What a delight to have another Mexican restaurant in Uptown Saint John after the sad departure of Taco Pica back in 2020. You can follow them on instagram @ abuelitas_restaurant. Abuelita's opened its doors in the fall of 2024, and it was only a matter of time before I journeyed over there to have their nachos. The owner of Abuelita's is also the owner of El Patron food truck and the word "abuelita" refers to his mother. I must admit that it is hard to review a new business (as I write this entry, they have been open for a few months), because this entry will be similar to my Casa Latina entry. I really love and appreciate that there are more latin options in Saint John, but I really think I should be ordering something other than nachos at these places. Kind of a side note, but I did order something different on a subsequent visit to Casa Latina and it blew my mind!
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| Abuelita's Birria Nachos - January 2025 |
Distribution of Toppings
The distribution of toppings was pretty good. There were a lot of toppings and there was something for most of the chips, but I want to note that there was not a lot of cheese on those nachos.
Quality
There was not much of a toast factor and there were visible shreds of cheese on the nachos. The birria was very tasty and not too salty. The chips were well seasoned and were nice and crispy. The spice level was pretty good and I loved how there was cilantro on them to really make the taste pop. There was a generous amount of crema and another sauce drizzled on top, but there was no salsa or sour cream offered as dips but we did have some of the best guacamole I've had in a very long time. So much flavor! So fresh! Extra cheese is definitely recommended because they don't put much on these nachos by default.
Quantity
The nachos were enough for one person or to share as a snack/appetizer. Relatively speaking, it was a pretty small tray of nachos.
Service
We were not offered any salsa or sour cream or hot sauces which I think could have really added to the value. After finishing the nachos, I noticed the table next to us was provided a whole selection of hot sauces, and seemed to receive much friendlier service. Our server seemed kind of lost - I noticed our tray of nachos sitting for quite some time at the kitchen window, waiting to be brought to our table.
Value
Birria nachos are $21. We also ordered the guacamole and chips as an appetizer but it all came out together - that's where we got the guacamole. For this price I would normally expect a large tray of nachos. Despite the great taste and gourmet touch, I think these nachos are pricey considering the quantity and service.
Conclusion
There were definitely some aspects of those nachos that I enjoyed because the overall taste was pretty good. However, there are some aspects that bring down the grade like the lack of cheese, lacking toast factor, higher price for the quantity, and sub-par service. I really want to go back and try something different because I know they would have solid food and I really appreciate that there is another Mexican restaurant in Saint John.
Nacho Blog Rating: C+