Casa Romero: First Impressions

Casa Romero. A 50+ year old Mexican restaurant in Boston which seems to fly under the radar, despite its delicious cuisine. 

I recently attended a media dinner for a new Tequila brand, Alto Canto, at Casa Romero, which is technically located at 30 Gloucester Street, but you access its front door in Public Alley 431. The owner, Jose Leopoldo Romero, more commonly known as Leo Romero, opened the restaurant in 1972, making it 53 years old this year. 

While engaged in graduate work at Harvard University in Cambridge, Leo found the area was lacking in Mexican cuisine, so he partnered with a few others in 1967 to open the Casa Mexico restaurant at 75 Winthrop Street in Cambridge. One of his primary partners was Jeffrey Davis, who was Welsh-born and famous for his cake decorating. Although some sources claim this was the first Mexican restaurant in New England, that's untrue. 

The first Mexican restaurant in New England, in Boston, appears to be El Phoenix Room at Concannon & Sennett, at 1430 Commonwealth Avenue, which opened in 1962, five years earlier than Casa Mexico. The restaurant served "authentic Mexican food" along with tequila, tequila cocktails, Mexican beer, and Spanish wine. The chef, manager and operator of El Phoenix Room was Mrs. Jerry Morgan, a German-American from Denver and Arizona, who was considered to be an expert in Mexican cuisine. This was her first restaurant, and originated when she realized there wasn't a "full-fledged Mexican restaurant in the Boston area or in New England."

In 1972, Leo Romero opened Casa Romero, selling his interest in Casa Mexico to an employee. Casa Mexico became the 4th Mexican restaurant in the Greater Boston region. In the Sunday Herald Advertiser, December 8, 1974, it was noted that the building containing Casa Romero was a four-story townhouse built in 1880, and Leon lived on the third floor. It was also noted that "romero" translates into English as "rosemary." At this time, Leo also owned a second restaurant, L'Ananas, an international restaurant and sidewalk cafe on Newbury Street. Romero also said, "With Mexican food, you can't have a good wine. Beer is best."

Currently, Casa Romero has several different rooms, as well as a bar, and a bright and festive decor. The Drinks Menu has numerous listings for Tequila, Mezcal, and Sotol, as well as Margaritas, Sangria and other Cocktails. There are only 4 wines on the Menu, which makes sense considering Leo's previously stated views on wines and Mexican cuisine. The Food Menu has Appetizers & Salads (14 options, $8-$20), Tacos (3 options, $22-$26), Fajitas (4 options, $26-$32); Enchiladas (4 options, $20-$30) and Signature Plates (9 options, $25-$38). Plenty of options whatever your preferences.

The dishes for the media dinner were all pre-chosen, so we didn't have the opportunity to order anything off the menu. However, we received a nice variety of dishes, giving us an excellent overview of the possible options at Casa Romero. And the two dishes on the menu which most interested me ended up being part of our dinner. 

The dinner began with a fresh salad with crunchy tortilla strips and I believe Cotija cheese. 

Then, there was a Fresh Fish Ceviche, with chips and avocado. Bright citrus flavors, tender pieces of fish. 

There were tasty Quesadillas, including one made with just cheese and one with chicken & cheese. There were some Tacos too, but I didn't get a pic of them. 

Next up were the various Signature Plates and other large plates. This was the Carne Asada, a tender and flavorful sirloin steak with onions, tomatoes, rice, refried beans, a plantain, and a chicken enchilada. A hearty platter of delicious food.

The Cochinita Pibil consists of pulled roasted pork marinated in a rich and flavorful Achiote and Orange Chile sauce, and accompanied by rice, refried beans, and tortillas. I loved this dish, the pulled pork possessed an amazing depth of flavor and a medium spice level. Highly recommended!

My other favorite dish was the Enchilada Mole, two chicken enchiladas, with a traditional mole poblano sauce. I love mole sauce, and their version was excellent, again with a nice depth of flavor, complementing the tender chicken enchilada. Also highly recommended!

There was also Camarones el Cilantro, plump, sauteed shrimp in a homemade cilantro sauce.

I definitely want to return here soon to check out more of their menu, and maybe revisit a couple of my favorite dishes. I was shocked that this restaurant had been around for 50+ years and I had never dined there before. I'm very pleased though that I finally got to check out this restaurant, and makes me curious as to what other long-time restaurants I haven't ever dined at before. Casa Romero is worthy of your attention, to enjoy some delicious Mexican cuisine, spirits, cocktails and beer. 

Have you dined at Casa Romero before? What were your thoughts?