Reviewer: Jason
Total Reviews: 1007
Reviewed: 6/6/2005
Rating: 8
My photo gallery
I think jatbar is pretty knowledgeable when it comes to finding places but finding the south bound entrance to the 87 was a nightmare. Does it exist? We had to take the Almaden expressway to find our way to Aqui.
I was a bit reluctant on how the mexican food would rate considering how nice this place was. 2 things popped in my head, is this place a chain or this is going to cost an arm and a leg. Well, we found out there's only 2 locations and prices are very reasonable.
Aqui offered a lot of tex mex type dishes but I love ordering Carne Asada at sit down mexican restaurants. They normally flame grill the meat which isnt offered at a lot taqueria joints. I went with the Carne Asada plate.
Rice - very weak, I can cook spanish rice from scratch and this stuff tasted like the stuff you get out of a packet. It wasnt fluffy and the seasoning was practically in granial texture. It was a letdown.
Beans - Although the beans were good, remove the dried edges from my plate. You can see it in picture #8 towards the bottom. The presentation was nice but you guys could have gone the extra mile and removed those dried crusty beans.
Guac - hmmm...very good, goes well with my tacos
Carne Asade - Grilled, tender, great stuff. I can only dream of a taqueria serving it this good in the bay area. They gave me plenty of meat which was enough to make 3 decent sized tacos.
Aqui serves a good tex mex meal and the score probably would have gone up an extra half point if it wasnt for the rice and crusty beans. This restaurant is solid for a number of reasons; extremely clean, inviting atmosphere, appetizing presentations, reasonable prices, bar, and most important...gratifying food. Its one of those restaurants where you can go after work with coworkers and share a drink or maybe have a early dinner with the family.
Aqui came as a wishlist request and for us it was QUITE a trek to get down into the boonies of san jose. Don't count on many more reviews from jatbar down here unfortunately. We see Aqui and immediately my heart sank. Visions of another Spoons or Chilis, etc, drowned out any hopes I had had from the wishlist. Not only did we drive far, but it was going to be foo-foo mexican food.
We go inside and I am hiding a smirk. Jason and I exchange nervous glances. Is this a chain?
We look over the menu. Wow, this is pretty interesting. A lot of unique and creatively combinations are offered up. And the desserts they had displayed. Incredible. This looked like true gourmet eating, not silly texmex crap you would probably expect.
I went with the artichoke enchiladas and some lemonade. The lemonade was fresh squeezed and super good. I downed this before my meal arrived. It was so good. I debated internally on ordering another lemonade.
The wait was short. Basically you find a table and they call your number and you go get it. So not full service dining. My plate arrived and looked delicious. It wasn't a super lot of food, but enough to fill me up. The artichoke enchiladas were unlike any enchiladas I have ever had. The combination of spices and vegetables with standard mexican ingredients were surprising and exciting all at once. I ate this up superfast and was yearning for more mostly because it was so tasty. The chips had delicious polenta and pesto salsa. It sounds kinda strange but it was SUPER good, even the chips were flavorful and fresh. The greens on the side were equally consumed, it all was incredible.
If I lived near the area I would be here all the time. Hint to Aqui: open up a restaurant in Fremont, you will do VERY well. The place was HUGE and I can imagine on the weekends it fills up. The music playing was 97.3 stuff which was not your normal mexican restaurant music. I take this as being a good place to take a date. It just seemed totally out of place with suburbia San Jose. Definitely check it out if you are in the area. I guarantee you will have a good time. And don't make the same mistake I did: order a dessert!
Reviewer: jsatre
Total Reviews: 74
Reviewed: 7/18/2006
Rating: 9
My photo gallery
Aqui's is one of those places that needs a new definition -TexMex with a California/Nuevo, even World Flavor twist.
I've been a fan for years and live close to the Snell/Blossom Hill location. Before its opening however I frequented the Willow Glen location on Lincoln Ave.
I usually have a hard time deciding on what to order as their specials can really send your taste buds for a spin -They'll fuse various world cuisine's with Mexican, although they call themselves Cal-mex. I think World-Mex is more like it. They earn bonus points for creativity (cilantro-pepita pesto with cojita cheese, or polenta with black beans anyone?). They also featuring a daily tortilla roll-up special (think flautas) http://www.aquicalmex.com/menu/rollups.php
Prices are great for this level and quality. Service is self-serv to help keep prices low. I don't mind at all. I'd much rather enjoy great food over table service. They take your order at the register (don't forget to see the sample plates - yum!) then call your number to pick up from the kitchen. I chatted with the main guy (maybe part owner?) when they first open the Blossom location and found out he really is passionate about the food he serves. He said they initially wanted to do table service, but in the end, keeping the prices reasonable and quality high was more important. nice guy... and admirable vision.
They also have a really nice casual bar at the Blossom location and have cheap tasty margaritas during happy hour. Awesome salsa bar too... very fresh ingredients!
In the last few months they have really been focusing on organic and free range poultry. All still priced well for these excellent healthy choices. Rarely do I see an entree over $10. If you're super hungry you might want to order an extra side though. These are normal human portions, not 'stuff yerself' sizes. Quality is more important than quantity any day, in my book.
I eat so well here I sometimes blow it and share a dessert. All homemade and they are incredible. I especially like the way they prepare fresh fruit cobblers... And the chocolate cake is a must order. Do try it, at least once.
All in all, Aqui's is a fantastic value, and a nice change to the usual Tex-Mex places out there like Left at Albuquerque or Chili's.
Anyone in Campbell? A location there is under construction in downtown.
I instantly thought of Sonoma Chicken Coop when I walked in to this place. You order at the counter, and then pick up when your number is called, which is nice because it keeps the prices low. Most dishes are under 10 dollars I believe, and they also have 'small plates' which is decent sized.
I had such a hard time picking a dish. They had crabcakes, salmon, thai chicken tamales... MMmMM. However, I wanted to stay within the Mexican flavors and went with the Ranchero Pork Tamales which came with mash pinto beans, corn tamales, and carnitas with some sort of spicy tomato salsa sauce.
Mashed pinto beans: Very flavorful. I usually don't like eating beans, but it was like a mashed potato replacement. It was a nice compliment to the dish, but I couldn't finish it. Eating beans, like mashed potatos, can tire your palette. 8.5/10
Tamale: After eating the tamales at La Bamba, I found the corn tamales here a bit dense. However I liked the fact that there were whole corn kernels. If you sop them up with the sauces then there's no problem. 7.5/10
Carnitas: Wow, this was good. The meat fell apart and was so moist! Sometimes at other places you'd get big chunks of pork that's dense like a brick, but Aqui's carnitas are very enjoyable to eat. 9/10
I would definitely come back here to try the other dishes. Great prices, great flavors and great portions.
“Food was fresh and healthy tasting, but definitely not as tasty as typical Mexican food with all its grease. Would prefer to go across the street to Sonoma Chicken Coop.”
