La Casa de Isaac

Stopped here on a whim, hoping for greatness based on fellow yelpers reviews.

ATMOSPHERE: OMG busy. We arrived during restaurant week around 5:45, and met a line out the door. I'm thinking, these must be some incredible tacos! Once inside, I'll say they have certainly maximized their space... tables are almost on top of each other, and the bar / kitchen is condensed into a teeny tiny space on one side of the wall. The host offered to have us sit at the "bar" (much to the people behind us' chagrin), and we took him up on it to avoid the 45 minute wait otherwise. The "bar" was really nothing more than a couple of wood railroad ties / planks strapped to a steel bar well to make additional seats, but hey, do what you can with what you've got, right? NOTE TO "BAR PATRONS" - the wood tabletop of the bar is HORRIBLY uneven. We spilled drinks twice just trying to set them down, and one of our many plates slid off the bartop on to my daughters lap.

FOOD: As straight tacos go, these are alright. Otherwise, we had:

Chicken / steak taco plate: Okay... I wish I could say better, but it was nothing special I was SO hopeful seeing some of the beautiful things leaving the window, and was simply let down by a basic taco, slightly underseasoned, served with rice that was horribly cooked, bland, and cold. One daughter had the kid's version of this, and hers was no better.

Tampiqueña: This was actually quite good. It's one of the more artful Mexican entrees we saw, and it came flavored well and had just enough to fill you without going overboard.

Guacamole - Okay. While creamy and filled with chunks of fresh avacado, it lacked acidity (from limes) and heat (from jalapeno's or other pepper). I like my guacamole with a kick, and this had ZERO... for $9, I was sorely let down.

Kid's Chicken Tenders - OMG this is one of the many items that completely knocked the rating down. They served a nice looking platter of chicken tenders, but they were very bland, poorly breaded, and when we asked for ketchup, we were brought first one bottle and then a second of BROWN ketchup. Folks, this means the bottles are OLD, oxidized, and potentially BAD... the bartender and server tried to convince me they were new and okay, but there is no way they should be serving this to people, especially children, and I was mortified... asked for ranch dressing, which seemed to be okay, and moved on. While I get that american dishes (including ketchup) aren't their thing - the answer is not to poison people - simply take it off your menu!

NOTE -- before you order drinks, check your prices!!!! I was charged $14 for a warm half-glass of wine. This is almost unimaginable to me, to pay $14 for a warm chardonnay that isn't even half full... they didn't tell us drink prices, so it wasn't until the check arrived that we realized what they'd done. Also, $9 for a Tecate? Shame...

SERVICE: Okay. The bartender was a nice guy, chatted up the girls, but the service otherwise was somewhat indifferent. The server herself showed up only rarely, and we were left a little dissapointed between that and the "ketchup incident"

VALUE: Pretty poor... we have a few Mexican restaurants nearby our home that, while they don't offer creative dishes like Filet Mignon fajitas, what they do have is better seasoned / flavored, half the cost, and much easier to live with (brown ketchup... EGAD)!!!

Truth told, I could be convinced to try one more time, and try something a bit more adventuresome, hoping it had the flavor and uniqueness I was hoping for but didn't get. That said, again, I believe if you can't do something right, and give it the attention and love you give the "special" dishes, then you shouldn't do it at all... dissapointing.

Are they still there? We tried both locations tonight at 6:00pm and neither was open. A call to the Highwood location on Temple went straight to voice mail. YMMV

Disappointed ... One star may not be fair, but wanted folks to look and make sure ...

Been here twice in the past and have not written a review yet! Casa de Isaac is an incredibly interesting fusion of what seems to be a Mexican restaurant with underlying hints of a Jewish deli thrown in. I mean, they used to be closed on Saturdays for the Sabbath if I'm not mistaken.

They make some really nice margaritas and use good tequila, so definitely order one bc you will most likely be waiting for a table for a bit. Salsa and chips are also very solid and so is the guac.

I've been here twice and ordered two different items, a special steak bizteca dish, skirt steak topped with melted cheese & served with rice and beans. I wasn't blown away at all and it was a little steep in price for what I got...but the memorable meal I had here was the SALMON BURRITO. This is what I am talking about with the Mexican/Jewish fusion!! When have you ever been to a Mexican restaurant that served a salmon burrito? The answer is no where else but here, my friends. Don't be scared to try new things, this is awesome!!!! I will definitely order it again when I come back!

Love the decor, it almost feels like you're in another country if you pretend hard enough :) I guess my only slight qualm is price, it's a little steep for certain items, like the steak I had. Other than that, Casa de Issac is a guaranteed good time, especially with a group of 4 or more people. There is limited seating though, so reservations are recommended!!