El Patron - Mentor On The Lake Mexican

As I was cruising around on the motorcycle, following the Lake Erie shore East, I noticed a Mexican restaurant I hadn't seen before. Located at 5945 Andrews Rd, Mentor On The Lake (map is here) in a strip mall set back from the street was El Patron.  They seemed to have done what they could with the front, especially considering the location and the banner with $3.49 Lunch Specials certainly caught my eye, so I figured I would give it a try.   Once inside I was surprised to find that El Patron was nicely laid out with warm browns and tans, with real stone used to create the diving wall and some nice Mexican touches and less beer paraphernalia then most Mexican Restaurants.  The overall decor is relaxing with a nice touch of class.

Once seated I was quickly greeted by my server and got the expected chips and salsa.   The chips were nice, the salsa was good although a bit mild, with the occasional pepper or onion chunks to make things a bit more interesting.  A little of the green hot sauce zipped up the salsa to my liking.

Reviewing over the menu I was impressed with the variety (you can view the menu at the Chardon El Patron website here); I was especially happy to see that the $3.49 specials included a choice of Chili Relleno or Fish Tacos.  I picked the Chili Relleno with the rice and was rewarded with a nice sized plate with one good sized chili and a nice portion of rice.  The Chili was well prepared, the batter was good, the cheese melted without becoming a lava flow and the pepper flavorful, although once again a bit mild to my taste.  With Poblano Peppers it is always hard to guess how hot they will be, so I would not hold that against El Patron.  The sauce topping the Chili was very nice slightly sweet with a smokey, almost hickory flavor, reminiscent of a good BBQ sauce.   The rice was mild, but had a very nice taste and good texture without being overly dry. 

Service was good with water refilled, food came out promptly while still feeling prepared to order.  For $3.50 this was one of the better Mexican lunches I have had in a while.  I will definitely head back to El Patron, at least to try the fish tacos lunch.

El Patron also has locations in Chardon and Middlefield, so I will keep an eye out and possibly give them a try.