Fridas Mexican Kitchen & Cantina

 

Located at 550 Pineview Drive in Gateway Plaza in Kernersville, Fridas Mexican Kitchen and Cantina serves Mexican cuisine for lunch and dinner daily. It is open from 11-10 Monday-Thursday, 11-11 Friday and Saturday, and 11-9 on Sunday. Outdoor seating and online ordering are available.

 

Some of the best Mexican eateries are tiny, easily overlooked hole-in-the-wall establishments, and so expecting much from Friday’s – large and prominently visible from 66 – seems counterintuitive. While Fridas may not be the best Mexican restaurant in town, it still acquits itself fairly well.

 

Having been once previously for take out, my wife and I stopped in most recently for a Cinco de Mayo lunch. We were expecting busy, and it was, but Fridas' staff seemed up to the task. There was no wait for a table, and service was prompt and efficient.

 

The restaurant is named for the artist Frida Kahlo, and her visage can be found everywhere (sign, menus, wall art, etc.) here. If that isn’t Fridas' calling card, then the margarita menu may be. This, however, is an undue slight to the establishment’s unusually strong taco game. The menu boasts two kinds of fish tacos, three kinds of pork tacos (carnitas, pastor, and pibil), birria, and even de canasta (fried tortillas). There are, of course, plenty of non-taco offerings too, ranging from fajitas/quesadillas/burritos to salads to various chicken/steak/seafood and vegetarian dishes.

 

We opted for elote, a vegetarian burrito, and tacos de cochinita pibil and were mostly satisfied. The elote came slathered and packed all the right flavors, but it was served chilled rather than hot, a confusing (and slightly disappointing) choice I’ve not seen replicated elsewhere. The burrito was enormous and full of delicious squash. At $8.25 on the lunch menu for what amounts to two meals’ worth, it was a bargain. The tacos (three for $11) were generously filled and quite tasty though absent the expected spiciness. A side of charro beans was top-notch.

 

All told, Fridas made for a better-than-expected lunch. It may not sway you from your allegiance to another spot, but it shouldn’t be passed up, either.