A spirit of abundance pervades Tequila House Fiesta Olé in Whitehall. Whether it’s the nearly 30 margaritas, the nearly 50 tequilas (and various permutations of flights you can order) or the pages and pages of tacos, enchiladas, burritos and fajitas on the menu, Tequila House Fiesta Olé has just about every craving—and crowd—covered.
“We aren’t just for families, or just a bar, or just for parties of big groups; we want to welcome everyone,” says chef and manager Miguel de la Torre, who’s been running the restaurant for the past four of its seven years of operation.
The unassuming atmosphere reflects this ideal. The décor is basic, hinting at its South-of-the-Border status without being ostentatious about it—a welcome change from the Mexican restaurants (chains, mostly) that Americans are familiar with. Floors have terra cotta tiles, the colors are muted red and green (two of the three colors on the Mexican flag) and the stamped-metal lampshades at each table feel rustic. Make no mistake, though, this is a Mexican spot—with Tex-Mex, American Mex and Mexican-Mexican thrown in. I’m not going to call the latter “authentic” Mexican, because I’m a white gal from New Jersey and who am I to make such claims? I’ll leave those ideas to de la Torre, a Mexico City native who says his childhood was spent “always in the kitchen.” Nevertheless, invoking questions about authenticity, when it comes to food, typically makes for some interesting debates. And we had some of those conversations.
The first item you’re likely to order at Tequila House is the guacamole. “Everyone gets it, it’s so popular,” says Zami Soto, de la Torre’s fiancée and assistant manager. At Tequila House, it’s available in a few different ways—the classic (as you would expect), a version that’s tropical, with mango and cucumber, and another one called “red” guacamole, with roasted garlic, olive oil and chipotle. These days, most decent Mexican restaurants are preparing guacamole tableside, which is as much for theatrics as it is to vouch for its veracity. But at Tequila House, it’s a major production, wheeled out on a cart that’s loaded with ingredients waiting to be incorporated into the enormous molcajete—that hollowed-out volcanic rock that guacamole is often served in. The guacamole represents the kitchen’s ethos; de la Torre stresses that everything is made fresh, daily. “No freezers,” he says. “We want to provide the kind of upscale service that you would expect in restaurants in Mexico City, which is a big, bustling city like New York, full of good places to eat,” he says.
We discuss the finer points of avocados in general and guacamole specifically. He notes that they don’t include lime in guacamole. I’ve heard more than once that omitting lime is more authentic.
“No lime. It tastes better without it,” he assures me.
The lime, then, is some kind of American twist, he says. I guessed that it was incorporated for restaurant service to keep the guacamole green—the acid inhibits browning. (It’s also a reason why you add lemon juice to sliced apples when you are making a pie.) He agrees, but says “you should try it with olive oil, it’s even better.” (Yes, indeed. This is why avocado toast is a thing. With salt and pepper.)
The menu is expansive. “People don’t think it’s a real Mexican place if the menu is short,” he says. It includes all the things you would expect, from tacos and enchiladas to fajitas (served tableside and sizzling, of course) and burritos. This, despite the fact that de la Torre repeatedly says that people think that Mexican food is just “burritos and hard-shell tacos. You don’t find hard-shell tacos in Mexico. Just soft corn ones, sometimes flour,” he says. When I joke with him about the fact that there are both tacos and burritos on the menu, he says, “Yes, but they are delicious, and we use corn tortillas.” Take, for instance, Tacos Gobernador—four corn tortillas with shrimp, roasted poblano peppers, sautéed onions and melted Chihuahua cheese, served with pico de gallo, refried beans, avocado and lemon. As for the burrito, he cites Burrito Yucatan as the most popular—it includes grilled chicken, zucchini, onions, tomatoes, sour cream, refried beans and Mexican rice. And the whole thing is topped with green salsa and melted cheese. “My favorite? It’s this one,” he says, pointing to Burrito de la Roqueta, which comes with either chicken or pork, melted cheese, pico de gallo and mole—you know, that signature smoky-sweet-spicy Mexican sauce. The favorites mostly stay intact; he says he tweaks the menu “every six or seven months; only a few things change.”
De la Torre oversees the menu development, but he’s not in the kitchen anymore, having left much of that behind in his native Mexico City, where it was not uncommon for him to cook for banquets with thousands of people. “It was crazy, very crazy,” he says. Some of the house specialties are worth checking out. People can’t seem to get enough of the ahi tuna tacos, with a mango pico de gallo, he says. And the shrimp tequila, although an appetizer, is substantive. The seafood is sautéed with red onions and garlic, plus a bit of chile guajillo and tequila, and served with warm corn tortillas and the house green sauce, a jalapeño emulsion. The salmon glazed with agave and a blend of chipotle and cinnamon is a signature. In fact, all four signature dishes, which also include spinach enchiladas, chicken stuffed with shrimp and roasted tilapia, offer some customization: you can choose the sauce you want it served with, such as mango lobster jalapeño, creamy chipotle or roasted poblano pumpkin.
Another aspect of Tequila House Fiesta Olé that may surprise you is its seemingly endless margarita list. They’re made with all fresh juices, in house, and many with house-infused tequilas. They feature some inventive combinations, whether it’s elderflower liqueur, hibiscus, limoncello or tamarind. (It’s not too dissimilar from the martini menus you would see in restaurants in the 2000s.) In conversation, de la Torre mentions that margaritas aren’t very Mexican—you don’t often see people drinking them. Again, it’s a bit of a head scratcher, how things translate to American palates. The origins of the drink are even more circumspect, with many different stories floating around as to who invented the margarita, where and when. Whatever the truth is, he is a purist about it. “I prefer mine on the rocks, always,” he says. And you can’t have a margarita without tequila, and there’s no shortage of that. The re-branding of this restaurant as Tequila House Fiesta Olé means you’ve got about 46 different ones, and they’re available in various kinds of flights.
If you need to finish the evening with something sweet, traditional flan, vanilla custard with caramel, is on the menu, and so are fried ice cream and churros—all typical Mexican treats. (He singles out the fried ice cream as especially popular.) For something completely indulgent, the crepes dulce de leche are a French-Mexican mash-up, with pecans, powdered sugar, dulce de leche and chocolate sauce—served with vanilla ice cream.
“What can I say? We have lots of options. Everything is very good,” says de la Torre.
Tequila House Fiesta Olé
1808 MacArthur Rd., Whitehall | 484.664.7109
Hours:
Sun.-Mon. noon-9:30 p.m., Tues.-Wed. noon-10 p.m., Thurs. noon-11 p.m., Fri.-Sat. noon-midnight.
Parking:
Parking lot onsite
Reservations:
Recommended for the weekend; you can call or use OpenTable
Specials:
Live entertainment Friday and Saturday nights, starting around 6 p.m. Fridays feature Mexican guitar music and boleros; Saturdays are geared toward Latin pop music covers and originals.
What to Order:
The copious amount of margaritas and tequilas should keep you busy for a while. The house piña colada is served right in a fresh pineapple, and they do a twist on the mojito, but with mezcal. In terms of food? Fish tacos, the shrimp tequila and the queso fundido are all popular, along with the salmon glazed with agave.
Specials:
Happy Hour: Mon.-Fri. 4:30-6 p.m. and Sat.-Sun. 3:30-5:30 p.m., house margaritas and house wines are $4.50. Food specials vary from half-price enchiladas to Taco Tuesday—tacos are $2.50 each.
