It seems that it was only a short while ago that Harry’s Tap Room, er-Market Tavern was down the street in Clarendon. In record time, a new restaurant has taken over the space and opened with a Mexican kitchen and bar. Fuego is the newest addition in the Passion Food Hospitality Group, which is the umbrella other restaurants such as Ceiba, Passionfish, and Acadiana fall under.

I don’t like tequila too much, but I do like the amount of choices they have as well as the nice red library-style tall ladder leaning against the bar for all those hard to reach places.

Our first bites consisted of: chips and salsas, Queso Fundido (cast iron baked chihuahua & oaxaca cheese, blistered peppers, fresh corn tortillas, chorizo), Al Pastor Tacos (spit roasted marinated pork, pineapple serrano salsa), Birria Tacos (jalisco style roasted goat), and Platanos Machos (tequila glazed ripe plantains, latin crema).

The house-made tortillas had a good flavor to them, but were a tad too thick. The pork tacos were great and juicy, but the goat tacos were so dry they needed a generous dip in salsa to help choke down. Both tacos came on interesting plates with three compartments on the side – we were warned not to sample the middle sauce since it was extremely spicy. We trusted our server.

The queso fundido was nothing special to write home about. It was greasy and too firm to dip into easily (unlike the delicious queso fundido at Ceiba). The sweet and warm plantains solved our urge for dessert so we’ll have to return another time to sample that portion of their menu.

Though Fuego had just opened, the staff was very knowledgable and friendly. They seemed to know every aspect of the menu and had recommendations for all sorts of palettes. This would be a good spot for a happy hour in Arlington, but there aren’t food specials and at $7 per tiny taco order, I’d have to have a few drinks before indulging too much.