Excellent | Worth a Detour
Sarapes Restaurante
Review by: Roadfood Team
Hungering for something a little more authentic than the offerings at Taco Bell? Serapes Restaurante in Enfield, CT has the answer: homestyle Mexican cooking.
What to eat at Sarapes Restaurante
The appetizers on the menu are pretty standard stuff: chips with guacamole, cheese or chicken quesadillas, nachos, chicken wings. But our waitress greeted us with a heaping basket of tortilla chips and a bowl of freshly made mild tomato salsa, and we were looking for something more out of the ordinary.
So we passed over the appetizers in favor of Tacos de Lengua (beef tongue) and Tacos de Barbacoa (beef lips). The meats differ in texture and flavor, but in both cases are deliciously braised, pulled apart into tender, flavorful chunks, and piled into homemade flour tortillas with a generous dressing of chopped onion and fresh cilantro. They were delicious on their own or dressed with a spoonful of the salsa. (If you’re looking for a ground beef taco, order Tacos de Picadillo, and you’ll get your familiar ground beef, lettuce, tomatoes, and cheese.)
The dinners at Serapes are just as pleasing. Puerco en Pipian featured steamed chunks of tender pork swimming in a delicious green pumpkin seed sauce. The hot, homemade flour tortillas served on the side can be used to wrap up the meat or just sop up the sauce later. Beef Entomatadas brought three tortillas stuffed with shredded beef, lightly spiced in a tomato sauce, drizzled with a sour cream topping. Fans of spicier fare will appreciate the Cecina Enchilada: thin spicy pork cutlets, grilled so that the crispy edges set off the more tender interiors beautifully.
All dinners come with refried beans and rice. Not the sticky, tomato-saucey rice you might expect, but rather a tasty and lightly spiced fried rice with corn and bits of chopped carrots and cilantro. It’s so good you might want to order an extra side.
Original post by David Sacerdote
Directions & Hours
Information
| Price | $$ |
| Seasons | All |
| Meals Served | Breakfast, Lunch, Dessert |
| Credit Cards Accepted | Yes |
| Alcohol Served | No |
| Outdoor Seating | No |
What To Eat
Sarapes Restaurante Recipes
Discuss
What do you think of Sarapes Restaurante?
2 Responses to “Sarapes Restaurante”
Elaine Haney
May 30th, 2008
A large group of us had quite a blowout at Sarapes recently. Even the NYC-types in the group were impressed. Though the tab may seem high, there was quite a bit of alcohol consumed and, contrary to the original review on this site, they now have a full liquor license and make wonderful margaritas, and feature top-notch imported beers.
The food is fabulous, guacamole is made fresh to order, and Mama Berta is a delight. Upon request, the standard salsa is supplemented with two extra spicy salsas: green OMG salsa, and red salsa that is just right, and really smoky and delicious.
Everyone around the table was blown away by their entrees, and I’ve uploaded a bunch of pictures that I tried to take, although I missed a few. I personally had the shrimp with garlic (I can’t remember the actual Mexican name; mariscos con ajo?) Anyhow, they were heavenly; the garlic slices were sweet and the shrimp were fresh and tender. Couldn’t have been better!
Ignore the fact this place is in a strip mall and looks dicey. Just go.
Dave Sacerdote
August 20th, 2002
Hungering for something a little more authentic than the offerings at Chic-Chi’s and Taco Bell? Serapes Restaurante in Enfield, CT has the answer: homestyle Mexican cooking.
The appetizers on the menu are pretty standard stuff: chips with guacamole, cheese or chicken quesadillas, nachos, chicken wings. But our witress greeted us with a heaping basket of tortilla chips and a bowl of freshly made mild tomato salsa, and we were looking for something more out of the ordinary. So we passed over the appetizers in favor of Tacos de Lengua (beef tongue) and Tacos de Barbacoa (beef lips). The meats differ in texture and flavor, but in both cases are deliciously braised, pulled apart into tender, flavorful chunks, and piled into homemade flour tortillas with a generous dressing of chopped onion and fresh cilantro. They were delicious on their own or dressed with spoonfuls of the salsa. (If you’re looking for a ground beef taco, order Tacos de Picadillo, and you’ll get your familiar ground beef, lettuce, tomatoes, and cheese.)
The dinners at Serapes are just as pleasing. Puerco en Pipian featured steamed chunks of tender pork swimming in a delicious green pumpkin seed sauce. The hot, homemade flour tortillas served on the side can be used to wrap up the meat or just sop up the sauce later. Beef Entomatadas brought three tortillas stuffed with shredded beef, lightly spiced in a tomato sauce, drizzled with a sour cream topping. Fans of spicier fare will appreciate the Cecina Enchilada: thin spicy pork cutlets, grilled so that the crispy edges set off the more tender interiors beautifully.
All dinners come with refried beans and rice. Not the sticky, tomato-saucey rice you might expect, but rather a tasty and lightly spiced fried rice with corn and bits of chopped carrots and cilantro. It’s so good you might want to order an extra side.