Blue Mesa Grill

I love this place. I think of Blue Mesa Grill as my first American (new) food sub genre experience.
Everything I’ve ever ordered here has been delicious. And, I’m a big fan of the variety of chips and salsa offered at every table. When I needed a place to bring someone for their first margarita, Blue Mesa was the obvious choice. The waiter and bartender took great care of her, using better tequila that I paid for and and adding special care to the creation of the drink to suit the occasion.
Service is always great. And the atmosphere inside feels modern and classy for a chain restaurant. Blue Mesa also provides outdoor seating in pleasant weather.
This particular visit I came here on a Sunday afternoon in order to bowl of the Painted the Desert Soup, my first time to try this dish. It’s a bowl with half black bean soup and half corn chowder. The black bean soup had a robust, lime — influenced flavor, and the corn chowder was creamy and sweet. Over-​the-​top was a dab of pico and a spicy sour cream drizzle. It was absolutely fantastic, and on par with both flavor and presentation of all the food here. I also tried a cup of coffee, which was surprisingly smooth and had a touch of cinnamon. I don’t know why it surprised me that Blue Mesa offered great coffee, but they certainly do!
No gaps in the menu, great drink offerings, fun atmosphere, Blue Mesa is a winner!

I have had Blue Mesa Grill when my office catered it on two (2) occasions and then coming here to experience their brunch special. Blue Mesa is known for their Adobe Pies, which I frankly don’t understand the appeal. I like savory and sweet combinations but these Adobe Pies are so dry if not anything else. I will eat part of one during brunch to see if there is any variation, but I haven’t had one that is good enough to eat more than one (1) bite of. I’m sure everyone will recommend them, since they are known for them but do not let the Adobe Pies determine your critic of this restaurant. They offer many other selections.
Brunch — All you can eat & drink ~$ 20
What more could you ask for?! You get to sample the majority of their menu for one price.
Included drinks — Water, orange juice, coffee, unsweetened tea, mimosas, champagne, and one other alcoholic drink that escapes me for the moment. They offer agua frescas at the dessert table.
+ There is so many food offerings that I could not possible comment on them all
1. Omelet bar is amazing. You can customize an omelet, get an egg cooked the way you like it, or have a freshly made eggs benedict.
2. Dessert bar — Many options and there’s so much whipped cream
2a. I think they consider the waffle station as apart of the dessert bar.
3. There was a watermelon agua fresca offered at the dessert bar table during one visit but I know they do change it up occasionally.
4. Famous adobe pies are there which I like, but it’s probably more of the corn mash that I fancy
5. SOOO many other options from their typical menu
One major con = Usually a long wait if you don’t go early.

We tried this location about 6PM on a Tuesday for dinner while in the area. When reading past reviews, we lucked out and this was no wait and plenty of tables open. A complimentary mixture of corn and sweet potato chips with red and smokey red salsas were served to the table.
The menu is Southwestern influenced food. I had the beef, chicken, and avocado black bean-​goat cheese street tacos (you can choose 3) with sides of smokey black beans and chicken adobe pie. The tacos looked small but, left me very full after eating them and the sides. All the tacos were good, the side of adobe chicken pie stood out as really good. My wife had the smoked chicken enchiladas with an additional side of ginger rice. I sampled both and found them to be satisfactory.
The service was friendly, adjusted their volume to be heard as needed, and moved fast throughout dinner. The teas and water were kept well topped off.
Thirty minutes into dinner, several large parties were seated as well as the bar becoming extremely packed. As the drinks started to flow, the noise level and crowd picked up rather significantly were it became not unlike eating in the stands of an over enthusiastic little league baseball game. Fine if that’s what you are in the mood for.
A solid choice if you are in the area and get in before the crowd starts.

When it comes to food, Blue Mesa is one of my «must go to» restaurant stops when I’m in town. However, I often find it hard to convince my family to come along with me because the service is not always on point…
They serve three different kind of chips to the table (black, white, & sweet potato), and two different kinds of salsa. The street tacos with the black beans and jasmine rice are my favorite. Most of their dishes are served with corn matzo which is absolutely delicious.
Hidden Deals: Join the Chiliheads club and you’ll be emailed a free appetizer each month! I have really enjoyed trying some of their different appetizers out over the years.

