Upon entering the space, we were immediately impressed. Too often Mexican restaurants look so kitschy – i.e, sombreros and Mexican blankets hanging on the walls, jalapeno pepper shaped lights strung about. Thankfully, the owners of El Colima went for a clean look for the walls, dark wood furniture, and unique pendant lamps hanging from the ceiling. It’s a large space with a few dining rooms and a big bar which also has some high top tables. We were told there would be a 30 minute wait for a table so we went to the bar to pass the time. I had a margarita and my wife had a drink called the OMG which contained Patron, Chambord, Grand Marnier and pineapple. We were both pleased with our selections and were surprised to be seated after about 10 minutes.
The menu is quite large and we knew that we would need some help navigating everything. Our waitress was very kind and patient with all our questions. Upon being seated we were presented with salsa and chips and we enjoyed each as we could tell that they were freshly made. We liked the chips so much that we decided on the grilled steak fajita nachos.
As an enormous platter was placed on the table, we were told that was the small size. We can only imagine what the large looked like. I noticed my wife making a face when she bit into a chip and announced that there were beans on the nachos. We were both surprised since they weren’t mentioned in the description. Liking beans I was fine but my wife isn’t a fan of legumes so she picked them off and ate the peppers, onions, and steak around them. Now we know for future visits.
There were so many dishes we wanted to try for dinner that it took us a while to decide. Eventually she settled on the burrito Laredo and I chose the flautos Poblanos. The burrito Laredo is filled with chicken, queso, and spinach. The dish also comes with rice and beans. As you can imagine she opted for all rice instead of the beans. Everything about this selection was spot on.
I went outside of my comfort zone selecting the flautas Poblanos but I was very glad I did.
A traditional dish this is covered in their Mole sauce and was delicious.
Unfortunately, we were too full to sample dessert but we can only imagine that would have been excellent too.
While the food and our experience was great, I must take a moment to mention the service and not just from our waitress. We were asked several times by management how everything was. One of the gentlemen that stopped by was a co-owner. The restaurant is family owned and this was one of the sons. We chatted with him for a few minutes and learned a little about their old location which apparently was tiny as in it only had ten tables. This is a big adjustment for them and we think they are doing a fantastic job.
If you haven’t yet tried El Colimo, don’t wait any longer. You will kick yourself like we did for not going sooner. This is the best Mexican food in the greater Nashua area.
