The portobello flatbread and shrimp quesadilla are the best i've ever had. Great place!
Ann K.
I went there back in August-got enchiladas & red & green sauce to go--it was GROSS!!! I couldn't even eat it..I can tolerate some miss-cooked foods but this was as if they had re-cooked the re-cooked !!!! They needed to close!!
Go! Magazine
Adobe Reds has closed.
Sarah K.
I signed up for YELP just so I could warn people away from this restaurant. As a lover of all things tex-mex, from Rick Bayless's fancy pants places in Chicago to Del Taco (RIP), I could not wait to try this place out. I didn't care that it lacked atmosphere (which it does). When the chips and salsa came I got my hopes up even higher. The salsa was very good! I got the stacked enchilada w/ chicken and my husband got the chicken soft tacos. I could not even eat 1/4 of the chicken enchiladas and I was super hungry and they were covered in cheese (usually means I will eat anything...). There was something off about the food. It had a strange skunky taste. The chicken did not taste like real chicken. It was dry and cubed, like it had come from a warehouse already prepared. Even the soft tacos were inedible. And how can you possibly screw up chicken soft tacos?! The sides were also incredibly dissapointing. Open up a can of Bush's pinto beans, pour it on a plate, and you have Adobe Reds "beans" side dish. The rice had the odd skunky taste that made the rest of the food inedible. The honey slaw tasted like cole slaw from Shop N' Save with some honey mixed in. Even worse, we could smell the delicious BBQ from Pappys while sitting in front of our nasty plates of "food." Skip this place. Please!
Nicole Spencer
Sopapillas with cinnamon ice cream. Yum!
Andrew M.
Ok, so this is one of 'those' reviews... the ones where I make the review without having tried any of their fare. But it surely wasn't for lack of trying! I went with a buddy of mine to give this place a try and without even letting any food pass my lips I was greatly disappointed. I had to fight through the onslaught of guests lined up around the block to get into Pappy's before I could even get into Adobe Reds. I entered the building and waited a tick... looking for a sign from one of the servers (or an actual, factual sign). There was neither. So I seated myself. I wasn't going to stand at the door like a cardboard cut out. I'd sit at a table like a human being while I waited for my friend. It took him about 5 minutes to meet me. Then we waited for either the waiter or waitress. And waited. They buzzed by us several times, tending to a few other tables. The place wasn't packed, but they might have had two tables each. So I got up and retrieved a menu for my friend and I while we waited to be acknowledged. And waited. About 10 minutes later a gaggle of attractive, giggly teenage girls barged in the door and made a beeline for a table. With in seconds the male waiter practically jumped on them and demanded their order. Here's where I suspected something was wrong, but said nothing. My friend and I continued to inspect the remarkably short menu- and to muse over why they would call a deep fried burrito a 'chimichanga.' I'm not making that up... they explained it on the back... they just said 'to hell with it' and decided to make chimichangas out of deep fried burritos. They didn't SERVE burritos... just their version of the chimichanga. Definitely a creative interpretation of 'authentic'. At about 15 minutes later, a group of portly, older men walked through door, seated themselves and were immediately attended by the female waitress. Now it was my turn to say 'to hell with it.' My friend and I proceeded to leave without another word. Maybe I'll go back one day when I'm not wearing my invisibility cloak. In the meanwhile I"ll stick with Milagro where I'm sure the food is authentic and delicious and the help is friendly and not visually impaired.
Daniel D.
My first experience with Adobe Reds was at a party they catered...and wow. The food was GREAT. A week later, I went to the restaurant with a group of eight co-workers, excited to share the experience with them! Unfortunately, it was on a day that one of their servers did not show up for work. The service was lacking, food was slow, etc. I told the owner how disappointed I was with the service. He came to the eight of us and assured us it was due to the employee missing work. He then gave each of us a free lunch so we would come back and give him another chance. I AM GLAD TO SAY THAT WE DID! Today, I went back to Adobe Red's for lunch. I was in and out in 30 minutes, had a plentiful meal (two of us split one meal and it was perfect portion), that was DELICIOUS and well balanced. The service was top-notch. I have to say that the experience has brought me back to my original fondness for this place. I will return again, and I hope to see you there too! D
Nikki L.
