Mexican Cafe Cantina on Greystone

S

Stuck_At_Work

1,000+ Posts
Looks like they are opening up a Mexican restaurant on Greystone where the old Mesa Hills Cafe used to be. Any word on what this place will be?
 
Mesa Hill Cafe closed??

That sucks.

Just another example of dying Austin, I guess..

frown.gif
 
Mesa Hill's food kinda sucked. I'm not going to miss it.

El Chile's food and drinks are 1000 times better.
 
That little shopping center is gonna be pretty happening on Friday and Saturday nights... with Chinatown, Mushashinos, and now El Chile sharing practically the same parking lot...

They were putting up the sign today... so I'll let y'all know if it indeed says El Chile later today.
 
Yeah, by the end Mesa Hills food pretty much sucked and was overpriced. We live on Greystone, so I'm very curious what's going in there.
 
Good, that means the crowd at the original El Chile will hopefully be smaller. Hopefully.
 
Is El Chile any good? What is it, a small chain?

We sometimes head up to "The Ditch 2" (Far West El Arroyo), but this isn't much farther. If it's better, I'm all for the extra drive.
 
Very different than El Arroyo. El Chile is fancier mexican food with a more trendy scene. The original El Chile is on Manor road. They hand women roses on their way out, have DJs spinning records, and have graffiti/modern artwork all over the place. They also own the neighboring El Chilito, the Red Door (a bar), and the Italian joint around the corner - also all on Manor road.

Honestly - I'm not the biggest fan of El Chile - but everyone else seems to be. I go cuz my friends go.
 
Oh, I've been there, or at least to the outdoor bar. I was thinking El Chile was the Mexican joint near City Hall.

This is good news for my neighborhood. El Arroyo is -- well, it's edible, especially on 2-for-1 nights (took the family there last night, as a matter of fact) -- but it's not "good" in any real sense of the word.
 
yeah, jimmy, El Arroyo works well for taking the kids or comfort food, but this will be a very nice addition to the hood.
 
yeah i think the food at el chile is way better

one of my good friends used to spin at vivo, so the free margs there were nice. nice and strong too
 
Considering how dated and dusty the Old Mesa Hills Cafe was.... it looks the El Chile did an amazing job modernizing the place. It also looks like they re-paved the parking lot and ChinaTown/Mushashinos is painting their place as well. That is great for the neighborhood.
 
I was there last night for their soft opening. Obviously they still have some kinks to work out, but all drinks were free and all food half price. My party likely had $300 worth of drinks, alone.

Anyway, I've been to the one on Manor multiple times, so I'll compare the two:

Interior Seating: classy, compares favorably

Exterior Seating: fewer tables than Manor, its covered, which was convenient when it hailed last night

Drinks: ritas were a little inconsistent. That said, they were free, so I'll not complain.

Chips and Salsa: Same as Manor location, though they ran out of salsa and had to prepare more, which didn't match the earlier batch in flavor (I prefer El Chile's salsa to just about everyone else's in Austin).

Queso: mediocre overall

Fajitas: I ordered beef fajitas and they were the best I've ever had at El Chile and nearly the best I've ever had in Austin.

Other food: others in my party ordered nachos and fish tacos. Both were said to be unappetizing.

Service: They were doing their best and would probably have liked to enjoy a quieter break-in.

Crowd: Lots of families. No hipsters (unless you want to count my table)

Anyway, I'd give it a strong recommend and its not just because they plied me with so much alcohol that my liver would likely ignite near an open flame.
 
We ate there for brunch today, and our two michiladas were free. Are they waiting on their liquor license right now? If so, will the drinks be free for a while? Anyone, anyone? Food was great, btw.
 
j chimpo, if they do it like they did at the Manor Rd. location then it may go byob until they get their license. The freebies are for a generous amount of time but I think they went way of you getting to bring your own. That was nice too!
 
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