As reviewed by other Unilocal Sunday Brunchers. Great offerings and good tasting. Food replenished and maintained at the intimately lit buffet tables.
Also as indicated by other kind Unilocalers, too many people and not enough wait staff. Management may be behind the scenes in the kitchen, but for crowd control a visible manager might be effected to manage in today’s case, the pooling of shepardless people to allow freedom of movement and ease server and guest flow to navigate the restaurant and table.
As a former wait staff, it’s hard to serve a crowd, and perhaps… the staff would benefit from a brush up on table service and refilling of water, etc.
Nice spot, but would not return for brunch until staffing can be supported. (Hint)

I can’t complain about the Happy Hour situation. Yes, it’s packed. No, there are never free tables. Yes, the staff hates you and everything you stand for. No, it’s not better on weeknights.
But still, it’s so cheap, and I have never gotten anything less than a solid buzz from a single drink, and sometimes, I’ve even gotten a little drunk from one. (Go for the mojito, skip the blue marg.) Plus, unlimited quesadillas are my favorite kind of quesadillas (especially the grilled veggie ones, unf) and I die over those sweet potato chips every time.
The best way to do Happy Hour is to order your drinks at the bar, sip them happily while you stand in line for cheesy goodness, then mean mug the lingering couple in the corner until they vacate their table, then swoop in. Don’t even bother with a waiter unless you’re dying for a seat on the patio– but the ambiance isn’t much better there, anyway, so why bother?

I have been to Blue Mesa for brunch a few times with my family.
The drill is: $ 20 per person, all you can eat and bottomless mimosas.
The hrs are 11 – 3 and if you get there at any time before 2PM be ready for a LOOOOOOOOOONNNNNGGGG wait for a table.
Once you made it in, they have several different «stations» with food.
The first station has chips, several kinds of salsa and guacamole. You can also find salad with different dressings.
There is another station of made-​to-​order eggs, like omelets, eggs Benedict etc.
The next station is breakfast type stuff, like sausage, potatoes and already made eggs so you don’t have to wait in line.
Next station is lunch stuff, like enchiladas, corn cakes (delicious) rice, beans etc.
The next station is «guisados» so that means stuff to make tacos out of, like picadillo, chicken tinga etc, you can also find freshly made flour tortillas here.
What? Did you think that was it? NO! There is also a waffle station (AKA my-​jam).
The waffle station has pecans, whipped cream, strawberry compote, ICE CREAM! and other stuff that apparently people put on their waffles.
The last but not least, the dessert station with mini flan, mini cheesecake, and other mini things. Not all of them are very good, to be honest, but the flan and churro bites are good.
Ok, so after all of that long list of things, Why am I giving it only 2 stars?
–The food is SUPER cold, so even if the flavors are delicious, it’s kind of hard to like an enchilada that has a lump of gross cold cheese inside.
–Waiters are super busy, which means you have to wait forever to get plates, the plates are not at each food station like at other places, which means that if you are lucky and the waiter sees you, you have to wait like 20 minutes for a clean plate.
–Impossible to get drinks/​refills, you can call your drinks bottomless all you want, but there are not so much when you can’t get someone to get you one.
–Mimosas? More like Ice juice with a splash of orange and maybe some champagne hiding somewhere. Seriously, WTH?
–There is a fly party extravaganza!
I don’t think I will be going back. Their variety is pretty impressive, but the food needs to be warmer and if they can’t get the staff to get you plates or drinks, they should have those available for self service.

Impressive extensive brunch buffet. It is $ 20/​person and includes drinks (tea, soda, champagne, and mimosa). Waitstaff… could be better.
The quality is okay to good but not very great. I did notice quite a few drinks or food that were kind of watered down tasting. But you can definitely find something to eat here! Although for a Mexican restaurant, we could not find the queso for our chips and salsa or tacos. We were deceived when there was an enormous bowl of corn chowder near the chips and salsa. We all grabbed some thinking it was queso.
Omelette bar was my favorite area. You can order eggs or omelettes however you want it. They also offer huevos rancheros or eggs Benedict.
The waffles were of tougher batter. not the soft kind of waffles. tacos were good, although the brisket was bit too salty. Both salsas were a bit watered down and not a whole lot of flavor to it, nor spicy. A lot of choices for dessert, but still didn’t find one worth going back for.
It was very busy when we got there at 1pm and had a short wait. Our table was in an unfortunate corner, where I sat near an open entrance where servers were walking back and forth wheeling a cart, so I constantly had to maneuver my chair so they can get by.
Now the waitstaff. Sure they are good on bringing by the drinks most of the time. But we did sit down for a bit wanting to put our drink orders in before we went off to the buffet. But our dirty plates kept piling up and we were constantly waiting for clean plates. I found myself having to constantly flag someone down or using the tiny bowls/​plate at the buffet. I also had to flag someone down for coffee towards the end. It’s like they weren’t caring about us after the beginning providing the drinks.
I think the only way we would come back if someone else wanted to go for a group brunch. But I didn’t feel like I got my $ 20 worth of buffet.

