El Habanero Mexican Grill Pittsfield MA

Was so happy to see a local restaurant with Birria Tacos so we had to try them out. Unfortunately our experience left us disappointed... The Birria Tacos were a soggy mess, they are supposed to be crispy but immediately fell apart when I tried to pick them up. The tamales were very dry & the sides were probably the best part of the meal. Margaritas were not freshly made, tasted like a store bought mix. Although they did a great job on the makeover of the inside, it has a strange "dirty mop" smell. Place was completely empty, staff was there but didn't leave a lasting impression. Don't think we'll be back until we hear about some better experiences there.

Disappointed again... I'm a transplant from the Southwest and I've been trying Mexican food around the Berkshires. This misses the mark just like most of the places around here.

The restaurant was very nice inside; they did a great job renovating the place and it had a nice atmosphere. There's a small bar to sit at and enjoy a drink and a bite.

The food was bland at best. I got the El Habañero plate so that I could sample a few things and give a fair review. Some of the items were only so-so, some were just not very good or were prepared poorly.

The good: The plate looked pretty good when it arrived, see photo. The beans needed salt but were pretty good afterwards. The empanada was the best part of the meal, but it's hard to mess up fried dough filled with meat and cheese. That's about where the goodness ends.

The not-so-good:
The enchilada: It was super dry. They were very stingy with the sauce, and it had very little flavor. Enchiladas should be swimming in thick, flavorful goodness - this had the top barely coated in a weak, thin sauce that didn't even cover the whole top of the tortilla... sad.

The tamale: it was so-so, lacking flavor but mostly had good consistency. The worst part was that it was microwaved to be reheated... I know this because its ends were dried and burned and i had to discard them (I've heated up many a tamale in my time, so I know when they get screwed up). That was a red flag - the cooks haven't really been trained well, it seems.

The rice: Lastly the rice. Oh man... this was rubbery, bland, instant Uncle Ben's style rice. Not good at all. You could tell by the chemically, preservative taste that lingers with that kind of pre-prepared rice.

I didn't finish my meal.

Overall, I really wanted this place to be better. Some of the items were almost there, but they really missed the mark on some others. The prices really didn't reflect the quality or flavor that they should have been - just too high of prices for some items on the menu.

I really wavered between 2 and 3 stars for this place. I just didn't like the food, but I've definitely had worse in the Berkshires and Pittsfield. I'll give them the benefit of the doubt and hope that they improve for future customers, but I won't be coming back.

So happy I stopped in to try out the food, got a shrimp burrito to go and it's great! Nice to have an actual Mexican place here that's not a chain. Nice owner, clean restaurant, quick service, good fresh food. I'll be back for sure.

I am a huge fan of tacos so when I found out we were getting a new Mexican restaurant. I went here for lunch yesterday and was very pleased with the food. I found it very filling. The smoothies were amazing. I will be telling everyone about this gem and can't wait to go back.