Mama Roja's Restaurant Review

December 8, 2009Katie

9219 Lake Hefner Pkwy
Oklahoma City, OK, 73120
Phone: 405-302-6262
Website:  http://www.mamaroja.com/




So I finally made it to Mama Roja’s out on Lake Hefner.  I’d heard good things about this place so I was excited to try it out.  I was still in denial that Bahama Breeze and their Cuban bread disappeared without a warning, until I found the recipe on their website.  I still wasn’t ready to trust its replacement restaurant yet.  Still, we ventured forth and embarked on the start of a spicy and fun outing.

The atmosphere inside Mama Roja’s is upbeat and  cool.  The biggest plus, especially in late autumn, was sitting in the sunroom overlooking the lake.  You can also sit outside on the porch, even closer to the lake!  They also have live entertainment daily and if you visit their website, you can see the line-up of entertainers listed there, and also see the times the musicians play.

To begin, and not unlike any other Mexican restaurant, we were served salsa.  In Mama Roja’s case, you are served two, which is an added bonus.  I really loved the warm roasted version they serve.  The regular cool one is pretty good too and pretty darn spicy.  Of course, chips and warm tortillas complimented the salsa perfectly.  Ask for the other varieties they serve.  The one with avocado is a favorite now.

Our group of 8 happened to go on a Sunday afternoon, so I was able to taste a wide variety of selections.  On Sundays. Roja’s offers brunch items and I went for the Quiche of the Day ($7.99) – a savory/spicy dish of fluffy eggs, spinach, and roasted pablanos drizzled with a green and a red salsa.

You had me at “pablanos”.

Name that movie …minus the pablanos part and throw in “hello” instead.

Okay, dumb movie line…but I surely do love pablanos, especially roasted ones.  I think they’re close to the top of my list of veggies right now.

Anyway, I opted for the roasted potatoes instead of the beans and both of my items were fantastic.  Mr. Wonderful got the Migas ($7.99), and he was coveting my quiche because the Migas were, shall we say, a little unplentiful?

Let’s cut to the chase…sparse might be a better word.

Laura ordered the fish tacos ($12.00) and she thought they were pretty good.  You get two and they are double wrapped in corn tortillas which is the traditional Mexican taco way.  And speaking of tacos, Roja’s offers street taco cart fare in a dish by way of double, white-corn tortillas filled with crispy shredded beef, cilantro, onions and jack cheese. They’re a tad pricy at $8.99, but hey, you’re paying to eat on the lake, so you kind of expect it.  I  also tasted the Ranchero Chimichanga ($10.99) and it was good, although nothing special compared to other places.

Mama Roja’s does have a featured lunch menu.  Prices range from $6.99 to $9.99 which isn’t horrible for a nice lunch on the lake.

We will definitely go back to Mama Roja’s in the future. It’s a happening place, with atmosphere, good food and I want some more of that roasted salsa.

And I’m gonna figure out the recipe…
Mama Roja on Urbanspoon

4 Comments

  • nic010205

    December 8, 2009 at 11:26 pm

    are you on yelp? your review is great!
    1. dishinanddishes

      December 9, 2009 at 11:17 am

      Nic - what is Yelp? I'll have to check it out..
  • joseph

    January 10, 2010 at 1:34 pm

    Key is to char the tomatoes (burn them) add in lots of cilantro, garlic, roasted(fried) jalepenios and arbol peppers...
    1. dishinanddishes

      January 10, 2010 at 6:37 pm

      Joseph - that sounds amazing. I am going to take a crack at the charring thing soon.

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