There are times when I go back through my old blog posts and marvel at just how much things have changed since I started this blog 11 years ago. Yes, there have been industry-wide changes, but I’m talking about changes at individual restaurants.
Castaneda’s Mexican Restaurant in Robesonia is a great example.
The first Castaneda’s opened in August of 2017 and our first blog came a few months later. Castaneda’s has grown exponentially since. They opened a second location in Denver, Lancaster County, in January 2019 before moving that location to a larger space two years later.
The restaurant operates a fleet of food trucks, including the newly introduced La Botanera Mexican snack truck that debuted in 2025.
And the original Robesonia location? That also outgrew its original space. In mid-2021, the restaurant moved to the opposite end of Robesonia to the corner of Penn Avenue and N. Linden Street.
(Another Mexican restaurant, Paraiso Rosel, now occupies the original location at 141 W. Penn Avenue).
Parking is available on the street and in a private lot across Linden Street, a not-so-busy road that’s safe to cross (as long as you look both ways).
Inside, the restaurant spreads out, with floor-to-ceiling windows on two walls to let in the last of the evening sun. Above our booth, a collection of 20 fanciful hats hang on the wall as if waiting to be claimed by a mariachi performer.
The menu at Castaneda’s offers few surprises. It’s a collection of Mexican staples like burritos, enchiladas, and fajitas. But Castaneda’s does all of them really well.
One of the best items on the menu is the carnitas dinner. The slow-roasted pork was melt-in-your-mouth good, perfectly seasoned and cooked to perfection.
The dinner comes with rice, beans, pico de gallo, and tortillas. I got two corn tortillas with mine and built a couple amazing tacos with everything on the plate. Then I finished off the refried beans and took a little bit of the pork and rice home to have tacos the next day.
Julie ordered the enchiladas rojas (red sauce) with shredded chicken. It also came served with rice and beans. She enjoyed it – the sauce was good and not too spicy – but I think she was a little jealous after she tasted the carnitas.
Jakob loved his kids taco. He ordered it with beef topped with lettuce and cheese, his standard order. The taco was gone in no time – so was the rice – but he’s not yet a fan of refried beans so he didn’t finish his plate.
(He probably ate half a basket of tortilla chips on his own, as well).
And even though we knew he probably wouldn’t eat it, we still ordered Lukas a kids meal. We played it safe with chicken nuggets with rice (Lukas actually really loves rice). The nuggets are nothing special, but anything we can get a two-year-old to eat is good in our book.
We had my mom along for the trip. If you didn’t know, she is Lori of Lori’s Candy Station, another Robesonia institution. She joined us after closing up for the evening and really liked her quesadilla.
For the five of us, our total came to around $70 which was very reasonable for the portions and quality.
I’m glad to see that Castaneda’s is continuing to grow, but I’m also glad that the growth included Robesonia.
And I can’t wait to see what they do next.
BCE Rating
Food: Very Good
Ambiance: Good
Service: Excellent
Price: $$
Castaneda’s Mexican Restaurant
225 E. Penn Avenue
Robesonia, PA 19551
More Mexican Restaurants in Berks County
Original Review: January 2018
Editor’s Note: Castaneda’s Mexcian Restaurant has moved. A new, larger location opened in mid-2021 on the other side of town at 225 West Penn Avenue. The original location is now home to Paraiso Rosel Mexican Restaurant.
My childhood home of Robesonia has undergone a lot of changes over the years, oftentimes in ways that I would have never expected.
For example, 25 years ago, I would have never imagined a Mexican restaurant would open in town. But that’s exactly what happened in August 2017 when Castaneda’s Mexican Restaurant debuted.
The location doesn’t have a great track record – restaurants have come and gone over the years. Most notably, Muddy’s Smokehouse BBQ occupied the space for about two years. Castaneda’s is trying to turn that around.
Visitors may recognize owner James Castaneda as one of the business partners who began La Abuela Mexican Restaurant in West Reading.
Castaneda’s menu is smaller with a greater emphasis on lighter fare – tacos, enchiladas, quesadillas, fajitas, burritos and salads.
We visited on a Saturday evening in December, and the dining room was about half-full. Castaneda’s has a handful of tables for four in the small storefront. There was also a steady stream of customers picking up take-out orders while we – Julie, Jakob, my parents, and myself – sat at a table by the front window.
With a relatively small menu, it didn’t take long to decide on our meals. Before our meals were delivered, we were served our complementary chips and salsa.
The salsa is pureed, not chunky, making for easier dipping and more consistent flavor in every bite. It was good, though I don’t think I could ever complain about free chips and salsa.
Our meals arrived a short time later. Looking for more of a meal than a snack, I ordered the enchiladas Verde – three hefty beef enchiladas in homemade green sauce and queso fresco.
Verde isn’t normally my go-to, but I wanted to switch it up from my usual order of enchiladas with mole sauce.
The sauce gets its distinct green color from the tomatillos. It had a very mild spice, but was full of flavor. The ground beef was also well-seasoned, and the two worked very well together. And the cool creaminess of the queso fresco added a nice finish.
Enchiladas at Castaneda’s are served with yellow rice and refried beans. I have always preferred black beans to refried – the texture of refried beans leaves a lot to be desired – but these were fine. I found myself scraping for as much of the salsa Verde as I could get to mix with the rice and beans to give them some of the great flavor that the enchiladas had.
Julie also ordered enchiladas, but for her it was enchiladas Suizas, one of several daily specials advertised on the menu board.
Enchiladas Suizas literally means “Swiss enchiladas.” The name comes from the dairy used to make the creamy white sauce (thank you, Google).
Choosing chicken as the protein, Julie really enjoyed the dish. It was a heavier sauce (Julie had to bring one of the three enchiladas home with her because they were so filling).
Suizas sauce was also out of her comfort zone (ranchero sauce is her favorite), but this dish got her approval, and she said she would definitely order it again.
My parents each enjoyed their meals as well – my mom had a quesadilla with a side salad while my dad had the chile rellano – a stuffed pepper also served with rice and beans.
But despite all of us being full, we couldn’t leave without trying the fried ice cream. By that, I mean Julie couldn’t leave without trying it. We just had to help her eat it.
The vanilla ice cream was coated in a corn cereal, and deep-fried. It was served with cinnamon tortilla chips and whipped cream, and topped with chocolate syrup and sprinkles.
It’s probably the highest calorie menu item in western Berks County, an indulgence that is great once every five years or so. But it’s so good. The contrast in texture and temperature between the hot, crunchy shell and cold, smooth ice cream never gets old. Everything else is unnecessary (but delicious) window dressing.
It’s also a lot of food, especially after a full meal. We all left feeling way too full. But while we certainly packed on pounds, our wallets didn’t lighten much. Castaneda’s is reasonably priced. The four of us were able to eat for less than $50, even with the dessert and some sodas.
It’s still crazy to think that there is a Mexican restaurant within walking distance of my parents’ house, but Castaneda’s is here. And based on what I saw – and tasted – it might just be hanging around for a while.
BCE Rating:
Food: Very Good
Service: Very Good
Ambiance: Fair
Price: Very Reasonable
Castaneda’s Mexican Restaurant
141 W. Penn Ave
Robesonia, PA 19551
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