It's hard to find good Latin American food in Jeddah. There are a few places that are taking off, and Muchos Latin Grill seems to be one of them. A new branch of the restaurant opened last summer on Malek Road (aka King Abdul Aziz Street). Not being familiar with the flagship venue on Tahlia, I decided to pay the newer venue a visit.

There aren’t very many Mexican restaurants in Jeddah. The American chain Taco Bell came and left long ago. On the Border Mexican Grill recently arrived, and Chili’s is another option — though both are considered more Tex-Mex than Mexican. The newer Muchos Latin Grill is situated in a relatively new row of restaurants and shops aptly named Diners Square.

We were greeted at the door, and on entry the bachelor’s section of Muchos doesn’t seem all that large. Obviously a larger space has been allocated to the family section of the restaurant, however there is still plenty of space. After a quick pan of the room we found a comfy booth in which to sit.

The section is pretty cozy, with brick walls, wooden tables, and a choice of either open plan seating or booths for a little more privacy. The theme is definitely Mexican with bright colors. There was also a flat screen TV playing sports.

The waiters were quick to being the menu, and I was at a loss over what to order. The waiter kindly suggested some cheese jalapeno nachos, and we also decided to try empanadas, which are sambousa-like pastries filled with meat. Apparently empanadas originated in Spain. The word comes from the Spanish verb empanar, which means “to wrap in bread”. It’s basically an oversized sambousa, and a pretty nice one at that.

To drink there were two fresh juices available, lemonade and fresh orange juice. I tried their fresh lemonade with mint, which was very good but similar to that served elsewhere in Jeddah.

For my main course I ordered a chicken burrito, which came with the option of mashed potato or potato wedges. Though mashed potatoes don’t necessarily conjure up images of Mexico, I chose them to go with the beans. My friend chose the shrimp quesadillas. The nachos were great as a starter. I was initially surprised at how few were served on a plate. There were probably about 15 nachos in total along with the dips!

Once again my eyes were always bigger than my mouth, and although at the time I felt the nacho plate was a small, in reality there was more than enough to eat. By the end of the meal, we hadn’t even finished half of the nachos on that starter plate.

My burrito was filled with chicken breast, cheese, rice and beans — it was good, and very filling too. My friend also enjoyed his main of shrimp quesadillas. We then struggled to finish off the meal with a dessert. Unfortunately the chocolate tortilla (which looked rather appetizing) was unavailable and our waiter informed me that it has been unavailable since their opening. Strange to have included it on the menu, I thought. Instead we ordered an apple stuffed empanada with ice cream. This was similar to the meat starter we had, but was instead stuffed with apples along with some cinnamon.

By the time we left, the restaurant was filling up, and this was on a late Friday evening. It definitely seems Muchos Latin Grill are on to a good thing. If you want some good food at a reasonable price, check it out, and spice up your life with some Mexican-style food.

Our meal of two main courses, two starters, drinks and one dessert to share, came in at just under SR200.

Address: Muchos is located on Malek Road (King Abdul Aziz Street), adjacent to Balsamico Restaurant and not far from Giant Stores. Another Branch is also located on Tahlia Street. Maps are available on jeddahfood.com.

(Rashed Islam is a food critic who hosts Jeddahfood.com)