Señor Jalapeño – Buenas tardes México!
Good news for everyone who has been missing a great Mexican restaurant: Señor Jalapeño in the Preusserstrasse, Dreiecksplatz Kiel, is still fresh but no longer an insider tip. Since august 2016 the family business offers Mexican specialities in highest quality and made from traditional family recipes. Now that’s some Mexican food!
1. Location
What we notice immediately, even before entering the restaurant, are the Mexican South Park figures. Not a joke, South Park! The owners of the place definitely have some sense of humor – and are not afraid to show it. The South Park characters are present not just as part of their logo, but also on their website and on the inside of the restaurant. 
In Señor Jalapeño you get to visit a Mexican restaurant that stays true to its origin in every way. The owners Luis and Jorge welcome us in front of the bar in a kind and honest way and you know immediately that they put their heart and soul into this place. This is noticeable in every corner of the restaurant. The walls have warm and cosy colors, the tables are made of dark wood. There is special decoration everywhere and of course the Mexican flag has its place on the wall.
Overall there is more than enough space if you want to eat ‚privately‘. The window sill is decorated with lovely small plants and there is a real candle on the table spending some smooth light. Candlelight dinner it is! Mexican music in the background completes the nice, almost romantic atmosphere. If you want to get a drink before or after the dinner – or maybe you solely want to drink – you can order some at the bar, which is a separate part of the restaurant and is always theme-decorated. Below you can see the decoration for Día de Muertos, the day of the dead.
2. Service
As many other guests before we have the pleasure to be served by one of the owners. With a very charming Spanish accent he takes our orders in a generous and friendly way. Throughout our whole visit we feel the Mexican mentality, it’s a totally different feeling compared to a typical German restaurant. And that feeling itself is already worth the money!
3. The drinks
Apart from regular drinks such as soft drinks – another big plus is that they serve Pepsi instead of Coke – coffee, tea, juice and spritzer, water and beer you can get non-alcoholic and alcoholic beverages such as cocktails, shots and special sorts of wine. What’s special about this is that even the drinks have a vegan label so you won’t have any problems choosing. For starters we order a delicious Margarita. Guys (and girls), this drink is more than worth it! You will never get a better homemade Margarita anywhere else.
4. The food
Before the real starter we get something like a pre-starter, a small portion of tortilla chips with a spicy vegan dip, to shorten the time until the real starter arrives.
Señor Jalapeño has a full vegan menu, which makes both our choices not that easy – in a positive way! As a vegan starter Esther orders „Pico de gallo“, a variation of chips & dips with a fresh dip made of tomatoes, onions, lemon and cilantro. The main course is “Enchiladas Entomatada“ with a juicy tomato sauce.
The starter for Stefan is called “Nachos con queso“ and consists of tortillas made of real Mexican corn flour combined with hot melted cheese, bacon and beans. For main course he chooses “Burrito con carne deshebrada“, a burrito with mincemeat and again, a lot of cheese.
For dessert the Mexican restaurant has a real speciality to offer. We can choose between three kinds of Churros, a delicious spanish sweet pastry. Stefan tries Churros with chocolate sauce while Esther stays with the one vegan kind, Churros with sugar.
My main course is not just a burrito. It is an unbeatable combination of creamy smashed beans, a lot of melted cheese, meat and a nice spicy sauce as a dip – a fresh side salad included. The portion is gigantic and although it tastes heavenly good I have to save the rest for later. Taking home leftovers is no problem at Señor Jalapeño, so this way you’ll have great food for not just one but two days.
Long story short: the dessert is a dream come true. The churros are crispy on the outside but soft on the inside, combined with liquid dark chocolate. It’s not to sweet, but just right to round up a perfect Mexican dinner. If you visit Señor Jalapeño you have to try Churros! They’re a real speciality and you won’t find these in good quality everywhere.
All I can say is: wow. Each of the three courses is a fresh and high quality enjoyment. You can taste that the recipes and some ingredients come from another continent and that they are definitely no Tex-Mex.
The main course convinces me as much as the starter. The enchiladas – rolled flat cakes made of corn flour – are decorated with two spicy green jalapenos and sesame. And it looks as good as it tastes. The dough is a little softer than I am used to, which is due to the special recipe of the owners. At this point you clearly taste the difference between Señor Jalapeño and Tex-Mex-restaurants. The enchiladas taste very natural and are filled with fresh cooked vegetables spread with tomato sauce. Additionally there is rice and a small salad aside. The portion is so big that I too have to get the rest wrapped for later. 
5. Nice-To-Know
As already mentioned above it is no problem to to take leftovers home with you. At Señor Jalapeño you can pay with cash or credit card. What we noticed as well were the clean and tidy bathrooms with all you need after dinner – mouthwash included!
If you want to celebrate your birthday at Señor Jalapeño, you can do that with great style. Literally, because every birthday guest gets a giant Mexican sombrero hat for free.
Summary
Señor Jalapeño in our opinion is just the perfect restaurant for vegans and non-vegans. This place definitely serves the best for both groups. There is more than enough selection for both in matters of starter, main course and dessert. The owners of the restaurant take great care of creating new and special vegan dishes. They solely use high-class ingredients and unique Mexican family recipes, which all represents in taste and look of their food. It’s fresh, it’s natural, it’s different – no tex-mex food, guaranteed (we can’t say it enough)!
If you haven’t tried this Mexian restaurant in Kiel yet, it’s about time. You will not regret it!
BOL
