Two decades of Mexican charm

Enchiladas verde are a house specialty.

El Sarape
5 Commercial St., Braintree
781-843-8005; elsarape.com
Hours: Wednesday through Sunday, for lunch and dinner; Monday and Tuesday, 3 to 10 p.m.
Major credit cards accepted
Accessible to the handicapped

Any restaurant that survives for 20 years must be doing something right. Part of what's appealing about El Sarape in Weymouth Landing, which is technically in Braintree, is that it looks like not much has changed since October 1988, when the Adame brothers of Saletillo, Mexico, opened their storefront restaurant.

A long dark bar, crowded with Mission-style bar stools and a shelf crammed with 36 types of tequila, leads you to three distinct dining areas with burnt-orange stucco walls sporting Mexican flags and sarapes, those colorful blanket-weight ponchos.

When our party arrived on a recent Saturday night, the place was hopping. No one seemed to mind squeezing into one of the skimpy, plastic booths with faux Spanish tile tabletops or one of the slightly roomier wooden tables. El Sarape may not win awards for atmosphere, but it does have its own unapologetic, kitschy charm.

Regulars say that a long wait on Friday or Saturday night is to be expected, but we sat right down to a big bowl of crispy tortilla chips and a mild but flavorful salsa.

We started out with Dos Equis ($4) (El Sarape serves only Mexican beer) and a Cadillac Margarita ($6.65), which was smooth and superb. A look at the nearby tables suggest that the homemade sangria ($5 for a glass, $9.50 for a small carafe, $18 for a large carafe) may rival the restaurant's famed margaritas as the most popular adult beverage. The owners have been using the same secret recipe for 20 years.

El Sarape's menu is full of south-of-the-border favorites and interesting specials. Our waiter told us that very few items on the menu have changed since he started working here 19 years earlier. Then, as now, all sauces, rice, and beans are made on site and from scratch every day.

We started out with carnitas ($8), tiny grilled pork tenderloin tips in a smoky chipotle sauce. I remembered them (and have occasionally longed for them) from a visit long ago, and they did not disappoint. We were, however, disappointed with the downright watery di frijol bean soup ($3). The thin broth with a lump of beans at the bottom of the bowl seems like a mistake that never should have left the kitchen.

We had a picky child who never strays too far from chicken nuggets when he's out on the town, so I was a little panicked to see there was no children's menu. Our server suggested the quesa harena ($8), which isn't on the menu - a flour tortilla stuffed with chicken and mild cheese. It was a huge hit, which means it's simple, warm, and not too spicy.

The carne asada ($17), one of the most popular items on the menu, consists of tender marinated steak, an enchilada stuffed with ground beef, and fresh chorizo. The flavors are potent and complex but not overpowering. It is served with refried beans, rice, and guacamole.

The fajita de carne ($12) comes with tender sliced steak sautéed in a garlic sauce and served with a tangled heap of grilled peppers and onions and a stack of flour tortillas. It doesn't arrive in a sizzling skillet, as in many Mexican chain restaurants, but it's flavorful, perfectly spiced, and just the sort of comforting standard we're looking for.

The pollo en salsa de mango ($16) was recommended by our server when we couldn't decide which chicken dish to order. The sliced chicken breast sautéed with mango ginger and orange juice hails from the Vera Cruz region and, according to our server, is a house favorite. The flavors are delicately layered and very sweet, an altogether unusual yet delightful offering for a Mexican restaurant.

At dessert time, we still had room, so we ordered churros ($4.50), Mexican fried dough that is oven-baked and rolled in cinnamon. They're sweet, but not too overpowering, and we had to resist the urge to scarf the last one. The sarape roll ($6.50) is a sugar-frosted pasty tube filled with cheesecake and topped with ice cream and splashed with chocolate sauce.

El Sarape has long enjoyed a reputation for authentic, homemade Mexican food, and deservedly so. Here's to the next 20 years.

MARY DONIUS