Local Restaurant Review: Las Tortugas

Even though this local restaurant isn’t local to me anymore (being located in Memphis, not Nashville), I couldn’t resist reviewing it. It has fast become a place I HAVE to visit whenever I’m in Memphis.

This is not your typical cheese-laden, fajita-sizzling, monster margarita Mexican joint (though there’s nothing wrong with monster margaritas…). The owner’s son (who was a part of the Navy Parachute Team–impressive parachuting and skydiving pictures don the walls of the restaurant) tells me that Las Tortugas is exactly the kind of upscale ‘torteria’ or ‘taqueria’ you would find in Mexico City.

Lunch time was busy, busy, busy. The line stretched to the door almost the entire time we were there. But I figured the food must be great if a restaurant so small and inconspicuous stayed so busy (it would be very easy to miss the small ‘Deli Mexicana’ sign at the end of the small strip where it’s located. A diamond in the rough indeed).

The food is fresh and made to order. The owner, Pepe, visits local stores and farmers each and every morning to handpick that day’s produce and meats. No delivery truck pulls up to the back of this restaurant. And you can truly taste the difference.

We started our meal with a tesote–a citrus tea sweetened with honey. They offered other fruit drinks (watermelon, cantaloupe, etc.) and the traditional Mexican rice drink-horchata.

Their menu offered two main options–tacos or tortugas (sandwiches)–with plenty of variety in flavors. I opted for the fish tacos, which I gobbled up before I could take a picture. The fish was topped with avocado, cilantro and a tasty homemade green sauce all nestled in corn tortillas.

My husband (yes, the goose) had a roasted chicken tortuga. The toasted bread made this almost like a savory pastry (delicious!). But after one bite of my tacos, he agreed that would be his pick on our next visit.

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