• 4
• pleasant surprise

What a delight. Finding decent Mexican food is extremely hard in the Northeast in general, and Rhode Island in particular. It's uniformly mediocre, often stuffed with indifferent refried beans or slathered in creams and sauces to disguise the absence of flavor, texture, and character. Condesa is a refreshing alternative. We were attracted by the vegetarian-friendly menu. Several items are marked vegan, and they mean it: even the items that are vegetarian but have (a bit of) cream or cheese aren't marked vegan.That kind of attention to detail and honesty tells you something positive about the people who run the place. (There are more veg dishes on the restaurant menu than in the one online, as of this writing.) The restaurant itself is clean and pleasant, and the vibe is definitely a tiny bit upscale, with tasteful place settings and evocative art. Starting you off with chips and salsa can be tricky for a restaurant, because though customers expect it, if the salsas don't impress, everything else is suspect. Their four salsas were pretty good: one bean, one tipica, one tomatillo, and a hotter chipotle one. While none was stunning, all four held their own, setting high expectations for the mains. The veggie enchiladas and tacos met these expectations. The flavor was subtle, the size was decent (not overwhelming -- again, not stuffed with indifferent beans), and the food was plated with a nice take on the traditional "with rice and beans". There are several more dishes we wanted to try. A vegetarian wheat-berry "ceviche"? The interesting quinoa ensalada? The happy hour appetizer menu seemed to have something, too. That said, the black bean soup had too many clashing flavors and was a bit watery (though some Mexican sopas can indeed be runny), so I'd give it a pass. On top of it, the staff were all friendly and pleasant, from the maitre d' to our waitress. Not too pushy, coming around with just the right frequency, friendly while being professional. I also had a jalapeno margarita. This was a bit more disappointing: I expected more fire in the drink, but the jalapeno floating atop it itself lacked bite. I should have gotten something else: there was a decent selection of Mexican liquor on the menu. So...is this really five star? Well, maybe more four stars. But most Mexican places are so indifferent to veg that to find this in a strip mall in Smithfield RI deserves extra credit. (Well, five stars in *my* book, but HappyCow maxes at 4 for not all-veg.) Updated from previous review on 2017-11-05