By Shannon Sturgis The Enchilada Dinner plate at Tico's Cantina.

LITTLE ROCK — West Little Rock’s Tico’s Cantina certainly doesn’t introduce itself as a Tex-Mex restaurant, with its granite-topped tables, columns and multicolored vases across a back wall, indoor waterwall fountain and centrally located fireplace. There’s also a large wall wine rack beyond as eclipsed-moon shaped bar, and, except for the mariachi and salsa music, Tico’s ambiance is strictly Italian restaurant.

It’s to be expected; the newly opened restaurant’s location was until recently Little Rock restaurateur Jerry Barakat’s high-end, Northern Italian Amalfi’s, a restaurant that exited the upper level of the Village at Rahling Road after only a year of operation. While Barakat searches for a location in the Heights to reopen Amalfi’s, the longtime restaurant entrepreneur has opened Tico’s, a slightly more upscale Tex-Mex restaurant. The cantina is slightly more upscale because the menu is reasonably priced, although slightly more expensive than the numerous Mexican restaurants in the area. But the restaurant’s offerings are more in line with the big box, casual Mexican restaurants on major thoroughfares in central Arkansas.

The granite tables and high-backed booths remain from the space’s previous occupant along with the cloth napkins, silverware and glassware, but Amalfi’s menu offerings of Calamari all Amalfitana, Salumi meat and cheese plate, and Scampi Fra Diavolo have been replaced with Ceviche Tico’s (marinated shrimp, scallops and fresh fish for $7.95), Tacos al Pastor (slow roasted and pulled beef, chicken or pork topped with sautéed peppers and onions for $6.25) and Cantina Specials such as Chicken Veracruz (chicken breast stuffed with roasted peppers and cheese, and served with grilled veggies, rice and beans for $9.75).

On my late-lunch trip to Tico’s on a dreary autumn afternoon, the restaurant was sparsely populated, but upon being seated I was immediately welcomed with warm chips and two kinds of salsas, including an absolutely delicious Roasted Tomato Salsa with a subtle kick made in-house, and asked for my drink order (no sweet tea, only regular tea).

While munching my chips, I perused the succinct menu divided into Appetizers, Soup and Salads, Tacos, a collection of dinners, Fajitas and Cantina Specials. The appetizers include the usual Tex-Mex characters, with a couple of Nacho platters, Quesos (The plain Chili con Queso is $3.95 while Queso Fundido served plain or with choice of Chorizo or mushroom is $4.95), and Quesadillas (choice of cheese, chicken, beef or shrimp for $7.50). Included among the soups and salads are Chicken Tortilla Soup for $3.95 and Fajitas Salad (choice of beef, chicken or shrimp) for $7.25, while Tico’s tacos lineup includes a price-staggered roster topped with Fish Tacos (choice of red snapper or tuna for $11.75, or tilapia for $9.75, and served with sautéed peppers, onions, pico, sour cream and cheese).

The second page of the menu includes the central cast at Tico’s, starting off with three dinners — Burrito, Quesadilla or Enchilada — priced from $6.50 to $8.50, depending on the food’s stuffing with a choice of beef, chicken, pork or shrimp for the burrito, and the inclusion to those items of cheese with the enchiladas, and broiled steak or spinach with the quesadillas.

While the atmosphere of Tico’s hardly matches the food, the restaurant is relaxed within its formal surroundings while the waitstaff is attentive and knowledgeable. Menu items are explained, along with the salsa servings and side items, and my tea was kept filled although my waiter was never obtrusive.

The Dish: Our Review

Enchilada Dinner $8.50

All praise color on a plate of food! The plate of chicken enchiladas I ordered were a bright, festive feast for the eyes, with a bed of sharply greened-colored lettuce topped with a multicolored — and tasty — mound of pico to the side. The enchiladas were topped with a white sauce with streaks of red and black tortilla chips, and the rice popped with corn, peas and peppers. The plate was definitely more interesting than the monochromatic plates of food served at many local Mexican restaurants.

And the Enchilada Dinner was more than worth its price tag as it was a hefty plate of food, with the palatable enchiladas stuffed with a heavy dose of shredded, well-seasoned chicken and topped with a delectable sauce. Adding to the eye and palate appeal of the dish was a bed of sautéed spinach upon which the enchiladas rested. My only complaint was the enchiladas were cool at the very center. In fact, the center’s coolness was perhaps the only thing preventing me from finishing the dish, as the enchiladas were unbelievably tasty.

The Dish: Customer Reviews

Jonathan Mason was wrapping up a late lunch of the Burrito Dinner (choice of beef, chicken or pork for $6.50, or shrimp for $7.25, and stuffed with rice, beans and cheese) on a rainy weekday afternoon.

"It's a lot larger than I thought," he said. "It's good though. It filled me up. I'll come back with a better appetite."

Info to Go:

3 Rahling Circle

(501) 821-1814

11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. Friday-Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Sunday.