What can I say? It's fast, fresh, and fantastic. Met a friend for a late lunch and the place was still busy. I didn't realize it was a fast casual concept, but thought it was a trendy sit down restaurant.
It sort of is both. You get in a line to order, then find seating, but most people leave their keys etc as a placeholder. Once you're in line you can order a drink like agua frescas which is made fresh and flavors can change daily.
I went to order and I saw some people mixing the drinks together and so I mixed the Coco Nuez (with pecans) and the Blue Ocean (with pineapple). My friend got strawberry cheesecake and horchata, his came with a whipped cream and cracker crumbles topping. They both were very very sweet.
The service was knowledgeable and I ordered mine to go because I had items for my kids and hubby. I ordered a carne asada burrito, it comes with cilantro and onions and salsa and guacamole, but they asked if I wanted to add tomatoes, lettuce, or beans, which was cool, but hubby likes it plain. I also ordered 2 bean and cheese burritos for the kids, and a chicharron burrito and a keto bowl because I was curious.
It came out to be like $35 for 4 burritos, a bowl, and an agua fresca. I added a tip because even though my order was to go and they called out your name to pickup alongside the delivery services like GrubHub, Doordash and their own app, they do have table service and the server will bring you your items if you ordered to eat there.
Warning the middle seating is very intimate, when the ladies seated at the table next to us can see and comment on our food, you know it's tight. It was all good though, they were just curious if we liked it and wanted to see what the items looked like.
It would be nice to see the menu items in some form, especially since my Keto bowl was very surprising with just half carne asada with cilantro and half the chicharron green chili stew.
The portions were big and my kids and hubby inhaled their food and hubby really liked the burrito so I foresee us coming back often. The chicharron burrito kicked my butt, it was so good, but spicy! The drink definitely helps cool you down though. The keto bowl was a surprise hit that night. Very filling but light.
The only thing that took away from the experience was a big piece of chili stem that cut my mouth. I guess it's good to know that they use real roasted chili in their stew, but that hurt and I hope they'll be more careful as someone can choke on it in addition to being cut up. See pic for size.
My friend loved his strawberry and drink because it was so sweet and he was raving about his Matteo's bowl which to me looked like a guacamole lettuce mashup. It looked really refreshing and for him to rave about it when he dislikes vegetables was amazing. This bowl might give Salata next door a run for its money.
All in all another great addition to the North Westside and I'm a fan.
Matteo's Mexican Food
(915) 249-6070
6450 Desert Blvd N Suite E-106, El Paso, TX 79912
https://maps.app.goo.gl/NK7jQnE9Y9Wx5q4n6
