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'Molotes' at Oaxaca in Ballard
GEOFF CARTER / NWSOURCE
La Carta de Oaxaca's dishes look as good as they taste.
  Feb. 20, 2004
Best Mexican joints
Rich sauces, warm tortillas, melted cheese, spiced meats and vegetables — nothing satisfies like Mexican cuisine. Seattle's Mexican restaurants serve up hundreds of delicious variations on the theme.
Agua Verde Cafe & Paddle Club (University/Montlake)
Agua Verde's Mexican menu is solid, and its outdoor patio over Lake Union affords one of the loveliest views you'll find in Seattle.
Bimbo's Cantina (Capitol Hill)
Believe the hype. Bimbo's makes a fierce burrito stuffed with your choice of herb-roasted chicken, peppered shredded beef or garlic roasted potatoes.
Cactus (Madison Park/Madrona)
Hungry crowds rush to Cactus for superb Southwest-influenced fare that rises above cliché.
The Chile Pepper (Wallingford)
Solid cooking, straight out of the Guanajuato region of central Mexico.
El Camino (Fremont)
Good food and a great vibe — worthwhile even if the service isn't always great. We love the margaritas, which you can enjoy from an outdoor deck in the heart of hip Fremont, if you can snag a spot.
Galerias (Capitol Hill)
Enjoy plates of spicy seafood and steak, and servers as warm and colorful as the chips they offer along with spicy, avocado-laced salsa.
Gordito's Healthy Mexican Food (Greenwood/Phinney Ridge)
The line out front leads to delicious, inexpensive Mexican food, and lots of it. Its cooked-to-order burritos are big enough to show up on maps.
La Carta de Oaxaca (Ballard/Crown Hill)
Every dish that comes out of Oaxaca's kitchen is delicious and beautifully plated, and the bar serves the best margarita in town.
Mama's Mexican Kitchen (Belltown)
Enjoy killer margaritas, rib-sticking Mexican platters and street-side seating right in the heart of Belltown.
Ooba's Mexican Grill (Woodinville)
You'll find all the usual suspects at Ooba's  quesadillas to fajitas to tacos  but also some less-predictable dishes. Try the mahi mahi or the marlin, marinated in honey-orange sauce.
Peso's Kitchen and Lounge (Queen Anne/Seattle Center)
The seafood and Latin/Asian fusion dishes here are made with zestful ingenuity, and are quite enjoyable if you can ignore the loud music, bared midriffs and amber-lit Alhambra/dungeon vibe.
The Saint (Capitol Hill)
The Saint has nearly 90 individual bottles of tequila waiting for you right now. That's 27 bottles of anejo, 30 bottles of reposado, 21 blanco y platas, nine expensive bottles on the lista reserva and two dirt-cheap, dependable mixtos.