Came here and sent outside as we brought the dog with us. Not sure if it was in season, but they…read moreaccommodated us We started with the la naranja cactus bowl which had Pineapple vodka, fresh orange juice, cactus juice and fresh fruit. It was a bit on the sweeter side, but still good. We started with chips, salsa, and queso and drinks I ended up getting the 3 tacos with beef barbacoa, carne asada and carnitas with the side of rice and beans. We also got a steak fajita with the side of rice Everything came out nice and fresh and pretty quick

Came here for a dinner with my other half. We decided to bring our dog so we sat outside. To start…read morewe ordered chips and salsa with an order of queso. For our drink we got a Cactus Bowls for Two it was SERVED IN A TIKI BOWL FOR TWO WITH FRESH FRUIT I picked the LA NARANJA for $18.00 it was made with Pineapple vodka, fresh orange juice, cactus juice, fresh fruit. Then for dinner I ordered the steak fajitas for $16.95 it came with w/grilled flour tortillas, pico de gallo, sour cream, lettuce and cheese. I added rice and beans for $2.00 i enjoyed my meal . My wife got the 3 taco meal for $16.95 she choose the CARNITAS PORK (Tender pork with slaw, pico de Gallo and cotija cheese) KOREAN BARBACOA BEEF (Pulled beef in korean BBQ with slaw & pickled red onions) And the CARNE ASADA STEAK + $1/taco (Grilled flank steak, slaw, chimichurri & cotija cheese). Overall service was fast. Food was fresh and staff were friendly and accommodating. I would recommend this restaurant if you are in the area and want some Mexican food.

A solid 5 star experience. I'd wanted to go to Sayulita for a while, however, since it opened,…read morethere was always a long wait. So a Sunday at an off time (3:45) might get us in? Still a 20 minute wait. They take your phone number & call when table is ready. And the wait was fine. Cotton Hollow perserve is across the street, so a short walk over there and back worked out a perfect way to pass the time. We were seated in the bar area - at a regular table. It was decorated in a fun way - fish artwork, a tv, natural wood. We didn't quite understand the surf board that hung over the bar though? My daughter & I started with a drink - I had mango pina colada, she had a drink with gin, cranberries. Both good. Food - exceeded my expectations. I had the enchilada duo. Chicken & beef. I usually like beef better, however I think the chicken was in a mole sauce - so delicious. Husband had 2 brisket tacos that he loved. Daughter had the rice bowl (with chicken). Decided to split the churros for dessert. Came with: ice cream, Carmel & chocolate sauce. Yes - we will be back. I saw a patio outside. Warmer weather is coming

Sayulita Had a…read moregreat time at Sayulita! The drinks were a highlight -- the blueberry margarita was a standout, and the regular margaritas were solid too. For food, we went with the steak meal and chicken fajitas, both tasty. We sat outside, which made for a nice, relaxed vibe, and the service was good throughout. Would come

I just don't know why this restaurant isn't more crowded! The restaurant is very clean, never had…read morea bad meal there & the service is excellent. Seriously, try it- you'll like it!

Excellent. We needed to eat quickly and they were perfectly accommodating. Food was terrific…read more Chile relleno was superb. Nice people

Our first time at the Essex location of Sayulita, we were not disappointed! Just as good as the…read moreoriginal, with basically the same menu. We did have a special buffalo chicken taco, which was fabulous!! It was our first time at Sayulita since giving up alcohol, and I was definitely missing their margaritas. I had a grapefruit Mexican soda, but next time I'll ask if they can make me a yummy mocktail. The restaurant is about double the size of the Glastonbury location, so check it out if you want the best tacos without the long wait!!

I recently found this place with a coworker while working in the area. We'd never been to Deep…read moreRiver/Essex so we just picked a place at random and gave it a go. Man were WE pleasantly surprised!! Outside it doesn't have a standout look. Just a darkly painted house with a decent size parking lot. But once you step inside it actually catches you off guard a little! Modern decor, beautifully tiled floors, bright and fresh! We were seated quickly and everything on the menu said "order me!" I got an unsweetened tea that was brewed just right and fresh. I hate skunky tea! We ordered the birria quesadilla to share, my coworker wasn't familiar. One bite and he was HOOKED. The meat was soo flavorful and tender and the SAUCE! Rich, bursting with flavor. I ordered several of the tacos: the scallop, seared tuna, pork carnitas and the Baja fish. Again, flavortown! Fresh, citrusy, creamy, cooked just right and a hint of heat on all of them. My coworker got the beef bbq burrito. Man that thing was stuffed with a crispy shell. Full of meat, rice and beans. He got the red chile sauce on the side but after the birria he just used that b/c he couldn't get enough of it! I thought this place was phenomenal and I've been telling everybody to go!

