Review: Friaco’s Mexican Restaurant and Cantina
Author: BigRedEater | Filed under: Food Reviews, Location: Fishers, IN
Friaco’s Mexican Restaurant and Cantina
11680 Commercial Dr.
Fishers, IN 46037
317-578-7511
http://friacosrestaurant.com/
Yet another new restaurant has opened in Fishers, this time across from the Target on 116th street . Previously this location housed Stefano’s Pizzeria, which I was sad to see close. I was surprised to see a Mexican restaurant going in there, as there seem to be so many others around, but was happy to have another to try out. My wife is not a big fan of El Rodeo (though I like it pretty well) and neither of us wanted to drive to Castleton, so we thought we’d poke our heads in, check out the menu, and see how it looked. Walking in, it was actually nicely decorated, with the typical Mexican music playing, and we even spotted some friends that looked happy with the meal they were wrapping up. So we decided to try it out. Sitting down, we were pleased to see that Friaco’s is part of a small chain, with two locations in Illinois, as well as a location in Mexico. We figured this means they must have some sort of proven formula and know what they’re doing.
What I Got:
We started out with a bean dip appetizer ($4.49), which consisted of a layer of white queso over refried beans. It was very tasty with chips, but what was even tastier was the salsa they served with the chips. It had a bit of bite, and was pureed to be smoothly chunky. But both were very good.
Next, we moved onto entrees. I love carnitas. What is there to not love about them? They’re chunks of fried pork, and hard to screw up. They’re the chicken parmesan of Mexican restaurants. So, I ordered the carnitas entrée ($10.99). They came with rice, refried beans, lettuce and tomato topped with a slice of avocado, which was a very nice touch. The carnitas were absolutely delicious – the only disappointment was that I could only make it through about half of them. I might try the carnitas chimichunga next time as that also looks good.
My wife ordered the sour cream enchildas, which we both liked. They were filled with shredded chicken with just the right amount of seasoning, and topped with a tasty sour cream sauce. They also had rice and beans on the side. My entrée was not loaded with peppers and onions as per my request (I’m not a big fan of either), but both dishes tasted terrific and far from plain. We also shared a 27 ounce blue margarita that was on special ($8.99) and which was quite good. But really, is there such a thing as a bad margarita?
Would I Buy It Again? Yes, absolutely. Everything we had was very good, and the atmosphere was pleasant enough to make it a nice location for a date night. Some friends of ours also enjoyed their meal, and dropped off an extra “buy one get one half-off coupon” from coupons4indy.com. They had signs up advertising that kids eat free on Mondays and $4.99 lunch specials during the week. There’s nothing groundbreaking here, but Friaco’s hits a sweet spot for us as a great sit-down, slightly upscale Mexican restaurant. It’s a big improvement over Don Pablo’s. We’ll be going back there for sure, possibly with the kids in tow.
-BigRedEater
Tags: bean dip, carnitas, enchilada, Food, friaco's, mexican, salsa
That is a troubled location so hopefully something will stick. The carnitas look good, did you get tortillas with them? I agree that it doesn’t look like anything that is ground breaking, but sometimes a good non-authtic, “Authentic Mexican” restaurant hits the spot. I usually get 3 tacos and skip the rice and bean heavy platters. Hmm…now I want Mexican..then again, I always do. Good first review.
I did get tortillas with them and proceeded to wrap some carnitas with the leftover bean dip appetizer. It didn’t look good, but it did taste great. I should also note my wife took a friend here five days after our first visit, and they had another good meal, and she said that on a Friday night, the joint was packed. And you describe it aptly as “non authentic”, which sometimes, that’s just what you want.
You would think it would be a great location as it’s so central – people go to Castleton for dinner, why not here? I think it’s just a matter of getting the right restaurant mated with the right location, kind of like Bella Vita at the Marina on Geist (which was the first successful restaurant in that location, after several failures). Similarly, the Nickel Plate does good business consistently, and nothing seems to hit the mark across the street.
I’ve dined here twice now, first with family then returning to introduce friends to the place. We all love the fresh guacamole, and the salsa is excellent and tastes very fresh as well. The cheese dip was warm and tasty.
The cheese enchiladas are simply the best I’ve ever had, very different than the usual served at most area Mexican restaurants. My friends sampled a variety of different entrees including Taco Salad Fajitas with seasoned shredded chicken and the Friaco Burrito. We all thought everything was excellent.
The Margaritas are some of the best I have ever had. Try the Monster Margarita for a real treat, big enough for two to share.
the servece was very good and the food was excellent.