nostalgic trip down memory lane. It definitely brought back memories of my grandmothers handmade tortillas. Thick and hearty deliciousness. For the main course, we ordered the pork chuletas in red sauce and the michoacan enchiladas. Both dishes were superb. The thin cut pork chops were seasoned to perfection and were swimming in a delicious red sauce. Paired with perfectly cooked beans and rice (not from a can or bag by the way). The enchiladas were very simple and delicious, trust me when I say that these "simple" enchiladas are packed with flavor. Served just like mom would serve with a side of lechuga and a hearty piece of steak to boot. Yum!! I also ordered a Tamarindo and horchata, the Tamarindo agua was fantastic. Great flavor. The horchata was a bit of a miss for my liking. Needed a bit more cinnamon and sugar in my personal opinion. I am so glad we happen to find this hidden gem while traveling. Next time I'm visiting from Las Vegas, this is definitely an establishment I'm...

I really liked the food here, so much so I decided to come back for a second visit. I ordered the identical item not a single change and the price skyrocketed over $5. I don't see how this is a simple error as the lady was trying everything to convince me they didn't charge me for something they prior day. I ask what was different in my exact order from yesterday? Steak chilaquilles with red sauce scrambled eggs.

She tells me "you ordered them with eggs" this time. They always come with eggs!

I truly feel like these people were trying to get one up on me and have already reported then to the Santa's Ana department...

I was in town on business and felt a cold coming on--not acceptable when there's work to be done.. Got a large order of birria de chivo and some extra tortillas to go. The dining area is charming and the servers friendly so I would have stayed had I been feeling better. Ate my stew in my hotel room with the TV for company. Delicious. I mean, REALLY delicious. The next morning I woke up feeling revitalized. I can only conclude that the food at Restaurant Mary has magical restorative powers. I will definitely be eating...