Atmosphere: Taqueria La Venadita is a hole-in-the-wall authentic Mexican restaurant if ever I saw one. The lighting is dim and the sign out front is easy to miss. But boy, that would be your loss. Inside, the walls are peach-toned and decorated with Mexican landscapes. A TV in the corner was set to le Telemundo, and the show on while I was there was some sort of soap opera. At the front of the restaurant there is a big menu board with prices and also some photos of some of the more popular items, which comes in handy since many the menu items are in Spanish. There is plenty of seating there, mostly cafeteria style tables and heavy chairs.

Food: There was plenty to choose from, including tacos, burritos, carnes, torias, mariscos and many more. Much of the menu was in Spanish, but there were some photos to help out. My dining partner, our sports reporter, also informed me that some of the items on the menu were items I probably wouldn’t want to try, including cow head and tongue. I decided to take his word for it and not branch out that much. I tried the enchiladas, since they are one of my favorite foods, and they were great! There was plenty of chicken inside the tortillas, and it was nice and spicy. There was a lot of food for the price and I foolishly ate it all and then had to waddle back to the office. The enchiladas came with beans and rice which probably helped with the “filling” part.

Service: After placing our order at the front with a very polite server, we took our seats. Our food was brought with amazing speed, and every time our server walked by from then on, while bringing out others’ meals, he asked how we were doing.

Would I eat here again?

This is now by far my favorite place to eat Mexican food in Issaquah, so I will probably end up like one gentleman who came in while we were there and ordered his “regular.” (That’s a “yes,” by the way.)

If you go:

730 N.W. Gilman Blvd.

Suite C-107

Prices: $1.29-$10.69