Abuelo's Mexican Restaurant

Here I go again with another chain restaurant. I'd been to Abuelo's a few years ago a couple times when I worked in Carmel, IN, and remembered it being pretty good. So, I thought I'd give it another go, as I am still looking for my favorite Mexican place in the Indy area.

Abuelo's is located right in the Lowe's plaza (there's also a Fox and Hound) at 14480 Lowe's Way in Carmel, IN. It's the exit for 146th St. if you're heading up Keystone Ave.

Decor:

Abuelo's is surprisingly nice inside. It's the same caliber as a Cheesecake Factory or P.F. Chang's. You can find tables and booths inside.

This is a picture of a central 'square' in the restaurant.

 There are some really interesting wall murals going along one whole wall.

Service:

Our waiter, Tom, was really pleasant. He was helpful with his recommendations, was attentive but not obtrusive, and made us feel comfortable when we wanted to split a huge dish (which can be a problem at some places). All in all, very good.

Food:

Mojitos were on special the night we were there (Wednesday) for $3 each so my husband and I both ordered one:

I have to say, they were pretty terrible. Way, way too sweet, no mint, barely any lime (despite the fact that there were three fresh wedges in my glass--I think the extreme sweetness overpowered anything else), and probably three drops of rum. Bad, bad, bad. I couldn't even get mine halfway finished.

We ordered a guacamole appetizer:

It was very salty...and that's about it. There was a bit of onion and tomato in it, but definitely not good guac. I wouldn't order it again.

For our dinner, we ordered the dish called the Monterrey. It's GIGANTIC. It has six items, I had two, my husband had four. It also comes with two sides, we chose the papas con bravas (Abuelo's version of Mexican-inspired mashed potatoes, and refried beans)

Here's the part of the plate I ate:

That was a spinach enchilada and an avocado enchilada. The avocado enchilada had the guacamole that they serve as appetizers as the filling. Both were covered with a cream sauce. They were decent. Mainly salt. The spinach was studded with a few kernels of corn and did taste better than the avocado one. I liked that the spinach was not completely overcooked and grey. It was still bright green and spinach-y.

I love the papas con bravas. It's garlic-y, has onions, is blended with cheese. Yum.

My husband thought the pieces he had were decent, too. Nothing special, but not inedible.

Pricing:

Our meal was pretty reasonable. We ended up paying $34.00 with tip for the two of us. Not bad for a meal with 2 mojitos, an appetizer, and a main course.

Verdict:

All in all, unremarkable. A 3 out of 5 mainly bolstered by the pleasant service and the nice interior. The food was not remarkable and I don't love the papas con bravas enough to go back just for that. So, this will likely have been my last trip to Abuelo's.