Mi Mero Mole

Evidently, my original review, «I think a lot has already been said from the other one star reviews, however, I think I am going to write Chef Ramsey and volunteer Mi Mero Mole to be on the next episode of Kitchen Nightmares» did not provide enough detail about my customer experience, therefore, I would like to elaborate.
My recent visit to Mi Mero Mole was my first, and it will also be my last. First, the gentleman who took my order was simply unfriendly and looked like he was overtly annoyed and rushed, however, there was no line behind me.
More importantly, the food — I ordered the veggie and chicken taco — not only did they taste lukewarm, but in my opinion, a soft taco from Taco Bell had better flavor than these. The quality of the tortilla/​meat/​ingredients tasted so cheap to me, and honestly just felt like I was eating cold… awful mush.
No gracias.

Hello Unilocalers, I created an account today for this plague of a place known as Mi Mero Mole.
First let me offer you the following background, I am culturally exposed to Westernized and traditional Mexican food and on the night of January 26^th, 2016 I was celebrating my 29^th birthday with my family.
Walking into ratland, I was concerned immediately with the pretentious menu offering meatball tacos. I am sincerely struggling with typing this review due to the residual anger flowing through me and my ruined birthday meal, I want to kill a baby seal I feel so molested on my tongue.
Quesadilla had microwaved cheese that was not all the way melted, and served dipped in beans which yielded a soggy, rubbery disgusting rat dish.
My meatballs which I took a chance on, had the flavor of a dying fungus and my significant other who can eat almost anything including dog kibble was disgusted by her cold chicken tacos.
Silver lining: I am now selling off all my assets and pulling all cash from savings to start a restaurant as I now undoubtedly know if this rat hole of a place can be successful I will have a Michelin star within the months of opening. Save your family, save your tongue do not enter this place.

Not sure how I haven’t reviewed this place yet. One of my favorite casual eats joints here and Portland, and luckily it’s pretty close to my house.
Food here is smokey, earthy, and filling. Doesn’t really matter what you get, can’t go wrong but I definitely recommend the lamb in mole (borrego ahumado), it’s lamby, smokey, and oh so rich. The vegetarian fillings are equally as delicious, took a vegetarian friend here who had yet to find good Mexican in Portland and he was blown away. Definitely wash it down with one of their unique margaritas or a flight of tequila. Condiments are also awesome, I could eat the damn pickled onions with a fork and chase it with the habanero hot sauce and not feel too ashamed.
The flight of tequila is actually what reminded me to write this review as I just reviewed Kachka, where I had a vodka flight. I MUCH prefer tequila over vodka, and I highly recommend getting the ‘El Jefe’ tequila flight when here, all blanco tequilas, which I prefer. The first two tequilas in the flight are insanely good; smooth and complex with totally different characteristics. The server accidentally poured a shot of reposado tequila from this huge blue and white ceramic bottle (I looked it up and it’s called Clase Azul). He gave the mis-​pour to a couple that were apparently friends of his, who then offered it to us as they weren’t exactly in the «taking shots of tequila» frame of mind. Holy crap. Best damned tequila I’ver ever had, by a long shot. There was literally no alcohol burn, it was buttery smooth (love the light oily characteristic that tequilas have) and super complex, black pepper and melon all over the place. Simply amazing. I want more of it, but at $ 80 a bottle retail it probably won’t be happening anytime soon.
I’ve chatted with Nick, the owner, a couple times and he really seems like he’s passionate about his craft, which is something I certainly appreciate. He is also co-​owner of Kenny and Zuke’s, who make the best damned pastrami I’ve ever had the pleasure of tasting.
I’ve also gotten party platters from Mi Mero Mole for the past two super bowls, both times the food was off-​menu and amazing. I’ll be ordering from them again this year if they are offering it!

Really, really like this place. Lamb mole is fantastico! Wife and I always dig the margarita as well.
Can be a little chilly on winter evening, but very, very good food! In terms of service, always seems solid (they seem to be hustling) even when busy.

