10 Best Mexican Restaurants in St. Petersburg FL 2020

Must Eat Mexican Treats in St. Pete If you search this site for "Mexican", you may notice that I do all of the Mexican restaurant reviews. Why? It's because I love Mexican food so much that I could literally eat it every day for a week straight. (I actually have done that before.) Two and…

Remember Chef Jeffery Hileman? He ran the kitchen at FarmTable Cucina for most of their time open. Put him together with Nueva Cantina co-owner, Louie Spetrini, and you have the Mexican restaurant dream team. This "new" menu has actually been out for two months now, but we just got to it last week. Nueva Cantina…

It seems like there are new restaurants opening in St. Pete every five minutes, and the new places get all of the hoopla, and attention. We certainly participate in it here at St. Petersburg Foodies, but we also love to remind you of the places that were here when there were not a lot of…

Nueva Cantina does it again with some really tasty, unique and fun items. The new menu came out yesterday, February 7th, and I made sure to stop by to try a couple of things. Don't worry about your favorites. Much of the menu stayed and there are seven new items. There are two that really…

A huarache is a Mexican sandal, and it is also a masa-based Mexican dish. It is the name of a great local Mexican restaurant as well. The first time I heard "Huarache sandal" was in the lyrics to The Beach Boys Surfin’ USA when I was a kid. The first time I heard a recommendation…

We finally went to VIP Mexican Restaurant & Lounge on Thursday, September 28. Months ago, we had crossed them off of our list when a chef friend of ours, whom we greatly respect, said some unflattering things about the place—I'll leave the details out—and we believed him. As the months went by, we kept seeing more…

Red Mesa Cantina New Menu Items - May 2017 I've been going to Red Mesa Cantina on a regular basis for over 8-years. Most of the time, when being handed a menu, I say, "No thank you, I don't need it", as I pretty much have it memorized and know what I want. Not anymore.…

34-Years of Mexican Tradition & Growing the Family We have come to find that using the word "authentic" when it comes to Mexican food is the next worse thing to a political discussion these days. Suddenly, everybody and their chihuahua is an expert on what "real authentic" Mexican food is, and isn't, and gets all in…

Some people are going to be offended by this, but that's just the way it goes. It seems that most people have no clue whatsoever when it comes to knowing what authentic Mexican food is. I see so many places getting excellent reviews that are just average at best. Then I see awesome places getting…

Red Mesa Cantina 128 3rd St. South St. Petersburg, FL 33701

UPDATE: Here’s the first look at the new spaces. Push Ultra Lounge, one of Downtown St. Petersburg’s premiere upscale night club is ending its 10-year party at the end of this month. Red Mesa Cantina, Push's ground floor neighbor in the same building, will take over the two floor 12,000 square foot space at the…

Tacos - Baja Fish - Grilled fresh fish, salsa roja, Mexican slaw and lime crema. Pulled Pork - Shredded roast pork, guacamole, cilantro onion and radish. Duck - Orange braised duck confit, grilled pineapple, goat cheese, cilantro and red chile jelly

Red Mesa Cantina is the Wild Child in the Family A couple of weeks ago, St. Petersburg Foodies, along with our photographer, Barry Lively, (and he lives up to his name, by the way) recently spent the day with Marketing Director Edgar Veytia, and Executive Chef Chris Fernandez exploring all three Red Mesa locations. Our…

Red Mesa Mercado 1100 1st Ave N, St. Petersburg, FL 33705

Mexican Street Food: Tacos, Burritos, & Empanadas Oh My! Mexican Street food, some are fried and many are hand held items, is what most Americans think of as Mexican food. Street food in Mexico, called antojitos (literally "little cravings"), is prepared by street vendors and at small traditional markets in that country. Most of them…

Red Mesa Restaurant Pioneered Real Mexican Food in St. Pete "When we first got here, all that people knew about Mexican food was Taco Bell™." - Chris Fernandez, Executive Chef for all three Red Mesa locations. With the foodie scene exploding in St. Pete and all of the new restaurants popping up, you might think…

Made to Order Tableside Guacamole at Nueva Cantina

Nueva Cantina Makes Their Guacamole Fresh To Order Tableside https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XCK88C70moE I love Nueva Cantina! The food is great, the atmosphere is fun, and the service is excellent. I wouldn't expect anything different with the team of Louie Spetrini as GM / Co-Owner, and Chef Paul Daubert. They did an amazing job on their last venture together…

On October 4th, I published breaking Foodies news regarding the changing of hands at El Gallo Grande to Louie Spetrini and his partners Erin & Rocco Rinaldi. Officially the new name, happy hour and menu won't change until November 1st, however, I am EXTREMELY happy to report that all of the new staff are currently…