Taqueros/Coyoacan on St. Charles

...still isn't open. I just spoke with someone named Jeffery who answered the phone (new number: 525-9998) and said that they're hoping for mid-May. I'm counting the days (cochinita pibil...lobster ceviche...)

I can't wait! I live far from Kenner but Taqueros was my reason for driving the distance. I sure hope that it lives up to the old place. Basically, it was THE Mexican Restaurant in the New Orleans area with a super kind owner as well. I wish him success!

My husband likes to explore at least one new restauarant every time we stay at the condo, so about 10:15 p.m. we found ourselves at a new Mexican restaurant called Coyacoan. Turns out that the downstairs is casual dining and the upstairs is "fine dining." Since we were already "all decked out" in finery, we opted for fine dining and followed the hostess upstairs.

The menu was gourmet Mexican, if there is such a thing. As you know, I have been a low carb devotee for several years now, so Mexican is rarely a good choice for me to begin with. We figured we would order chicken fajitas for 2 and I would eat the chicken and my husband would eat everything else, as he always does.

Well, they do not serve anything like that. He ordered a venison chop and I ordered lamb chops, which came with potatoes. I told the waiter that I did not eat potatoes and asked to substitute a salad or some vegetables. The waiter told us that the chef/owner "had a vision' and would not make any substitutions as it destroyed his "vision!"

By now it was about 10:40 p.m., too late to go anywhere else, so my husband asked to see the manager who, once again, told us of the chef's "vision,", and I said I still did not want any potates! He said he would try to intercede on my behalf! ( it was like he was daring me to order!)

When our food finally came, after what seemed like an enormous delay given the lateness of the hour and the fact that most patrons had already left, I had two scrawny asparagus spears on my plate and two of the tiniest, most meatless lambchops I had ever seen. My husband got a scrawny venison chop and mashed sweet potatoes! When we finished eating, which literally took only a few moments, we were still starving, and got a bill for $74! ( no liquor, no appetizer, no dessert!) So much for that dining adventure! We won't be going there again!! :-) Perhaps the chef was punishing us for messing with his "vision!"

I have eaten at Taqueros/Coyoacan many times and I've never had a problem with the serving size. If you're looking for fajitas and grossly oversized portions, I can think of a couple of Tex Mex places in Metairie that might be more your style. Coyoacan is a fine dining experience and in order to ensure quality, the chef does not do substitutions. It’s about making sure that everything on the plate blends in a pleasing way, about guaranteeing a quality dining experience, not about some eccentric “vision”. It is an expensive restaurant and I think it’s only reasonable that there is some quality control as to what the costumer is served. Coyoacan is one of my favorite restaurants in the city, and it is unfortunate that you are too ignorant to realize that Mexican food does not just consist of tacos and burritos. Coyoacan serves amazing dishes and I recommend the restaurant to everyone. I wish Chef Guillermo the best of luck with his restaurant, and hope that he does not have to deal with many more people like you.

I just returned home from a vacation in New Orleans. My group tried this restaurant because we were really hungry and a big plate of fajitas sounded great. Well, no fajitas on the menu - not even chips and salsa but we thought we would give it a try. We ate downstairs in the casual area and were surprised by the meager portions and inflated prices; entrees were more like expensive appetizers and not what we considered mexican. We didn't see one latin face in the place - patrons or employees; should have been our first clue. We went across the street to VooDoo BBQ and had a real meal about an hour later. We would never go back.

This is possibly the most misunderstood restaurant in New Orleans. begin rant:

Yes, for heaven's sake, don't go there if you want "fajitas and chips and salsa". It is in fact high Mexican cuisine (as the original poster put it so condescendingly, "if there is such a thing"). I love the food, it is expensive because like other top-tier restaurants in the city, everything is fresh and freshly made, no pre-shredded cheese and sour cream glopped all over everything. The chef (yes chef, not cook) is from Mexico City. If you want Mexican food on the level of Voodoo, go to Lucy's. Also, would you ask for substitutions at Delmonico or Peristyle? Maybe you would. I wouldn't. I go to those restaurants to partake of a person's artistry, and if I don't like a component of a dish, I'll order something else. Like telling Da Vinci "I'll buy that Mona Lisa painting if you repaint her dress hot pink. I like hot pink."

The ONLY beef I have with the downstairs (Taqueros) is the unbelievable noise level. I hope they can amend this. But the food is so stellar I'll go anyway.

Sorry, but Coyoacan is not Mexican and it's way over priced for truly awful food. My husband and I split our time between Oaxaca and New Orleans and we've been desperate for a good Mexican restaurant down here. Naturally, we had high hopes for Coyoacan, seeing that it is named after Frida Kahlo's 'hood in Mexico City. Well, we finally made it there this weekend and we were INCREDIBLY disappointed. Truly!!

As for this restaurant being "misunderstood"...that can only be if one has never had true Mexican food (especially southern). In fact, our dear friend from Cuernavaca came with us to Coyoacan and she would wholeheartedly agree with me: Coyoacan is neither Mexican nor worth the money. $126 for four of us, with only two glasses of wine between us. And that was for truly mediocre food. It was the worst dining experience I've had the two years we've lived here. That says something!!

If you want good Mexican north of the border, I suggest LA or Chicago. Both have true authentic Mexican. In LA, Guelaguetza has excellent Oaxacan food (and there are countless neighborhood taquerias), and in Chicago, Adobo Grill is great for fusion (along with numerous others, including Frontera Grill and all of its offshoots). Skip Mexican when you're down here. Go to Mat & Naddie's instead.

Happy eating, y'all!

I should say that even after I found out that the chef, Guillermo Peters, is from Coyoacan originally, I still thought the food was terrible. I had the chile relleno de mixote, a poblano pepper stuffed with bland lamb atop a fruity raspberry sauce. It was awful. No spice whatsoever. Not exactly Mexican!

Perhaps the chef has spent too much time here and has lost his Mexican touch. (He ran a restaurant in Kenner for years.) At any rate, stay away! That's my advice.

I've been to the new location on St. Charles, have eaten at both restaurants. Found the food a bit different downstairs at Taqueros. Still good but not if you compared it to Kenner location. The quality of the food was about the same at Coyoacan but that's probably because the owner is up there in the kitchen. The prices went up enormously. The place is first class! but atmosphere has changed dramatically. I didn't mind making the drive to Kenner. Perhaps he should have stayed at old location, his business seemed to be doing really well there and the wait staff was very knowledgeable and friendly. Does anyone know of whereabouts of the 2 waitresses that worked at Kenner location? (Stacy & Elizabeth) It's too bad they are no longer with the new restaurant.

[Overweight]

This is pretty funny. My mother was at Coyoacan a few months ago and wanted her beef prepared medium, as opposed to medium rare. Once again, this request was denied as it was "not in the chef's vision." We were not pleased.

[Tonto]

This post started in 2004, but they will be closing this fall 2007 purportedly for good.

Please keep us updated (I rarely pass by the new location). Its one of my favorite restaurants, and I will soon need my fix of that chile relleno.

the building looks like it's coming together well, though. There was a lot of activity when i passed by around noon today.

It's open. Haven't been there yet though.

Link: http://www.appetites.us