Fred's Mexican Cafe (Downtown Huntington Beach)

food: 3.5/5

experience: 3.5/5

overall: 3.5/5

Wow. Well I can't say my first experience here was that great but I'll get to that in a second. I always give places second chances though (yes, so thoughtful) but we did get off to a bad start.

We decided to come here after I was getting tired of the current restaurants in rotation (and also felt awkward repeatedly going to the same places weekend after weekend). It's Mexican so it's bound to be at least decent (hard to get cheese and meat wrong), plus it has a gorgeous view of either Main Street or the beach. Thankfully our waitress seated us in front of the beach this time. So we were off to a good start.

We shared a bunch of appetizers first. First we opted for the ceviche to start with, plus the queso dip.

Ceviche is cold shrimp and white fish with salsa fresca - usually tomatoes, peppers, cilantro, and red onion - plus avocado on top. Served chilled, this tastes super fresh and super healthy. The queso dip on the other hand tastes decidedly unhealthy. Not in a bad way but, well, it's basically nacho cheese. It's spicy too. It's very thick and has a crust kind of. You can get it with guacamole too, or get the guac by itself. Guac is guac to me and it always seems overpriced.

Next we tried the chicken quesadilla, which you can also get with shrimp or steak. But we didn't.

Tons of chicken in there. Very hearty. The tortilla is grilled crisp and they have a couple different cheeses in there I believe. Maybe jack and mozzarella? Probably. Not too much cheese though. Mostly chicken. Which is good for me because me and cheese don't always get along.

And last, the Mexican crab cakes, a.k.a. "chicken chingaderas" (but it says crab cakes on the menu...), which they say they invented. Chicken, rice, beans, cheese, seasoned and breaded, topped with Acapulco crema and salsa. That Acapulco crema, man. It's like creamy cilantro sauce. I couldn't stop eating it. Well, I could, once it was gone. The interior is a hearty combo of black beans, cheese, bits of chicken, all surrounded by fried bread crumbs which are moist on the inside. Very gooey inside with a crisp exterior - the best of both worlds. There is no crab in here to be sure, but they're still great. I'm pretty sure there's corn though judging by my reaction post-chingadera.

Oh right so the bad experience. On my way out I was waiting for my friend to come out of the bathroom and some waiter dude approaches me and tells me I have to wear a mask. I tell him I have a disability (I do). He harps on me blah blah disabilities don't count unless you have an oxygen tank because dictator Newsom said so, we have the right to refuse you service and I am ordering you to leave. Very nasty. Thankfully I was already on my way out. I had a mind to tell him I wouldn't be back but no point wasting my energy. So I contacted the manager. And thankfully she resolved the situation and sent me two complimentary meal cards. (Unfortunately I didn't know they were one-time use and was planning on saving the remainder so I didn't spend the full amount...ugh) So my journey through the menu continued.

They have three types of burgers on the menu. The Fred, the Señorita and the Saint Guacamole. The Fred is the basic American cheeseburger with American cheese, lettuce, red onion, and tomato. You can add carnitas to it (to all?) which is interesting. The brioche bun is delicious because I believe they butter it and grill it. The burger is alright. Certified Angus, 1/3 lb. Not the best beef I've had. They also didn't ask how I like it cooked so I'm guessing it was medium. Their fries are bomb though. It seems like they're battered. Nice and crispy and thick-cut.

I also tried the chicken patty. This time I got the Señorita which has Swiss cheese and mushrooms. Their chicken patty is really big, and delicious. The Swiss, mushrooms and onions combo was nice and savory as well. Again comes with those delicious irresistible fries. Only burger I didn't try was the Saint Guacamole which has guac, Swiss, bacon, and lettuce tomato onion. Sounds decadent.

The blackened ahi sandwich should be under the "comes with fries" too since it does but it's under specialties. This is a thick, thick slab of ahi cooked medium rare so it's super juicy inside. I wish I could show you how huge this thing is but the photo doesn't do it justice. It's seasoned but you can't really tell. They put a ton of sauce on the top and bottom. Comes with lettuce, red onion, tomato, plus the nice sweet brioche bun again. Pretty satisfying and you can almost trick yourself into thinking it's healthy.

Their burritos are huge. They say they weigh more than a pound. I thought, meh, I've had a big burrito before. No. Look at the hand for scale.

This is a forearm size burrito. They have four kinds: grilled chicken (same as the quesadilla - good stuff), carne asada, surf & turf (Cajun shrimp (in the tacos, below) and steak), and the Classic California (steak with those delicious thick-cut fries and guac). I got the one with carne asada because it has "Acapulco cream" in it. Which is just a basic cream sauce I guess. But they pack this thing full of steak, or whatever kind of meat you wanna get, plus plenty of beans, and rice and lettuce. The tortilla is even good. It tastes whole grain or something. They're all topped with savory red enchilada sauce and two kinds of cheeses. For better or for worse, I ate this entire thing. This is what fasting will do to you.

