Shon's Take - Las Palmas Mexican Restaurant in Andover

So, you're probably wondering: where's this week's review? Well...... Thing 1 (Chris) and Thing 2 (Travis) couldn't seem to get their acts together this week. So, I decided to go rogue and review a spot on my own. Ok, ok..... actually what happened is that we hadn't made it anywhere yet this week and my wife and kids wanted to go out to lunch after church on Sunday. So I figured if I have to eat tacos, I may as well review them.


We usually go to mass out in Andover, and if you've ever been out there you'll know there's not exactly an overwhelming number of choices for Sunday lunch. One Chinese spot, an Applebee's, a BBQ joint and a bunch of fast food. AND Las Palmas Mexican Restaurant. The restaurant is located in the Andover Shopping Center on the SW corner of Central and Andover Road. We got there around 1230 and there was no one there. That should've been my first clue. But, we had a large group (my sister in law and her family and my mother in law, plus all of us) and everyone was pissing and moaning about being hungry, so we were committed. Once seated, our waiter came and got us our chips and salsa immediately. The salsa was actually not too bad, had a nice little kick to it, but not TOO hot. But every once in a while I'd bite into a stale chip. Way too often really. Anyway, once I got the menu I was kinda disappointed as the taco offerings were pretty limited. Chicken and beef. Corn or flour. Oh, and they also had carne asada street tacos. Given my limited options, I decided to go the carne asada route.


When my plate arrived, I was pretty underwhelmed - it was basically steak in soft shells. I did have a green tomatillo sauce and some onion and cilantro on the sides. The tacos were filled with a fair amount of steak, but it was pretty bland. Tasted almost as if they had zero seasoning whatsoever. So I decided to throw on some salsa, onion, and cilantro and that at least made them bearable. The rice that came with it was dry and not terribly flavorful. Overall, just a disappointment. I've never been sad eating tacos before, but this almost did it. I felt bad for my waiter, who was working hard and did a decent job. But the food just wasn't up to par. My overall ratings on the 5-Taco Scale are below.


Food Quality - 1.5 Tacos
Price - $-$$
Value - 2.0 Tacos
Cleanliness - 3.5 Tacos
Service - 3.5 Tacos
Overall Experience - 1.5 Tacos
Likelihood to Return - 1.0 Tacos