Restaurante Mexicain Senor Sombrero

The owner is Mexican, and people in the kitchen speak Spanish. Service was outstanding and food was amazing. Real Mexican fare.

We were searching for a casual dinner option near our hotel on the outskirts of Quebec City and came across this restaurant on TripAdvisor. It did not disappoint, with a cozy atmosphere, a diverse menu, and decent food, although not quite at a 4 or 5-star level. If you're unfamiliar with Mexican cuisine and don't speak French, it might be challenging to order as there are no English menus, but there are photos of nearly every dish. The chef and owner, hailing from Puebla, clearly knows her craft, but our server, a young girl, was timid and inexperienced, struggling to answer our questions. Prices were on par with other independent Mexican eateries, a bit steep for the portion sizes, but all items are made from scratch using fresh ingredients. We would consider returning if we find ourselves in the area again.

The restaurant has a charming ambiance with a small yet cozy setting. The meal was quite satisfying for the price, especially the tasty rice and Mexican beers. For dessert, we enjoyed churros served with ice cream and strawberry sauce.

First off, My wife and I have been to many Mexican restaurants in the United States, and in Toronto, and now this one in Quebec city. We are big fans of good Mexican food, and like to try at least one Mexican restaurant in every new city we visit. I took a look at some of the reviews below, and I 'm really not sure how anyone can give this place a 4 or 5 out of 5 for the quality of the food. We went here because we asked a hotel clerk about a good Mexican restaurant and he said he went here and liked it. So we took his word. Boy, what a mistake. There is nothing wrong with the place itself, as it looks like a nice quaint, cozy authentic Mexican Mom and Pop shop, which is exactly what we were looking for. Hence; we were excited from our first impression of the place. When we entered, we were greeted by a young guy who was very friendly and nice, and who made us feel very comfortable. So far so good.... We asked him, as we normally do at every Mexican place we visit about some tortilla corn chips and Mild and Hot Salsa. He said, they don 't give this normally, but he will take care of us (so this brought mixed feelings from us, because the fact that they don 't do what every good tasting Mexican restaurant would do, should have been a red flag . However; we were happy that he was going to do this favor for us, so we didn 't think much of it. So he brought (literally a small bowl of tortilla corn chips which were average tasting chips, and a bowl of Salsa. We tried the Salsa, and it was not very good. It had a weird tangy aftertaste which was not very tasty. He also brought us some Guacamole which we did not order, and another type of some sort of Chipotle Sauce (which again was a below average tasting sauce which we barely touched . While we were waiting for our Main course to come, we asked for another bowl of tortilla chips which they gave (largely because my young kids finished them quickly . Hence; even though we were not impressed by the Sauces they had given us to start off with, we were still hoping for the best with the main course. One thing I would like to add before I go on is there may be some readers who read this and think we are placing an extraordinary amount of attention on the Chips and Salsa. I would go so far as to say, I am VERY purposely placing focus on the chips and salsa, because this part of the meal is almost always a prelude of things to come (I should have figured it out from the taste of the salsa . Look Folks; when you get the right type of fluffy light tortilla chips and a nice Mild delicious salsa, and a hot salsa as an added compliment, it just makes your beverage go down so much more smoother. The beverage in hand could be a Coke or a beer the type of drink does not matter. However; the blend of the Chip with it 's right amount of salt, along with the salsa infusion in your mouth, with a drink to wash it down in many ways constitutes 50% of the meal appreciation at a true authentic Mexican restaurant. And if they have some melted Queso which you can order off the menu to have with the tortilla chips; makes your appetizer experience even that much more delightful. On to the Main course....I ordered the Plato Senior Sombrero, My wife ordered the Tostada off of the Appetizer menu, and we ordered the Enchiladas for the kids to share. Once we got our food, I noticed every part of my meal had sprinkled Feta cheese on my Tostada, taco and enchilada. What?? Really? I thought this was a Mexican Restaurant not a Greek Restaurant? I don 't want Feta on my Mexican Food. It completely ruins the taste. Whose brilliant idea was it to change something that tastes delicious with fresh shredded Mozzarella (or American cheese, and substitute it with Feta? Every bite gave me a tangy Feta taste which I did not want. Don 't get me wrong, I LOVE Feta cheese, and I always ask for extra feta when it is called for. ie..On my Greek Salad, NOT on my Taco and Tostada. The Feta itself ruined my entire meal, and the Salsa which was not very good did not help to better the taste. My wife had the same issue with her tostada, as they sprinkled Feta all over her Tostada. Oh and by the way, even though she ordered the Tostada off of the Appetizer menu, they decided to give her the Tostada off of the dinner menu and charge her 2.5x the price. We only noticed this, once the bill came, which they told us they could not do anything about because they had given us two tostadas (How is that our fault, that the nice friendly waiter got the order wrong . Speaking of the bill, there was a $10 charge for the Chips we ordered. Lovely. My comment above about taking care of us by the nice friendly waiter where was that? We ordered the chips, my Plato Sombrero plate, the Tostada (which they got the wrong order , and the enchilada plate and 1 coke for me, came to just under $75. What an absolutely ridiculous price to pay for the amount of food we got (with no alcohol , and the sheer lack of taste and Mexican authenticity associated with the food itself. I am used to paying $150 $200 in a Mexican restaurant, and not having a single issue with paying that amount, as the food was delicious and the chips and salsa were authentic. This place is the farthest thing from any type of authenticity you will get. For those of you giving 4 and 5 stars for this place, I can only assume you have not tried real delicious authentic Mexican restaurants in the United States. Unfortunately, the US is where the true tasty Mexican Restaurants are. I am not happy about this statement I just made, as I live in Toronto, and I would love to be able to say great things about Mexican Restaurants in Canada, but I would be lying if I did. Senor Sombrero simply does not make the cut.

Amazing appetizer salad but the rest of the meal kind of fell flat. The cheese in the quesadillas was congealed. Was expecting more for 100$ a couple.