Hermanas — Restaurant in Wauwatosa

Let's get the atmosphere out of the way first. Although the decor is pleasant and fun, the windows were all open making it warm and humid inside. The garage door style windows would make for wonderful temperatures in the Autumn and Spring (if it's not raining), but in the summer, keep them closed with the a/c on. If we wanted to sit outside, we'd sit on the patio. In addition, listening to hip hop music at a Mexican restaurant (or any restaurant) isn't very pleasing.

Our server was just lovely. I arrived while she was taking drink orders for the early birds so I missed if she told them her name. And in true dolting fashion, I forgot to ask. She was peppy without being obnoxious, smiley without being fake, and seemed to genuinely like being there doing what she was doing. She answered all of our questions so everyone received just what they wanted, and was attentive throughout the dinner.

And now the food. Just delicious. The others in my group ordered different types of "regular" tacos, and they have a LOT to choose from. Two of them ordered the flight of three which comes with choice of rice and choice of beans, and one ordered just two tacos. They ordered such a variety across the board and they all thoroughly enjoyed them. I ordered the birria taco flight which has a choice of beef, chicken, or pork and comes with a consume reminiscent of a mole. I ordered one of each. So yummy. I chose the refried beans, which were a bit on the fluid side, but still tasty. I chose the cilantro lemon white rice. Subtle flavor, fluffy, light. It was wonderful.

The others in my group ordered margaritas, I stuck to water. This one was a ways from home and I don't drink at if I'm driving that far. I'll have one before dinner if it's close to home. They had frozens for happy hour and then house for the Monday Margarita special. Loved them all.

Oh, and I must mention the complementary chips and salsa. The chips are hearty, without being heavy. You get 3 salsas: once spicy, one that's more of a pico de gallo, and one that's sweet. I didn't care for the sweet one, however the one member of our group who doesn't do well with spicy just LOVED it. There are no free refills on the chips and salsa. I have to say, I like that. Keep putting chips in front of me and I will keep munching on them and not have an appetite for my dinner. The finite amount made me appreciate them more and allowed me finish two tacos and half of my beans and rice...lunch...

We had been anxiously awaiting the opening of this restaurant, so we were so happy to venture out for our anniversary and my wife eagerly suggested this restaurant.

The good: -The hosts and servers were very kind and hospitable. -At this point in the life of the restaurant, it is not very busy. While this may change, it was nice to have fairly prompt service. -Our son enjoyed the rice and beans.

The not-so-good: -The food was enjoyable (the entrées more so than the appetizers), but inauthentic (if you are looking for an authentic Mexican experience) and extremely overpriced for what you receive ($17 for 3 tacos with rice & beans). Just east and west of this location are two other Mexican restaurants, so I think we expected something to set this one apart, particularly with the significant hike in price. Portions are also smaller than one would expect. -The biggest disappointment was the pitcher of margaritas. One would think with the price point for a margarita ($10) vs. a pitcher ($35), you would have at least 3.5 servings. That was not the case. We maybe got 2.5 servings, and that was after some of the pitcher full of ice had melted in the 85 degree heat. We did bring this up to the server, just for the sake of clarification, and explained what we ended up with, and she simply replied, "Oh!" as she took our credit card without another comment. Clearly, we would have been better off ordering individual margaritas, so it was very deceptive when what we received should have cost $25. I would strongly recommend that Hermanas include the number of servings for the sake of clarity to its customers, as this was highly misleading.

At this point, I am not sure if we will return. We weren't blown away and knowing that either of the other restaurants to the east or west would provide food that is just as, if not more, enjoyable/authentic at a much more reasonable and transparent price point... I just don't think Hermanas would win in that fight. To say we were disappointed would be an...

I was really looking forward to trying this new Mexican restaurant in our neighborhood. We walked in and were greeted by a friendly hostess who offered us indoor or outdoor seating. We chose outdoor and were seated right away. Our server stopped by the table and took our drink orders right away. We each ordered the $10 house margarita, which was not very big. Someone else came out with our chips and salsa. You get your inital tasting on the house and anything beyond that is $5/flavor. They bring you 3 flavors to start, but they barely cover the bottom of the bowl. It was enough for 2 people, but if you had a larger group, there would not be much. I will say the salsa was good, as were the chips.

Looking at the menu, we were a bit put off by both the high prices and the lack of options. They do have a lot of tacos that range in price from $5-6 or 3 for $16 or $17 with rice and beans. We each ordered the enchiladas, which were delicious. The problem was that it took a ridiculous amount of time to get them. Other tables who arrived 15 min after us got their food, ate it, paid their bill, and left just as our food finally arrived. Our server apologized profusely several times and later admitted it was her fault, not the kitchen's that our order was so late. I give her credit for being the bigger person, and she was very sweet. However, she could've at least offered us a free drink for the wait. We did ask for that, and she had to go ask and did give us one for our waiting.

Overall, I will say the food was tasty, and the service was very friendly, but it seems Hermana's is trying too hard to be too upscale with plenty of competition nearby with a bigger menu and much...