There is a cute and colorful Mexican restaurant in El Monte called Xecora Gastronomia Urbana that features handmade tortillas, fresh seafood and drinks. The colorful decor features Huichol culture with handcrafted art pieces made by artists from this region. The Huichol people also call themselves the Wixaritari. They are the Indian people that use their colorful artwork to express their relationships with water, air, fire and earth.
I wish I took pictures of the ambiance and surroundings, but it didn’t occur to me until afterward. We had a corner table so it was perfect for people watching. The decor & furniture colors were all bright (pink, blue, yellow, green). There were succulents inside and outside. There was even a random big horse in the middle of the restaurant.
We were greeted with a complimentary cash of freshly fried tortilla chips and slightly spicy salsa. The bright yellow baskets definitely contributed to the vibrant colors of the ambiance. Tortillas were crispy and salsa was tasty.
Pineapple AGUA FRESCA. If you check in on Yelp, you get a complimentary agua Fresca. I picked pineapple and it was so refreshing, light and sweet!! There was an abundance of pineapple chunks in the drink.
(I actually found out later that the check in option was only for takeout orders, but since my server never told me that, he gave it to me anyway! Otherwise, it is $5).
XECORA. Sour guava, tequila, orange, chili. This is the first cocktail drink Vince picked and I actually really liked it. The drink was made with fresh guava and orange. You can tell because there is a lot of pulp in the drink. It was perfectly sour and sweet with very little hint of alcohol taste.
CHARBROILED OCTOPUS. Charbroiled octopus served with sautéed vegetables. This was my favorite dish that we ordered!!! The octopus was perfectly grilled over charcoal to give it that charcoal-smoky smell and taste! It was very tender and soft and moist. The vegetables soaked up some of the octopus flavor. There was also a hint of garlic infused in the octopus.
ASADA. Premium beef, onion and cilantro. This taco was good but anything out of the ordinary. The asada meat was cooked to tender and juicy. The tortilla is handmade and fresh! It was so warm and soft… I wish they would provide more condiments or salsa to go with the taco. It was otherwise more plain.
PASTOR. Marinated pork, pineapple, onion and cilantro. This taco was the best out of the four tacos we got! The pork was u believable juicy and flavorful! Each bite came with juicy pork bits pouring out. The pineapple added a nice touch of citrus and again, that handmade tortilla!!!
OCTOPUS CHICHARRON. Fried octopus and cheese. I picked this taco because it said cheese and I wanted to see what octopus and cheese would taste like together. However, I should have taken more notice of the word fried in the menu. Overcooked octopus is never a good thing and I don’t think any octopus can taste good fried! It was so hard and crunchy that it lacked in any flavor other than the hard and firm texture. The tortilla was fried and that was good at least.
KESABIRRIA. Marinated beef, melted cheese, onion and cilantro. Recently finding out about birria tacos, I just had to try the elevated version of this! Hmm, in comparison, I think I prefer the grungy version of these tacos but don’t get me wrong!! This taco was still good!!! Very juicy and cheesy crunchy taco!
CEVICHE VEGGIE WITH HABANERO ASH. Cucumber, tomato, onion, cilantro, avocado, mango. Vince picked this one because he was intrigued about the mango with habanero. Honestly, I didn’t like it at all because it was way too sour for me. Vince loved the citrus level however and gobbled that thing down!
Overall, this was an amazing and surprising experience. We went last Friday to celebrate each other’s accomplishments of getting new jobs around the same time. We have been eying this place for almost a year now because the tacos and drinks they post look pretty and promising. I am so glad this wasn’t a let down and exceeded our expectations!
The service was also very good! Everyone was so friendly and nice and all smiles. They have happy hour on Mon-Thurs and we will definitely be back to check it out!