Adobe Reds showed some promise in its chips and distinctly biting salsa, and the red flatbread. But once we got the main courses, everything went downhill. Firstly, the server gave us the main courses a minute after serving the appetizer flatbread (which we ordered way in advance). It's really a pet peeve of ours whenever we get served the main course even before we touch the appetizers! Secondly, the main courses were very, very sub-par. My husband tolerated the chimichanga only because he slathered the salsa all over it. Unfortunately, not so lucky on my carne adovada, which is described as "pecan smoked pork slow roasted and smothered with our red chile sauce." It was not slow roasted. It was hard like rubber. It didn't taste anything like pecan smoked. And that sauce? Flavorless. If you can imagine a cardboard-tasting sauce, that would be it. The rice and beans on the side were a bit hard and tasteless. I'm very forgiving - normally I can tolerate sub-par food and finish my meal anyway. But I stopped eating right then and there. Two fistfuls worth of rubbery meat left uneaten. $30 for bad food. I've eaten better for $19 elsewhere. Won't be going back. Yikes!
Andrew K.
Had lunch at Adobe Red's today. Everything was excellent! The chips are just salty enough and the salsa has a tang to it. I had the salmon wrap - it had arugula and watercress in it and Adobe Red's honey vinaigrette. It was nicely done. The mango salsa and the slaw are very good, too. If you don't want those, you can get steak fries here. I've had the B.L.A.T (BLT with Avacado) before and was very happy with that, too. While I was sad to see The U go, I'm glad that Adobe Reds came in to keep making good food.
Morgan H.
I was born and raised and went to undergrad in New Mexico. So, when I heard that New Mexican restaurant had opened in St. Louis I was ecstatic. It is really a unique cuisine and I miss it. (I love all different types of Mexican food - both authentic and the various adaptations in the US (Tex-Mex, etc.). And St. Louis is a basically a barren wasteland for Mexican food on almost all fronts.) So, Adobe Reds gets an extra star just for existing. It was a mixed experience, but overall positive. I started with a margarita and was so happy. It was very true to what a margarita should be and is if you are South of the border and not in a tourist trap. Real limes were harmed in the making of this margarita - not the disgusting sweet nastiness that one most commonly finds. The table next to us was freaked out that it was so sour, as was at least one reviewer here. It is a matter of taste, but I will stand by it authenticity. The salsa had some a distinct Chipotle flavor to it that I wouldn't associate with NM. That is more Tex-Mex. (Which is a cited influence for the place.) It was also a bit sweet, which was odd but not bad. I appreciated the consistency. This is what fresh tomatoes do if your not making sauce. I hate when salsa resembles marinara. The kitchen was nice enough to make straight up cheese enchiladas for me. I love stacked enchiladas with fried eggs on top. I dream of home because of them. So, that is exactly what I ordered with green chile (that is how we spell it in NM). It was a mixed experience. The chile had a really nice flavor and some kick. The consistency was a bit unusual for an enchilada sauce. The egg was really nice also. The tortillas in the enchilada were falling apart for some reason, which made it a bit mealy. Also, the cheese could have been more melted. My husband had the enchiladas with shredded beef. He is always on the look out for Mexican food with shredded beef. He also found aspects of the enchiladas off, but said the shredded beef was very, very good. So, the beans were good. But clearly something is wrong with the rice. It is definitely hard. This is not a regional quality. They need to be revamped. Finally, pull that salt shaker out - because almost everything needed more salt. That's fine, you can always add salt - but you can't take it out if the kitchen over salts your food. Service was very good.
The shrimp quesadilla is amazing! Best quesadilla I've ever had and I'm a quesadilla queen! Lol!
Bobby D.
The service is the only thing that is done well here. I came here expecting to grab a sandwich at "The U," which evidently closed, and in it's place found a very appealing Mexican restaurant. I love Mexican food and was looking forward to a good margarita and some tacos. The house margarita as awful. I think whomever made the house mix put way too much sour mix in it because it tasted like high-concentrate sour mix. It was literally impossible to finish and tasted like I was sucking on a sour warhead candy. A house margarita is a staple and should set the tone for any Mexican restaurant. The chorizo tacos were just okay. The meat was tasty, but way over-cooked and the lettuce mix definitely had a bagged appearance, where I expected a freshly cut mix. There was way too much lime in the sauce, so I began to think unpalatable doses of accent flavors were a running theme with Adobe Red's. Then, I almost broke a tooth on the undercooked rice. I left feeling disgusted with myself for spending money on such terribly prepared food. I won't be giving this place a 2nd chance.
Margy H.
