Message from Ole Mexican Grill

True Mexican cuisine and premium tequilas
  • Tableside guacamole
  • A variety of margaritas
  • Large party room available

It always feels like a party at this lively neighborhood restaurant, located in Cambridge's Inman Square. Chef Erwin Ramos creates authentic Mexican delicacies from Veracruz and Oaxaca. Diners can choose from a variety of margaritas, dozens of premium Tequilas and a wide selection of wines. Winner of Best of Boston '99 for "Best Mexican," Best of Boston 2000 for "Best Mexican--Gourmet," Best of Boston 2003 for "Best Mexican--Upscale," Boston's Best 2000 and 2002 for "Best Mexican Food" by the Improper Bostonian and "Best Guacamole 2004" by Phantom Gourmet.

MarkerOle' Mexican Grille

(617) 492-4495

11 Springfield St
Cambridge, MA 02139

Editorial Description by Citysearch
One of Inman Square's liveliest restaurants buzzes with authentic Mexican colors and flavors.
Rated 9.2 out of 10 by Citysearch.

1 Review of Ole' Mexican Grille in Cambridge

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Authentic Mexican Cuisine  5 Star Rating - World class

New England is not known for their Mexican cuisine; however; Ole begs to differ. The restaurant offers delicious Mexican selections. My favorite is the guacamole-- which they make table side. The place is a ton of fun!

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5 Reviews by Citysearch: (read all 14 reviews on Citysearch)

Worst service I have ever experienced! 1 Star Rating - Unsatisfactory

This is not the place to go for a private party. The wait-staff made it VERY clear they wanted us (group of 15) in and out ASAP. They rudely insisted we order, they removed drinks before we were finished, and threw desert menus on the table the second dinner plates were cleared. They also charge a $2.00 per person fee to cut a cake (if you bring your own cake)!!!

We were not impressed at all. The only good thing about the meal was the chile relano but the side dishes that accompanied the entre were cold. The guacamole was pretty good too.

With all that said, I will never go back and would rather NOT eat Mexican food than go to this place again. I am a true lover of Mexican food so this is dissappoiting considering how few Mexican restaurants there are in MA.

Posted 04/28/08 at 11:05am

Poor service 3 Star Rating - Satisfactory

I had been wanting to try this restaurant given the rave reviews. The menu was filled with unique dishes that you typically don't find in Mexican restaurants. The food was delicious and the homemade guacamole made at the table was fantastic. The service, however, left much to be desired and would cause me not to return to this restaurant. Drinks took way too long to arrive and our server was often nowhere to be found when we wanted to order more drinks. We waited well over an hour for our food to arrive. Once the food arrived, the server would not leave us alone and hovered the entire meal removing dishes the instant our forks touched the plate. She actually had cleared all the dishes and asked us about dessert while one person in our dinner party was still eating his meal! It was very disappointing given the quality of the food, but to me the dining experience includes great service which was severely lacking here.

Pros: Food
Cons: Service
Posted 03/09/08 at 6:25am

best mexican restaurant 5 Star Rating - World class

Food was fabulous! Cozy atmosphere. We could not get enough of the salsa, guacomole, and the chips!!! I think this is the best salsa i've ever had! For appetizers and dinner we had the taquitos, tuna tacos, and the enchiladas and they were just as great as the chips, salsa, and guacomole! We will definitely be going back to this restaurant often! It's a little on the pricey side for Mexican food but definitely worth it.

Posted 02/16/08 at 12:41pm

Great Mexican on the East Coast? - Yes! 5 Star Rating - World class

My wife and I grew up in California, and spent several years in Colorado, so we know what good Mexican food is. No offense, Easterners, you do many things very well, but Mexican is definitely not one of them. However, Ole is a rare exception!!

We had lunch there today and were very impressed. Usually you can tell how it going to be right from the start - the chips and salsa. Ole has good homemade corn chips which are not greasy, and a very tasty salsa. It is not very hot, but has a lot of flavor. We ordered the guacamole, and it too was delicious. For entrees we both had the chicken enchiladas with mole sauce. They were quite good, not loaded with cheese, and this let the nicely flavored sauce come through. The black beans were interesting, almost like a puree, which I found preferrable to the sometimes too hard consistency you receive. The rice was almost more Spanish in style than Mexican, but very good nonetheless. This restaurant does not try to substitute a ton of cheese and salt for flavor.

Our waitress was very friendly as were other staff members, and the service was fast.
It is a small place but has nice atmospere.
We will definitely be back!!

Pros: Food was great, service was fast and friendly
Posted 07/01/07 at 4:26pm

Best Mexican Food In Boston (i am from Austin, TX) - Service is a struggle at times, and never plan a party there 4 Star Rating - Very good

The Mexican food here is simply the best in Boston. Nothing, nothing, comes close. The chef is amazing, and he and his wife are great hosts. I have been to many of the "mexican" restaurants in Boston that think they know what they are doing, but they don't. Ole has nailed the food. It is certainly Mexican food with flair, and if I could eat there every day and not gain weight, I would.

Now for the couple things they need to work on. Water and salsa should never run dry. And coming from TX, any MEXICAN restaurant that attempts to charge for chips and salsa should be ashamed.

We planned a party there, and was told one thing, then when it came time to sign the paper work, their policy had changed which would force us to spend extra $$$ on alcohol. The woman just about put my fianc in tears, as were working on a budget, and had already sent out 50+ invitations. She was not flexible at all, and really didnt seem to want to help us out. But oh well, we had the party, it was a great success, just cost us much more than we had planned. (By the way, this was our second meeting, because she flat out missed our first meeting; forgot. When we showed up, nobody knew we were coming. They called her, and then told us it would be 5 minutes. Then 15 minutes later said she wouldnt be able to make it. Would have been nice if they covered our meal.)

On this note, I recently took 6 people who had never been to Ole for brunch. They all LOVED it. But one thing that turned me off a little was charging for chips and salsa. They dont charge for this at night, but decide to charge for it at brunch. Kind of nickel and dime type activity you would not expect from an authentic Mexican restaurant, just an average restaurant.

We went back with one of the other couples, and our friend mentioned that she emailed Ole about having a get together, but that it had been a week and no response. The woman who handles events, is not on top of things.

Pros: Food
Cons: Charging for Salsa
Posted 04/18/07 at 8:14am