Restaurant Review: Little Shack

5360 Mesa, In The Parking Lot In Front Of Jerusalem Food

I swear Little Shack, located in the middle of strip mall parking lot on the west side, has to be the smallest restaurant in El Paso. When I first moved here about a year ago, I checked it out and had a nice time. It was recently boasting an expansion, drive-thru, and new menu coming, so I wanted to go back. Unfortunately the new menu wasn't present yet, the items seemed to be the exact same since my last visit.  But the food is good so I don't mind the prospect of going back again.  I tried to take some pics below, it is a very romantic lighting in there at night so it may be difficult to see them clearly.

There are a couple of key things to know about this restaurant.  First of all it's BYOB (which I personally love) but you need to prepare before hand if you want a cocktail with your meal.  I saw a sign that said .50 cent cork fee per beer, no mention of wine. The other item to be aware of is that it's menu is strictly seafood.  Specifically shrimp cocktails, ceviches, and tacos.  Until the release of the new menu, one of those 3 is likely to be your entree.  But the upside to the limited menu is that any of these items are fantastic.

Little Shack Menu,To Be Expanded Soon

They offer a variety of appetizers, but there are no descriptions on the menu. Not growing up with Hispanic food, I had no idea what any of them were but the server graciously gave detailed descriptions.  Tempted to order the aguachiles (aka spicy shrimp with lime for those like me), my boyfriend and I ended up with the toritos.  (They also offer some oyster based apps and chips and salsa.) The toritos were hot peppers stuffed with shrimp, wrapped in bacon and glazed in a soy-cilantro sauce. They were amazing! Besides a nice saltiness they had a good kick to them.

Toritos Appetizer, Nice and Spicy

 For my meal,  I chose to go with the Shrimp ceviche (You have an option of doing fish as well.).  They present a nice portion amount,  I couldn't finish it all. However, I definitely had to ask for more crackers and chips to go with it. The lime and cilantro makes each bite so light that it fills you up without making you feel sluggish.

Delish and Light Shrimp Ceviche

Now my boyfriend ordered the main event, the fish tacos (also come in shrimp).  These are in the ranks of the top fish tacos I've ever had and you will notice the reviews on UrbanSpoon agree.   The thick pieces of fish are paired with a crunchy slaw and drizzled with a slightly spicy chipolte sauce.  They are definitely a must have and are only $2 on Tuesdays.

Awesome Fish Tacos

  The other item I have yet to try is the clamato.  I see a few rave reviews of it and I will make a point to try on my next visit.

My only complaint during my visit was the service.  I used to be a waitress for many years, and feel that I am generally patient when it comes to an overwhelmed server who you have to wait a little bit for.   Our server on the other hand wasn't busy  as we were the only people dining at the moment. Others had already been served and seemed to just be hanging out and conversing.  All I really wanted was more water but since the server never checked on us, I had to get up and ask for more as well as some other items we needed.  I was frustrated by the service, I felt literally that I was an inconvenience to them.  On the other hand, I do not recall bad service the first time I dined, so I will chalk it up to a bad night.  I guess we will see when I go back to try the new menu....