Just ate at Adobe Reds and couldn't wait to get back to write a review. My husband and I agree that tt is absolutely spectacular! Having spent over 5 years living in southern Arizona, we guarantee that it is true Southwestern cuisine. Actually, it's better than many restaurants in the Southwest! We started out with REAL Margaritas - 4 pure, simple fresh ingredients - tequila, triple sec, agave nectar and fresh lime juice. BEST Margarita in St. Louis hands down! The salsa they serve has a mild sweetness (they roast their tomatoes and onions prior to making the salsa) that is balanced with just enough heat to keep your taste buds on notice. The chips were just average which was surprising given the outstanding quality of everything else that we ate. The pork tamale is tender and flavorful with a red sauce (called adobe sauce) that gives you enough heat to be interesting but not overpower the other flavors. The chicken taco is the best taco I have ever eaten! The chicken is moist and full of flavor, and the shredded cabbage gave it an wonderful taste and texture. The touch of cilantro cream on top rounded out the perfect blend of flavors. My husband had the stacked enchiladas (with egg!) and it is one of the most unique dishes we have ever devoured! Visually striking, the taste lived up to it's looks! And again, enough heat to let your mouth know you are eating Southwestern but not so much to drown the complexities of the other flavors in the dish. We finished with the sopapillas which, to our great relief, ended our search for authentic sopapillas in St. Louis!! They are light and puffed up perfectly! We're purists, so opted to only eat them only with honey and were rewarded with the most delightful ending to a meal that we've had in a long time! Oh yes - on top of being uber-yummy, it is uber-reasonable providing incredible value for your $$! All of the above, before tax, was less than $40 for both of us! We are totally mystified by the handful of negative reviews, but clearly the reviewers have no clue as to what true Southwestern (NOT Mexican!) involves - a blend of sweet, spicy, heat, smokey flavors. If you come to Adobe Reds expecting the run of the mill St. Louis Mexican, you will be disappointed. If you come expecting an adventure in spicy, complex, joyful flavors, you will not be disappointed!
Tom Quinlan
Stacked enchiladas are awsom
james r.
From the Website and menu, I was expecting some great Mexican food. The menus we picked up were covered with, what we both hoped was dried salsa. I was really looking forward to a serving of the green Chile Pork Stew. What came to the table was a greasy tasteless pot of very old stringy pork shreds. The quesadilla my friend ordered was worse.. Such a disappointment
The portobello flatbread and shrimp quesadilla are the best i've ever had. Great place!
I went there back in August-got enchiladas & red & green sauce to go--it was GROSS!!! I couldn't even eat it..I can tolerate some miss-cooked foods but this was as if they had re-cooked the re-cooked !!!! They needed to close!!
Adobe Reds has closed.
I signed up for YELP just so I could warn people away from this restaurant. As a lover of all things tex-mex, from Rick Bayless's fancy pants places in Chicago to Del Taco (RIP), I could not wait to try this place out. I didn't care that it lacked atmosphere (which it does). When the chips and salsa came I got my hopes up even higher. The salsa was very good! I got the stacked enchilada w/ chicken and my husband got the chicken soft tacos. I could not even eat 1/4 of the chicken enchiladas and I was super hungry and they were covered in cheese (usually means I will eat anything...). There was something off about the food. It had a strange skunky taste. The chicken did not taste like real chicken. It was dry and cubed, like it had come from a warehouse already prepared. Even the soft tacos were inedible. And how can you possibly screw up chicken soft tacos?! The sides were also incredibly dissapointing. Open up a can of Bush's pinto beans, pour it on a plate, and you have Adobe Reds "beans" side dish. The rice had the odd skunky taste that made the rest of the food inedible. The honey slaw tasted like cole slaw from Shop N' Save with some honey mixed in. Even worse, we could smell the delicious BBQ from Pappys while sitting in front of our nasty plates of "food." Skip this place. Please!
Sopapillas with cinnamon ice cream. Yum!
