Casa Romero

As everyone has probably figured out already, one of me and my boyfriend's favorite pastimes is going out to eat. Although we do have a pool of favorites that we rotate through,  we really enjoy finding new hidden gems, which is what we found in Casa Romero. I had come home from work early on Friday so Chris and I were hanging around trying to figure out what we wanted to do. After a few minutes of pretending to contemplate, we obviously both agreed that going out to eat would be a great choice. Since the past couple restaurants we had gone to were in the food genre that I prefer (Chinese food), I agreed that we would go out for some Mexican food (Chris's favorite). One of our preferred Mexican restaurants, so far, is La Verdad, located next to Jillians by Fenway, but this time we decided we wanted to try somewhere new (Plus I don't really like la verdad as much because they use corn tortillas -  although they are more authentic and healthier I prefer the flour ones). I opened up my laptop and started searching for local Mexican restaurants, and came across Casa Romero. After a quick discussion on whether-or-not we should go there, we decided to give it a try, and we set out towards Newbury Street.

From Casa Romero website

We arrived at Casa Romero about twenty minutes later, and I was obviously profusely sweating because we had just walked in the 80+ degree weather from my place to Gloucester St, and my most recent form of exercise had only involved chewing my food. We looked around for the restaurant for a minute because there weren't any flashy signs or a prominent front door, but eventually we found the "front door" located on the side of the restaurant and we hurried our way in.

At the door we were greeted by an older gentleman, who was wearing a Hawaiian shirt and had a lovely & flamboyant personality. He asked if we had reservations, and when we said we didn't he said it wouldn't be a big deal and escorted us to our table near the bar.   The restaurant itself sits below street level, has deep red painted walls, tile tables, and an assortment of masks on the walls. Of course from my seat I got to star at the mask that looked like the devil from Incidious, while Chris got to look at the smiling happy masks, typical. Anyway, the restaurant feels authentically Mexican, so we were hopeful that the food would be the same.

After a few moments we were greeted by our very friendly waiter, who took our drink orders and then brought over some chips and salsa. The salsa got the stamp of approval from Chris, who considers himself quite the Salsa aficionado, and I am inclined to agree - we went through two bowls of it and probably could have gone through three if we had more time.

From Casa Romero website

For drinks I ordered the Sangria, and Chris got a Piña Colada (try not to judge him too harshly for this - in his defense he had been craving one for days). The drinks arrived and we were both pleased with ours. Mine was a little on the heavy side, but the flavor was nicely developed and seemed like a very traditional sangria. As for Mr. Piña Colada's drink, it was smooth and refreshing and I almost wish I had ordered one myself. For dinner (well it was dinner/lunch because it was 5 pm and since we are both in our mid-twenties I'm slightly embarrassed to admit we were having dinner at 5) I ordered the Chicken Fajitas and Chris ordered the Enchiladas Verdes. 




Mine was your typical chicken fajitas, served with two flour tortillas, rice & beans. The flavors were great - my only criticism was that I wish there were more tortillas and that they were heated up before serving. Chris's enchiladas had pulled chicken, creamy green sauce, cheese and creme fraiche. They were delicious and creamy, and completely disappeared before my eyes in a matter of minutes. The food overall was fantastic!

We were both extremely pleased with our meals, and the service was excellent. At the end of our meal the waiter dropped off the check, which Chris offered to pay for. He handed the waiter his card and waited for the receipt. When the waiter brought back the slip he said, in a rather loud tone, "Sorry, your card's been declined." We sat there for a second processing the information, and also slightly shocked at how he announced it. I was waiting for Chris to flip out, since he's told me his pet peeve is when waiters don't handle declined cards in a respectful manor (apparently the appropriate way is to hand back a slip that says your card has been declined - which does seem more appropriate than announcing it over a loud speaker I guess), but instead he looked at the waiter, puzzled, and then began to reach for a new card. Just as he was reaching for a different card the waiter goes, "Just kidding!" We all shared a belly laugh, as it was truly pretty hysterical, and it was nice to be in a restaurant with great food and a relaxed environment. If anyone asks me for a Mexican restaurant that I recommend, I will undoubtedly tell them about this gem. My only regret is that I hadn't discovered it sooner!