My whole family has been a fan of Blue Mesa for years, so it was an expected lunch choice when we were passing and hungry. Obviously, being fans, we had all dined at the location several times and were very excited for what we thought would be a delicious meal. Unfortunately we were thrown for a loop.
Initially the chips were up to par, but when we asked for a refill of just sweet potato chips, they looked like they had come straight from the incinerator. Our food was perfectly timed with our burnt chips, so the let down was temporarily forgotten. I ordered my usual Coriander Crusted Chicken Salad because it has always consisted of perfectly cooked chicken atop a wonderful salad. It looked normal… but the first few bites of lettuce were strangely fishy. I am not sure if I got accustomed to the taste, but the disgusting flavor did go away. The rest of the salad was decent, but even the chicken did not taste as good as it normally does.
Even though the fish taste faded from my mouth as I ate my dish, it came back with a horrible vengeance after trying my mother’s salmon. She was trying to switch up her order from her normal and fabulous dish and went with the Seafood Mixed Grill. Now I realize complaining about the fishy taste of fish might not make sense, but there is a difference between good, fresh fish and whatever was put on her plate. One should not be able to taste the Fancy Feast Factory as they bite into a filet of salmon.
I don’t know if my dad was agreeing just to agree but even he complained about his food, which is never really an occurrence. I did not try his plate so I cannot consent to its unpalatableness. Anyways I am giving the restaurant one star for my meal and my mom’s salmon and an additional star for that first basket of chips and every previous time I’ve dined and enjoyed the food. Hopefully this experience was a one-​time deal because I’m sure my family will insist on returning some day.

Ate here for the first time yesterday & just loved it. Our waiter was very nice (a man, not sure of his name), the food was excellent. Husband had the hatch relleno tacos & I had chicken quesadillas. Both super good. The chips & salsa are great, the ginger rice is a nice touch, & the margaritas are blue. Very nice & unexpectedly creative food & atmosphere in a somewhat boring white bread J Crew part of town.

Haven’t visited here in about ten years. Same great décor – timeless. Excellent service and seating. Table salsa and chips were still excellent. One general difference I did notice was that food needed salting. But that’s a preference of mine. Entrees and table side guacamole were amply served. Their guacamole is just about the very best restaurant version I’ve had. My entrée consisting of marinated beef and chicken skewers was very dry and tough. I imagine those skewers were not cooked to order, rather, grilled ahead of time and kept under a food warmer.
I’m returning soon — for the M-​F happy hour mojitos/​margaritas and the guacamole/​appetizers. RECOMMENDED.

My new favorite tequila bar! And the tortilla soup is really delicious but could use some spicy pepper.

The happy hour is amazing. You just order a margarita and you get access to the quesadilla bar for free.
This location is in the middle of the shopping center too. It also isn’t crowded like I thought it would be. Very spacious and good customer service.

We had a great dining experience at Blue Mesa Grill last night. For starters, the chips and salsa was amazingly fresh. They gave us two different salsas: one was a smoky version, while the other was not. The tortilla chips were properly seasoned, but the star was the sweet potato chips.
My husband and I ordered Bloody Mary’s from the bar, and they were among the best we have consumed.
However, the main course entrees were phenomenal. I ordered the street tacos (shrimp, avocado and goat cheese, and BBQ Pulled Pork) which were properly seasoned. My husband ordered JB’s Platter, which included some of their better meat dishes.
Our service was also good, which is a huge plus. We will definitely be back.

Blue Mesa, I owe you an apology. Sort of.
Since my first review of this place, I will admit I have been back 2 – 3 times — once for dinner, and the rest during their happy hour. Dinner admittedly was very good and a much better experience than happy hour; the drinks were much better, our staff was much more attentive, and the food was actually great! I have no bad memories of the actual dinner experience.
Happy hour, however, continues to give me a headache. It’s just such a good deal, so I feel bad throwing it out the window immediately, so I found myself slinking back one, two times, hoping for a better experience. I will say, since I now knew how the happy hour worked, I didn’t have to deal with the host stand and their potentially annoyed reactions, so it was already off to a better start. The drinks were much better, but I can’t say that they were strong at all like some people claim. Maybe I’ve built up a tequila tolerance? Haha.
I think the absolute worst thing about Blue Mesa’s happy hour is the SERVICE, or lack of it. I understand that it’s always packed, so the waitstaff is busy, but since they are only serving drinks without worrying about food orders, I would think they would be more prompt. Every time I’ve been, the biggest struggle is tracking down our waiter to both put in an order and to close out. Frankly, its annoying. The last time I went, my friend and I had the benefit of getting the grumpiest waiter we’ve ever had. He didn’t greet us when he finally came over to take our order; rather, he walked over and just said, «Alright, what do you want.» Really? Hello to you to!
I just don’t know. I want to love this place so much, but the second I find a better happy hour, or just can’t stand the service any longer, I don’t think I’m coming back.

Excellent Happy hour with free hors d’ oeuvres and inexpensive adult beverages! Sunday brunch is tasty with bright friendly atmosphere. We love to come with friends and sit at the bar during happy hour. Dottie and Mary Erin will give you a good pour.

