Arcelias Mexicana Restaurant

I am a lover of mexican food and once I started dining at Arcelias I refuse to eat at gringo mexican restaurants. The food is great, the workers' are entertaining (always someone yelling or fighting) and the chips and salsa are endless. I have never heard of anyone saying the servings are too small if anything they are to large. I have never been able to finish my whole plate. Oh yeah and do not forget the historic homes of Lafayette Square.

Arcelias is my favorite Mexican place in St. Louis. The food is good and there is a great variety. My personal favorite is the chicken and bean burritos, but the creme ones are good too. The place is always busy and it is located in Lafeyette Square which is a beautiful and historic part of town.

I had read great reviews on "Arcelias", and decided that my husband, son, and I just had to go. Much to my dismay, it was a rather small yet cozy dwelling, nestled among beautiful historic homes. That made for incredible ambience. Wish I could say the same about the food. The standard chips and dip were my first disappointment. The chips were hard, tasted stale, and lacking taste. the dip, I can hardly recall, so that tells you- not so memorable. Servings were too small, but incredibly tasty. I would go back, but not if I was extremely hungry.

This is my favorite Mexican restaurant. It is home cooking, not the polished up, plasticized version of Mexican food available at so many chains. My absolute favorite meal is Enchiladas de Crema -- sour cream enchiladas. I've not seen anything like them anywhere else. This is a family-run restaurant, the service is relatively informal, and the food is great.

PROS: family-run, home cooking
CONS: can be crowded at lunch