Plaza Margarita

My wife and I stopped in for a drink and ended up eating a meal. The service was great and the food was good. We will be back.

Love this place. Nora, the owner, is very personable and makes every customer feel welcome. The margaritas are great (and strong). The food is traditional and very good. The fresh bread is fabulous. love the combination platters. Be sure to ask the story of Nora’s purchasing this restaurant. Nora was a waitress here when it was Meson Olé for many, many years. When they closed up shop she was left without a job. She took every penny she had to purchase this restaurant. It is a fabulous American dream story that she was able to go from waitress to owner. Scraped up all her money to offer us fabulous margaritas. Please come patronize and enjoy the traditions of Mexico.

My wife and I have been frequenting this location since 1987 when it was Mason Olé. Though the menu selection has been reduced, the food is still very tasty. Service is attentive without being over-​bearing. Priced reasonably (unless you think Taco Bell is fine dining). Give this establishment a try. Don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

I was devastated when Meson Olé closed down, but the even better Plaza Margarita took over the space. It’s not often that a waitress takes over and transforms a restaurant, but that’s just what Nora did. The place has been beautifully updated. The food is fresh, delicious and still a great deal. A great restaurant to discover or rediscover.

Went there, since we wanted to go somewhere local to us. The staff was friendly, but the food was nothing special to say the least. I found the portions were small, and the salsa they put on the table looked like it came out of a container.
When I sat down, my water glass was dirty — which should of been a sign of the rest of the experience and meal. Even though the staff was nice, I wish they could of been more attentive. I never had my water filled once… I don’t think I’ll be going back.

They are lucky that I am forced to choose one star. Similar recipes to meson olé just shorter menu. I ordered chicken and rice and got bad chicken, you could smell it. My husband ordered chimichangas that had no flavor sadly. I make chimichangas, paella, empanadas, and many other dishes that people beg me to make for parties. This was sad, why go out if I make it better?

Nora the owner is absolutely a doll! The drinks are great and the food is exactly the same from meson olé. I was beyond excited to have the salsa again! They brightened the place up a bit, more fun and not so dark. I was really impressed!

First let me say congratulation to Nora, i believe she owns it now. If you were ever a Meson Olé regular you will know who she is. The place is so much brighter and cleaner now! The food was great! Same quesadillas, the chicken wings now come with chipotle sauce and blue cheese instead of sour cream. Same chips and salsa, a little disappointed they don’t give warm bread :-(anymore. Paella was better then ever! Much more flavor than Meson’s. If I still lived in NY I would again be a regular! Took away one star for the bread and service being slow.

The service was great. Unfortunately the food was not. I should have known it would be sub par when there was only one car in the parking lot. The chips were stale! The salsa and Pico were obviously not made fresh. In fact a lot of the items did not taste fresh. I ordered the tostones con todo. The only thing i enjoyed on the plate was the plantains and the guacamole. I could not eat the chicken, sausage or the sour cream. I also got the empanadas. While the outside crust was good, the filing was nasty mush and had a funny taste. I would not recommend this restaurant. Hopefully they will read my review and make some changes.

So basically this place was really really good when they opened. Unfortunately they don’t get many customers so now they charge way mor for drinks and portions are less than half the size they used to be.

so i went to plaza margarita for the first time about two weks ago. I watched the place get built cus i pass it everyday on my commute and was so excited for it to open, it looked much nicer than the old meson olé it replaced. So we went in and there was no one there, it was a rainy weeknight but still its a tragedy cus the place makes some delicious stuff. Appetizers: ordered chicken wings, which were SO SO CRISPY, i thought it was a stupid idea to order them cus they were just regular wings but they were so worth it. and i had the garlic soup, that has an egg floating on top of some bread in it and it was so good i could just die. it was like french onion but much much better. Me and boyfriend both ordered from their combination platter list and both our portions were huge, he got like a taco and a stuffed jalepeno thing which was like a high end jalepeno popper and something else i cant remember. I had enchiladas with mole sauce which was an obvious win. The restaurant was great and i want to go back which is why im writting this review cus i want more people in there so they don’t close. ALSO a shout out to their tortilla chips that they gave when we sat down because they were the thick kind that dosent break when you put salsa on it like those thin «cantina style» chips that are popular now.

I was there with my wife to check out the new restaurant Plaza Margarita, formerly Meson Olé. Like in previous reviews in Unilocal,the restaurant got a new paint job and is definatly brighter. The restaurant dies have the same feel of Meson Olé. Tables, chairs bar location are all in the same place. My wife ordered what used to be called chicken and shrimp Costa Brava, the dish looked delicious and fresh. It fell short on taste, it was a little on the bland side, close but no cigar. I ordered the paella w/​o the lobster. Meson olé, use to serve it table side in a huge pot, usually to much for one person to consume in one sitting, Plaza Margarite, now serves it in it’s own sauté pan in front of you. This had to be the best tasting paella I’ve ever had, clams and mussel not chewy, chicken and Spanish sausages tender and juicy, just thinking about it makes me want to go back now. As with any new /​redone restaurant very small things have to be worked out. The staff were quick to seat us and take a drink order. The food came out hot and fresh, the usual chips and salsa served. The final call is definitely would go back, pretty much met my expectations. Good luck to the new owners and management, I’m already planning a return with my whole family

Great place really cleaned up place from last owners good food and friendly service. Only thing was good my taco was little more greasy then should have. But I would visit again. They should bring back the guys with the sombrero playing music it would be lots of fun.

