Curra's Grill Austin Restaurant Review - Mole, Ceviche, Tacos Al Pastor, Oh My!

We went to Curra Grill on Oltorf in Austin on a Sunday evening. It didn't look very impressive on the outside, and was crowded by not overly so. The hostess asked whether if we wanted to sit inside or out, and when we asked for inside she had to go into another section to check whether if there was room. Once it was confirmed we got a table inside right next to the window wall to the outside.

It took about 10 minutes before the waitress came over- it's interesting because two people sitting outside who came after we had sat down for 5 minutes got their water right away and their chips and salsa followed right after that. So perhaps to get faster service outside at Curra Grill you have to sit outside?

For appetizer we shared a large ceviche. We could choose 2 out of the 3 seafood that included shrimp, octopus, and snapper. We went for the shrimp and snapper. When it came out we were surprised. This is the first time I've seem ceviche on a plate, and it was a BIG plate. I never seen such a huge portion of ceviche. Taste-wise it was fine- lots of lime, the fish wasn't fishy and had a nice texture. We had free salsa and chips because of the $11.99 ceviche- regularly the chips/salsa would have been $1.99.

For our main entrees we went for the Pollo Con Mole and the Tacos Al Pastor Plate. The Mole was good- the slight sweetness hits you first, then comes the spiciness, and then there is a bitter aftertaste. Though next time we probably would go for the Mole Enchiladas instead- the chicken was too big. Enchiladas would have been better to soak up the nice mole sauce. The Tacos Al Pastor which was tacos with grilled marinated pork, was terrific. It was porky and had good flavor especially with the pineapple- definitely a winner. Neither dishes were salty like some of the other Mexican or Tex-Mex places we've eaten at in Austin.

Overall Curra's Grill Austing gets a rating of 3.5 out of 5 from me. It would've had 4 out of 5 because of the food because of the lackluster decor and slow (but not bad) service at the beginning I had to knock 0.5 off. But this is definitely a good place to eat if you are in Austin and like Mexican food.