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Serving: Lunch – Monday through Saturday, 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.; Dinner – Sunday through Thursday, 5-9 p.m., Friday and Saturday, 5-10 p.m. Cuisine: Mexican Prices: Entrees Entrées $4.99-$15.99 Scoring: Our Gourmet and The Dining Companion each grade a restaurant in six categories, for a combined total score of up to 100 points. Visit the Dining section of NewHampshire.com to read previous Our Gourmet reviews listed by town. |
Ambiance: 7/10
Our Gourmet: Downstairs at Hermanos is the main dining area, divided into two rooms; upstairs is the bar area. On this night we opted for the bar because we were told there was going to be live jazz — it turned out to be one guy and a keyboard, playing standards, but it was pleasant. While there’s nothing very fancy about Hermanos, it’s a comfortable place for dinner. Score: 3.5
TDC: The funkiness of the old Hermanos, which sat a lot less people, is gone. The restaurant was updated and moved into a larger building right around the corner in 1995. More of a family crowd comes to this location. Upon hearing the din of many children downstairs, we opted for the lounge. Just our luck, we were seated next to a large, loud group of preteens. Beggars can’t be choosers when tables are in short supply, so we sat. Score: 3.5
Appetizers: 18.5/20
OG: We ordered the appetizer platter ($19.99) to share. There were flautas (my favorite), taquitos, baby chimichangas and a baby green chili quesadilla served on blue and yellow corn tortilla chips with guacamole, sour cream and frijole dip. The flautas and taquitos — both consist of meat rolled in a corn tortilla and deep fried — were crunchy and full of flavor. Dipped in the generous servings of guacamole and sour cream, they were delicious. The chimichangas were surprisingly good. Add to that a darn good Margarita and I was in heaven. Score: 9.5
TDC: I was pleased with the appetizer platter, but also ordered a cup of sopa de frijoles negra ($2.99), which to the gringo, is a thick black bean soup with a dollop of sour cream. This is one of my favorite soups to make at home and this one was thick and wonderful — silky smooth with subtle flavors of onion, cilantro, and other spices. Score: 9
Entrees: 18.5/20
OG: The pastor avocado ($14.99), consisted of a flour tortilla filled with grilled sirloin, cheese, tomatoes, black olives, scallions, onions and jalapenos, with fresh avocado. The sirloin was cooked well and was flavorful. It’s a very large serving, and it was all I could do to put a respectable dent in it. Score: 9
TDC: I ordered one of the specials, the fish taco ($5.99 each), a tortilla-encrusted piece of tilapia served in a soft tortilla with shredded cabbage, lettuce, tomato and a chipotle sour cream. My experience is that fish tacos usually have just little pieces of fried fish, but these were actually a treat. The fish was a pan-fried, moist tilapia filet well-breaded and seasoned in an interesting crust made of ground tortilla chips. It was delicious with a little of the sour cream or by itself. The fish kind of got lost in all the other fillings, so I suggest that the fish be offered by itself with a couple of sides instead of getting buried in all the cabbage and other items. Still, I would put this on my “would order again” list. Score: 9.5
Dessert 17/20
OG: Hermanos has the most extensive dessert menu that I’ve ever seen at a Mexican restaurant. A lot of the offerings are actually pretty familiar — they just have some sort of Mexican twist to them. For instance, I had what was essentially a chocolate pecan pie ($4.95). It arrived hot and gooey. And even though I was pretty much beyond full at that point, I enjoyed it thoroughly. Score: 9
TDC: I went with the chocolate espresso cake ($4.95), which is made in-house as are all of their desserts. It is a thick, dense chocolate cake with a thick chocolate ganache and an espresso bean on top. After a filling meal, it was probably not the best choice, but was very good. Score: 8
Service: 9/10
OG: Our waitress was very busy, but she was friendly and pleasant and did a pretty good job delivering everything we ordered, correctly and in a fairly timely manner. Score: 4.5
TDC: Our waitress Karen seemed to be running full tilt, but did take good care of us. I tried to get a little conversation going with her to get a few little facts about the place for this review, but she was all business and running to the next table. Score: 4.5
Value: 18/20
OG: The prices at Hermanos are very reasonable and you get a lot for the money — both in quality and in quantity. Although you can run up a pretty good bill if you have a few top-shelf Margaritas, you can get out of there relatively inexpensively if you don’t — but of course, what’s Mexican food without Margaritas? Score: 9
TDC: A meal at Hermanos is a value as you will not walk out hungry. That must be why we saw so many families on a Sunday night having dinner there. Worth the trip. Score: 9
Total: 88/100
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