I recently moved away from my favorite grungy Mexican food source, Filipitos. So I'm on the prowl for a new place. Enter Amigos. The place is tucked inside a strip mall, an inconspicuous looking place, typical for the valley. The decor is what one would expect from a Mexican place catering to Americans. Couple this with the claim of being the "best Mexican food in the valley", who doesn't make that claim? My expectations where low. I ordered the Green Chili Chicken Enchilada plate, to-go. Sounds good, a bit safe (it is easier to gauge a place by trying something you are familiar with). When I got home & opened the box, I was confronted with a familiar sight and sound. Nothing about the food is standing out. And that's a good thing. They aren't trying to be some hoity toity place. This is cheap Mexican food. Perfect! First up the re-fried beans. Ick! Talk about a bland experience. I'll pass on these from here on out. Next the rice....Now that's some good rice. Great texture, not a dry grain in the bunch. It wasn't soggy either and had a great flavor. Now on to the enchilada. First this looked more like a wet burrito than an enchilada. The green chili sauce was sparingly ladled on. Not a minus, just a note. The chicken though. Oh, mostly white meat & cooked just right. The flavor of the chicken was great. It was not drowned out by sauce. (Now you know why having less sauce was a good thing.) It was clearly the center of this meal. The restaurant offers 3 salsas. (A green and red at the self serve bar, a Habanero you have get from the cashier) The two from the bar are typical. But a must. The habanero though. SPICY HOT. I love hot, hot and more hot! So this was right up my alley. But for those with a less than iron stomach. Use sparingly or not at all. All in all, I'm impressed with my new Mexican food source. I will be coming back.

positive

We bought a Groupon in order to try this new area restaurant. Should have read the reviews before buying the coupon but live and learn. We were greeted and after figuring out where we wanted to sit, it was at least 10 minutes before someone came over and asked if anyone had talked to us. When we said no, she said she would have someone come over right away. A young man appeared and offered us something to drink; we ordered water to start. It took at least 5 more minutes for the water to come. At this time, I had noticed that there were two different appetizer menus...one for happy hour and one on the regular menu. When I asked him about the difference between the two artichoke dips (both had entirely different descriptions including different dippers) he said he didn't know. I sent him to the kitchen to find out. Took a few minutes, but he did come back and said that they were the same thing. We ordered one. My partner told him we were ready to order dinner and he said he would be right back...needed to go get a pen. We ordered a ceasar salad to share, the chicken breast dinner with garlic mashed and an open face prime rib with roasted potatoes. With a name like "Garlic & Shots" you would expect to see a menu full of garlic inspired goodies...not so at this place. After about 20-25 minutes, out came the young man with the salad. He explained that there was a mix up in the kitchen and the artichoke dip wasn't ready and asked if we still wanted it or should he take it off the bill. I told him we wanted it. Literally a minute later out came a woman carrying our two plates of dinner. When she realized that we had just gotten the salad, she said to the young man..."do you want these now or should I take them back to the kitchen?" He replied to take them back to the kitchen but I spoke up and said I was concerned that they would be placed under a heat lamp waiting until we were ready. She said no, that they would give them to someone else and make us fresh plates. Really? After a couple of bites of the world's most salty ceasar salad, we decided that we had had enough and decided to end the dining experience at that point. When we asked for a manager, several minutes later the women who had tried to delivered our dinner plates came up and said she was the manager on duty. We began to explain our disappointment and at that moment another gentleman showed up to listen to what we were saying. His response was, "Oh well" and he turned to walk away. Was he an owner? We will never know. We won't be back and we are laying wagers that this place won't last long. One reviewer thought they'd be gone by next Valentines Day...our guess is by the end of summer if not sooner.

negative

I would not recommend eating here. Besides the food being subpar, it is very dirty and worn out looking. Save your money and your gut - go somewhere else.

negative

This place does not look impressive from the outside, but give it a chance. It has a GREAT pool, which is a nice place to lounge and have a drink and a chat. I have been to their sushi restaurant and it was good. It was over a year ago, so I can't remember the details. There is also a candy shop with fun caramel apples that make good hostess gifts or souvenirs. I stayed in a room there a little over a year ago and it was a good value, but slightly shabby. Not bad, but not new.
positive