Where To Drink: Happy Hour @ Tortilla Republic

The Drinks: Margaritas and 40+ tequilas

The Location: West Hollywood

The Vibes (for the patio): Airy, vibrant and lively, but calm

Good for: Spending not a lot of money to get top-notch, sophisticated and refined Mexican food and margaritas

When-To-Go: Happy hour: Monday 5-7pm, Tuesdays-Sundays 3-7pm

The $ Factor: $; Food items are $2-$6 and drinks are $4-$6 during happy hour; select appetizers are normal prices.

The Menu: See menu here

I’ll Be Back…: For the Cucumber Lavender margarita, with a house-made lavender syrup and muddled cucumbers.

The 4-1-1: Opened in March 2012 by the owners of another great restaurant, Taste on Melrose (John Halter, Morten Kaag, Mina Azami)

Why it’s on #WilsonsGuide: 

For the margaritas. Tortilla Republic margaritas have a great balance of taste, visual aesthetics and tequila. The $6 House Margarita is the perfect blend of sweet and sour, and is refreshing and light, leaving you feeling in quite a pleasant mood after the last drop. Bartenders also seem to be flexible and accommodating; one time a friend and I wanted to share a few different margaritas, and our bartender proactively offered to split our two margaritas into four glasses, so we didn't have to make a sloppy mess trying to do it at our table. We appreciated that!

For the tortillas. OK, yes, I know it’s named “Tortilla” Republic, I get it. But I was still pleasantly surprised to find that all of their tortillas have distinct tastes! The light and crispy tortilla chips in the $2 Salsa Tasting are distinctly different than the tortillas in the $6 Nachos, which are thicker and crunchier, and are dusted with spices – completely distinct from the soft, flour tortillas in the $6 Quesadilla BBQ Chicken (pictured below). I highly recommend picking a few different appetizers, simply to sample and compare tortillas.

All in all, Tortilla Republic has the perfect balance of hospitable customer service, stellar Mexican food, a refined but welcoming ambiance and most importantly, delicious margaritas. I love that the restaurant puts so much care into the details, whether that means preparing hundreds of tortillas in unique, distinct ways, or adding colorful garnishes to the margaritas. I also can’t forget to mention that the quality of food is phenomenal. The tastes, the seasonings, the presentation…this isn’t greasy Mexican food that will leave you in a food coma; it’s as fresh as it is vibrantly colorful and beautiful to look at.

So the next time you find yourself in West Hollywood on any given evening, hungry and in the mood for a margarita, I think you should head to the patio at Tortilla Republic. See you there soon!

For more information:

Tortilla Republic, Facebook, @iloveTRweho