Ive been here numerous times for their happy hour which is really awesome! Whenever I’ve gone I get there early, right at 4pm on weekdays and get seats at the bar and get my complimentary quesadillas and $ 4 drinks. The lady who cooks the quesadillas is always very sweet, and I haven’t had any problems with the bartenders.
Now I’ve only dined here once, which was this past weekend. And lemme tell you, do NOT bring big groups to this establishment. I never felt so neglected at a restaurant. We had to bombard our waiter, Arnold, with requests when he brought our food because we realized it would take another hour for us to see him again! We filled our own drinks more than half the time, and realized we should’ve asked for our checks as soon as we got our food too. I can understand when the restaurant is busy and it’s hard to keep up, but seriously, I feel like I could hear more crickets than people. It was NOT busy. We were there from 4−6pm on a Sunday… Really? And we had to go to the bar to get drinks since our waiter barely ever saw us. EXTREMELY DISAPPOINTED. Everyone was satisfied with their food, and I would’ve scored higher but I personally cannot tolerate poor service. I’ve been there before and have worked as a waitress and it’s such a basic concept of checking on your table often enough for anything they may need, but we were left behind in the dust. I will NOT dine here again. I’ll just enjoy their happy hour every now and then instead.

I have only ever been to Blue Mesa for brunch on Sunday and it has ALWAYS been amazing. The perfect mix of breakfast and lunch items. The food is fresh, flavorful, and bright.
The brunch has a perfect balance of sweet and savory and the buffet includes the following plus some: waffle bar, eggs cooked to order, salsa, guacamole, fajitas, fresh tortillas, ham, enchiladas, migas, ETC, ETC!
The brunch price includes as many mimosas as you want or whatever other non alcoholic drink.
My only advice is to go as soon as they open, otherwise, the wait can get crazy and it can get very crowded.

For a nice restaurant in a nice area, I was extremely disappointed in Blue Mesa Grill. Normally, I base my reviews mainly on the food, because that’s what is most important to me. However, the service here was so unexceptionally bad that I had to give them one star.
Service — ¹⁄₁₀
We had reservations for 20 on a Friday night, and they had the table reserved for us. At first, they were courteous to us. However, their moods quickly changed.
The first problem happened when people started going to get the quesadilla happy hour. We honestly didn’t know that the quesadillas could only be eaten in the bar area, so we stopped getting it. Honestly, only about 5 people out of 20 went to get them, and we stopped after they told us. But the manager literally came up to us, and started yelling and scolding us. We were treated like children. We weren’t spoken to with respect or an ounce of kindness. I honestly don’t know why they would hire someone like that to manage the restaurant. I’ve never been treated that way before. Some people in the party even felt like they weren’t welcome in the restaurant and wanted to leave.
Second, the waitress wasn’t courteous or polite the ENTIRE time she served us. She’s probably one of the rudest waitress’s I’ve ever had and spoke to us in a very curt tone.
Third, we still had people arriving, and they gave away one of our tables. When they came to do that, we stated that we had specifically reserved for 20 people, but they didn’t even care and proceeded to give away our table. Then they tried to accommodate us by giving us a table that was at an odd angle to our table. When we attempted to move it, the manager and TWO other waitstaff came to scold us once again. They told us we weren’t allowed to move the table, but they were the ones who gave away one of our tables in our first place. It almost seemed like none of the waitstaff wanted us there, like we weren’t welcome in our restaurant.
We all ordered a lot of food and alcohol, so our tab was pretty big. The waitress even proceeded to give herself a 20% tip for unbelievably bad service.
Food — ⁶⁄₁₀
The menu was fairly small. I had the street tacos, and they were pretty good. The steak taco was very very good though. I don’t like steak normally, but it was extremely tender. My friends also said the tortilla soup was really good as well.
Overall, this is probably one of my worst dining experiences. Normally, it’s the food that I focus on, but the dinner was so frustrating that the food no longer even mattered. The food was alright, but the service was terrible. If you want to be treated with respect, I don’t recommend going here.

This place is awesome. I used to be quite the regular here when I lived down the street and attended tcu.
First, they have one of the best happy hours I’ve been to! $ 4 drinks, there mojitos are delicious and their margaritas are great also. In addition to the happy hour, complimentary quesadillas and nachos?! They even have tacos on some nights. So basically have a few cheap drinks and get a free AYCE dinner, sounds great to me. Especially as the quesadillas are made fresh to order as you just have to head to the grill.
Now Sunday brunch. Omgosh, unlimited mimosas or poinsettias and it’s a AYCE brunch. All the food options are so good! They have things for everyone and even have a omelette bar where you can have them make your omelette how you like, and also where you can get some eggs Benedict! And if you’re wanting some sweets, do not sweat it, as there are a TON of options. The Belgian waffles are oh soo fluffy and there is just so much to choose from. If you haven’t been yet, you just have to go.