Always on the lookout for good Mexican food (and heaven knows there are plenty of choices out there), a mention in Orange Coast Magazine got my attention. Puesto is located in the Los Olivos Marketplace off Irvine Center Drive in Irvine.  The article said “Irvine’s new Mexican venue brings delicious twists to our taco scene”.  So on a cool but sunny Monday my friend Jennifer and I decided it was worth a try.

We sat in the spacious outdoor patio area that contained a full bar for eating as well as drinking. First impressions are very important when you enter a restaurant, and this visit began well. The hostess and our waiter were very friendly. Everything on the menu even sounded good.  I chose a taco trio – mushroom, chicken al pastor and filet mignon which were very creative and unbelievably delicious. Jennifer had the equally delicious carnitas bowl with grilled corn, delectible guacamole, cheese, black beans and rice. With a side order of  Esquito (that same wonderful grilled corn with chile, lime, queso and crema), we had a meal to remember. The bottle of surprisingly tasty Mexican sparkling wine probably had a little to do with our fun time. We sat down at 12:30 and left at 4.

This lovely meal called for dessert, and I will let the photo speak for itself.

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Our waiter was staying late to help serve the party of 300 Yelpers who were coming in for dinner. We wished him good luck with that. I seldom read a good Yelp review but I don’t see how that could possibly happen at Puesto.

The Other Thing – And I am sure this was rectified by dinner time, the restaurant was out of coffee when I requested it after consuming a half bottle of bubbly. That is almost unheard of, but it did not diminish our experience.