Itacate

We came here finally, after tons of times passing it On our way to and from appointments. I wish we had come sooner! The server was super nice and showed us the whole restaurant upon arriving. We came at the perfect time between lunch and dinner, had freshly made guacamole and amazing salsa with the chips. The food was on point, the beef was just like what I had in Mexico. Will be back soon!

Muy Autentico
This is not Monte Alban. Good authentic Mexican. Extensive Tequila listing. I am enjoying the Albondigas. (Meatballs with Chorizo and egg). The enchiladas are tasty as well, the Roja sauce is delicious, just a touch of hotness. I will try the Mole next time. The Mezcal Margarita is a perfect accompaniment. I will most definitely be returning.

We hired Jose to cater an affair we hosted for 60 people. The food was delicious and the service was excellent. Jose did a wonderful job insuring that things were on time and just as we had ordered.
A word to the wise, don’t go short on the guacamole. It is delicious and will go fast! Also, the main vegetarian option we chose was, I think called raja?, was absolutely scrumptious! Sautéed onions and poblano peppers with corn in crema. Roll it into a soft tortilla and inhale then, they’re sooooo good!

This was was our second time here, came for a drink and ended up staying for lunch. We sat at the downstairs bar for cinco de mayo and had an awesome time with Paco. He made our stay memorable. We had Tacos Campechanos and Queso Fundido. WOW both were so flavorful and tasted authentic. We will be back!

I’m giving it 4 because the food was excellent and I have not had real tamal and menudo since I served in the military! Outstanding! They lost a star due to service not really up to par! The staff were very friendly and helpful but we were there nearly 2 hours never were asked if I wanted drink refills and any dish you order took 15 – 20 minutes at least to get to the table. I would definitely go again but plan on slow service and long waits on food. Do go!

No draft beer tonight. Ran out of ice tea. Very slow food service. Plan on a good hour and a half for dinner. It’s truly like Mexico inside. Food is so so. I won’t be back.

If you want the Real Thing you need to try Itacate. I spent most of ’04 in Guadalajara and this place is as close as it gets to Mexican food. I’ve tried them all trust me.

We showed up very late like 9:20 something to the restaurant and did not realize it would be closed at 10. The waiter still made sure that we had enough time to think about our orders. At the same time, he served us plenty chips and salsa sauces (super spicy, mild, and guacamole). I got a big glass of frozen margarita (although it was a little too salty), which looked like it was going to overflow. He even offered free Jarritos soda to one of my friends who doesn’t drink. It was so nice of him. About the burritos, we mixed and matched shrimp and steak without extra charge, which makes this place even more special. Sorry for forgetting his name.

I just want to start off and say, I absolutely love Itacate.
It would get five stars if it wasn’t for the reoccurring events which I feel are preventing me from ever wanting to return. The food is absolutely amazing, and the staff are great too.
So why three stars?
Well, I’ve been here about 5 times already. Every time the food and staff have been phenomenal. However, the past three times are making me question if the experience is really worth it. My 3^rd time in, I had an Italian male server (interesting for a mexican restaurant), who was a joy and helped us make decisions and my table had a good time. A few days later, I checked my credit card, and was somehow charged more then we spent. Not going to complain over a few dollars, but I still think the restaurant should be more careful. I have my credit card receipt, and at the restaurant, I paid for my correct check, but my credit card statement was more. I thought maybe it was an honest mistake and did nothing of it.
My 4^th visit back I had a different server. My experience was as great as the rest and have absolutely no complaints!
My 5^th visit, I had that male server again. I finally caught that his name was Paul. Great server, food was fantastic! But being an accountant, I always check my statements.
AGAIN, my credit card was charged more than what I signed for and tipped for. This time it was $ 10 extra dollars than what I paid for! The experience is wonderful at Itacate, and I thought it was a mistake the first time, but I don’t appreciate being stolen from. It truly depreciates the true value Itacate has to offer.
My advice? Go to Itacate. Enjoy it. But if possible, try to ask for a different server than Paul. He is great, but I think he is changing my credit card receipt, as I have not had this experience with any other time I’ve been there. Just a word of caution.

I come here very regularly for lunch the food is always delicious the service is usually good and the price you can’t beat

