A new Mexican restaurant has arrived on the scene in Port Washington, highlighting a menu of authentic dishes featuring quality ingredients and service to match.
“People come back for the food,” owner John Cestare said. “But people also enjoy the experience while they’re there. We pay attention to the little things.”
Mesita, located at 1029 Port Washington Blvd., serves up the classic, well-known dishes of Mexican cuisine, from an “el classico” margarita with salt around the rim to made-to-order guacamole and a variety of enchiladas. Specials are also offered and created after researching authentic dishes.
Owners Cestare and Matt McBride opened Mesita in Port Washington during Christmas week but celebrated its official opening on Jan. 8.
McBride opened the first Mesita in Port Jefferson in 2013, but issues with restructuring the building led to him losing the lease after a year. After closing the location, he joined forces with Cestare to reinvent the restaurant and reopen it in Rockville Centre in 2015.
Cestare said after years of serving up their Mexican food in Rockville Centre, as well as in Garden City, they found that many customers were traveling from Long Island’s North Shore to get a taste of their food.
Once the right location in Port Washington became available, Cestare said they found it to be time to finally expand further north.
Cestare said he wants Mesita to become a community staple in Port Washington, where people can come for any meal of the day but also celebrate important events in their lives.
“We just want to make it the place where people go and know they can have their special celebration and we’re going to take care of them,” Cestare said.
Cestare said Mesita has always been a success, but with an abundance of restaurants serving Mexican cuisines there is one thing McBride said that sets them apart from the rest: quality ingredients for their authentic cuisine.
“We stick to being authentic Mexican, I believe, vs. trying to put a spin on it,” McBride said.
The “little things” are what make the experience, Cestare said, whether it’s the restaurant staff members ensuring customers get the utmost service or the ambiance of their dining room.
“The food speaks for itself,” Cestare said.
McBride said business so far has been going well in Port Washington, with feedback highlighting glowing reviews of their food.
With three locations and a fourth on the way, Cestare said they work to offer the same atmosphere and service at all locations.
“With every little detail we try to make you feel like you’re in a courtyard in Mexico enjoying dinner,” Cestare said.
But Port Washington is not the final frontier for Mesita, Cetare said, with plans to open a fourth location in Amityville in the next five months and then expand further out to the Patchogue area and Florida.
Upcoming in Port Washington’s Mesita is the launching of its weekend brunch menu in February as well as outdoor seating later in the year.
