Cheery hues of red and yellow adorn the walls of the new Los Arcos Mexican Restaurant in Lawrenceville, immediately putting customers in a festive mood. It seems like the perfect paint plan for the Mexican restaurant, which has large followings at its sister locations in Norcross and Stone Mountain.

Christian Villarreal and his brother Gerardo opened the newest location in February in the Village Shoppes at Creekside. They join their dad, who has been in the business for 20 years and owns the one in Stone Mountain, and uncle, who has the Norcross restaurant.

Vino Wong/vwong@ajc.com (ENLARGE)
The low-carb plate is a sampler of grilled shrimp, chicken and steak on a bed of bell peppers, onions, lettuce and cubed cheese.
Vino Wong/vwong@ajc.com (ENLARGE)
Super Nachos include chicken, beef, cheese, refried beans, lettuce and guacamole.
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Villarreal said the area looks promising, with new development and plenty of families dining out.

South of the border

You'll find the usual numbered Mexican fare on the back of the large foldout menus, but you might never get there. Los Arcos offers plenty of temptations on the three inside panels.

Ten minutes of reading and discussion helped us to decide on a variety of plates for a recent lunch.

The fajita nachos — we chose the grilled steak instead of the chicken — come with a perfect combination of melted cheese, refried beans, guacamole, pico de gallo and sour cream. If you can't handle spicy cheese, beware, because this was pushing the heat envelope for even our tolerant taste buds.

La Botana, the restaurant's most popular dish, is a low-carb sampler platter of grilled shrimp, chicken breast and fajita steak on a bed of bell peppers, onions, lettuce, avocado, cubed cheese and jalapenos. The meat and vegetables are tasty and well cooked, and we remained true to the purpose of the dish and refused to put everything on a tortilla and eat it like a fajita.

Tilapia is the star of the fish tacos, which are good, but not as succulent as fish tacos at other establishments. You can order the tilapia grilled or fried — we chose grilled — and it comes with guacamole salad and tartar sauce on corn tortillas.

Oldie, but a goodie

We relied on a familiar name to help fill out our meal. Going to the lunch menu — which is available from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily — we chose the Speedy Gonzales. Just like the Speedy plates at other places, Los Arcos' comes with a taco, enchilada and choice of either rice or refried beans. Everything is just as expected, and the rice is cooked to perfection, which delighted our rice-consuming 2-year-old son.

Looking good

Los Arcos does its best to set the right mood. In addition to the paint scheme, there are plants, pictures with Mexican themes, a long and winding wooden bar and other festive decor. If that's not enough, there are plenty of beer and drink specials. The friendly staff is generous with smiles and attentiveness.