Lo Esencial

Service was so so. But when you get a shrimp cocktail appetizer and the shrimp are still frozen in the middle it kind of ruins the rest of the experience.
Only reason this earned two stars instead of one is the top shelf margarita wasn’t too bad.

Menu reno, Typical for dove mt.
Little odd greeting at door.
Not good, not good and not good
Hope new owner or new name isn’t as basic as this experience was.

Excellent service and great food. Great margaritas too. Loved the calabasas soup and the fish tacos.

Here’s the thing. If you’re looking for a «classic» Mexican place, this isn’t it. This is more Mexican «fusion». New twists on old standards. Plus some new stuff not seen elsewhere. Go in expecting new and different — you won’t be disappointed.

Quick food and a wonderful wine and spirit menu. However, a little pricey for ‘not so authentic’ mexican.

I dont know why the other restaurants at this location failed but it’s no secret why Lo Ensencial will fail. It started with a hair in our salsa and went rapidly south from there!

Liked the atmosphere in this cozy vino/​Mexican place. Food was very tasty and staff was friendly. Just looks like great neighborhood hangout. They have outside seating too. I would recommend it if you are close by for lunch, dinner, or just a glass of vine.

Not much of a Mexican restaurant! Only a couple of items on the menu would qualify. Watered down tap wine. Service slow as molasses.
Chicken tacos were … Where’s the chicken? Mostly lettuce and cheese. Enchiladas lived up to previous reviews. We won’t be back. We’ll go next door to Vero Amore where Happy Hour is very happy and the food is vabulous all the time. I feel so guilty not going there tonight

After reading a few reviews; some very positive and a couple of horrible ones, I took a chance. My wife and two brothers dined there this past Friday night. We did get a reservation as that is their busiest night.
The Waitress was very attentive and friendly. My wife had the fish tacos and my brothers and I ordered fish and chips. I am generally a tough critc when it comes to fish and chips, but these were one of the best I ever had. It was baked cod– very tender and flakey with a thin crispy breading. Meals were served right out of the fryer piping hot. Chris the manager checked on us and made sure we were pleased. All in all great service and I do plan to return again.

Run for your life!!!
In my 57years on the planet, dining all over the world, I have never walked out of a restaurant without leaving a tip. This was a first. Suffice it to say that the service was horrific. We waited over 20 minutes for a drink… the appetizers arrived first. And there was no one in the restaurant! Maybe five tables total had patrons. After voicing our disappointment in waiting so long for a drink, the second drink took another 30 minutes to arrive! The «fried» avocado was this restaurant’s way of taking a perfectly healthy appetizer and making it greasy and disgusting. We couldn’t even eat it. My husband ordered two fish tacos. One arrived on a plate the size of a bread plate and the second one arrived about 40 minutes later, with the requisite «oh, I’m so sorry» from the server. Horrible experience overall. Will NEVER return if they were giving the food away for free. Ended the evening at Vero Amore next door for a nice Pinot Noir at the bar and a plate of bruschetta. When we explained out experience to the bartender at Vero, she sighed and said, «oh yes, we’ve heard it all before. So sorry you started your evening there»…me too. We will never return. If you want to burn a $ 50 bill, by all means, go to Lo Esencial for a fish taco!

I imagine when people read my reviews, they wonder what is the point of making another review score with a five star rating. If my opinion hasn’t changed, what’s the point in updating? Well, over six months have past, and a lot can happen in six months.
After all that time, Lo Esencial is still worthy of a five star rating in my book.
To give a brief update, there have been several bartenders since my initial review. The new additions have been a very welcomed change to the scene, and then some.
First, let’s talk about the bar. Rather, a gentlemen by the name of Ron. Bringing a variety of creativity and personality, I’ve found that every time I go there he’s got a new creation that I’m curious to try. Each drink is unique, and beyond that enjoyable. It brings a very wonderful element to the bar scene at Lo Esencial, as anyone can appreciate a variety of creative and unique cocktails that are not only delicious but well crafted. Bartenders John and Karl are also fantastic, each one brings a unique flare and do their best to make you feel comfortable and that you’ve got a drink or that your beverage has been refreshed.
Also, since my original review, the head chef position has changed. However, one would be very hard pressed to think so, as the quality of food has continued to be just as strong as before. Furthermore, new menu items have been slowly added to the menu. Items like a Reuben and a salmon special similar to what was served at DMG (Dove Mountain Grill). This, in combination of great quality menu items already on make for a very diverse dining experience.
While some may consider this to be a restaurant with a split personality, I welcome the addition of diverse menu items. Lo Esencial means The Basics, and while the overall theme is Mexican that does not mean basics are simply limited to being Mexican. Sure, the place may be themed with a more Mexican-​inspired design but have classical American music and Mexican based food but also with sandwiches, but regardless of what some may say the most important thing for myself is quality of the meal compared to the price, and quality of the overall experience. In that aspect, Lo Esencial is one of the best around.
I have to confess I don’t have a watering hole I stick to. I constantly switch around and eat at various locations, sometimes taking a break from a place for months at a time even when there is no dip in quality. Lo Esencial has been a place I have constantly been to without a break for close to a year now. It isn’t because of convenience or price, it’s because they constantly work to make me feel like a valuable customer and give me a great experience. I still have yet to have anything remotely close to a bad experience in any aspect, and for that I can only offer my highest recommendation.

