Mexican Restaurants in Christchurch City

20th January 2012
As my wife is Mexican, I thought it would be a great idea to go there for a birthday lunch with 15 friends including their children. When I made the booking I was told it would be no problem, however when we arrived they sat us in a part of the restaurant (opposite the kitchen) where the tables were set out in a very awkward fashion which meant that the group had to be split in two and sit separately from each other!?! Not ideal for a birthday celebration where you obviously expect everyone to sit together! We were quite disappointed with the arrangement given that we'd been squeezed into a very confined corner of the restaurant and yet the bigger more spacious area of the restaurant was set aside for single tables. We spent a lot of time getting up and moving around (with kids prams etc) and trying to rearrange the tables in order to get everyone to sit together but it just didn't quite work and it spoiled the occasion for us! Had they planned to have us on the other side in the more spacious part of the restaurant it wouldn't have been an issue, although apparently there are some legitimate reasons why they do this. If however I was judging them on their quality of food alone then I give them 4.5 out of 5 stars! The food was really good! It wasn't necessarily genuine authentic Mexican as they claim - my wife is from Mexico, so she's knows what's authentic Mexican food or not - but even she was impressed by the food! In fact a small number of the party were elderly people who tastes are somewhat resistant to the misconstrued concept of Mexican food being always just 'hot and spicy' - only to be pleasantly surprised by the delicious tasty food they had ordered. Additional note: After contacting the restaurant about the issue with the table arrangement, it seems the issue came down to a lack of communication when the booking was made. To their credit, I am a lot happier with the manager's explanation of events and the arrangement made to resolve the issue.

14th July 2010
One tequela two tequela three tequela more...... Great place to go as a group or with a significant other. Great atmosphere with hard wood floors and fabulouse art. The dinning comes fast, hot and deliciouse with many cocktails and a wise selection of tequela to sample. Head up stairs and feel imediatley welcomed by the friendly staff. When I think of somewhere to dine out, Alva Rados is always amoung my top 5. Do head down and have a great night out.