"Authentic" New Mexican Food? Hardly.

Location:

Chile Verde Cafe

4852 Sawmill Road, Columbus, OH 43235

(614) 442-6630 ‎

I have eaten at Chili Verde a dozen times in the last ten years, and each time I go I wonder why I came back.  The food isn’t horrible, the service isn’t horrible, but there is just something about the place that gets on my nerves.

Expensive Chimichanga (mostly sauce)

Crazy Confusing Menu

They claim to serve “authentic” New Mexican food, meaning less of a Mexican influence and more of a Native American influence.  In my opinion, it’s really more of a tiny Don Pablo’s without the lavish décor and giant margaritas.  The food tastes good, but I can’t put my finger on what’s missing… well, in some dishes I can – salt.  A lot of their plates would be much better if they just added some seasoning, and didn’t try so hard with the condiments. There are too many wacky “salsas of the day” and about five different sauces to choose from (none of which are New or Mexican, at least not to my knowledge).  On this trip, I ordered a chimichanga ($11.99, about $4 more than any other restaraunt) and the mango salsa (complementary), which contained not mango, but cantaloupe, and I wondered how many people they tried to fool with this concoction.  The portions are a good size, comparable to most Mexican restaurants, but even so the price just makes me cringe.

"Mango" Salsa

Regular Chips & Salsa

Overall, for the price, it’s not worth it.  If you want great food at a fair price, this is not the place for you.  If you would rather have mediocre food at a steep price, then by all means head over to Sawmill Road and hit up the Chili Verde!

 

Is this what New Mexico looks like?

Overall Scores: (1-5, 1 being lowest, 5 highest)           

Cleanliness: 5

Value: 2

Accessibility: 4

Friendliness: 3
Menu: 2

Leftovers