Marix Tex Mex

Date: Saturday, July 18th
Restaurant: Marix Tex Mex
Location: Pacific Palisades, CA
Price Range: $$

Saturday, Laurence and I journeyed into Pacific Palisades for some tasty tacos. We live in Manhattan Beach, CA so it isn’t too far from us…about 30-40 minutes. It was a gorgeous day, so we decided to make the most of it and loaded up our bike cruisers and drove into Marina Del Rey. We cruised the strand, at a slow and relaxed pace, through Venice Beach, Santa Monica and into Pacific Palisades taking in the colorful people and change of scenery.

We do quality time things like this as much as possible. We playfully call it, “Saving the Marriage”. It typically revolves around the combination of excersize (boo) and food (yeah!). For us, it is hard to enjoy one without the other! So we try to make it an adventure whenever possible. And so faarrrr, after almost 13 years, it has worked well for us. It is a fun way to spend the day, and even better when your destination is a fantastic plate of fish tacos and a tasty margarita. Good enough motivators for us…screw the marriage!

We have been to Marix Tex Mex (known locally as simply Tex Mex) before, but it has been several years since we have been back. Not for wanting, trust me. Which is why it was our number one choice for the first official Hungry Hook & Thirsty Worm reveiw. And I am happy to report that it was just a good as I remember it. It is a local Pacific Palisades favorite; the attire is casual, and kid friendly (during the day). Due to the bike ride, we arrived before the dinner rush…which was a little dull people wise, but actually good timing. I would highly recommend reservations if you want to eat between 6-9. But sitting in the bar for a while is what most who dine here have no problem doing!

The restaurant reminds me of a Colorado log cabin. The interior is mostly wood, with large wood beams, tables and chairs. It has a very earthy and cozy feel to it, although no fireplace that I could see. There is upstairs dining as well. It has a great bar area that was already buzzing with people when we got there, with a small outdoor patio area off of that. Tex Mex has a reputation for serving excellent drinks and margaritas and has a really good vibe for getting together with groups of friends.


First things first! We ordered the House Margarita on the rocks, no salt. (Which will be the standard margarita reviewed by the Hook & Worm). The well tequila they use is 1800 Reposado. A step up from the typical generic well tequila…which is nice. It came served in a chardonnay wine glass (huh?). It is mixed simply with Cointreau and fresh lime. I have to say, I am never overly impressed by many restaurant margaritas, which is why I am reviewing them. Typically I find them to be too sweet, or sour. Then you can’t have more than one or two because the mixers begin to stick to the back of your throat. Uh...Buzz Kill. Some might say that ordering it with salt would cut the sweetness, but the drink as it is made should stand on it’s own. It is how it is mixed, that is the real test. The house margarita is smooth enough at Tex Mex, but still found it to be on the sweet side. Too heavy on the Cointreau for my taste, and hubby agreed. I can bet their specialty drinks are better. Or maybe just ask for ½ the cointreau. That would solve the problems of most gaggy tonsel tickler restaurant margaritas…with or without the salt!


For Mexican food lovers, good Chips and Salsa are a must - and this place does not disappoint. Chips were thin, but could hold a decent dip, were lightly salted and have a strong, tasty corn flavor. Not greasy at all. They offered two different kinds of salsa, pico di gallo style, and a smoked salsa. Both were very good, made with fresh ingredients. I am a huge fan of smoked salsa, and this one has a nice little kick to it. Two yum’s up for the chips and salsa!


We ordered Guacamole as an appetizer, and I have to say, I have had better. The order itself was not very big, big enough for two I guess, but I am used to a far more generous serving of this in most places. It was not super chunky, but more a blend of creamy and chunky. I prefer thick and chunky…all avocado, no filler or overworked. Spices were good enough so the flavor was fine….just not the best I’ve ever had. Would I order it again?…sure, but would probably try the Chili Con Queso next time, which they say is a “Tex Mex Favorite”.


We were very hungry from our biking journey, so we both ordered dinner salads, only a couple of extra bucks with an entrée. We both opted for the Cilantro Lime dressing. The iceberg lettuce was fresh and the dressing, very good. It reminded me of a Caesar dressing, but not creamy. It was lighter in texture and flavor, with a Parmesan, cilantro and lime taste. Was the dinner salad anything spectacular? No, but the dressing was very nice and worth a taste!

I ordered the Fish Taco’s, which came served 2 ways, with Swordfish or Ahi Tuna (both blackened as an option). I ordered the Ahi, grilled medium rare. OMG, they looked so good when the hit the table and I couldn’t wait to try them! They were cooked to perfection and tasted AWESOME! The quality of the tuna was excellent, and melted in my mouth. There are 3 tacos to a plate, and each served on two very small homemade corn tortillas. There is a nice “sea salsa” sauce which complimented the taco perfectly. The cabbage was lightly seasoned, topped with guacamole and cotija cheese. It comes with a side of poblano rice (very light in flavor, but still quite good) and black beans refried style topped with cotija cheese. Unfortunately, I cannot digestively tolerate beans of any kind (TMI?), which is a major bummer for me, but my husband said they were great. His favorite style of black bean actually! The waiter actually screwed up and forgot to give me, "all rice, no beans", so I gave the beans to my husband and ordered a side of their herb green rice, which I highly recommend.

It is much stronger in flavor than the poblano rice. But what can I say, I enjoyed them both! At first glance, the size of the taco's are deceiving, but the tuna portion was generous, and I was stuffed after I finished. And quite happy I might add.

For you meat lover’s out there, my husband ordered the Braised Brisket Beef Taco’s. He said they were EXCELLENT. Rich in smoky flavor. It is rare to find the quality, and style, of meat like that on a taco.

Despite the one minor server mishap, overall, I believe Tex Mex is very, very good and worth getting a party of people together to try it out. I, myself, can’t wait to go back!



THE HUNGRY HOOK AND THIRSTY WORM OFFICIAL REVIEW:

FISH TACO’S - 4 out of 5 HAPPY HOOKS
HOUSE MARGARITA: 2 out of 5 DANCING WORMS
SERVICE - 3 out of 5