Restauracja Alebriche

Ah, bless anyone in Europe that tries to open a Mexican restaurant. The cuisine is deceptively simple but can go all wrong in an instant.
Alebriche does some things quite well. Nice service, presentation of drinks (jugs of ice water), pleasant atmosphere. But the details (I assume added to satisfy the local market) are just odd.
For example, I ordered 3 taco plate. I had 2 carnitas and one enchilada flavor taco. The carnitas were worth coming back for– flavorful, well cooked, and delicious. The «enchilada flavor» was disappointing. Dry chicken cooked with what seemed to be a packet mix. They were served with corn tortillas, which I enjoyed, but accompanied by a trio of sauces that were just not right. Garlic mayonnaise? Red pepper aoili? The third was an attempt at salsa but it wasn’t authentic. Why not a trio of fresh salsas with tacos? There are many many salsa varieties, there is no need to slather mayonnaise on a taco.

Old reruns of El Dorado put me in mind to take a return trip to this Mexican cantina.
The décor has a definite hint of Olé Mexico. Slashed piñatas deck the ceiling. We went this afternoon (in fact I’m still picking tortilla out of my teeth). The previous time was in the evening and the waiting times were very Mexican.
The waitress was friendly. She offered a menu in English and I was pleasantly surprised to learn they celebrate my birthday. On this day, I don’t pay for consumption (see below as proof). I don’t know how they know. Witch in the kitchen?
I chose flautas with chicken. My dining companion went for the taco plate.
I think my meal was designed to be a starter, but it was good enough for me because I’d had a Mc Donalds breakfast earlier (review pending).
The meal was good. Not too spicy. Not too filling.
All in all, not the best Mexican restaurant this side of the Rio Grande, but good enough for this Lancashire lad.

If I could leave negative stars I would! This place is so disappointing not worth the walk from old Kraków. We went here on a recommendation, and thought it was a joke!
What kind of Mexican restaurant serves fries as your side?! They gave me half and ounce of ketchup with them too, I was waiting for Candid Camera to come out any second.
Tacos looked like egg rolls and came with «salad»; it was lettuce and pico for the inside of the taco… But, since they were deep-​fried you couldn’t open them. Just a disaster all around.
Paid quickly and left, don’t waste your money.

Without a doubt the best Mexican food I’ve had in Europe and better than many places in Mexico which is very admirable because they cook the corn form scratch.
The service could be better though.

Recently I had a chance to take a part in a group outing at Alebriche. Now I believe that it is the only authentic Mexican restaurant in Krakow. The décor of the place is similar to what one would expect to find in a typical Mexican joint but with a little bit of Krakow flair but I’ll let someone who cares about restaurant décor provide more details on that while I concentrate on what’s important, i.e. the grub.
A number of us shared an appetizer of nachos pa’totpear which were very good although one small nitpick would be to have a better variety of salsas — still pico de gallo and guacamole were very good and authentic tasting.
For the main course I had two of what I assumed to be appetizers (by their prices), which actually turned out to be regular size meals. Those were enmoladas and cheese enfrijoladas. From the description, they seemed like an interesting twist on my most favorite Mexican dish — enchiladas (which were also available) and wanting to try something new I decided to go with them. They were so delicious, especially the enmoladas, that I actually finished both of them.
My dinner mates (from various countries) were also pleased with their meals and a few samples of their dishes I had (unfortunately can’t remember what they were) were all very tasty.
The service was what I would describe as above Polish average (more attentive) in other words more than adequate. We were in quite a large group but the restaurant had no problem with accommodating us.
The ratio of prices to value is really good so that leaves the only somewhat downside of the place: the location. It’s not very remote but a bit off the area with main tourist attractions (yet it’s very easily reachable by numerous trams). The off-​the-​beaten-​path location, on the other hand, could be seen by some as something positive because it frequently results in smaller crowds.
I will most definitely be back to try more entries and can wholeheartedly recommend the place to anyone who likes or would like to try some real Mexican cuisine (as opposed to what I call «Polish-​Mexican» which you can find in a number of establishments around the Main Square area, which are not bad per se, but don’t taste anything like real Mexican).

I was very pleased with this restaurant. Although the staff are not completely fluent in English they are cheerful and helpful.
I was immediately pleased at their willingness to provide me tap water… which was provided in the proper north American manner (USA, Canada, and of course Mexico) — that is with a pitcher, unlimited refills, and ice.
The food was also impressively authentic Mexican fair. The portions were healthy and the tastes well defined and balanced. The prices extremely reasonable for what was offered. We tried a shared mix plate and 3 deserts and enjoyed them all.
Today was the first of what I am sure will be many visits.

Mexican food… In Poland… The husband really wanted to try it because a. It’s a little funny (we’re pretty far from Mexico, ya know?), and b. We love Mexican food and were a little sick of Polish food (even though polish food is extremely delicious). So we headed down to Alebriche. The restaurant is located on a fairly busy street with many restaurants and shops. The interior has typical Mexican inspired decorations and they advertise that they have corona! (haha). We sat down and the server (maybe owner?) helped us. He was very accommodating with our language barrier and had English menus… The guy is awesome speaking at least polish, Spanish, and English. We had a couple of amazing margaritas (and affordable at about 5 $ USD). We shared a cheese tamale and the empanadas. Glad we shared, the portions were huge! The empanadas were really tasty and served almost nacho style (covered with lettuce, beans, crema, salsa, etc), making for a filling dish. The tamale was more of a delicate dish with the single tamale on a plate, but it was even more delicious and authentic tasting than the empanadas. I would highly recommend this place!

Alebriche is an authentic Mexican restaurant. By that, I mean they don’t do Tex-​Mex. The dining experience here can be hit or miss. What pleases the palate of a Mexican might taste queer to a non-​Mexican. I happens to love the Michelada (beer with sea salt, lime, and cayenne pepper), for instance. For other people, the drink makes them want to vomit. I have ordered dishes that I distinctly disliked as well. Unless you know what you’re doing, don’t splurge on the pricier items. Cheaper dishes like the chicken mole (13 zł) are often easier to like, I’ve discovered.

Food is great but service is the worst ever: slow as hell and we had a drink from previous customer staying on our table for almost the whole length of our stay.

Alebriche is fantastic, truly Mexican place. I passed their door a few times, before I finally stopped there on Thursday night.
The owner is Mexican so the stuff working there. I am sure they have a lot of fun when people order meals and try to say Spanish names.
Nice, simple interior design, but feels very natural in that place. On the tables handmade Mexican napkins, pictures in colorful frames hanging on the walls, shelves full of books.
But what makes that place special is food. I visited Alebriche only once so I did not have a chance to try too many things, but if trust my friend’s opinions and the silence after they brought us food, everything was as delicious as mine. Big plus for homemade nachos we got as appetizer. For myself I got very tasty marinated beef with sides. I was surprised by the size of my meal!
I definitely recommend this place if you are looking for real Mexican food in good price.