Tried this place yesterday for the first time and will definitely be back! I had the chicken mole poblano with a side salad (comes with pumpkin seeds and pickled onion) instead of rice and beans to be paleo friendly.
Place was clean, well stocked and tables were comfortable. Employees were very friendly and the food was amazingly good!

Love the authenticity of the place I had the dark mole and the hubs had the green. Growing up in the Central Valley farm capital of California I’ve had some pretty good Mexican food and this place can cook like that! Beans were cooked perfect rice everything it’s kind of small and can get loud and noisy but who cares I’m hungry keep the mole coming!

Oooooh man this place is all I’ve been thinking about since I visited Portland in August. Absolutely amazing food and great beer. The staff is great as well. Diego was our bartender the two times we stopped in and he was awesome. It was obvious that he enjoyed being at work and talking to customers.
We’ll be heading back up this week and Mi Mero Mole is the first stop on our list of restaurants:)

Nick, this was the only way Unilocal would let me respond to you. My husband corrected me that the guy at the register didn’t have his OLCC card yet not that he was under 21. My apologies on that. That is why he asked another employee to take care of our drink order. And that person came across as not being happy to do so. It appeared she had friends waiting for her and that she was about to go off shift. This occurred at the Division restaurant on Sat. ¹²⁄₅ about 5:30. We love eating there and go frequently. The cadillac margarita has been my favorite drink there and but these did not meet the usual standard. Our dinners met the usual standard of being wonderful.

Like so many reviewers, I had this on my «list of places to try» for ages and finally got around to walking there on a quiet weekday evening. I ordered a platter of something that for the life of me I can’t remember what it was called, except that it tasted great and I could probably have ordered more. The main problem is that I am a clueless gringo. Many places help their patrons with tons of pictures and explanations, but no such luck here. I had to sit and contemplate the menu for five minutes to make heads or tails out of it. Perhaps I should enroll in a college course before trying again. Authentic and regional cuisine is great and I love to be adventurous, but sometimes I’m too worn out to do a ton of homework before paying a moderate fee for a meal. For that reason, I am grateful for all of you Unilocalers out there that do the homework for me! Please keep it up and maybe I can study the reviews here before giving this another try.
As I mentioned earlier the food was good. The people behind the counter were nice, and the lady who brought out the food did so quicker than I expected. I’m thinking I will need to order more of the amazing freshly made tortilla chips and a LOT more green things like guacamole and some vegetables. I hear that they have vegetarian options…

In my opinion the owner Nick Zukin is a racist! Don’t eat here!
Being that the proprietor of this restaurant is too spineless to respond to me directly, I would like to point out that he has privately messaged my dining companion with derogatory and racist comment about myself.
First of all, there is no reason to bully my friend, she did not claim to be Mexican, she merely commented on the food temperature, and she was right to do so. Employees tend to cover their own asses. Be careful who you trust. The main front man who returned our money was quite professional, the only one so far. The poor guy was caught in the middle, I felt bad for him but he kept his cool, the only one.
The owner speculated that I am, «white,» and ‚“blue eyed,” and therefore don’t know what I am talking about; I believe Zuke is Caucasian and so this is really insane. I gave honest criticism of his terrible food. When I mentioned that my family was from Veracruz; he responded by saying, «While I have a lot of light skinned Mexican friends, I’m surprised to hear that a white person with blue eyes is from Veracruz.» This comment is a slur against white people, saying that white people don’t know what they are talking about because of the color of their skin. It is also a slur on Veracruzanos being «dark», which when you understand politics in Mexico, and how much racism is in motion, is not a nice thing to say either. He is being racist to both sides in one ignorant statement.
As a Caucasian, I would take offence and not eat here; as a Mexican I would take offence and not eat here. I am mixed, so I sort of take offence on both fronts. Is the boss even Hispanic? Is he making racist comments as a Mexican or a «Mainstream American»? Is he insane?
Why pull the race card? No cause, wrong reasons, and way out of line! If it matters so much to the owner, I have brown hair and brown eyes. I have seen the owner and he does not appear to be Hispanic at all.
I was also accused of being «ridiculous, ignorant, and mean spirited.» My comment was honest and well deserved, though for someone in denial it may be hard to take. It was truthful and I stand behind everything I said. You need to get out of your head and into some real food. The boss has lost his way. This restaurant /​food is tired and weak.
He said that I, «went super pendejo,» in my review; very strong words. Once again, is the boss Mexican? Does the boss even speak spanish? Does he have other people writing for him? Why use such words? When you serve food like Mi Mero Mole, you are only referring to yourself and your denial about your quality. The food at «mi mero mole» is clown shoes.
Why speculate about who I am? If you were not an absentee owner you would not have to speculate. Calling me «white» to discredit me? The owner is white and so is most of the clientele! You are insulting your own customer base in the most ironic way. Are you insane?! Had the boss been present on the day that we dined, he would not have to «speculate» on what occurred. He is grasping at straws! Take it easy bro.
Thanks for playing the race card, calling me «white» even though I am Hispanic and you are not; and your derogatory remarks about Veracruz? Do you hate «dark» people? How racist are you? If this food was actually any good you would be able to objectively defend it and not resort to such comments.
The owner doesn’t have the balls to address me directly! He attacked my friend rather than myself because he is truly weak. He is high if he thinks his mole is good! An absentee owner in denial is a Molotov cocktail, and the owner is infamous for his inability for taking criticism.