We were so impressed with this restaurant. The food was excellent! We had burrito bowls offered in…read morethe brunch menu only offered Friday, Saturday and Sunday. They were large, filled with individualized choice of ingredients, very fresh, excellent tasting meats at great prices. The atmosphere was very relaxed but pleasant and the service was very friendly. I can't wait to return.

We stopped in for the first time and had a lovely visit. We…read moreordered the chicken taquitos and the short rib tacos. Both were very good Generous pour of the house wine as well. Will visit again. Ambiance was nice and service was fine.

Came back to lad pittas for dinner. The one thing I remembered was the guac and pork belly. We…read morestill got the guac and pork belly. It definitely was still as I remember and oh so good. No other place does or makes this. This time I got the chile relleno con camarones. And my husband got the las pitras special. The refried beans were so flavorful along with the Mexican rice. You can feel and taste the love they put into the food. The service was beyond and above what we expected. We were checked on constantly and made sure we were happy. They definitely try to make you feel at home here. Wil comeback.

The food is very authentic and very fresh. The service is great as long as you don't get the young…read moreboy. Nothing against him but I don't think this is the job for him. He isn't very friendly or attentive. Everyone else is amazing. The scenery in there feels authentic as well and we even got plates that say Yellowstone on the back. That was so cool! The salsa is better than any other I've had. The fresh gauc is my favorite!! Love this place

Tacos La Rosa in Willimantic has been on my Try List for years. So long -- I don't remember how…read moremany years. A while ago, I had seen TLR listed as a best taco in CT contender on one or more internet and/or media lists. An interesting thing happened in all those years. More and more authentic taquerias started opening in CT. Also, Willimantic itself became a known hot spot for tacos and Mexican food in general. So much so, that people would say "I have a taco spot for you in Willimantic." I was ready for them to say Tacos La Rosa, and sometimes, it would be a different place. I recently started a deep dive on the Willimantic taco scene. I'm not finished yet, but I can say the following based upon my extensive taqueria visits across CT in the past few years. Tacos La Rosa, makes a traditional style taco, and TLR is in the top tier of CT authentic taquerias. As you stand in the TLR parking lot, you can see the buildings of Eastern Connecticut State University. Inside, if you took all of the Mexican decor away, the restaurant sort of looks like an old school pizza joint. There's a black and white checkered floor. Brick walls. Open kitchen. Solid tan tables that are bolted to the floor or wall, and red benches snuggly positioned on both sides. I ordered three tacos at the Counter. Pastor. Bistec. And Chorizo con jalapeno. The person who helped me spoke very good English, but I'm not sure that we perfectly understood each other. He asked me if I wanted everything on the tacos. I wasn't sure what that meant, but I have a rule, that if a place asks me if I want everything, I say yes because I assume that's how they intend it. So the tacos each came with avocado, lettuce, queso fresco, tomato, cilantro and onion. Red salsa, lime and green salsa came on the side. Each taco had a substantial house made corn tortilla that held its structure despite all the filling. The tortilla was a cut or two above average. The pastor and the chorizo were about as good as you'll find in CT. The Bistec was pretty good, but didn't stand out. The chorizo had a sliced or chopped sort of texture rather than the crumbled chorizo you sometimes see. It was flavorful and manageably spicy. The pastor consisted of tender, saucy-red pork chunks. They tasted great. There were no pineapple chunks like you often get. I'm not sure that the toppings brought anything to the pastor, but they worked nicely for the chorizo and Bistec. The salsas were authentic and spicy. Throughout my time in Willimantic, I observed a robust Mexican population that was supporting these authentic Mexican restaurants. This was definitely the case at Tacos La Rosa. I'm glad I finally made it to Tacos La Rosa and I'm happy to see that their outstanding reputation is deserved. 4.5 Stars

We found ourselves in Willimantic a bit past the luncheon hour so we again stopped at this taqueria…read morefor a light bite. The price of an individual taco has increased to $5.99 which seemed a bit high so we decided to share an al pastor burrito that was jam packed with ingredients, flavor and a bit of heat.

