Family-owned restaurant gaining a reputation for fine Mexican food
Published in the July 23 – August 5, 2014 issue of Morgan Hill Life
By Staff Report
Photo by Marty Cheek
Marco Acevedo mixes a margarita, one of the restaurant’s signature drinks.
Life is a party at Margarita’s Bar and Grill. Located in the same shopping center as Nob Hill Foods, the family-owned Mexican restaurant has built a following of Morgan Hill regulars who come for the food and stay for the fun.
“The main thing that Margarita’s wants you to experience is a happy tummy and a happy life,” said Marco Acevedo, son of restaurant owner and executive chef Margarita Ramirez. “We want to make sure that when you come into the door, you have a smile greeting you. We want to make sure when you are sitting down you have all your necessities that you need with a smile on your face.”
One of the biggest draws to the eatery is the margarita drinks made at the bar. Patrons rave about the quality of the beverage prepared with a varied choice of tequila brands.
“I don’t know what the secret is, but we make every margarita with love and we have to make sure the margaritas live up to the name because we are Margarita’s of Morgan Hill,” Acevedo said. “You’ll see that every margarita is taken seriously. We always make sure we measure (the ingredients) correctly and have a balance of a margarita that’s primed. When we shake the drink, we really shake so that when you taste your first sip, you’ll say, ‘Oh my God, this is a great margarita.’ It’s just one of those things that we pride in ourselves.”
The restaurant is also famous for its signature plate — The Drunk Molcajetes. This daring dish brings shrimp, carne azada, pollo azado and cactus together in a wild chipotle extravaganza. A “kiss of tequila” dashed on the mixture is lit for a fiery eruption.
“What the whole thing is a show in itself,” Acevedo said. “It’s a plate that Margarita and I decided to get out there and make sure Margarita’s was known for it. It comes in a hot volcanic rock that’s called a molcajete. The tequila gives it a different taste to make it just a beautiful show and literally just a party in your mouth. Out of every plate that we have here, The Drunk Molcajete is the monster of them all, the one that if you want to try something new, you are going to come in and go, ‘Wow!’”
Acevedo calls the cuisine traditional Mexican, especially from the Guanajuato region where his family’s from.
“I would describe it as very homey like in Mexico. I feel that’s why a lot of people can relate to it,” Acevedo said. “We have the street tacos that you find in Mexico at the corner of every street. We also have one of the tastiest menudos that everyone in Mexico can relate to because it has simmered in a rich red broth.”