I feel really bad about this. I waitress. I know sometimes you have to eat on-​shift. That said, I also know you shouldn’t do it in or next to the food-​prep area — especially if a customer can see you doing it. Maybe I’m just a neurotic germaphobe, but stuff like that gets to me. You can imagine my reaction to the containers of forks and napkins left out on the tables. I kept picturing grubby, grabby little kids with permissive parents sitting at the table before me, handling the napkins and silverware… I digress.
Long story short, the staff was pleasant, but the experience wasn’t. The food was served quickly, but was lukewarm, the poblano mole had no sweetness, the tortillas seemed day-​old, the rice was mushy and the beans…
The food getting out fast and not hot, is what really pushed it over the edge (I am going off the assumption that the guisados are in a hot-​holding situation, if I’m wrong I apologize.) I just got skeeved out. My companion said his food wasn’t very good either, so we decided to bail after a couple bites.
The guy at the reg was very nice about refunding the $, but I think it was embarrassing for everyone involved.
Update– At least two employees were eating when we walked in. Another was eating a tamale when I went to ask about the daily tamales. Not sure where the dish pit is, this was all within 8 ft of the reg.
The food was not steaming. It was a little above body temp.
Born and raised in New Mexico. I’d like to think I know what poblano mole should taste like…(it’s kind of a cultural thing vs a trendy thing for me.)
Again, bummer reviews are a bummer, but I stand by what I wrote.
Last Update… I hope.
So after encountering the owner’s unique brand of customer «service,» I dropped the sympathy star. So far, he’s used foul language (it’s still a bad word, even if it’s obviously not your first language,) to describe my companion and now I seem to have received some nasty «compliments» from people who don’t like my review. Maybe he’s encouraging them, maybe not. Either way, I’d much rather give money to people who don’t engage their customers in a hostile, defensive, childish and demeaning manner.

Mi Mero Mole is a place I have had in my Unilocal bookmarks for a long time. I finally got the opportunity to go check the place out last Sunday.
The staff were all so nice and seemed like they really enjoyed working there. It just so happened that they were having a Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) celebration where they were offering face painting for free.
It was nice that they had several options for the veggie crowd. I decided to get a couple tacos: Rajas con Crema and Mole Amarillo. I also ordered up a margarita, ’cause we all know a margarita automatically makes the day better! I decided to go with the diablo margarita which is spicy. Days later I am still thinking back on this drink very fondly and trying to figure out when I can go obtain another one. If you are a fan of spicy, I’d say it’s a must order.
My tacos were really tasty and I enjoyed spicing them up with the various hot sauces that were available. I was so impressed with the tacos that I ended up going back up to the counter and ordering myself a third taco (another Rajas con Crema). If I wasn’t driving I totally would have ordered another margarita as well. The Mole Amarillo taco was great, but I think I would like this filling better in bowl form (which is one of the menu options available).
This SE Division location is a bit of a hike from my house so I think I’ll have to go test out the tacos and margaritas at their newer NW location. It’s a tough job, but somebody has got to do it.

