by Elaine M. Rowland, Mountain View Voice (Mar 28, 2008) Fiesta Del Mar Too is one of several restaurants owned by Susan and Alexandro Garcia, with this downtown Mountain View location run by cousins Roberto and Gabriel Cervantes. The menu here emphasizes shrimp, as does the original Fiesta Del Mar on North Shoreline, but there's also rotisserie chicken, tamales and burritos, not to mention the many premium tequilas and specialty margaritas made from 100 percent blue agave tequila. These offerings, together with its festive and colorful decor, make Fiesta Del Mar Too a great after-work place. But there's one caveat: Despite its name, this restaurant seems to have a hard time cooking shrimp. At lunch, the shrimp Margarita ($17.95) — jumbos sauteed in a fruity, slightly sweet tequila-Cointreau-lime sauce with tomatoes — was downright rubbery. Good thing there were tortillas, rice and beans on the side. At dinner, shrimp ardientes ($19.95) once again came with quite large shrimp, these sauteed in a poblano chili and tomatilla sauce. This time the shrimp were hard — even crunchy. Instead, let the "Del Mar" in the restaurant's name steer you toward their grilled salmon. One weekday night, the salmon special ($19.95) was a grilled slab of fish in a sweet and spicy tomatilla sauce, topped with minced carrots, tomatoes, onions and other veggies. The soft, fresh-tasting grilled salmon — also with sides of rice and beans — offered way more bang for the buck than the shrimp ardientes dinner of the same price. Seafood aside, the other meat dishes I sampled at Fiesta Del Mar Too were reliable, though sometimes unremarkable. From the a la carte menu (available with seafood fillings as well) the beef taco is two thick flour tortillas inside one another and dripping with a flavorful but not-too-hot sauce. It was good, but so are tacos at many other places that don't charge $4.95 apiece. Some restaurants create simple foods that taste rich and flavorful. Some simple foods simply come out bland, like the many enchiladas in tough corn tortillas I've encountered over the years. I was looking forward to the enchilada de enjococado here ($13.50 with rice and beans), made with a "100-year-old family recipe" of sour cream, roasted guajillo chilies and herbs, and stuffed with boneless chicken breast. The chicken was nice and tender; the tortillas didn't toughen in the cooking process; I love sour cream; and yet, this dish was not very exciting. Another one needing assistance from the hot sauces on the table. However, I especially enjoyed the tender steak ranchero entree ($15.50 during lunch) with its lively seasonings. Wrapped in tortillas and tasting a bit like a juicy fajita, the chunks of New York steak had been sauteed with onions, tomatoes, bell peppers and mushrooms in garlic, herbs, wine and cilantro. Like most entrees, it came with moist Spanish rice and choice of beans and melted cheese. The soft, savory pinto beans were pleasant. Any leftovers for this dish and you'll ask for a to-go box. I also liked the mole quesadilla appetizer ($9.95 during dinner), a giant 14-inch flour tortilla filled with melted cheese and a dark mole sauce with a hearty chili-chocolate flavor. Mole sauce is so different from restaurant to restaurant that I like to see what each place does with its own version. A bad one can taste almost dusty, but this one was rich and almost sweet, and topped with sour cream and guacamole. A family-friendly place, Fiesta Del Mar Too has a child's plate ($5.25) that includes (yep) rice and beans plus a choice of cheese enchilada, bean and cheese burrito, taco or quesadilla. It's a sizeable plate, so Junior won't go hungry. Like many Mexican restaurants in the Mountain View area, Fiesta Del Mar Too offers only flan ($4.50) for dessert. Here, the flan is swimming in a beautiful pool of sauces that create a sweet distraction from the quietly firm cinnamon flan itself. As I say, Fiesta Del Mar Too is a festive after-work place, with its bright colors, hand-carved chairs, and tequilas lining the wall behind the bar. Sampling the kicky trio of salsas and chips as I first sat down, I thought this is the place for hot foods and cold drinks, no matter who you are.