SAN ANTONIO — Amiga Café started off as a small Mexican restaurant on West Ave and Hildebrand. Eight tables, no true written menu but a desire to serve cuisine from San Luis Potosi, Mexico.
“The family is from San Luis Potosi. That’s why the food is like that,” Marianna Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez works for the Lira family. According to her remembrance, the business started with a brother from the Lira family who retired from the military. His tiny spot on West Ave and Hildebrand filled up on regular basis.
The family decided to invest and expand at a new location. Amiga Café is located at 5309 Wurzbach Rd. They’ve got more space and a customer base raving about the offerings.
“So, they base it like on a little corner of Mexico because once you taste the food you’ll know why it’s an authentic Mexican restaurant,” Rodriguez said.
She said the closest Tex Mex option on the menu is an enchilada. But that even comes with a San Luis Potosi influence.
Neighborhood Eats was provided a very large taste test starting with a huge bowl of Caldo de Pollo. Customers will get their money’s worth with the serving size. It has a decent flavor too.
Our taste buds came to life when we got to taste the Enchiladas Potosinas. These were delicious!
The Parrillada, a sizzling fajita-style dish, was fantastic. The beef and chicken fajita meat, bell pepper, shrimp, sausage comes with the restaurant’s house-made tortilla, rice, beans and guacamole.
Amiga Café’s Fideo Loco is a decent offering too.
Our palate felt the same way about the Chilaquiles Divorciados, Choriqueso and Migas Nortenas.
The Pambazos is the signature sandwich at Amiga Café. The bread is dipped in salsa and grilled before adding beans, chorizo, potatoes, lettuce, tomatoes, queso fresco and sour cream to the mix.
“It’s messy. So, be prepared because it’s messy,” Rodriguez.
The Pambazos was also a decent offering. A spicy boost would elevate our opinion.
The real chew: Amiga Café is a good neighborhood spot to get Mexican food. The owners are in the building hard at work every day. They are humble people. So, they’d rather the spotlight shine on the food. Amiga Café has all the right items on the menu and a following of customers. There are a couple of items Neighborhood Eats would go back to reorder. We cannot say this place is shattering any cuisine ceilings. But that was never their intent. Their intention was to serve good authentic Mexican food. They are on their way to meeting that goal.
Give Marvin your review of the Amiga Cafe. If you have a restaurant or food truck suggestion send Marvin an email (Mhurst@kens5.com), tweet (@Mhurstkens5) or post it on his Facebook page. #KENS5EATS