I’ve been here three times and each time I leave feeling unimpressed and I always wonder… how was our meal that expensive? The menu tries to be modern mexican fine dining, but it falls short on execution. The service is consistently slow and oblivious. One of their servers was incredibly awkward and delivered our drinks and entrees in the middle of our table and left without asking who ordered what. After noticing that my friend did not touch much of her plate of enchiladas, the server asked how it was. And my friend said it wasn’t very good. To which the server said that they’ve had quite a few complaints about the enchiladas and that they’ll take it off our bill. If you have a known issue, shouldn’t you do something about it? Again, unimpressive overall.

Yum – stopped today to get fish tacos «to go». Delicious beyond my expectations!!! I’ve eaten there before but think they’ve ramped up the quality. Delicious large chunks of fish, accompanied by crisp radishes, cucumber and maybe zucchini. An excellent value!!!
Will definitely be back – next time to eat in and enjoy the well designed surroundings.

Our first time here via invitation. The food was fair the service at the bar was poor! We will not return, Vero Amore looks like a much better option. We waited too long for drinks and the bartender was more attentive to the opposite side of the bar. Really bad service.

A great alternative to the Ritz Carlton resort restaurants up the hill — perfect for Saturday evening departure from the resort when you finally just want some cheap, good food. We stopped in and had a couple tacos — very reasonably priced at $ 4 each — while listening to the live classical guitar playing over by the front door. Nothing fancy, but the food was very good, if presented really simply. The pork taco was my favorite. Its called «The Basics» for a reason, you wouldn’t find fine dining here, but as a basic, tasty Mexican place, this is a good choice.
Its about a 10 minute drive downhill from the Dove Mountain resort, the closest non-​resort restaurant you can get to, although I heard the concierge recommending it to like-​minded people who wanted to get away from the expensive on-​site options.
The restaurant is at the end of a strip center, with some shaded outdoor seating and nice lights. Nearby there is a gas station, convenience store, and a Walgreens.

Omg the food was amazing!!! Every bite was full of flavor. Best mexican food ive had. Wish you were in California. The atmosphere was open and clean. Friendly staff. Our experience had a small hick up… we were early and didnt realize our food would take a little longer than normal, the chef personally came out to greet and explain why, he was so professional and friendly. Definitely recommend this place. Not far off from the the 10. Must go!!!

I used to be a regular when this was Dove Mountain Grill. DMG was awesome at one point and I used to be in there at least once a week before the bartender, Dave, was suddenly fired and then the place went to hell in a hand basket. They had a great wine and cocktail program and the food was interesting and solid. DMG nose dived and the ownership decided to close down and change formats. I thought I would give the new format plenty of time to settle in before I tried it out.
Well, I tried it out.
A place that bills itself as having Mexican cuisine uses red and green store bought tortilla chips? Salsa that’s obviously out of a jar? Guac that’s so loaded with citric acid it could have been made last week? Seriously? No chunks in either the salsa or guac it was all so pureed, no freshly chiffonaded herbs like cilantro to top, nothing to mitigate the fact there’s nothing there that a person with a can opener can’t make in 10 minutes at home?
What was once a pretty decent cocktail program now has well brands that I’ve never heard of. The once great wine list is gone. Beer? If you like run of the mill bottled beer, this place is for you! The beer was well priced ($ 2 a bottle during happy hour) but really I can get that anywhere.
The one redeeming factor was Robin the bartender. She was very friendly and attentive. If there was anything in the way of food and drink worth stopping in again I would because of her but there really isn’t. Just pass on by this place folks. What was once a very solid place is gone for good.

Food was delicious– I ordered their chicken quesadilla w/​guacamole on the side (gotta have some quac when you eat mexican food!!)
The chips & salsa that they serve here is great too, it has a little kick to it.
The service was fantastic. The manager gave us great recommendations on the menu (fish tacos– which my friend ordered). And he even gave us recommendations on what to do in Marana! They were friendly, attentive, & service was quick.
If you stay at the Ritz Carlton & you don’t want to eat on property, this is a good place to have dinner!

Service is great! Our server was very attentive, knowledgable, & friendly.
Salsa is spicy & yummy. Chips are good (& colorful. Lol). Had the carne asada tacos. The meat was tender, super juicy & flavorful. The chef & the gm/​owner both checked on us and were very nice. Darryl had the fish tacos & loved them. I tried them, but am not a fan of fish in general, so not really my thing. We were told they are the big seller. The fish is an Asian catfish that’s lightly breaded.
They have live music. It’s not overpowering & really adds to the whole feel of the place. Will probably be back again.

Tough to decide between 2 or 3 stars — it’s like 2.5.
Staff seemed nice. I went pretty early and there was no one in the front to greet me so I made my way over to the bar.
Chips and salsa to start. The chips didn’t seem like they were made fresh — more out of the box. They were multicolored, had large chunks of salt (yum) and were served with a generous amount of salsa. The salsa was very pureed (no chunks at all) but felt a bit bland. It had flavor, but not enough flavor for me. I would have expected some cilantro and a stronger onion flavor, but didn’t taste or see any.
I ordered the avocado fries since I’ve had them at a nearby restaurant and loved them. The fries were thick cut, crispy and golden brown. The dipping sauce fell short, unfortunately, and detracted from the dish. The fries tasted better being dipped in the semi-​bland salsa. :(This dish has lots of potential if they change out the dipping sauce for something brighter and stronger in flavor.
I ordered two tacos — pescado (fish) and calabacitas. The fish taco had a light batter and were dressed with a nice white sauce on a bed of cabbage. The calabacitas taco tasted more like a corn/​bean/​onion/​cheese on a bed of cabbage taco than calabacitas inside a taco. Maybe they were out of zucchini (which I thought was a main ingredient in calabacitas?)?
By the time I left, the bar was pretty full with locals, who seemed to know the staff. I would go back and give it another try, but I’ll avoid the avocado fries.