Alright, finally. The tacos. The main attraction. They have carnitas (not a fan), carne asada (which I had in the burrito - delish), chicken (above), baja fish, Cajun shrimp (which I got in the fajitas, below), swordfish (award-winning, even), mahi mahi, and ahi tuna (which you can get as a sandwich, below). All come with a side of black beans with cotija cheese and Mexican rice. Good Mexican rice. Not bland, mushy Mexican rice. Fred's rice is really good.

Baja fish is battered fish. The best kind of fish taco. Well, I can appreciate both kinds. But I do love fish and chips and I love them especially in taco form. Crispy, delicious battered cod, and a good chunk of it too.

Next had to try the award-winner, the swordfish. Swordfish is very thick and has a very fishy flavor. It's blackened which is even better. I'm not sure these are award-worthy material but they are solid fish tacos nonetheless.

Last, the mahi mahi tacos. These are decent. Mahi is a good fish. It's a solid fish taco but it doesn't call out to me. It'll do, though. And you can get a carne asada taco combo with four rolled tacos on the side. That sums up the taco selection.

The fajitas plate is pretty big. As mentioned above I got the Cajun shrimp. It's spicy, just so you know. And I'm used to spice so I mean it. Beware if you're sensitive. It comes with eight shrimps plus a ton of peppers, onions, and mushrooms. And a second plate with the beans, rice, and tortillas. Lotsa food. I'm not a huge fan of their shrimp to be honest. I've had better Cajun shrimp. It's likely better as a taco with the pineapple pico on top. Other fajitas include chicken, carne asada, and surf 'n turf (shrimp and steak).

Salads! Kinda healthy, right? It's basically a fact that a bed of lettuce cancels out all the other unhealthy food you're eating on top. Basically.

This is the Surf City salad, supremely modified. It comes with corn, tortilla strips, and strawberries. I nixed all that and subbed blueberries, plus added some onions. So it's basically my own creation. Therefore it is good. The chicken is on the dry side though. It's the same chicken they put in all their salads unless you sub it for shrimp or carne asada. The dressing is supposed to be citrus vinaigrette. I guess that's what it tastes like. It's a subtle citrus-flavored sweet vinegar.

The grilled chicken tostada isn't so much a tostada as a salad on top of a large tostada chip. It's a pretty basic salad, with chicken, beans, corn, tortilla strips, tomato, and dressing. The dressing is nothing out of the norm. The tostada is good I guess. Meh. It's whatever. Just another salad. The chicken seems a little more seasoned on this one for whatever reason. Not sure if it was just that day or if this salad's chicken is made different but whatever I'll take it.

Last, the spicy Caesar. It's whatever. For fifteen bucks with tax I expect a lot more than just chicken, cheese, and pico de gallo (subbed for tortilla strips) plus a dressing that's not spicy at all and really doesn't taste like much except a savory salty cream. The romaine lettuce even tasted bad for whatever reason. This was the last meal I ate here. Certainly didn't go out on a high note.

Their enchiladas are basic, just filled with chicken, carne asada or cheese and covered in the aforementioned house red ranchero sauce and cilantro sauce (both on the burrito). I skipped those. They offer it as a combo too, with a chicken taco.

The shrimp diablo is divin-o. The sauce is spectacular. It almost tastes like a spicy vodka cream tomato sauce in an Italian restaurant. They saute onions, peppers, and tomatoes in there. Eight shrimps again, just like the fajitas. Comes with whole black beans instead of refried which I think is different. Maybe it was just that day. Plus a heaping mound of delicious moist rice and four warm tortillas. Mix the extra sauce in with the beans and rice and I'm hooked.

Last but not least... their chips and salsa. The chips are pretty good, actually, when they have the good kind. I tried them, yes. They have seasoning on them and they have blue corn too which is nice. Their salsa is super good. It's got a very tomato paste-y flavor and it's not too spicy for all you wimps out there.

And for dessert they offer these with cinnamon, strawberries, blueberries, chocolate sauce and whipped cream. Interesting. Can't say it sounds very good, plus I can't have it anyway. I've yet to see anyone ever order it.

So all in all... well, you come to Fred's for atmosphere. The food is a nice accompaniment but you're there to see the view while you have food and/or drinks in front of you, let's face it. Wait staff is slow, service is sometimes nonexistent, food tastes edible, but the view of the waves, yessir. That's what you pay for.