Ok, so this is one of 'those' reviews... the ones where I make the review without having tried any of their fare. But it surely wasn't for lack of trying! I went with a buddy of mine to give this place a try and without even letting any food pass my lips I was greatly disappointed. I had to fight through the onslaught of guests lined up around the block to get into Pappy's before I could even get into Adobe Reds. I entered the building and waited a tick... looking for a sign from one of the servers (or an actual, factual sign). There was neither. So I seated myself. I wasn't going to stand at the door like a cardboard cut out. I'd sit at a table like a human being while I waited for my friend. It took him about 5 minutes to meet me. Then we waited for either the waiter or waitress. And waited. They buzzed by us several times, tending to a few other tables. The place wasn't packed, but they might have had two tables each. So I got up and retrieved a menu for my friend and I while we waited to be acknowledged. And waited. About 10 minutes later a gaggle of attractive, giggly teenage girls barged in the door and made a beeline for a table. With in seconds the male waiter practically jumped on them and demanded their order. Here's where I suspected something was wrong, but said nothing. My friend and I continued to inspect the remarkably short menu- and to muse over why they would call a deep fried burrito a 'chimichanga.' I'm not making that up... they explained it on the back... they just said 'to hell with it' and decided to make chimichangas out of deep fried burritos. They didn't SERVE burritos... just their version of the chimichanga. Definitely a creative interpretation of 'authentic'. At about 15 minutes later, a group of portly, older men walked through door, seated themselves and were immediately attended by the female waitress. Now it was my turn to say 'to hell with it.' My friend and I proceeded to leave without another word. Maybe I'll go back one day when I'm not wearing my invisibility cloak. In the meanwhile I"ll stick with Milagro where I'm sure the food is authentic and delicious and the help is friendly and not visually impaired.
My first experience with Adobe Reds was at a party they catered...and wow. The food was GREAT. A week later, I went to the restaurant with a group of eight co-workers, excited to share the experience with them! Unfortunately, it was on a day that one of their servers did not show up for work. The service was lacking, food was slow, etc. I told the owner how disappointed I was with the service. He came to the eight of us and assured us it was due to the employee missing work. He then gave each of us a free lunch so we would come back and give him another chance. I AM GLAD TO SAY THAT WE DID! Today, I went back to Adobe Red's for lunch. I was in and out in 30 minutes, had a plentiful meal (two of us split one meal and it was perfect portion), that was DELICIOUS and well balanced. The service was top-notch. I have to say that the experience has brought me back to my original fondness for this place. I will return again, and I hope to see you there too! D
Adobe Reds showed some promise in its chips and distinctly biting salsa, and the red flatbread. But once we got the main courses, everything went downhill. Firstly, the server gave us the main courses a minute after serving the appetizer flatbread (which we ordered way in advance). It's really a pet peeve of ours whenever we get served the main course even before we touch the appetizers! Secondly, the main courses were very, very sub-par. My husband tolerated the chimichanga only because he slathered the salsa all over it. Unfortunately, not so lucky on my carne adovada, which is described as "pecan smoked pork slow roasted and smothered with our red chile sauce." It was not slow roasted. It was hard like rubber. It didn't taste anything like pecan smoked. And that sauce? Flavorless. If you can imagine a cardboard-tasting sauce, that would be it. The rice and beans on the side were a bit hard and tasteless. I'm very forgiving - normally I can tolerate sub-par food and finish my meal anyway. But I stopped eating right then and there. Two fistfuls worth of rubbery meat left uneaten. $30 for bad food. I've eaten better for $19 elsewhere. Won't be going back. Yikes!
Had lunch at Adobe Red's today. Everything was excellent! The chips are just salty enough and the salsa has a tang to it. I had the salmon wrap - it had arugula and watercress in it and Adobe Red's honey vinaigrette. It was nicely done. The mango salsa and the slaw are very good, too. If you don't want those, you can get steak fries here. I've had the B.L.A.T (BLT with Avacado) before and was very happy with that, too. While I was sad to see The U go, I'm glad that Adobe Reds came in to keep making good food.
