Guadalajara Mexican Rstrnt

Doesn't Recommend

C4C

Joined 5 years ago

Yet another forgettable Mexican restaurant. My "Friday Night Men's Night Out" group eats out every Friday night, so we have eaten at restaurants all over the upstate. But when it comes to Mexican we are still searching for the end all, be all Mexican restaurant. So we had to try the Guadalajara Mexican Restaurant.

As always we were prepared to leave our waiter 30%, but it was a busy night and he was rarely motivated to do more than fill your glass on occasion and ask us the obligatory "is everything all right?" So our tip was average, reflecting this lack of effort to go beyond average.

The Guadalajara sits on Main Street in bustling downtown Greenville so the place was hoppin' for a Friday night. And the ambiance is more Irish Pub covered with sombreros than it is your typical Mexican dive. But once seated I ordered a Pulpo A La Mexicana for an appetizer at $11.50, and the Barbacoa De Dhivo at $10 for my main course. I ordered these specific entrees as they were the most unique dishes on the menu consisting of octopus and goat.

When the Pulpo arrived I was very unimpressed as the dish was 90% beans, rice and condiments, and provides but a few ounces of octopus bits. In addition this dish was supposed to be made with Guadalajara's hottest sauce, but any tangy heat must have leapt off my plate before it arrived at the table. No doubt it jumped from the shame of being associated with this dish. And for goodness sake, can you buy your tortillas any smaller? What is it with Mexican restaurants that provide two or three tiny 5" round tortillas that can't possibly hold more than a few ounces?

I swear the first Mexican restaurant I find that provides exceptional food and 10" tortillas I will make rich!

After the Pulpo octopus disaster, my hopes rested on the goat, and when the Barbacoa arrived, at least it actually included some meat. Unfortunately the goat seasoned with mole sauce, could have been any kind of meat as its goat-ness had been cooked out. As a chef I can allow a cut of meat to retain its own unique flavors and identity, or I can cook the crap out of it until it can hardly be identified. Unfortunately, my goat tasted like overcooked pulled pork.

So once again, my dinning group has found yet another forgettable Mexican restaurant, with a menu full of average size, average price, and average tasting entrees that has earned the same poor rating as the rest.