Address:
Tio Juan’s Margaritas
93 Portsmouth Ave
Exeter, NH 03833
The Dish:
Tio Supreme (Tress)
Green Chile Enchiladas (Me)
2 Diet Pepsi’s
$35.92 (Tax and tip included)
Grade: 1 Fork, 1 Spoon
You would be amazed at how rough it is to find a good restaurant when 1) you are in unfamiliar territory, 2) someone else that is indecisive is with you and 3) you are both starving Marvin’s. We were going to do fast food and keep driving but I decided we should sit down outside of the rental car and maybe, oh I dunno talk.
Ambiance: Pretty good for being in an old converted K-mart (looked that way anyway). Normal adobe flair and the three amigos (statues) greeted each guest. It would not be a Mexican restaurant without the overly loud salsa music playing (which was ok because they had a decent system pumping out the tunes) or the giant sombrero’s for birthdays. Luckily it was neither of our birthdays but I think we could have had them for our anniversary if we would have asked. I would call this an “Americanized” Mexican restaurant, in the fact that it really is not authentic. Not that it is bad, it is not Latino owned and operated.
Menu/Price: Maybe it was because we were on the East Coast and maybe the standard of living is better than Iowa, but dang these prices are pretty high. Our meals were $11.79 and $12.49 respectively and a soda was $2.09 a pop (hahahahaha I said pop, Soda-Pop!). The cheapest thing you could get that was not an appetizer was either Fish Tacos or Chilie Relleno Especial both at $10.49. The prices are probably what cost them the rating the most.
Meal: It was grrrreat!!!! First we will start with table chips, they were locally made and similar to the ones that Don Pablos used to serve back home. The salsa, even better! It too was locally made and was not runny like most “homemade” ones are. Tress’s meal basically a super burrito with all the fixings. The thing was stuffed and piled with melted cheese. There was enough cheese in and on this thing to keep a dairy busy all week, I kid you not. My dish was equally cheesy and had a fantastic tomatillo sauce over two green chile and pork enchiladas.
Service: The table service was ok, a shift change or our waitress was about to take lunch so her priorities were elsewhere. We had a billing mishap in which we were charged for four drinks and not two. At first it was explained that refills were not free, to which I countered with update your menu’s and give me $4.18 back. For whatever reason they did not do this still, so I decided that her tip can be for the extra sodas. So in a sense she did not get a tip.
Overall: Aside from the billing error and the pricing, I would do this again. Maybe they took us as podunk farm folks from Iowa and tried to play that to their advantage perhaps? I do not believe this chain is associated the Margarita restaurants that are located in and around Kansas City.