Moctezuma's Mexican Restaurant & Tequila Bar 4628 Point Fosdick Drive, Gig Harbor, WA 98335

"Moctezuma’s Mexican Restaurant and Tequila Bar is a small family-owned Washington restaurant chain with 4 locations. Arturo Garcia opened the first restaurant in Tacoma in 1978. He opened the second restaurant in Gig Harbor, which is the one my parents introduced me to, and that I have dined at over the years. The other two locations are Tukwila and Silverdale. The restaurants are now jointly owned by Arturo, his son Bernie Garcia, and Bernie’s mother and sister, Magdalena Garcia and Maribel Arias. Bernie Garcia took over as president in 2005. This business has won a number of awards over the years. Moctezuma’s is a favorite for both locals and visitors. My parents retired to Fox Island, Washington, in 1990. Fox Island is next to Gig Harbor. Montezuma’s was one of my mother‘s favorite restaurants. I visited with her many times over the years. Now that she’s gone, I don’t go as often, but only because I’m busy exploring new restaurants. The current Gig Harbor restaurant is in a different location than the original. It’s also much bigger and much nicer. These are pictures from my last visit. I’m always warmly greeted. I love their complementary basket of fresh chips and salsa. The salsa is some of the best I’ve ever had. I ordered a Combination plate with a Cheese Enchilada, Chile Rellano and Taco Dorado. Served steaming hot, I loved everything, except for the Chile Relleno, which is a house specialty. For dessert, I ordered Flan. I prefer flan with a more delicate texture, but it was exactly like the one served at the original location, so I assume it’s a family recipe. It’s pretty good. All in all, I had a very enjoyable meal."

"The food was really good this time around! We got birria tacos and burrito, bean dip, chips & salsa. We try and get something different than the usual. Coming from San Antonio, we are used to good real Mexican food! This is nice American Mexican. The service was quick, the place was clean. No complaints."

"Had a great early dinner here with some family. On a regular weeknight we were immediately able to get a seat in the bar area, where it's apparently always happy hour. Chips and salsa were really good; the salsa has a nice kick but doesn't burn your lips off. I was also impressed with the house signature margarita as well as the Cadillac. For dinner we split another flagship menu item, the flaming fajitas. Chicken, shrimp, and steak along with the usual sides made for a very filling meal! See the attached video for the flaming bit - they really do light it up tableside. Our server was great and overall I'd rate this as one of the best Mexican restaurants in Kitsap. We'll be back! Olympic Otter"

"This used to be one of my favorite happy hour spots in Gig Harbor, but they’ve decided not to do happy hour and their regular prices are pretty high now. We still love sitting next to the fire in the bar - the staff has always been friendly, warm and gracious, great service, great food and drinks. Just wish the prices weren’t so high… I complained to the manager and he said staffing costs have gone up so much but they are doing everything they can do to keep prices reasonable."

"Love. Love. Love. Stopped here for lunch on a random road trip and we are so glad we did. Great food menu to pair with an excellent tequila menu. Our server was prompt and friendly. The food was perfectly spiced and presented. I have the vegetarian Parrilla Bowl and it was amazingly delicious. The Hubs had the Baja fish tacos and was impressed, which is not easily done with him. The chips and salsa were delicious. The house made corn tortillas were a bit bland and doughy but great for scooping. The music was a little loud for lunchtime This is one of the best regional Mexican food we've eaten and will definitely go back!"