Cold chips and cold bread– big mistakes. Fajitas were delicious. Combos were average at best. Dining Room is chilly but brighter than the former Meson Olé. Price is average. Overall doesn’t compare to Marias’s or La Pancheta.

Went here to celebrate a friend’s birthday. Our party had reserved the bar in advance. However, when we arrived the staff explained that they were swamped and had to seat other customers at the bar, leaving our party crammed into a tiny corner, with not enough seats to accommodate the group.
Whatever, we tried to make the best of it.
We ordered a mojito and a piña colada. The piña colada was decent, but nothing special. My fiancé said the mojito was terrible. The free salsa was decent, and we ordered a small guacamole that was pretty disappointing. And when they say «small guacamole» they mean very small.
As for our dinner, we went with the taco salad. Big mistake! Everything came in a shell made of something in between an over cooked soft taco shell and a soggy tortilla chip. Couldn’t really tell what is was. And on top of that was large pieces of sour tasting lettuce. The beans and beef were pretty tasty, but the strangest thing about this dish was that it came with cubed cheese. And very few pieces of it. How are you supposed to mix a taco salad with only 5 cubes of cheese? What happened to good old shredded cheese?
After getting the check, my fiancé made three attempts to wave down either the bartender or waitress (literally leaning over the bar waving around the check) in order to pay. With only one other couple at the bar who didn’t need anything, I can’t see how they wouldn’t see us, but they didn’t. But one of them did manage to walk right by, pour herself a cup of coffee and proceed to drink it over in the corner of the room. Luckily we had enough cash on us, so we just left the bill on the bar and walked out.
The only good thing about Plaza Margarita was the cherry at the bottom of my piña colada. Bad food, terrible service… needless to say, we won’t be returning.

Not as good as when it was Meson Olé. Food was just ok but the service was awful. Food took forever to come and I had to lie and say I had a movie to catch in order to get my bill.

The décor is updated from when this place was meson olé, but that’s about the only good thing about this restaurant. I ate here at around 7:30 on a Wednesday there was maybe two other tables seated when I walked in, was not greeted for a good 3 minutes. When I was finally seated we were served a very watery salsa with no flavor. We put our orders in and when the food arrived it was horrible. One of the members of my party ordered the taco salad bowl with chicken, when it came out the chicken was coated in a red sauce that tasted like it was scooped literally out of a can on top of the chicken, there was also cubed cheese mixed in with the chicken. This «salad» also had one leaf of Bibb lettuce laid down between the chicken and the fried shell. When asked about the odd lettuce in a «salad» our server told us the «chef» ran out of shredded lettuce. I ordered the combination number 4, which was a tamale, chicken enchilada and a tostada. Everything tasted the same… like nothing. There was no seasonings in anything that came to the table. Oh and everything was also smothered in that weird red sauce, as well as SHREDDED LETTUCE. All in all, horrible experience and I’ll never eat here again.

I was upset when i noticed Meson Olé was shut down. I was mostly just worried that it would be replaced by a chain restaurant, which seems to be a huge trend on Long Island. So, when it reopened as Plaza Margarita, I had to see how things had changed.
Unlike the claims of some other reviewers, they seated us almost immediately after we walked in. Things haven’t changed much, to be honest. The décor is a little cleaner, brighter and simpler, as expected. I didn’t use the restroom, but my girlfriend said that the ladies room was spotless.
The menu seemed a little less chaotic than Meson Olé, but it still had our old favorites. My girlfriend ordered the Seafood Veracruzana, and I ordered the 3 enchiladas (beef, cheese, and chicken). Service was good, the waitstaff was friendly and even gave us a hearty «Salud!» when pouring our drinks.
So, if you liked Meson Olé, you’ll definitely like Plaza Margarita. Either way, stop by and see for yourself.

Really cleaned up the place, new bathrooms, new carpet, fresh paint. Much better lighting and the menu is much easier to read. Best margarita’s and incredible food!
Happy to see Nora and her staff again!

Husband and I went to try out the new Mexican restaurant «Plaza Margarita» in Centereach, Long Island (formerly Meson Olé) last night and we were just thrilled! The service was flawless, everyone was friendly and attentive. The food was pure perfection, the small pitcher of margaritas was generously sized and delicious.
The restaurant has been updated with fresh paint, new roof, new doors, new carpeting, and entirely new bathrooms. It’s brighter and fresher while still maintaining the desired level of ambiance. We arrived early, between 430 – 500 pm on Sunday and there was no wait, but as our meal progressed the place started filling up… I guess the word is getting out about how good it is!
The new owner/​manager «Nora» greeted us personally and she was delightful. Nora had been an employee of Meson Olé for 29 years and when they decided to suddenly close the business Nora took the courageous plunge of starting her own restaurant. We’re just so happy that she decided to go out on that limb! The meal could not have been any better! My husband had the chicken with rice/​sausage and said it was better than ever. I had the #12 which is a guacamole tostada, cheese enchilada & chile releno… all I can say is WOW! I don’t recall EVER having it so good before. Maybe they’re using new ingredients or new suppliers, I don’t know, but the food was better than ever. Each flavor element of my dinner was so distinguishable from the rest. It was a flavor fest!
We wish Nora and her staff tremendous success! Go and try it, if you like Mexican food, you will be very very happy here!