Mekishikosakaba Sanzu Daina Tsudanuma

If you are a JR Sobu line user and a fan of Mexican culture, you should go an exciting bar; Sand’s Diner! When I walked through Tsudanuma to change the train, I found a big cactus character. It was a signboard of Sand’s Diner, a Mexican bar. I was interested in it but I didn't come in that tim...e. Some weeks later, I found the same signboard in Motoyawata. According to my research, there are only two Sand’s Diner and surprisingly I found both of them by chance. Then I went to Tsudanuma’s one with my friend. It is close to JR Tsudanuma terminal; it takes only 2 minutes on foot. And it’s on the way to Shin-Tsudanuma terminal that people walk to change their train to Shin-Keisei line. In the bar, we sat seat, not at the bar. The interval between table and table was small in every section. Some people may feel it very close. But it was an exciting atmosphere because of hilarious Mexican BGM and colorful interior. Mexican flags with cutout art, masks for wrestlers, and other many lovely stuffs were there. All staffs were kind and friendly to us. Actually, I found a problem with ceiling. It was so low that everyone hit their head when they went to restroom. However in that time, I thought it was a kind of funny problem because we laughed each time someone did that. At first, they served crispy corn chips with salsa sauce as greeting. Then, we ordered alcoholic drinks and guacamole; mashed avocado mixed with tomato, onion, garlic and so on. One of the staffs brought guacamole cooking kit and made it in front of us with chatting. She explained their foods and the bar. Moreover, she explained differences between their Mexican foods as well. And then we ordered chicken tacos, shrimps and avocado salad, grilled pollo; “chicken” in Spanish, and second drinks. At last, we were also interested in enchilada; a tortilla served with chilli sauce and a filling of meat or cheese, and ajillo; a dish made with shrimp that are fried in a pan with butter or vegetable oil. But after the explanation by that staff, we chose ajillo with mussels and rolls of bread. Each food was around ¥500 and drink was around ¥700. Totally, they costed around ¥4,000 per person. It was quite expensive for students, but we had great time as a treatment for ourselves.

Visited October 2018

The name is a bit confusing - because this is 100% a "Japan-Mex cafe". Kind of a Mexican beer joint - with a really big menu. "Sand's Cantina" would be more fitting. But be prepared - it is tiny - which is fun. Anyway- You have to go along with the idea and be open minded. Only a 5 minute walk ...from the Tsudanuma station. It is ground level facing the tracks- so you have to exit the station and bear right- then go down from the elevated walkway and loop around back towards the tracks. We were greeted with chips and red salsa. I got 2 tacos- about $3 each. These were the size of food truck tacos - not huge. I should have asked for more picante sauce to add to them because they were a bit dry - despite the fresh Lime squeezed on top- but all in all really delicious. My wife's beef enchilada was good - the beef was in the form of a spicy sausage. The refried beans must be ordered as a side - they were good. They serve white rice - so we showed the server how to make "Mexican rice" by ordering a bowl of white rice and a side of picante - then we mixed them up in proper proportions. Recommend you do the same. I liked the homemade ginger ale - but skipped all the Mexican beer because of my religious diet laws. Really worth a visit.

Visited May 2017

Good meat & fondue, Tex-mex etc. beers drinks cocktails all good. Crowded on weekends. Lunch set is also good. Original.

Visited July 2015

If you're looking for Mexican cuisine in the Tsudanuma/Funabashi area, there aren't a whole lot of options. Sand's has tasty food in a charming atmosphere, and it is very convenient to Tsudanuma Station if you're coming by train. The drinks menu is good, too. One tip: when you go to the restroom..., watch your head!

Visited April 2016

The Tokyo metro area has some of the world's best restaurants, and I have found incredible food of pretty much all types of cuisine here. The only exception of note is the Mexican restaurant. I have yet to find a great one, but I've found plenty of bad ones. It is for that reason that I give Sand...'s Diner four stars. If this were Texas, California or (gasp!) Mexico, Sands would be vastly overshadowed by its competitors. In the area around Tsudanuma Station, in Narashino City, just to the east of Tokyo proper, though, there are no competitors. Sands wins by default. Don't get me wrong; this is not a bad place. It's tiny inside, which adds an air of hominess, the staff are as polite and attentive as you would expect in Japan, and the food is good. As I suppose happens everywhere, Mexican cuisine has been adapted for Japanese tastes, so do not expect an excess of spiciness. (This is fine by me, as I am nothing if not a gringo.) If that's your thing, though, you can order the Volcano Mountain. Wish I could tell you what that is, but that particular page in the menu doesn't feature an English translation. Sorry, tourists. The menu has more variety than you might expect, although those standard comfort food combos Americans are accustomed to seeing in the west and southwest of the U.S. are scarce. They have a nice mole chicken, for example, and while I haven't tried the fajitas I've seen them come out of the kitchen, and they look good. They're pricy, though, at ￥1,200 and ￥1,800 respectively. (That's $10.90 and $16.35 at the time of this writing). I occasionally stop in for lunch on a weekend now and again, and on my most recent visit I had the taco lunch. It's also more expensive than you might expect, clocking in at ￥780 ($7.10), if memory serves, and ￥980 ($8.90) if you get the tacos plate, which I guess includes a small salad. It comes with an assortment of three small tacos, about 10 cm in diameter. Extrapolating on that last point, as is often the case in these parts, presentation is terrific and portions are on the small side. This means that the relatively expensive menu items can add up on you if your table orders a lot of them. The bar is quite reasonable, though, so maybe the food and drinks will balance out over the course of your visit. If you can make it on Taco Tuesday, though, the tacos are ￥100 (91 cents) apiece, which is a good deal. Finally, the menu contains a handful of items whose provenance is questionable. I'm looking at you, taco rice (U.S.-Okinawan fusion) and "Mexican fish and chips". But that's really just me being pedantic. Oh, and be advised: every time I've gone, the tortilla chips have tasted like they've been left out just a *tiny* bit too long. Short version: Good food and drinks, a bit pricey, and it may be hard to fit your large group in the cozy interior. Try it out if you're in Tsudanuma.

Visited May 2016