La Cueva... or Not

We like to try out local places that are supposed to be good values and good eats, so we made the trip to Aurora to check out a place called La Cueva Restaurant. The place was rated highly for good food, good margaritas, and nice decor.

We decided to try La Cueva (which means The Cave) for lunch and drove out Colfax to Aurora, pretty much stopping in the pit of a long tattooed arm that runs due east from the capital building in Denver. Parking along the street is a little bit of a hassle, though I believe there is rear parking for the restaurant. Walking in, we liked the tiled tables and half-Mexican-half-Western decor reminiscent of some of the trendy fish taco places in California. Promising.

We sat down and were served chips and salsa which weren't bad, except that there was too little salsa and the chips at the bottom of the pile were... soggy. Mmmm. Unfortunately, it's one of those places where more chips means more money. While we can afford it, why bother?

The menu looked interesting with a good mix of everything from tostadas to mole. The best dishes were in the $16.00 range so, as we were going for lunch, we went with some plates that were in the $9-10 range. Already we were not necessarily so impressed as, even for dinner prices, this wasn't looking like cheap eats for Denver Mexican food. I selected a plate with enchiladas, a taco, and a small burrito, smothered in both red and green chile. J got a plate with two taquitos, some guacamole, and beans and rice. To go along with the food, J got a corona and I had a frozen margarita. The plates came out quickly and were decent. The taquitos were probably the best of the items on either plate, but overall the food was not bad, but not fantastic. Even with my taste buds chilled by a second marg.

In the end, our bill amounted to about $43.00 including tip. That's a bit pricey for a 'cheap eats' place for lunch that included two plates of food, one beer, and two margaritas. Hmm... next time, we'll skip the trip to expensive cave food in Aurora and head for one of our other favorites closer to the modern era in downtown.