Rocio’s is a new restaurant located on Gladstone and 28th Place which specializes in Mexican comfort food. Rocio, the owner, opened up the restaurant as the accompaniment to her father and brother’s restaurant, Ponce’s, down in San Diego. She kept the menu pretty much the same, and the idea is to serve traditional Mexican food that is inexpensive but also delicious.

It’s a formal-type restaurant with a hostess and servers, but don’t worry fellow broke high-schoolers, this doesn’t mean that the meal is going to cost an arm and a leg. As a matter of fact, most of the choices on the menu range from three to seven dollars. The most expensive non-alcoholic option, the hearty stews, are only $14.

I went with a friend and we got two entrees to share, the pollo asada enchilada with red sauce, and the nachos. The enchilada was fairly small since we only got one, but it had big flavor. It was spicy, but not overwhelming, and the chicken inside was moist and tender. I would definitely recommend it, but if you’re super hungry I’d suggest getting more than one!

The nachos were giant. They came as a big, round plate piled high with tortilla chips and covered with beef, cheese, sour cream, and guacamole. The nachos were great on their own, and got even better when dipped in the housemade salsa that was spicy with a hint of cilantro. The nachos were the perfect sharing size and would be great for a lunch date with friends. Both dishes combined added to a total of a little more than $11, five dollars and change if you split the check evenly between two people.

Rocio’s definitely nailed the Portland vibe. The restaurant pops with vibrant colors like teal, orange, and green, and the chill atmosphere is really welcoming. Combined with the good service, the inexpensive options, and how close it is to Cleveland (it’s a two minute drive), I would recommend Rocio’s to be your next lunch destination.