It had been a long, long time since we visited Cafe Teresa, Londonderry's Mex-Italian roadhouse. That time, seated in the lounge, we enjoyed an a la carte Mexican dinner with some friends. This time we opted for the dining room and the House Specials.

Menu: 17/20

Our Gourmet: Is it an Italian restaurant? Is it Mexican? Yes, and no, to both. The decor leans toward the Italian. The owner's grandmother, Teresa, came over from Italy. The Mexican comes from the owner's days as a student traveling and studying south of the border. The menu, which is lengthy, is split between Italian and Mexican standards and specials, with a little Caribbean thrown in for good measure. There are salads and sandwiches as well if you're not up to the large portions served from the dinner menu. And it's all fresh and hot.

Appetizers: 13/20

The Dining Companion: There were several interesting shrimp appetizers on the menu, but we opted to share the Calamari (traditional, $8.95), which is rings and tentacles deep-fried in a seasoned cornmeal mix and served with marinara sauce.

(Rhode Island-style is tossed with hot pepperoncini and hot cherry peppers). The cornmeal mix was lightly applied, but needed a bit more seasoning.

They were cooked golden brown, but the rings at the bottom of the plentiful basket were greasy. The rings were cut larger and thicker than we're used to and some were a bit chewy. They were good, as evidenced by the empty basket, but I think we'd opt for one of the shrimp appetizers next visit.

Entrees: 15/20

OG: I have a tendency, when trying to avoid the typical meat-and-tomato-sauce offerings on an Italian menu, to be disappointed when I order something and it turns out to be exactly as described rather than what I imagined it should be. Such was the case with Pollo E Broccoli Terranova ($16.95).

As promised, it featured large chunks of chicken breast lightly sauteed with roasted sweet bell peppers, onions and broccoli, simmered in homemade chicken broth and served over penne pasta. I'm not sure what I was expecting — perhaps a more heavily seasoned broth, maybe more cheese — but I found this dish rather bland. Salt helped, and a bowl of grated parmesan would have helped more. Like I said, it was exactly as described, but it disappointed me nonetheless. It seemed much richer as leftovers later in the week. (7/10)

TDC: I love chipotle seasoning, so the Chicken and Shrimp Juarez ($16.95) — shrimp and a boneless breast of chicken sauteed with red onion, garlic, tomato, mushrooms, and jalapeno peppers, and then simmered in a chipotle cream sauce and served over Mexican rice — sounded good to me! My only concern was the heat level, but our server said she could ask the kitchen to tone it down. (I say I like “spicy” food, but really my limit is about the level of medium store-bought salsa.) The cook may have cut the spicy heat, but the temperature of the dish was so hot that I burned my tongue and the hot peppers just played off that. After asking for three refills of water and boxing up more than half my serving, I was done for the night. It was good, and let me tell you, the next day at work it was even better, but the rating is based on what we experienced at the restaurant. (7/10)

Desserts: 18/20

OG: After a fairly heavy appetizer, main courses and most of a bowl of chips and salsa, we couldn't bring ourselves to order two desserts, so we split one: a chocolate hot fudge brownie served with ice cream and whipped cream ($5.50). It was rich and gooey, and though it was another large portion, splitting it was just right. Best course of the meal.

All the rest: 12/20

Our server was very pleasant and efficient. The food was OK, but not great. Our fried items — the introductory tortilla chips and the appetizer calamari — were both a bit greasy. Still, there's enough variety on the menu that some dishes are bound to be better than others.

Serving sizes are ample, and it seems like a good spot for a quick bite if you're in the neighborhood or for an inexpensive family Mexican dinner, but we don't think we'd go out of our way for a return trip.

Total: 75/100