Great food reasonably priced given the portion sizes. Spices were authentic.
We had big eyes and ordered too much — portions are large.

Mole not authentic. Chicken was bone dry. With a name like this, it was very disappointing.
7÷27÷15 update — In response to the owner, I posted my 3÷8÷15 (date of check-​in) photo to document the dry chicken mole. My opinion, based on my late grandmother and mother’s versions, was that the mole is unremarkable from Tex-​Mex locations. This restaurant is nice and the servers were friendly, but, my issue was not so much the mole as the dry and rubbery chicken. I very much wanted this place to take me back to my memories. Unfortunately, it didn’t. But again, this was only my experience. Perhaps others have had better. I was sharing my experience for the benefit of other Unilocalers. Until I read the owners comments, we were all planning to return to try other menu items. Que lastima. Les deseo suerte (I wish them well).

Very good place if looking for something close to authentic. Get the huitlacoche quesadilla, taste will really remind you of Mexico. Great location, cute little shop with folkloric touches.
Their food is good, I feel you will be satisfied with almost anything you choose.
Thumbs up!

Anytime I’m visiting Portland, I ALWAYS make it a point to eat at Mi Mero Mole. Why? Because Mi Mero Mole is bien delicioso y autentico!!! They serve some of the BEST guisados (stewed meats using Mexican spices) on the Pacific Coast (another contender being Guisados in Los Angeles). Such mouth watery goodness! Take it from me, a Chicana from L.A. who loves her tacos!
Portland, you have yourself a winner here!
Pre-​Mi Mero Mole, I would eat at other taco joints in Oregon. Sadly, I have noticed that many places in this state serve their tacos using flour tortillas, instead of corn, even here in Portland. Plus, such eateries sometimes douse their tacos with a type of mayonnaise pseudo spicy sauce. I don’t know, but it must be a Northwestern thing, which for me, doesn’t constitute an authentic Mexican taco!
BUT! Mi Mero Mole! Como te adoro! Their tacos are SUCCULENT and moist (yeah, I know that is a strange word to some…) This place makes their own fresh CORN tortillas! And these tortillas! They are soft, pliable, exquisite on the palette! And that’s just the tortilla!
Now the stuff that goes on those tortillas is simply amazing! One of the must-​haves (provided that you are not a vegetarian or vegan) are the albondiga (meatball) tacos. Now growing up, I always had albondiga soup, which my dear great-​grandmother made with plenty of TLC. Oh, those were the days! Taking a bite into that albondiga taco transported me back to the days of my youth. The meat is appropriately spiced without it being overly salty. And since it is a guisado, the meat is pleasantly tender and moist! It’s perfect!
I’ve had other tacos there, like the chicken with green mole. And, oh! That was so delicioso, too. :) The actual chicken meat was also moist and tender. I have come across many places that serve up dry and tough chicken. Thankfully, their chicken is truly tasty. And, the mole sauce is darn right succulent.
And, if you have someone to share with, do get the dreamy guacamole and chips. The guacamole is very fresh, has enough savory, and just has a wonderful consistency. If you don’t have someone to share with, take it home!
Now, you MUST get the fried plantains! I LOVE fried plantains! And the ones here surely don’t disappoint. The plantains are fried to a lovely consistency with the outer edges being pleasantly crispy. They come with the restaurant’s own crema Mexicana with spices akin to nutmeg. SO GOOD!
And, in addition, the staff here are pretty attentive and friendly. A few times here, I’ve had staff come by to chat, and even offer some samples of their drinks (think a kind of mezcal). Speaking of alcohol… I had did have their Jamaica margarita. OMG! This stuff is good! It had enough tang, saltiness, and sweetness. It was perfect!
Gosh, just writing this review, is making my mouth water! I must go back SOON!