Itacate in Penfield gets five stars for the friendliness of the owner, as well as the staff (particularly the tall, young woman who tended bar the last time we visited the restaurant). Everyone at the restaurant is always very pleasant and polite. And the margaritas get five stars, especially when you can get them for half-​price during happy hour. But the food gets 2 stars.
A large group of us had dinner at the Penfield location recently. My wife and I are vegans, as is one of our friends. The vegan orders seemed to cause problems. Our friend ordered a vegan burrito. It came out with sour cream on top, so we had to send it back. Note that the vegan burrito was not a custom order. Instead, it was explicitly listed on the menu as being vegan. Surely the kitchen should know better than to put a dairy product on the item?
There was also some confusion with the rice and beans. My wife ordered a side of rice and beans, but our waiter warned her that it wasn’t vegan — so she skipped the side. But then my vegan enchiladas came out with rice and beans on the plate. So are the rice and beans vegan, or not? When I questioned the waiter and the owner, they tried to explain the apparent discrepancy, but their explanation just confused me.
A few other items to note:
The guacamole is vegan and is very good.
Our waiter was very accommodating when we wanted to have separate checks for the people in our group. Not all restaurants are so flexible.
The food is too bland for my taste. During this last outing, I ordered a side of their «hot salsa of the day», but I never received the salsa.
I wish they’d be more generous with their pre-​meal chips and salsa. There never seem to be enough of them. And I’d prefer if the salsa were served in little ceramic dishes instead of in plastic cups.
The burritos and tacos are served cool inside. This is done on purpose, and is apparently more authentically Mexican. OK, authenticity is good up to a point, but I’d rather have them be inauthentic but warm.
Toward the end of the meal, one member in our party had her plate removed before she was done eating. Her plate actually had quite a bit of food left on it. But she was in the middle of a conversation and didn’t notice that her plate had been cleared away until it was too late.
I really want to like Itacate. The owner is always there, and he’s attentive and friendly. I get the sense that he tries hard. But I think we might just go there for happy hour from now on, and skip the food.

So I received a nice reply from the owner and decided to give this restaurant another try. I put myself thru college working the line or in prep and I know kitchens have bad days. I seem to have caught them on another.
I try not to overuse words but «bland» is my go-​to when the flavor I expect is not there or underwhelming. I’ll need to use it in this review again. Chips and salsa started the meal and set the tone. The salsa was watery with very little substance to it, and bland. When I say watery I mean it would not even adhere to the chip. Very disappointing to miss on something this basic.
After being disappointed by the bland roja sauce on my last visit I made sure to try the verde and mole on this visit. The enchiladas were fine but nothing special… the sauces reminded me of the roja. Mole led and finished with sweetness and not much else. The verde was appealing to the eye but acidic and shallow on the tongue.
I don’t think I expect too much for an «authentic» Mexican establishment to get salsa and enchiladas right. I want very much to like Itacate, I just don’t.

12.16 update– Came in for a takeaway order. Everything was exceptional! Greeted, helped, and cashed out quickly. In and out in 5 minutes… I called 20 minutes ahead of time. Thanks!!!
The service wasn’t good. We waited for 15 minutes for drinks, per drink order. Our food didn’t come out together. Half the food came out and we waited another 10 minutes for the rest. Some food was lost in the process. The food itself was very good. I had the carnitas and they were very well done. The accoutrement of guac, onion/​cilantro, and salsa were very fresh. I’m chalking it up to a bad night but there seems to be a lack of communication in he kitchen. While I was waiting to settle the bill with the owner, another customer was waiting for a takeout order for quite a long time. The owner was very apologetic and took 50% off the bill, more than generous. I’ll try here again because I could see he was upset/​stressed and I can tell he wants to be better than that.

Finally getting around to posting this review after visiting with my wife a couple of weeks ago. This was our first time. We live just down the road, so we drive by all the time and had been meaning to give it a try. Glad we did!
We got there pretty early, around 5:30, and had a couple of drinks at the bar. I hadn’t had a margarita in years, so I ordered one and it was really good. We chatted with the owner for a while as he worked the bar (bartender had called in sick). Really nice, down-​to-​earth guy. We asked about the anti-​Corona sign on the wall and he had a funny story to tell about it.
Dinner was honestly way beyond our expectations. I’m not one to judge whether Mexican cuisine is authentic or not, but we both loved our food. The prices are almost confusingly low for what you get, too. Almost feels like robbery to get a meal like that for just over $ 30. We’ll obviously be back.

I am so at a loss for words for Itacate. So many people I know have been singing its praises for so long that the perfectly average experience I had the other night continues to let me down even today. Don’t get me wrong — certainly nothing was awful, but at the same time nothing was all that amazing either.
My friend from out of town had the Axiote chicken and I had the chile relleno with ground beef which both came with rice and housemade refried beans, but ultimately we both felt that everything was very plain, and worse off dry. His chicken was a leaner cut of white meat (or at the very minimum, trimmed of a lot of fat though it honestly seemed like chicken breast) because it was relatively springy (for lack of a better word), and none of the seasoning or spices seemed to penetrate the outer layer of it at all. As a result, even though we believe it was indeed cooked fresh, it still felt like we were eating a healthy Mexican frozen dinner you might find at some health food supermarket. There was nothing unctuous about that made you wanting more. It was just kind of there and perfectly fine for what it was, but it wasn’t juicy, and it totally fell flat in its completely boring nature. If I were to visit again, I don’t think I’d order it.
Sadly, the same held true for my chile relleno as well. Although the cheese was melted in and well proportioned for the amount served, nothing seemed to have any fat whatsoever. I mean obviously it was there because ground beef was used and it’s naturally fatty, but I swear, this was some ⁹⁴⁄₆ ground beef they were using in the dish. Don’t get me wrong — I don’t mind eating healthy, but I enjoy flavor. This had some decent heat and spice, but it didn’t have a nice mouth feel. It didn’t keep my mouth watering. It didn’t make me salivate and make me want to say nice things about it. By the end of the evening, finishing my plate became more of a chore rather than something I’d want to finish.
So I don’t know… I really don’t want to go back, but how can so many other people be wrong? Maybe it was just a bad night and time will tell, but it’ll definitely take some convincing before I step foot inside again.

