photograph by abby wingfield
The bar stands as the centerpiece of the main dining room.
Germantown residents —which includes my own family — often complain about the lack of dining options in their community, so whenever a new restaurant opens, they swarm the place until a newer “better” restaurant makes its way to town. The newest addition is the chic Mexican restaurant Local Lime, which moved into the former J. Crew space in Saddle Creek.
My mom had warned me of the long wait for a table, but at the time, I chalked this up to its recent opening and busy weekends. Boy, was I wrong. Even on a Monday, with only a party of three, I had to join the Yelp waitlist an hour before I wanted to be seated. In the middle of Saddle Creek shopping center, my mom, my sister, and I luckily found a parking spot and walked to the host stand, where they grabbed menus and seated us immediately. Thank you, Yelp waitlist.
photograph by abby wingfield
Cheese dip and a salsa platter get the meal started.
The first thing that stood out as we walked to our table was the color green. The seat cushions, walls, tiling, décor — from glass bottles to antique-looking books — were all various shades of green. I felt like I had stepped inside a chic jungle. Above the bar, which serves as the centerpiece of the dining area, thick ropes that reminded me of vines dangling Edison bulbs for light.
Our host took us through the main dining room and into what I would consider a more “private” dining nook. The space was still open to the rest of the restaurant but felt somewhat concealed, muffling the chatter so we could hear each other without having to raise our voices.
photograph by abby wingfield
The Texas Two-Step Margharita
With a menu that adds flavors in unexpected places while still offering traditional Mexican dishes, Local Lime covers all the bases. Starting with a Texas Two-step Margarita, garnished with jalapeño slices and a Tajin rim, I knew I was in for a treat. While the restaurant was definitely busy at this hour, our waitress frequently returned to our table to give us updates on our food and drinks and supply us with more chips.
While most Mexican places bring a basket of chips and original salsa to every table, this was not the case here. Instead, Local Lime offers a salsa sampler, where you can choose three of six house-made salsas for a bit more variety. Now, my go-to at any Mexican restaurant will always be cheese dip, and here, it was no different. But it wasn’t quite what I expected. Local Lime’s cheese dip has corn, green chiles, jalapeños, pico de gallo, and cilantro mixed in, enriching all the different flavors. Even with just the smaller size, my mom, my sister, and I kept asking for more chips and even ended up having enough dip to take home to enjoy the next day.
photograph by abby wingfield
The Key lime cheesecake changed the author’s opinion about cheesecake.
For our main courses, we decided to split two entrées, a birria quesadilla plato and chicken fajitas. The seasoning on the chicken for the fajitas had a bit of a sweet undertone which, while unexpected, was delicious. The birria quesadilla plato had a nice kick to, and the dipping sauce was so tasty that I could have sipped it.
Chatting about the future — where my parents would build their next house, what school my sister would play college soccer at, and who my brother would end up marrying — we truly didn’t want to leave the table. So we ordered dessert. I should say that I’m not really a fan of Key lime anything, but my sister, avid Key lime fan that she is, insisted we close our meal out with the local Key lime cheesecake. Best decision ever.
Leaving dinner with my two best friends, my closest confidantes, and my number-one fans, I was fully onboard the Local Lime hype train, and I plan to return soon — even if it’s just for that Key lime cheesecake.
Local Lime is located at 7605 West Farmington Blvd,s Suite #1, Germantown, TN 38138.
