Founded in Ottawa in 1979, Mexicali Rosa's (Mexi's) is a restaurant that serves "California Style Mexican Food". Mexi's has two locations in New Brunswick: Moncton and Quispamsis (opened February 2022). We decided to go to the Quispamsis location as soon as we heard that they were open. Both locations will be divided in this blog entry like I've been doing with other restaurants with multiple locations.
Mexicali Rosa's Quispamsis (KV Mexi's)
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| KV Mexi's Carne Nachos - February 2024 |
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| KV Mexi's Chipotle Chicken Supreme - December 2023 |
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| KV Mexi's Carne Nachos - November 2023 |
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| KV Mexi's Carne Nachos (round II) - April 2023 |
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| KV Mexi's Carne (Burnt) Nachos - April 2023 |
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Kv Mexi's Carne Nachos - April 2023
 | Kv Mexi's Carne Nachos - April 2023
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 | Kv Mexi's Carne Nachos - April 2023
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| KV Mexi's Carne (beef) Nachos - October 2022 |
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| KV Mexi's Chicken Wing Nachos - June 2022 |
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| KV Mexi's Veggie Nachos - March 2022 |
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| KV Mexi's Veggie Nachos - March 2022 |
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| KV Mexi's Carne (beef) Nachos - February 2022 |
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| KV Mexi's Carne (beef) Nachos - February 2022 |
Distribution of Toppings
These single-layer nachos had toppings and cheese on every chip. Of course with just the one layer of chips, it is not hard to have good distribution of toppings.
Quality
Each large, crispy chip had plenty of spicy beef - every bite was an explosion of flavor! I thought the beef had just the right amount of kick to it, and was nice and juicy. If I were to convert it to the chicken wing sauce hotness scale, I would say it was a "medium" spice. These nachos do come with sauce on them, and I usually do not like having sauce on the chips, but these chips were not drenched in the sauce - you get a nice drizzle of it. They did well in terms of the toast factor; however, there could have been a little more cheese on the chips. I recommend ordering extra cheese on these nachos if you are looking for a really cheesy experience.
The veggie nachos had so much variety of veggies where every bite was an epic mountain of flavour.
The experience of the Chicken Wing Nachos might have been biased because we watched the Seadogs win the Memorial Cup while eating these. How can you say you had bad nachos while seeing your local hockey team win the cup? I'll have to have them again when I am not so distracted!
The Chipotle Chicken Supreme Nachos feature onions, bacon, green peppers, mushrooms, and tomatoes. This makes for a variety of complex flavor combinations, and we thoroughly enjoyed the experience.
Value
There are six different kinds of nachos you can order with two different sizes: Mexicali (Reg $12.99, Lrg $15.99), Veggie (Reg $15.99, Lrg $18.99), Carne (Reg $17.99 Lrg $24.99), Con Pollo (Reg $17.99, Lrg $24.99), Chicken Wing (Reg $19.99 Lrg $25.99), and Chipotle Chicken Supreme (Reg 20.99, Lrg $26.99). These are pretty pricey considering the smaller quantity, given their occasional lapses in quality as seen in the photos.
Quantity
We shared the nachos as a meal and we were satisfied afterwards.
Conclusion
I have had every kind of nachos that are offered at Mexicali Rosa's and they are consistent in a few things: single layering, skimping on cheese, and higher than average prices. However, Mexi's is a very fun place to visit and the nachos have high quality toppings, sauces, extra chips, fun drinks, good music, delicious beef, etc. If you are looking for an overall good time, I would recommend Mexi's. If you are looking for the best nachos, there are
other places that surpass Mexi's.
Nacho Blog Rating B+
Mexicali Rosa's Moncton
We went to the Moncton location in 2018 and had to make another visit in 2021 in order to be updated on Mexicali Rosa's nacho experience. We ended up having two plates of nachos (Con Pollo & Chipotle Chicken) and left very happy and satisfied. Let's see what we had to say!
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| Mexi's Chipotle Chicken Nachos - August 2021 |
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| Mexi's Chipotle Chicken Nachos - August 2021 |
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| Mexi's Con Pollo Nachos - August 2021 |
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| Mexi's Con Pollo Nachos - August 2021 |
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| Mexi's Gringo Nachos - October 2018 |
Distribution of Toppings
Regarding the Con Pollo nachos, there could have been more toppings on the outside chips. That being said, for both plates there was something for every chip. Until the very last bite my mouth took in a whole bunch of flavors and I was very happy with the overall distribution of toppings. However, it was hard not to have a good distribution of toppings with the nachos having only one layer. I made the same argument for
Peddlers Creek.
Quality
I found the Con Pollo nachos to be a little bland in flavor. That could be expected when you are ordering nachos with mostly chicken and cheese and then you order another plate which would seem like the "works" of nachos. I was really interested in the Con Pollo Nachos because the owner of
Costa Nachos said that she got her inspiration from these nachos. The Mexi's Chipotle Chicken Nachos had everything you could need in a nacho. It had the bacon and honey chipotle sauce which I enjoyed (despite not really being a sauce lover) and I appreciated how the sauce did not make the chips soggy. I also enjoyed how the Chipotle Chicken Nachos had more veggies and just a big mouthful of flavor.
Value
The Con Pollo Nachos are $20 and the Chipotle Chicken Nachos are $22. These plates come with a salsa or a sour cream. I think the quality is pretty good; however, for a smaller amount of chips than usual, the price needs to be a little lower in order to be considered a good value.
Quantity
I think that one plate is good for one person for a meal. I was pretty full by the time we got to the second plate which was the Chipotle Nachos.
Conclusion
Mexicali Rosa's is a very fun place to go. It has a good atmosphere, you get delicious tortilla chips offered as a free appetizer, great margaritas and good quality nachos. While the quality sets Mexi's apart from the competition in Moncton, I think they should add more chips to increase the quantity rating as well as the value. I still stand by the same rating I gave them back in 2018 so this means they are consistent!
Nacho Blog Rating: A-
