After seeing this restaurant suggested in a thread, I was intrigued and decided to check it out.
La Siesta Restaurant
201 N.E. Woodruff
Topeka, KS 66616
(785) 354-1325
La Siesta is located in North Topeka, and is not exactly on a thoroughfare. It is a neighborhood Mexican restaurant that has been in existence since 1955.
The first thing that I noticed is the decor. I doubt this place has changed much since it opened in 1955. If I had to describe the place in a word, it would be humble. My guess would be the menu is also much as it was in the 1950's. You won't find fajitas or nachos here.
A sign above the kitchen door said "Please come back and say hello" How many restaurants welcome visitors into the kitchen?
I tried the one-one-one-one combo with beans, which is a taco, enchilada, tamale and a tostada with refried beans.
Each item was very good, with the main theme being simple flavors. They don't try to overpower you with heat, just good tasty ingredients.
They sell their sauce by the bottle or the case. While I was there, two different people came in to buy cases of the sauce. One was a local, and the other was from Nebraska stopping in to get a case. On the wall they have the recipe posted to make their chile con queso using the sauce.
I would recommend calling ahead if you want sauce, because at this time they are about out and are scheduling another bottling batch.
Toward the end of my meal, the owner came out of the kitchen and asked if it was my first time there. She told me that she doesn't rush anything. They have no microwaves in the place and they don't do fast food.
They are open weekdays from 11-2:30pm and Friday and Saturday they have evening hours from 5-9.
I would recommend this place highly.
