Autentica

I, admittedly, put a huge amount of pressure on my dining experience at Autentica. It has gotten so much fabulous print hype and word of mouth from a number of my friends/colleagues that I placed it on a pedestal. To add fuel to the fire, I was determined to take my Mexican boyfriend here to prove there is quality Mexican in Portland (which he was so very skeptical on). His response before I get into the details: best Mexican he has in Portland by far, but absolutely not the authentic Mexican food that he grew up on, and that Autentica prides as the focus of their restaurant.

The location of Autentica is great, at NE 30th/Killingsworth in the new, unassuming foodie kingdom (Beast and Yakuza are literally across the street). The restaurant is smaller but this gives it a homey feel. The décor is simple and understated, but the walls are painted a fantastic burnt orange. There are three seating areas: the main dining area as you walk in the entrance, seats at the bar where you can watch the chefs, and a separate room to the right of the entrance. We had reservations and were seated in the front of the restaurant as soon as we arrived.

The menu, food and service:

I appreciated that the menu was simple and included only the best Mexican favorites. The food fits on one side, the drinks on the other, nice and easy. After reading all the reviews on Yelp before we headed out, we were surprised that they only had 3.5 stars. As you read them, you realize almost every review mentions bad service in some fashion. Unfortunately, this will also be my biggest complaint about Autentica. I think our server was covering the entire main dining room, which may be small, but requires a lot of work. It took 20 minutes just to order drinks, and another 20 to actually get them into our patient hands. It was worth the wait though…we had the “Cadillac Margarita” (yes, at $11/drink!), and they were perfection. Strong and flavorful with a shot of grand marnier, glass rimmed with just enough salt, and slices of orange/lime on the side. For food, here it goes:

• All tortillas are house made, and they are the perfect accompaniment to the dishes. The blue corn tortillas served with dipping sauces as you sit down to your table were delicious –heartier and thicker than you would expect.
• Salads – Vetabel con habanero (spicy lime beet salad). This was spicy indeed, but the blend of beets with I believe blood oranges, onions, limes and radishes was a wonderful.
• Small Plates (pictured above) – Queso fundido con chorizo (Oaxacan melting cheese and chorizo served with corn tortillas). One of the most authentic tasting Mexican dishes in my opinion; a must-have from here. Apparently this is traditionally served with chips, not tortillas, but I loved this all the same.
• Large Plates
o Filete de Tilapia – Ecuadorian tilapia filet marinated with adobo rojo, cooked in banana leaf and served with fried chile sauce. This dish was the star of the night on flavor – texture, sauce and rice were all dead on.
o Carnita Autentica - traditional pork carnitas autentica style, served with refried black beans and grilled tomatillo sauce. I loved this, but my boyfriend said it should have been a bit more well done (as in crunchy on the outsides). The black beans with cheese were out of this world.

In a nutshell:
1) This is undoubtedly good Mexican food, but the prices seem are unreasonable for this type of food as well as within Autentica’slow-key environment. Pambiche would kill this place on food quality/price/atmosphere any day of the week.
2) Service can kill any meal, we all know that. That is what happened here.
3) Sit at the bar and watch the chef’s, that way you won’t realize how long your order is taking!

*Jayne