Mexican with a family feel at Petaluma’s Plaza Tequila

When I first came to Petaluma, one of my co-workers highly recommended Plaza Tequila to me. But with Velasco’s right across the street from where we worked, I found it hard to go to any other Mexican restaurant. It was just perfect as far as I was concerned.

Then Velasco’s closed, and I have been trying out other Mexican eateries in Petaluma since then. Each one I have tried has been fine, but it was just recently that I remembered the recommendation of Plaza Tequila, and decided to give it a try.

That “try” turned in to four visits in relatively rapid succession, and we have plans to return again soon, because there are so many unique things on the menu of this centrally located restaurant across from Whole Foods Market. With a relatively large parking area we have never had trouble parking there.

One of the questions we had for General Manager Mirna Acosta was the origin of the restaurant’s name. She told us that her uncle purchased the first Plaza Tequila in Sonoma years ago, and kept the name, and when he opened this second location here in 2013, he used the same name.

For those of you who enjoy tequila, the beverage, you will be delighted to find about 40 different kinds of tequila on the menu. The bar uses many of them in creative ways. We tried the Jalapeno Margarita, as well as the Pina Preparada and found them both very delicious, perfectly mixed cocktails. The Pina Preparada is a whole pineapple, with most of the fruit removed. It is filled with a cocktail mix of Bacardi rum, coconut liqueur and pineapple juice. It felt like we were in the islands somewhere warm and tropical.

Asked about what she is most proud of, Mirna told us that the employees who work there now are the same team members who opened the restaurant with her nearly five years ago. We found the service to be excellent, and it feels very much like a family kind of place when you are there, so the long-standing team could be part of that excellence.

The menu has a number of traditional items including combination plates to suit a broad variety of tastes. Among our favorite items on the combo plate was the enchilada with mole sauce. They make their own mole, and Mirna spoke about the process with a great deal of justifiable pride. The other item we really enjoyed on the combo plate was the shrimp taco, which had a generous portion of perfectly cooked large shrimp.

We enjoyed the carnitas (little pieces of well-cooked crispy pork) in both a taco and in the torta (a huge sandwich on a special roll, filled with the meat of your choice, beans, cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, and slices of jalapenos.)

Other noteworthy menu items were the chicken taco salad, the ceviche, tamales, chili rellenos, chicken tortilla soup with avocado and cheese, and a dish called molcajete, which is one of the specialties.

A molcajete is a large stone bowl on legs, usually used for grinding or mashing food. In this case it is used as a serving bowl, containing a giant serving of beef, chicken, shrimp, mushrooms, cheese tomatoes, onions, and nopales all cooked and served in a kind flavorful sauce. It is served with rice, beans, guacamole, sour cream, cheese, toasted jalapeno, and your choice of tortillas. Seriously, there is enough food here for a family.

We tried just one of their desserts, because we just didn’t have room. The one we tried was outstanding – real sopapillas, soft pillows of fried dough served dusted with cinnamon sugar, surrounding a few scoops of chocolate ice cream. The serving was enough for four people.

Of special note is their excellent happy hour. With tacos at $1 each and beer for only $3, you really need to stop in here Monday through Friday from 3 to 5 p.m. to enjoy this excellent special pricing and delicious food.

Other specials are their Kids Eat Free on Tuesday night for children 12 and under, and their senior special at lunch where folks who are 55 and over get a 25 percent discount at lunch.

If you are in the mood for Mexican food for breakfast, get yourself to Plaza Tequila starting at 10 a.m. so you can enjoy dishes like Huevos Rancheros or Chilaquiles Mexicanos, and more.

Also of note is the fact that they no longer have the Plaza Tequila in Sonoma, so don’t go looking for that one – only the operation in Petaluma. Their website needs updating. Don’t expect to find the prices there, and the news about the Sonoma operation has not been corrected there. But don’t let those small technicalities stop you from trying Plaza Tequila. It is well worth your patronage.