Fiesta Quesadilla
El Patron

El Patron

198 Central Ave, Albany, NY 12206, United States

Fish • Meat • Cheese • Mexican


"I?m giving El Patron Mexican Grill and Cantina one whole star just for the spot it?s in. I don?t know what this building was originally meant to be, but the stained glass windows are giving a definite church vibe, while the topless ladies 1920s frescoesstill up at both ends of the main dining room are more ?Grand Central Station? vibes. There are plenty of existing interior ArtDeco 1920s elements. It?s a REALLY NICE space. The decent sized bar is at the back of the space. The exterior has a GREAT,bright paint scheme (oranges and blues FUN! . Disclosure: I don?t eat beef, pork or poultry. That?s usually not a problem forme at American Mexican restaurants. These days you can pretty much always find fish options and nachos etc. When I first startedreading the menu at El Patron I was worried. Pretty much everything I was seeing had chicken or pork. But this is a LARGE menuand when I slipped a few pages I found not only does El Patron have a Vegetarian menu. They even have a VEGAN menu! I wasimpressed. I wanted to try as many things as possible. But the portions here are what I would describe as HUGE. My plan was totry as many different tacos as possible. But I ordered stupidly. I?m pretty sure I could have mixed and matched more types oftacos if I had thought it out. Each ?full taco order? is 3 LARGE tacos. And if you get the whole meal option it comes with aPLATTER that is half refried pinto beans and half Mexican rice (both very tasty and extremely filling . I started withGuacamole and Bean Dip. The guacamole is made from avocado puree. I?m not a fan. I wouldn?t get it again. The Bean Dip is reallyQueso on top of refried beans. Which, let?s face it, is DELICIOUS. FYI: This food is Salty. With a capital ?S.? Drink yourwater so you can enjoy all the salt! The first tacos I ordered were Grilled Shrimp. Honestly? They were DELICIOUS. All they hadwere grilled shrimp, lettuce and a little cheese. They came with spicy salsa (actually spicy? and pico de"