The secret code we use to order the best Margarita in Pasadena

Sometimes when I write about a particular Mexican restaurant in Pasadena, I feel like I’m cheating on my friends who own other Mexican spots around town. We have plenty of good ones, and over the years I’ve probably eaten enough chips and salsa in Pasadena to fill the Rose Bowl.

But when the “Annandale Gang” — Bruce, Hogan and Talt — says, “Margaritas. Happy Hour,” I know exactly where they mean: Amigo’s on Colorado Boulevard.

And lately Amigo’s has been getting a little dressed up. They’ve added two fancy new signs out front. After driving past them a few times, I figured it was time to stop in and see if anything else had changed.

The signs may be new, but I was hoping the margaritas hadn’t changed one bit.

Amigo’s has been on Colorado Boulevard since 1990, which makes it something of a survivor in the Pasadena restaurant world. Restaurants come and go around here faster than I can keep track of them, but Amigo’s just keeps plugging along.

There’s nothing complicated about the place. Walk in, and you know immediately what kind of restaurant you’re in. There’s a bar, plenty of tables, chips and salsa start arriving, and before long, somebody is asking what you’d like to drink.

For the Annandale Gang, that question is pretty easy.

Margaritas.

I’ve said before that Amigo’s makes one of the best margaritas in Pasadena, and that’s not a title I hand out easily. There are plenty of places around town that can pour tequila into a fancy glass, add some mix and charge you $18 for it. That doesn’t necessarily make it a great margarita.

Amigo’s understands the assignment.

Happy Hour is really where Amigo’s shines. This is the kind of place where you can meet friends, have a margarita, order something to eat and not spend the entire evening staring at the bill wondering what happened.

The food has always been traditional Mexican-American comfort food. I’m not coming here looking for someone to reinvent the taco. Give me good chips and salsa, a cold drink and a plate of food that comes out hot, and I’m pretty happy.

On previous visits, the Amigo’s Nachos have been a favorite way to start. I’ve also had their chimichangas, and on my last full review I ordered the Burrito Verde, which was a winner and hadn’t crossed the $20 mark at the time.

That was a couple of years ago, though, and restaurant prices have certainly changed since then. That’s one reason I like going back to restaurants I’ve reviewed before. A restaurant isn’t frozen in time just because I wrote something nice about it once.

Service matters, too. Amigo’s has always had that neighborhood-restaurant feeling where you’re more likely to see regulars at the bar than people taking pictures of every plate for Instagram. I like that.

And maybe that explains why Bruce, Hogan and Talt don’t have to say the name when they suggest Happy Hour. They just say margaritas, and everyone knows where we’re going.

There are newer Mexican restaurants in Pasadena. There are certainly trendier ones. There are places with more elaborate cocktails, more expensive décor and menus that need a paragraph to explain a taco.

Amigo’s isn’t trying to be any of those places.

It’s trying to be Amigo’s.

After more than three decades on Colorado Boulevard, that seems to be working just fine.

As for those two new fancy signs? They look great. But signs only get you through the front door. What keeps you coming back are good food, fair prices, friendly service and a margarita worth calling your friends about.

And when the Annandale Gang sends out the call again?

Margaritas. Happy Hour. Amigo’s.

I’ll know exactly where to meet them.

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