Sorry I’m not on the same page with most of the Unilocal reviews for this place. I might return if I lived in Penfield, but would not recommend making a special trip out from rochester or another burb to come here.
A good friend and I came for dinner on a saturday night around 8pm; place was maybe half full which is a pretty good sign you’re in for a good dose of mediocrity. Our waiter was well intentioned but looked like he was 12 and a nervous wreck. We started out with one of the margaritas, dont remember which one except it was one of the more expensive ones. It tasted really strong and was warm. we actually had to add ice to it! weird
guac isn’t offered as an appetizer, but as a side, and is pretty small but only costs about $ 2.50.
I got the carne asada which seems to be popular. Again, very mediocre. It doesn’t even come with rice, Id rather have rice than the weird enchilada that came with it.
I would say the best part of the meal was the free quesadilla that came with the check-​in offer; though mind you it looked like a soft taco laid on its side and covered with sauce and cheese. definitely not a real quesadilla but it tasted pretty good.
I can see why this place has been pushing groupons lately

Had my best meal to date from this restaurant last night. Usually I go for the usual popular dishes that contain some kind of shredded meat. But I was determined to try something different and THANK MEXIGOODNESS that I did!
For $ 9.50 I got the
Pescado (fish) A La Veracruzana; A generous tilapia steak, pan seared and covered with salsa Veracruzana (olive, capers, oregano, cilantro, onion, tomato and more!). This came with a salad topped with what appeared to be fresh salsa and red rice. I was very impressed with the size of the fish… and more so with the taste! Maybe the best tilapia I’ve ever had. All the accompaniments complimented the fish, and each other. Though I could not help wishing that my rice came with beans. It’s the Caribbean in me.
Also need to mention that I FINALLLY got to try their Choco Flan ($ 4). That is chocolate cake at the bottom and flan on top baked together. Most delicious marriage of flavors.
I am a creature of habit when it comes to eating out. So clearly I finally found my regular dish at Itacate. Queso Fundido still remains my appetizer of choice :-)

Authentic southern Mexican style cooking, must try the jalapeño smoking margarita… if you dare!
Family owned, we all tried each other’s dishes and all were 5 stars out of 5!
If you are in Penfield, NY it’s a must go to place.

Best Mexican food in Rochester (well, Penfield). Came here with boyf on a Groupon and now have become a regular.
Their Awesome Sauce is WITCHCRAFT – I can’t understand how they make it so good.
Highlights:
–friendly, timely service
–Salsa dance lessons going on in the bar downstairs
–unlimited chips and salsa and the sals is chunky smokey and not too spicy
–super inexpensive a la carte items
–FREE quesadilla when you check in on Unilocal!
get yourself:
–a mole enchilada (available a la carte)
–some awesome sauce (if you can handle a bit spicier)
–a chicken tostada (juicy chunks of white meat)
–8′ beef burrito (super inexpensive and the beef is shredded and marinated and rich)
I am already planning my next adventure to Itacate. So glad this gem exists in our area.

The restaurant looks smaller than it is with dining upstairs and the bar downstairs. It’s a colorful place decked out with Mexican décor and a casual vibe with quick service.
As with most Mexican restaurants, we were served with complimentary chips and salsa. I didn’t forget to order my margarita this time! They put the Mmm in margaritas. They were excellent! The balance between flavor and alcohol was perfect.
I ordered carne asada with rajas, translated to lime marinated steak slices topped with julienne grilled mixed peppers and onions. The medium rare steak was juicy and tender with mild seasonings of salt and pepper, no overwhelming lime flavor. The dish also included a cheese enchilada drizzled with fresh pico, shredded lettuce, and sour cream; guacamole; a fresco cheese ball; and rice. The fresco cheese was mild flavored like fresh mozzy but more dense. The rice was soft, not mushy, and clings to the tomato base giving that slightly sweet flavor. I liked the texture of the guacamole — diced chunks of avocado mixed in and mildly seasoned with hints of lime.
Unilocal check in for a free quesadilla! I had the corizo in a corn tortilla topped with blended peppers and onions sauce.
Itacate hit the spot when the craving for Mexican was calling.