Palacios Mexican Restaurant — Restaurant in St. Louis

Let me start by saying that some of you may be a tad put off by the manner in which I share this review, and yet, it’s my hope that you’ll be able to appreciate that these are my feelings, thoughts and perspectives, and that yours may be wholly and completely different than mine in every conceivable way. Cool?

Cool.

We have used and heard the word “authentic” so many times, that for me, it seems to have lost whatever organic earthiness that it may have originally held. Truly, what is “authentic”? Is it a single restaurant owned by a person or family? Is it two, or three places to eat that have the same family recipes? What is “authentic”, really?

As I confessed, I don’t really know any more. I really don’t.

So when I talk about Palacio’s Mexican Restaurant, as much as I want to stand on a chair and espouse the virtues of “authentic” cuisine, I won’t. I won’t because I personally think that this place deserves “better”.

And even with that, one has to consider how varied tastes and preferences are from one person to the next, right? Right.

Palacio’s is not a place where you’re likely to park you new Range Rover and feel at ease with not being able to see it. Located in Dutchtown at 4101 S. Grand, you’re as likely to see people fighting across the street as you are people minding their own business. I am not speaking ill of the residents of that area, and yet, let’s not pretend that there aren’t some social challenges that exist either. But for me, since I am who I am, I don’t worry so much about locale and “crime”, race and economic disparity and social constructs.

I came for the food.

Sharon and I had a completely different feelings when even walking through the front door. For her, it reminded her of places she’d eaten at in Zimbabwe. For me, the pool table in your face when you walk in, along with the bar to the right, and on the day we were there, boxes and boxes on the actual bar itself, well, let’s just say that I wondered if this was a place I really wanted to patronize. In other words, I can honestly say that my beloved and I had completely different expectations.

Suffice to say that if decor and fine-dining are your thing, well, this is not the place for you.

If real, heartfelt interaction from the staff is what you’re after, well then, head on in, seat yourself and indulge. Margarita was our server, and is also the owner’s daughter. She was a pleasure. Patient, solicitous and frankly, she was cool people.

Anyway, Sharon just told me that this too long, so I will wrap this up.

I had a burrito that rocked my world. Real steak that is cooked and seasoned in a way that let’s you know that it’s not Tex-mex (which I abhor), and more, the portion sizes are the kind that give you the feeling that you’ve gone to someone’s house and they’ve fed you enough to hope that you’ll come back again and again. Sharon had Menudo. She loves it and she raved over this one. Me, not so much, and yet, I have to admit, this was tasty to me. Again, I am not a fan, and yet, the seasoning and varied hints of it all together was quite pleasing.

In the end, if you want a fare that’s not Tex-Mex, and gives you the feeling and the sense that you’re at someone’s home and that they’re trying to impress you with their food and low-key atmosphere, well, then this might be for you.

If you need 5-Star cuisine and linen tablecloths, you’ll not find it here.

Finally, I don’t talk price because for me, that’s relative to the pleasure I get from the meal and for me and Sharon, it was worth every...

Walked in for one day and it was just a family playing pool as if they were just hanging out at home. Now, I've walked into my share of places where I felt like an outsider...Places where more shy people might feel embarrassed or unwelcome, and I'm totally unbothered. But I will say this time I truly felt like I had mistakenly stumbled into someone's home! But once they realized that they had a customer, it was a super fun and friendly interaction with the young lady taking my order.

They have a lot of organ meats and cuts of lamb and other taco fillings you won't see anywhere else. Some were.more enjoyable than other but i generally like unusualy cuts and trying new things. On the more familiar side, the Carne Asada plate was an entire flank steak served with rice and beans for ~$16...incredible value!

Don't let the location stop you from...

We came to town for a family trip, and looked into a few restaurants to try while here (8/26-8/28/21). We had very high hopes for this restaurant due to the high reviews and delicious photos. The service was kind and very friendly! We ordered the steak tacos and the chicken burrito with a side of rice and beans. The food smelled amazing but was extremely bland. The beans were definitely out of a can. Even our two children thought it was lacking in flavor as well. Thankfully there was salt packets in the plastic cutlery set. That made it...