We ordered the chicken mole enchilada and the beef burrito. The chicken enchilada itself was good,…read morebut surprisingly there was no mole sauce inside, which was disappointing given the dish. The beans, however, were flavorful and a highlight of the meal.

Came with a group of 6 and everyone loved their meals. Margaritas were also fantastic! Be sure to…read moretry the home made salsa. Wait staff are hard-working and very friendly-- our waiter overheard us saying it was my wife's birthday and brought her a complimentary tequila. My new favorite restaurant!

Such good food and such nice customer service! It's a comfortable and warm environment thats very…read morewelcoming. Can't wait to go here again!

Having visited their old location and enjoying the food and service there (the Crunchwrap is…read moreamazing) we were excited to hear the new, larger space was complete. Although they are still operating the kitchen out of a food truck we figured we'd go anyway to support the new location. We called in advance specifically to confirm the kitchen hours since we were about 30 minutes away. They told us the kitchen closes at 9pm. Perfect, we can make it - or so we thought. When we arrived around 8:40PM we headed to the bar and asked again to confirm that the kitchen was still open. She made it seem like it was and started handing us full menus. About 10 seconds later another woman said no, the kitchen has been closed. To find the kitchen closed early was frustrating to say the least - especially after confirming over the phone and driving all that way. Head of house answering the phones either need to be more aware of actual operating hours or the kitchen staff needs to stick to posted operating hours. I'm not sure who is at fault but it left a very bad taste in our mouths and I honestly don't plan on returning anytime soon.

These street tacos from A Mano were good. We have here one chicken and two beef. I preferred the…read morechicken over the beef; the chicken had much more flavor and the toppings complimented the meat. The beefs were good too, but the chicken was top notch! The chicken taquitos were really good too, there was so much topping it was like having a salad with my taquitos! During lunch, it was not that busy. The place was very cutely theme, a modern take on mexican traditional decoration.

I recently started a deep dive of highly rated taco places in Willimantic, and A Mano Taco Shop is…read moreone of those places. A Mano has a different POV than the other Willimantic places I've tried so far. While the other taquerias I've tried are more or less traditional (Pastor, Bistec, etc. with cilantro, onions and a few other classic toppings), A Mano has a more modern and creative take on tacos. In terms of the Willimantic spots, A Mano is the most modern in terms of art and the space, which includes outside tables on a wood deck out front, and at least one small inside table. I'm not sure if they had additional seating in a different room or upstairs, but that's possible given the building design. I suspect they have a robust takeout business as well. I ordered a Pastor Taco, and a Sweet Potato Black Bean Taco. The corn tortillas were fresh made and very good. The tacos arrived with the small round tortillas mostly flat and side by side in a takeout container, and the toppings artfully displayed on top. The toppings were slightly different for each taco. The pastor taco had marinated pork, pineapple chunks, micro greens, and avocado based salsa. I ordered a Pastor taco at each Willimantic place. A Mano was the only one so far to feature pineapple chunks, which I really like for Pastor tacos. This sweetness was important for balancing the saltiness from the pastor. Without that sweetness, the flavors would have been out of balance. The pastor was tender. The avocado salsa was good. I like the use of microgreens for the color, shape and fresh flavor it brings. A definite way to distinguish your taco. I ordered the sweet potato black bean taco because I've never seen it on a menu and I was intrigued. I was expecting the sweet potatoes and black beans to be in pieces, but the presentation was actually puréed or at least stewed to a smooth texture. This taco was topped with the same micro greens and avocado salsa, but it had pickled red onions. This taco was well executed and looked great, but if I had known it was going to be puréed, I probably would have gone a different direction just based on personal preference. I like that A Mano has different toppings for different tacos. In addition to the above toppings, I noticed corn, cilantro, slaw, mango and more as different toppings on certain tacos. A Mano's menu features other cool things like Birria Ramen, Street Corn, loaded fries, churros, flan. It's definitely the type of menu you'd like to explore. Service was very friendly. Both service and the atmosphere are a factor in my 4.5 Star rating, which rounds up to 5 Stars. If I was just rating the tacos, the score would be 4.25 Stars.