Anyone tried the new Viva Mexican Grill & Tequilaria in Wayland?

[Centenary]

This restaurant just opened a week ago and at 6 pm tonight (Saturday) the large parking lot was full and there were crowds waiting. It's in the old Morn's (Thai) site. Anyone tried it yet?

[SMraz]

I just discovered this place today for lunch and was very pleased with the restaurant. It's very hard to get good Mexican fare in Boston, but I will definitely return to sample the tequilas and other offerings.

I had the Queso fundido with chorizo that was REAL Oaxacan stringy cheese. No cheap yellow stuff or other cheese foods. I also had the chicken mole enchiladas. The server, Melissa, brought me some of the mole sauce first to see if I liked it. It was a good balance of sweet and spicy, but could have been warmer on the enchiladas themselves. The enchiladas were stuffed with a nice portion of chicken breast and wasn't the mess they serve at other places where they soak the chicken in some kind of tomato sauce and use it in all their enchiladas.

I looked at the other menus and chatted with the server and they actually serve their tequilas with "sangrita". No, not the fruity wine stuff, but the "sangrita" they serve in Mexico that is a mixture of tomato juice, grenadine, orange juice, and chiles. I haven't tried it, (too early for tequila) but can't wait to return later to do so. The menu also offers chiles en nogada that I haven't seen on any menu in this area. That will definitely be next on my list.

I can't wait to bring friends there and hope that it is still as good.

[k206]

We stopped by (on Valentine's Day, coincidentally) and ate at the bar. It was probably one of the first nights it had been open so service was (understandably) a little confused, but the food was good - though the bar is not serving the full dinner menu right now, there were still some interesting choices. Tamales with vegetable and cheese filling and mole sauce were good and not something widely available at other places. Glad to have it in the neighborhood!

[84pces]

We were also there on Valentine's Day. It was indeed the first weekend that they were open. My husband and I thought the decor was wonderful, and the atmosphere was very comfortable and warm. We came in at 7, and were seated sooner than expected -- the place was packed. The waitstaff and hostess were definitely still working out the first-week kinks. My husband ordered an "authentica" margarita, which was sweetened with agave nectar --a nice touch. Nicely sour, lightly sweetened - he enjoyed it very much. For an appetizer, we got the guacamole, which was fantastic. They wheeled over the cart with an authentic molcajete, and made it tableside. It tasted marvelously fresh, and was mixed in the perfect proportions of avocado, salt, tomato, onion and cilantro. Served with warm tortilla chips. For dinner, we ordered Camarones al la veracruzano and chiles rellenos. Both were served with a side of rice and beans. Both were very good. Overall the whole experience was good, bordering on great, especially for an opening weekend, and we think they have great potential. Apparently, the chef owner of this restaurant is the same chef/owner of Jose's on Sherman St. in Cambridge, which we hadn't been to in ages but used to love. We think that this place has the potential to be as good as Jose's but with an extended menu and some more interesting options.

[BarmyFotheringayPhipps]

The website claims it's a central-Mexican restaurant, but the menu sure does have a lot of basic Tex-Mex stuff on it for that to be the case. Ironically, Boston actually has more and better central Mexican food than it has Tex-Mex -- maybe they should just focus on that!