I was born and raised and went to undergrad in New Mexico. So, when I heard that New Mexican restaurant had opened in St. Louis I was ecstatic. It is really a unique cuisine and I miss it. (I love all different types of Mexican food - both authentic and the various adaptations in the US (Tex-Mex, etc.). And St. Louis is a basically a barren wasteland for Mexican food on almost all fronts.) So, Adobe Reds gets an extra star just for existing. It was a mixed experience, but overall positive. I started with a margarita and was so happy. It was very true to what a margarita should be and is if you are South of the border and not in a tourist trap. Real limes were harmed in the making of this margarita - not the disgusting sweet nastiness that one most commonly finds. The table next to us was freaked out that it was so sour, as was at least one reviewer here. It is a matter of taste, but I will stand by it authenticity. The salsa had some a distinct Chipotle flavor to it that I wouldn't associate with NM. That is more Tex-Mex. (Which is a cited influence for the place.) It was also a bit sweet, which was odd but not bad. I appreciated the consistency. This is what fresh tomatoes do if your not making sauce. I hate when salsa resembles marinara. The kitchen was nice enough to make straight up cheese enchiladas for me. I love stacked enchiladas with fried eggs on top. I dream of home because of them. So, that is exactly what I ordered with green chile (that is how we spell it in NM). It was a mixed experience. The chile had a really nice flavor and some kick. The consistency was a bit unusual for an enchilada sauce. The egg was really nice also. The tortillas in the enchilada were falling apart for some reason, which made it a bit mealy. Also, the cheese could have been more melted. My husband had the enchiladas with shredded beef. He is always on the look out for Mexican food with shredded beef. He also found aspects of the enchiladas off, but said the shredded beef was very, very good. So, the beans were good. But clearly something is wrong with the rice. It is definitely hard. This is not a regional quality. They need to be revamped. Finally, pull that salt shaker out - because almost everything needed more salt. That's fine, you can always add salt - but you can't take it out if the kitchen over salts your food. Service was very good.
Restaurantji Recommends
The shrimp quesadilla is amazing! Best quesadilla I've ever had and I'm a quesadilla queen! Lol!
The service is the only thing that is done well here. I came here expecting to grab a sandwich at "The U," which evidently closed, and in it's place found a very appealing Mexican restaurant. I love Mexican food and was looking forward to a good margarita and some tacos. The house margarita as awful. I think whomever made the house mix put way too much sour mix in it because it tasted like high-concentrate sour mix. It was literally impossible to finish and tasted like I was sucking on a sour warhead candy. A house margarita is a staple and should set the tone for any Mexican restaurant. The chorizo tacos were just okay. The meat was tasty, but way over-cooked and the lettuce mix definitely had a bagged appearance, where I expected a freshly cut mix. There was way too much lime in the sauce, so I began to think unpalatable doses of accent flavors were a running theme with Adobe Red's. Then, I almost broke a tooth on the undercooked rice. I left feeling disgusted with myself for spending money on such terribly prepared food. I won't be giving this place a 2nd chance.
Just ate at Adobe Reds and couldn't wait to get back to write a review. My husband and I agree that tt is absolutely spectacular! Having spent over 5 years living in southern Arizona, we guarantee that it is true Southwestern cuisine. Actually, it's better than many restaurants in the Southwest! We started out with REAL Margaritas - 4 pure, simple fresh ingredients - tequila, triple sec, agave nectar and fresh lime juice. BEST Margarita in St. Louis hands down! The salsa they serve has a mild sweetness (they roast their tomatoes and onions prior to making the salsa) that is balanced with just enough heat to keep your taste buds on notice. The chips were just average which was surprising given the outstanding quality of everything else that we ate. The pork tamale is tender and flavorful with a red sauce (called adobe sauce) that gives you enough heat to be interesting but not overpower the other flavors. The chicken taco is the best taco I have ever eaten! The chicken is moist and full of flavor, and the shredded cabbage gave it an wonderful taste and texture. The touch of cilantro cream on top rounded out the perfect blend of flavors. My husband had the stacked enchiladas (with egg!) and it is one of the most unique dishes we have ever devoured! Visually striking, the taste lived up to it's looks! And again, enough heat to let your mouth know you are eating Southwestern but not so much to drown the complexities of the other flavors in the dish. We finished with the sopapillas which, to our great relief, ended our search for authentic sopapillas in St. Louis!! They are light and puffed up perfectly! We're purists, so opted to only eat them only with honey and were rewarded with the most delightful ending to a meal that we've had in a long time! Oh yes - on top of being uber-yummy, it is uber-reasonable providing incredible value for your $$! All of the above, before tax, was less than $40 for both of us! We are totally mystified by the handful of negative reviews, but clearly the reviewers have no clue as to what true Southwestern (NOT Mexican!) involves - a blend of sweet, spicy, heat, smokey flavors. If you come to Adobe Reds expecting the run of the mill St. Louis Mexican, you will be disappointed. If you come expecting an adventure in spicy, complex, joyful flavors, you will not be disappointed!
Stacked enchiladas are awsom
From the Website and menu, I was expecting some great Mexican food. The menus we picked up were covered with, what we both hoped was dried salsa. I was really looking forward to a serving of the green Chile Pork Stew. What came to the table was a greasy tasteless pot of very old stringy pork shreds. The quesadilla my friend ordered was worse.. Such a disappointment