How to Order at a Mexican Restaurant Like You've Been Before
2025-01-10 · 5 min read
Walking into an authentic Mexican restaurant and ordering chicken fajitas is the culinary equivalent of going to a jazz club and requesting Happy Birthday. It is not wrong, exactly, but it signals that you are a tourist. The menu has so much more to offer, and knowing a few key terms and dishes will open up an entirely different dining experience.
Start with the salsas. Most Mexican restaurants put out complimentary chips and salsa, and that salsa tells you everything about the kitchen. If it is freshly made, chunky, and vibrant, the kitchen cares. Ask if they have salsa verde, a roasted tomatillo version, or salsa macha, a chile-oil-based condiment with seeds and nuts. Ordering off-menu salsas signals to the staff that you know what you are doing.
For mains, move past the Tex-Mex section. Birria, a slow-braised meat stew from Jalisco, is deeply flavorful and has crossed over from regional specialty to national obsession. Mole dishes, whether negro, rojo, or verde, represent hours of work and are the heart of the kitchen's repertoire. Chiles rellenos, roasted poblano peppers stuffed with cheese or meat and covered in sauce, are a textural and flavor masterpiece.
Tacos should be ordered on corn tortillas, doubled up, with cilantro and raw onion. Al pastor, carnitas, lengua (tongue), and cabeza (head) are the orders that earn nods from the kitchen. Lengua is silky and rich. Cabeza is tender and deeply beefy. If the idea makes you squeamish, start with suadero, a cut of beef that is crispy on the outside and melting on the inside.
Drinks matter. Order a michelada, which is beer mixed with lime, hot sauce, Worcestershire, and Clamato, served in a salt-rimmed glass. It is a savory, refreshing match for rich food. If mezcal is on the menu, order it neat in a copita with orange slices and sal de gusano, worm salt. Skip the margarita machine. Agua fresca, horchata or jamaica, is the non-alcoholic move that shows you understand the table.
