Puerto Vallarta Mexican Restaurant opened recently in the former Taqueria Moroleon space near the Wabash Avenue curve. It’s a family-run operation with great service and, even for a Mexican restaurant, a huge menu that will satisfy everyone.
It doesn’t look like Puerto Vallarta did much to the space. It’s still festooned with tons of color and attractive tables and chairs. It being the World Cup, all the TVs were tuned to soccer. The walls are decorated with a number of pleasing murals. The whole space screams south of the border.
The day we visited the weather was temperate and pleasant, but Puerto Vallarta’s HVAC system may have a problem keeping up when things really heat up this summer. But hey — that’s why they have a liquor license. Although we visited on a business day for lunch, any other time I generally like to wash down my meal with a margarita or ice cold Tecate. If that’s your desire, Puerto Vallarta has you covered. Their bar also has seating for about a half dozen.
My guest and I arrived right at noon. Although guests came and went, Puerto Vallarta had steady business, including a decent take-out clientele.
Puerto Vallarta’s menu is one of the more expansive I’ve seen. The separate lunch menu is available from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday through Friday. Dishes are reasonably priced (especially the lunch fajitas at $12.25, good value for the portion we observed), and everyone will find something to their liking. The Tacos Gobernador (a flavorful messy taco combining shrimp, onions, peppers and cheese topped with a chipotle sauce) as well as the Chori Pollo (thinly sliced grilled chicken and chorizo covered in queso and served with lettuce, tomatoes and onions) stood out. We decided, however, to order off the dinner menu.
I judge a Mexican restaurant by its carnitas but could not find a dedicated offering on the menu (other than the street tacos), which was surprising and a bit disappointing. However, there were additional offerings that caught our eye that mostly came from the “Specials of the House” menu section and included the Chile Colorado (a Mexican stew of beef simmered in a rich, savory, red chile sauce) and the Molcajete Jalisco. The latter was described as a layered bowl stacked with carne asada, pork adobado, chicken, chorizo, melted cheese, green chile, Pico de Gallo, green onions, avocado and chili toreado (blistered peppers). Heck, I’m about exhausted just from typing the ingredient list.
We started with a small queso with complimentary chips and salsa. I prefer yellow queso, which apparently nobody serves in Springfield. However, for white queso, this was among the best I’ve had in Springfield. Although it wasn’t overly spicy, the peppers stood out and gave it a nice pop. The chips appeared to have come out of a bag and were not the greatest. The salsa, while hitting all the right notes and looking homemade, was very runny. It made each dip of a chip an adventure. Thankfully, our server brought extra napkins without us having to ask.
For entrees we opted for the three street tacos served as a meal that included the addition of rice, refried beans and the “Make Your Own Combo.” The combo involves up to three items, which include tacos, enchiladas, tostadas, burritos and chimichangas, all with your choice of protein. The street tacos come with onion, cilantro, radishes, limes and salsa verde. Protein options include asada (sliced skirt steak), camaron (grilled shrimp), pescado (grilled tilapia) and carnitas (Mexican-style pulled pork). Both of our options involved hard decisions.
I went with the birria (meat marinated in various spices, herbs, dried chiles, garlic and vinegar), the carne asada and the carnitas. In each instance, the tortillas were on the hard side; at least one was corn, which is my preference. The birria was flavorful and juicy and was my favorite, especially compared to the somewhat dry carnitas and carne asada. Still, a hit of acid from the limes and the salsa verde went some way toward mitigating that dryness. I left a clean plate.
My guest with the combo opted for an enchilada and a burrito, which also came with beans and rice. They were both well-sized for the price ($12.25) and were reported as on par with Puerto Vallarta’s peers. His best praise was for the green and red sauces, which were reported to be packed with bold and delicious flavors.
Service was friendly and excellent across the board — I suspect primarily because all staff looked to be family members and had some skin in the proverbial game.
With the many similarities between Springfield’s Mexican restaurants, it’s the small things that make the difference. Puerto Vallarta did a nice job on many of the small things, enough so that we plan to go back.
This article appears in July SBJ 2026.