Micheladas Mexican Grill serves up fresh, authentic fare
Micheladas Mexican Grill has opened at 13220 N. Cleveland Ave.
Michelada’s held a soft opening after the owners of Kabob Aroma sold the place, and held its grand opening on May 26 with County Commissioner Brian Hamman in attendance.
Now, despite opening at the tail end of tourist season on April 6, the restaurant is looking to grow a customer base of year-round locals. The early reviews have been encouraging.
George Alvarez, owner of Micheladas, bought the place so his mother, a former caterer in California can showcase her talents.
“Cooking has always been her passion. We moved here nine years ago and discovered there was no authentic Mexican food like you have in the Southwest,” Alvarez said. “So, we decided last year to open our own Mexican restaurant.”
Alvarez said Micheladas offers fresh products with the comfort of a lanai where people can sit down and enjoy a meal.
“The Florida style and Mexican food, you can’t go wrong with that. We’re trying to make it cleaner and fresher on the outside,” Alvarez said.
Despite a post-season start, those who have been coming are coming back.
People in the Moody River neighborhood has been coming to their place, thanks to some help from the neighborhood website, which has helped, Alvarez said.
Micheladas has the standard Mexican fare such as tacos, burritos and enchiladas. It also has more authentic dishes, with old recipes taken from Southern Mexico given a modern flare.
All the vegetables are locally grown and the meats are of the highest quality. Everything is prepped in the morning so everything is as fresh as possible, Alvarez said.
The barbacoa is an indigenous dish with beef served in a spicy sauce and is a popular dish. The Quesadilla Jalisco is fried shrimp and onions, tomatoes and jalapenos, and the garlic shrimp is pretty self explanatory.
“When you finish, you don’t feel bloated. You feel satisfied and energetic,” Alvarez said. “We also have chicken tenders and burgers for the kids or those who don’t eat Mexican.”
If you don’t want to eat on the lanai, you can pick up your meal at the drive-thru or the pick-up window.
Micheladas is open from 11 a.m. until 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday and closed on Sunday. For more information, call 652-3495 or check out their Facebook page.