Pinata Restaurant

Pinata has great Mexican food, much better than anything you'll find in the area. Not only is their food awesome, it's not the same old tired offerings you see at other Mexican restaurants.

The Aztec soup is a yummy spicy chicken soup crossed with tortilla soup, very nice to take off the November chill. The black bean soup is absolutely delicious, and different from the usual fare as it is pureed smooth. The gazpacho is fantastic, and again, it is a unique take on the standard as they make their with tomatillos. So good! The salads are refreshing and unique.

The shrimp diabla is my favorite thing on the menu, it's got great heat and flavor. The chicken fajita my friend ordered was beyond tender, no knife needed. The medium rare skirt steak another friend had was done perfectly, tender and yummy.

They also make a fine enchilada, but if you want to try something different, the chiles en nogada are excellent, it's poblano chiles stuffed with ground beef, fruit, and nuts. Try it, you won't be sorry.

I have to get to Pinata for lunch, which is when they serve chilaquiles, a cheese & tortilla casserole dish I haven't had outside of Mexico. If I could live on chilaquiles forever, I'd be quite happy.

The guacamole is super fresh and flavorful, and they make their own chips and fresh salsa. The salsa's got a great kick to it!

I used to love Toro Loco in South Orange for Mexican, and then I went there after having been to Pinata. I was very sorry. Nothing against the nice folks at T.L., but Pinata is heads and shoulders above them when it comes to Mexican food. No comparison. Welcome Pinata!!!

My boyfriend and I just went there this week. We were looking forwrd to a new Mexican place that we could walk to in Montclair, rather then getting in the car to go to Seniorita's. The menu looked great, a great selection of very fresh authentic dishes. The decor was nice, it had a festive feel to it without feeling too over the top. Although having carpets on the floor seemed odd, especially after a waitress dropped a dish all over it creating a big mess that could not be quickly mopped. I ordered the steak fajitas and my boyfriend ordered the tilapia tacos. We waited almost an hour before we had to proactively ask the waitress what the hold up was. She said it will be soon, but did not assist us in refills on chips and drinks in the meantime. There must have been a big problem in the kitchen because it seemd that most of our section was in the same situation. I understand that things happen in the kitchen, but I was surprised that the waitstaff was so dismissive with all of the customers. Once we got the food it was very good and very fresh, but as soon as we finished our last bite the bill was placed on our table without even asking if we were done or if we were interested in coffee or dessert. We took that as a cue to just cut our losses and ventured across the street to find dessert somewhere else. I'd be reluctant to retuen based on that experience.

Went there last night and we had attentive service but food was just ok. Senoritas in Bloomfield has better tasting food.

Craving Mexican food, my friends and I ventured out to the new joint Piñatas on Bloomfield Ave. And unfortunately, we had no clue what we were in for. Upon arrival, the first thing I noticed was carpet in the restaurant. It seemed rather unsanitary and unusual for a restaurant to be carpeted, especially with food as messy as Mexican, but I let that go and was eager to try a new place. We were brought to a table that had no glasses (not even water glasses) prepared, and we all had wine and beer we had brought with us, just waiting to be poured. When they finally brought the glasses, ice bucket and water, we had already been sitting for 20 minutes. Next, we had to ask them to bring chips and salsa to the table, which, if you go to any other Mexican restaurant, is automatically brought to you. I almost laughed in the completely clueless waitress’ face when I asked her to bring guacamole (my absolute favorite) and she said they were all out!! What Mexican restaurant is out of GUACAMOLE? Not only enjoyed as a dip with chips, guacamole is also used in so many Mexican dishes!! My whole party was about to walk out because of that, until we realized that the booze we brought wouldn’t be aloud at another restaurant. After she said, “they were all out” she turned and walked away, leaving us to wonder why they wouldn’t send someone out to get more avocados and make some. It IS a restaurant, after all, and a Mexican one at that. And that brings us to the point when we realized there were only 2 people working the room, causing our food to take an hour and half until served. When we complained about the long wait, the rude and idiotic waitress replied, “I don’t know, I didn’t take your order.” She turned, walked away and was COMPLETELY dismissive with us. In all honesty, the food wasn’t horrible, but we were all so disgusted over the service, lack of waiters, and just plain dissatisfaction, that it made the food forgettable, as well. After we complained again, they managed to take the gratuity off the bill (it’s only added in a party of 5 or more) so we could compensate as see fit. VERY DISSAPOINTING, and will not even give the place a second chance!

We had dinner at Pinata on Saturday 1/26/08. We almost didn't go after reading the previous posts, but decided to check it out for oursevles. Our first experience was trying to find the phone number to make a reservation. They are not listed in directory assistance, which can't be a very good marketing strategy. TG for Baristanet, which has it.
We arrived at 6:30pm, were seated immediately and brought chips and salsa, which were excellent-chips were fresh and home-made, salsa was spicy-very good complement to the nut brown ale we brought with us. The waitress was attentive, and placed our order right away. She even brought out a small sample plate of chicken to make sure it was OK for my wife, who had asked for it to be prepared a certain way. Good start. Then it got a bit trying. It took quite a while for the appetizer to arrive, approx. 45 minutes. When it did arrive, it was excellent, a soft, thick corn tortilla with greens, cojita cheese and white sauce. very tasty. The entrees also arrived somewhat slowly, about 30 mins later, but again they were very well-prepared. I had the enchiladas served with yellow rice and black beans. This basically leads me to concur with one of the other reviews-the food was great, the service was slow. The staff was friendy enough, so I can't agree with other comments about them beind dismissive. It appears that both the kitchen and wait staff have good intentions but are just under-manned for the task.
We'll patronize them again, but next time it will be from the take-out menu.

I got food to go at lunchtime today. I had the ground beef enchiladas with the red sauce with rice and beans on the side. The enchiladas had hardly any sauce on them and everything was very bland.

For the best service and authentic taste and atmosphere, its worth the drive to El bandito in East orange. To get there, take high st (Star Tavavern) to main st. make a right and its 1/4 mile down on your left. you wont be dissapointed. they will bring you a 5 course meal whether you order that much food or not!

We ate here Saturday night. It was excellent! The salsa, especially, was the best I've had in a long time. The wait staff couldn't have been more attentive.

Went to Pinata's for lunch yesterday and it was great...the chips and salsa were yummy as were our entrees, hubby had the burrito and I had the enchiladas - though the (chicken) enchiladas were a little bland but I guess that is why the delicious guacamole and sour cream and red sauce were there ...everything according to our waiter is made on the premises, even their sour cream (except their tortilla wraps and tortas). THe guacamole was really excellent, though and my hubby liked the chipotle hot sauce. Would definitely go there again.

EXCELLENT!! I think Pinata is a great new addition to town. I've spent months living and traveling throughout Mexico and am pretty picky about finding authentic Mexican food...and, I found the food at Pinata to be just that, authentic, and delicious. Enchilidas w/ tomatillo sauce, aztec soup, and a cple of the appetizers have all been tasty. We've been there twice and had no issues with the service whatsoever. If you want margaritas, just a reminder to bring the mix with you though. We will definitely continue to go back.

Just tried it today for the firs time. The homemade salsa and chips are the best I've ever had. I followed with Camarones a Diabla..presented beautifully and delicious. I'll be headed back there very soon.