http://www.estrellitarestaurant.com/
Estrellita's is a small restaurant on the Los Altos/Mountain View border. We strolled in on Sunday at 6:15pm. Estrellita's always puts their special plates of the day on display at the entrance so you can see what's on offer.
I'll warn you from that start that service is usually slow here. I've come before and it's usually one bus boy and one waitress (who is also the hostess) for whatever customers are in the restaurant. It takes a few minutes after we are seated and we get chips and two types of salsa. The chips are better than average for a Mexican place and you get a green (tomatillo) salsa and a smokey red salsa. Both are spicy and both are good. It takes a few minutes but the waitress comes over and takes our order.
While the service has been slow the last two times I ate there once you put the order in for the food it has come in a reasonable amount of time. I got the special Habanero & Mushroom Chicken and "Bewitched" Pork. The chicken (on the left of the plate) was so tender and juicy and had a nice smooth sauce on it with a little heat from the habanero peppers. This was quite tasty and just plain good. In the middle of the plate were pinto beans and rice which were standard. On the right was the pork which seemed to be in a type of adobo sauce. The sauce was very tasty and had a good depth of flavor with earthy spices coming through. The meat itself was a little dry and a little tough. This really stood out as a contrast to the tender chicken. It's too bad because otherwise I couldn't have asked for anything more. But now I must ask for tender pork next time. I also order a special tamal on the side. It was a Rajas Tamal featuring the peppers of that name. This was good again featuring nice spices and depth of flavor. Tony got a special sweet corn tamal which was similar to a cornbread and a must try in my opinion if you like sweet things. The other diners had Mole Poblano, Enchiladas Suizas, and Alicia got a chicken dish with a dry spice rub on it that was good. There were no complaints from anyone. Tony commented that his Mole was stronger on the cinnamon than chocolate flavors and had less heat in it that some others he has had. They claim to put 38 ingredients in their mole and I've had it before myself and definitely appreciate the taste of it.
We all enjoyed our meals and actually had to box some up as well because the portions are above average. It took like what seemed forever to get the check. It was maybe 10-15 minutes it's hard to say. Oh, and Tony ordered a beer and that took too long as well. If your blood boils when you get slow service then I would suggest you don't come here. I have a feeling you will get slow service with a smile :) I love the Mom & Pop feel of the place and all the Mexican decorations and art. I also love the food here. The prices are reasonable as well. 66$ included 4 main courses (came with salads) two tamales on the side, a beer, and tax. This place specializes in south Mexican food (there is a long history/story on the menu....you can read it while you are waiting for service) and is worth trying if you are ever in the Los Altos/Mountain View area.