Restaurant Review: Guadalajara Mexican Restaurant

Hidden in the Conquistador Plaza along Hillsborough, Guadalajara Mexican Restaurant (4502 W. Hillsborough Ave., Tampa, FL, 33614. (813) 879-4096) is yet another Mexican restaurant here in Tampa worth trying. While not exceptional in any way, it does provide decent value, fast service and a charming atmosphere.

When I showed up, the place was only moderately busy. The buzz of traditional Latin music filled the room, a bit too loud for comfort. I’ve noticed this trend in restaurants lately, trying to make up for low-rent layouts, mediocre food and unpleasant waitstaff by making the music overpowering. I didn’t have high hopes for this place based on this one point.

The waitress came and took my drink order. While she was gone, I noticed the fountain behind me. It was pretty loud for a fountain, loud enough to overtake the previously mentioned loud music. It was really pretty though.

When the drink arrived, she took my order right away. She was quick to recommend their carne asada, a favorite I’ve had many times before from many other places. I agreed to it and waited as she brought out chips and salsa. I noticed they also carried Chili Rellenos, one of my old time favorites as well. Given that I was pretty hungry, I ordered it as well.

The chips and salsa arrived and they were good. They were just salty enough to catch my attention, with a thin salsa that had a bit of heat but not enough to be overbearing. I noticed a bit of a fruity overtone in the salsa. It wasn’t powerful enough to be a mango-based salsa, but there was a definite sweetness.

The steak arrived within 10 minutes, and it was very flavorful. I’ve found that flank steak, when cooked correctly, can really stand on it’s own. I had been so convinced from previous experiences that flank steak and skirt steak were tough that I had all but given up on them. Guadalajara definitely made the most of this cut, giving it a nice seer without being overly done. I’d say for a flank steak, this was better than average.

With the steak came rice, beans, a side of vegetables and chips. There was nothing exceptional about any of it, other than it was fulfilling. The beans were a little runnier than I like, but they made a fine finish to the steak.

The chili relleno was completely different than any that I had eaten before. Firstly, the pepper itself was surprisingly crunchy. It’s not simply that it had a crunchy exterior shell. The whole pepper was crunchy, as if it were fried all the way through the pepper skin. Inside, there was no meat, but rather a half-melted block of cheese. There was no cohesion in the meal, just a block of cheese in a fried pepper covered in sauce. As far as relleno goes, this was pretty weak.

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