The Tampa Bay area's been no stranger to the proliferation of fast casual Mexican restaurants in the past few years. Seemingly dotted across the area's culinary landscape, spots like Moe's, Chipotle, Tijuana Flats, and Qdoba have grown into go-to destinations for everything from monstrous burritos to fresh quesadillas and more.
Lime Fresh Mexican Grill is the latest addition to this growing roster, with its newest location opened in Tampa's Westshore District earlier this year. Much like its comrades, Lime Fresh specializes in the standard variety of fast-casual Mexican fare with offerings ranging from a variety of big burritos, tacos, salads, and a number of light and healthy selections.
From looks alone, Lime Fresh has all the trappings of a well-rounded, quick-serve Mexican restaurant. Its modern industrial interior boasts nice amenities like a fresh salsa bar and an ample hot sauce selection that's sure to be appreciated by anyone with a taste for the aformentioned.
When it comes to the execution, though, Lime Fresh is decent, but fairly unremarkable in comparison to its peers in the area. Their standard Queso Burrito comes with a choice of chicken or ground beef, rice, homemade organic black beans, homemade queso, jalapeños, sour cream and tortilla strips.
Packed to the brim, the Queso Burrito turns out to be an indistinguishable mash of flavors and textures that does the job, but leaves something to be desired. Ground beef flecks mix with a panache of beans, cream, queso, and rice for a nice stomach-filling meal, but hardly an all-star one.
For being a "lite" selection, Lime Fresh's Lite Chicken Burrito manages to transcend it's sometimes unattractive description with ample chunks of well-charred chicken, organic fat-free refried beans and melted jack and cheddar cheese between two pressed whole wheat tortillas. The jury's still probably out on just how "lite" a quesadilla packed with ample gooey cheese and chicken is, but it's a satisfying selection nonetheless.
Given its location right across from the International Plaza, Lime Fresh should have no problem attracting a steady stream of regulars including working professionals and hungry shoppers as evident by our trip today, but given the competition, it leaves something to be desired.
Have you checked out Lime Fresh? Planning on going? Let us know about your experience with your own rating and review on the Lime Fresh Mexican Grill 813area business listing.
