Los Pilones

Back from the USA for more than a week now, it hit me: I miss tacos and Margaritas. As mentioned, I’m always, always on a quest to find proper Mexican food that won’t break my wallet. Los Pilones was a recommendation from a friend: “they have huuuge Margaritas”. That was it. Enough to get me there.

Last night, Hayden and I made our way down to Kerkstraat and went to Los Pilones Agave Bar & Tacos Al Carbon. That was a bit confusing, I was sure I made a reservation for next door, at Los Pilones Lunch & Dinner. It did not matter much since I was there for the tacos and Margaritas – which you can get in both locations.

Los Pilones was founded by three Mexican brothers, who still own it today. After we sat down, our lovely waitress brought us chips and salsa. This is the first Mexican restaurant I’ve ever been to in Amsterdam who does this, so it was a good sign for me. The whole place looks authentic and the music plays along.

The bar has a nice selection of Tacos Al Carbon. I chose the Carne Asada: steak, spring onion, jalapeno, chorizo, sweet corn, salsa and lime. The menu shows 1 pepper as in a bit spicy, which I found accurate. Be aware, Mexican “a bit spicy”, not Dutch “a bit spicy”.

There was much more steak than I expected, so rest assured that 4 tacos at Los Pilones means a full meal. Every flavor reminded me of some of the best tacos I’ve had in Texas. Everything tasted fresh and it exceeded my expectations. My only complains: not enough chorizo, steak could be a bit softer. Absolutely loved the salsa!

Hayden had the vegetarian Enchiladas Pilones. He was also reminded of “home sweet home”, and was relieved that he went for the veggie version. The portion is fairly large and I think it would be hard to walk after the Chicken Enchiladas. I should know, I barely got home…

Now back to the original reason for my visit, the Margaritas! Yes, it was the largest cocktail I’ve ever had in Amsterdam for an average price. Tasted great and the juices were fresh. Not the strongest Margarita, though.

See that little refill there? That’s another half a cocktail!

The location next door, Lunch & Dinner, has a more extensive menu for those of you who are looking to explore the Mexican cuisine beyond Tacos and Enchiladas.

For me, this will definitely be “the place to go” when I’m craving the wonderful combination of Tacos and Margaritas. I told the waitress that this is the most authentic Mexican place I’ve been to so far in Amsterdam, and meant it.

She was even so kind to give us a couple of bottles of their authentic, home made salsas! I suspect my next Google searches will be “What can i cook with [insert name here] salsa?”. How exciting!

Value for money: 8

Food Quality: 8

Location: 9 (Kerkstraat 63)

Service: 9

Website: http://www.lospilones.com/ 

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