Well… I don’t get the appeal of Mi Mero Mole.
They serve tacos «guisados.»
Guisados are basically stews.
Mi Mero Mole’s tacos are tortillas with stew in them.
Nothing else.
Doesn’t make for the best presentation, but you can grab sides of cilantro, lime and pickled onions to make your plate look a little more appetizing.
I tried three tacos: mole poblano, lengua ahumada, and chicken tinga. Everything was bland without much of any flavor, although they give you pretty large portions. The lengua ahumada looked and tasted like someone took an Irish stew and put it in a tortilla. Bland and soggy. However, MMM is one of the only places in town that actually makes their own tortillas and they’re pretty good. So, at least there’s that.
I’m just gonna stop trying Mexican food in Portland now.
*KP out*

I dream of Mi Mero Mole’s vegetarian burrito with Rajas con Crema: Roasted mild green chiles & onions in sour cream sauce. It is the best vegetarian burrito in Portland. At least that I’ve found so far! No lettuce, thank God! They really know their way around a burrito that’s flavorful, perfect texture, and delicious. Truly incredible. Just wish the price weren’t so high (for a burrito). But, it’s worth it!!!

When it comes to Mexican food I’ve found that «hole in the wall is best» still applies. Give me $ 1.50-$ 2 tacos with Novelas playing on TV in minimalist atmosphere anytime.
I spent ample time in Tijuana and border towns so maybe I’m hardwired.
That said, do know that the portions here are larger than at places that offer less expensive tacos.
The tortilla chips are fresh, super yummy, one of the better versions in town. The salsa and guacamole were very good.
The Tinga taco was overpowering. The tortillas were a slight let down. I didn’t connect with the Mole Poblano, but others thought it was very good. No brown — only black — beans which is not my thing.
Sangria was very tasty.
The owner seems to take much pride in his establishment. I’m a small business advisor, so that’s very appealing (and essential.) There was a decent line so they definitely have a fan base.

Guisado, guisado, guisado. It’s the word of choice. It’s also quite tasty food. I came here to meet up with a buddy and was actually looking for the mole. I’ve heard about it from several fellow Unilocalers and unfortunately it wasn’t on the menu on this day. Oh, I’ll be back to try it.
I’ve tried the Mexican food around this town and I’ve been very impressed with what I’ve tasted. From Matador to Olé Olé to here. It could all have come straight from the Dallas/​Fort Worth area. That tells you something about the quality of food here.
It was an early Saturday afternoon and the place was quiet. The guy behind the counter was helpful and informed me of either grabbing a beer or about the house made horchata. I do love good horchata but I was in the mood for a Negra Modelo or two. He also suggested some chips and salsa. Well, of course! I was waiting on a friend so I waited to get anything else. It was nice out so I sat outside. I don’t get down to this area much but there were a few places I wandered to earlier, a piercing shop, the Landmark Saloon, a Tattoo joint, the bar next door (North) and the food pod around the corner.
Buddy showed up and he got a guisado with eggs, rice and beans and I got one with the pork. It was a really rich sauce and really good. The beans were creamy and consistent with everything else I’ve had here in PDX. I will say that I would have liked the salsa to have a bit more kick to it, and I mentioned that to the counter person. It was a good salsa, it just needed more of a spicy finish. I like my Mexican peppers hot.
I will be back. Also Salud to whomever from Mi Mero that took care of that terrible one star review that was posted the other day (Oct. 3). Sir, if you see, those of us that write many reviews (the Elites) enjoyed the food here and several of them are the reason I came here and this place bookmarked on my phone for months. This individual has written all of 11 reviews and basically sounds like they didn’t know anything about Mexican cuisine. Mi Mero Mole is a good place to go eat and I will happily return. Gracias.