Esmeralda Grill
The location: Esmeralda Grill, 748 East Chatham Street, CaryThe guests: Brian, Derick, Jenny, & Jessi
The order: Queso, El Trio Perfector, Pollo a la Plancha, Enchiladas, Pollo Taco Platter
The review: 7.5/10
Let's get into it:
Hidden in the heart of downtown Cary, this "hole in the wall" place serves up some delicious food. It doesn't look like much from the outside, and it is within a strip mall of other store fronts. But the reviews on Yelp for Esmeralda Grill were outstanding, raving about "authentic Hispanic food" and the "best tacos in town", so we were excited to check it out.
We were there on a Friday evening for dinner. There was only a few other people in the restaurant, so it was quiet and peaceful. The decor was bright and festive, and with mirrors along the walls, felt much bigger on the inside compared to the outside. (Although, to be honest, the mirrors did confuse me a little bit, as I thought there was another half of the dining room with another table of four that looked surprisingly similar to us.....) While the restaurant may have been nothing to brag about in terms of looks, it was clean and had overall good first impression.
We were immediately greeted with a smile and shown to our table. Looking at the menu to decide what to order took a bit. While we have become pros at Mexican restaurants, this menu had a bit of a different menu to wade through than the standard items. (And since there was no ACP on the menu, we actually had to decide on other options...) There was so many options to consider!! But, everything sounded delicious, and we found things to satisfy each of us.
The queso came with jalapenos in it, which was different than the usual Mexican-restaurant queso. Now, if you don't like spicy food, this may not be for you - as both the queso and the salsa had a kick to them. But if spicy food is your thing, the queso was rich, creamy, and had just the right amount of heat, and paired perfectly with the thick, hearty, homemade chips.
The quality of the food is the real showstopper here. The food is absolutely authentic - hands down, some of the most authentic Hispanic food we have had on our journey. The plates were loaded up with food, and each dish had incredible flavor and depth. The tacos were delicious, and a great value for the quality of the tacos. The chicken on each dish had a bit of a kick to it as well, but made for a great flavor. We had some extra queso that we ended up loaded on each of the dishes, which definitely took the dishes up a notch in our queso-loving opinion. More queso is never wrong.
All in all, good prices, lots of flavor, and great service mean that we would definitely recommend this place for a quick meal in a quaint, modest place if you are in the area.
Hidden in the heart of downtown Cary, this "hole in the wall" place serves up some delicious food. It doesn't look like much from the outside, and it is within a strip mall of other store fronts. But the reviews on Yelp for Esmeralda Grill were outstanding, raving about "authentic Hispanic food" and the "best tacos in town", so we were excited to check it out.
We were there on a Friday evening for dinner. There was only a few other people in the restaurant, so it was quiet and peaceful. The decor was bright and festive, and with mirrors along the walls, felt much bigger on the inside compared to the outside. (Although, to be honest, the mirrors did confuse me a little bit, as I thought there was another half of the dining room with another table of four that looked surprisingly similar to us.....) While the restaurant may have been nothing to brag about in terms of looks, it was clean and had overall good first impression.
We were immediately greeted with a smile and shown to our table. Looking at the menu to decide what to order took a bit. While we have become pros at Mexican restaurants, this menu had a bit of a different menu to wade through than the standard items. (And since there was no ACP on the menu, we actually had to decide on other options...) There was so many options to consider!! But, everything sounded delicious, and we found things to satisfy each of us.
The queso came with jalapenos in it, which was different than the usual Mexican-restaurant queso. Now, if you don't like spicy food, this may not be for you - as both the queso and the salsa had a kick to them. But if spicy food is your thing, the queso was rich, creamy, and had just the right amount of heat, and paired perfectly with the thick, hearty, homemade chips.
The quality of the food is the real showstopper here. The food is absolutely authentic - hands down, some of the most authentic Hispanic food we have had on our journey. The plates were loaded up with food, and each dish had incredible flavor and depth. The tacos were delicious, and a great value for the quality of the tacos. The chicken on each dish had a bit of a kick to it as well, but made for a great flavor. We had some extra queso that we ended up loaded on each of the dishes, which definitely took the dishes up a notch in our queso-loving opinion. More queso is never wrong.
All in all, good prices, lots of flavor, and great service mean that we would definitely recommend this place for a quick meal in a quaint, modest place if you are in the area.
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| El Trio Perfecto |
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| Enchiladas (with queso added) |
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| Pollo Taco Platter with double rice |
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| Pollo a la Plancha (with no beans and queso on the chicken) |
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