Mr. Miguel's Mexican Grill & Cantina — Restaurant in Utica

n the heart of Downtown Utica stands an amazing Mexican restaurant that's well worth the visit. Depending on the time of day and how busy it is, you can usually find street parking or park in the lot next to the restaurant and police station. You can walk in without a reservation, but if it's busy, expect a bit of a wait. Seating is available both inside and on the patio--perfect during the spring, summer, or early fall months.

Once you're seated, the wait staff greets you with complimentary chips and salsa--yum!

I've been to this location a few times now and have tried a variety of dishes that keep me coming back. Here are some of the dishes I've tried:

Sharable: Loaded Fries (with Shredded Beef): A must-have, especially if you're enjoying a cerveza or margarita. My sister and I always order this, and there's always enough to take home. Reheat them in the oven the next day, and they're still just as good.

Tacos: Birria Tacos (Street Style): Amazing! Bursting with flavor but not overly spicy. I love dipping the tacos into the rich broth--it's the best part. Mexican Street Tacos (Shredded Beef): My go-to when I want something light yet authentic. These never disappoint.

Classic Favorites: Enchiladas: These were just okay for me. They lacked the sauciness and flavor I usually crave in enchiladas, but I was still glad I gave them a try.

Dessert: Deep-Fried Ice Cream: I love it! My sister thinks the one at Mexican Village is better, but I beg to differ--this one hits the sweet spot for me.

Overall, as a returning customer, I definitely recommend this spot. It's a great place to catch up with friends, enjoy dinner with loved ones, celebrate a birthday, or even go on a date. I'll...

So all I have to say is Covid ruined bars and restaurants and has allowed managers and servers to treat customers poorly. I have worked at some nice restaurants over the years and taking care of the customer and making them happy was always the priority. This place is an example of not caring about their customers. What bar closes at 10:00 on a Thursday night? I guess management, servers, and cooks tell owners how it’s going to be now that no one can get good help. Walk in at 9:25 and the pregnant manager or server tells us that the kitchen closes in ten minutes. I go oh, says you close at 10:00. She says well we close the kitchen early to get everyone out by 10:00. Meanwhile a table of 6 girls drinking margaritas just sat down a minute prior and there are customers at the bar and a handful of tables enjoying themselves. Waitress comes over and you can tell she’s rushing and is not happy she got sat another table. Food came out in 5 minutes, which was impressive and it was ok. There are a lot of Mexican restaurants around here so there are options. I would come back and maybe try happy hour, but I wouldn’t say anything was so amazing that I have to come back right away. We and other tables are eating and the staff is scrambling to clean and put chairs up on tables to have a hard close at 10:00, mind you it’s still only 9:45. Lights crank up and TV’s get shut off and they are basically telling everyone to get the heck out. The owner is going to learn the hard way if they choose to let staff treat customers this way. They won’t be in business long around here if that is the mentality. Everyone just says that’s the way it is now, but I find it...

If you’re looking for bar food disguised as Mexican with some odd takes on traditional recipes, this might be the place for you.

I stopped in with my husband and daughter. It was surprisingly busy, so we gave it a shot. Once we sat down, I noticed the menu didn’t look Mexican at all, even though they call themselves a Mexican grill.

My husband ordered fajitas, usually a safe bet since even Chili’s gets those right. I went with the nachos, which were $16 without meat. We added chorizo, bringing the total to over $21. His fajitas were about $16.

When the food arrived, the fajitas looked odd big chunks of what seemed like boiled or poached chicken. My husband said they were terrible. I tried them too, and they tasted nothing like fajitas. They had a soy sauce or Maggi-like flavor, definitely not traditional seasoning. And they didn’t even come with proper garnishes. You pick two from a list, but by then, it didn’t matter.

The rice was parboiled, something we never use in real Mexican cooking. Maybe some people like it, but it’s not for us.

The only highlight was our server. She was great and replaced my husband’s meal with fish tacos, which were better, but not good enough to save the overall experience.

Bottom line: overpriced, inauthentic, and disappointing. Definitely not...