WATERVILLE -- Food lovers who have never tasted authentic Mexican cuisine may be a bit tentative when they first patronize CanCun Mexican Restaurant on Silver Street.

The look, texture and flavors may be slightly different than what they're accustomed to, but owner Hector Fuentes says it's all a matter of acquiring a taste for the real thing.

He prides himself on offering tasty foods made from scratch.

"Everything is made here -- tortillas, salsa -- everything's prepared fresh, every day," he said.

The full sensory experience starts before patrons walk into the eatery, located in the former Steve's Restaurant.

Mexican music is piped outdoors, ushering customers into a cool, colorful dining room freshly painted in orange, yellow, red and green. The festive decor is complete with a Mexican saddle, hat, pottery, sarapes -- and even palm trees. Fuentes says that's the way it is when you walk into a restaurant in Mexico.

"It is a family, happy atmosphere," he said.

The menu offers a wide variety of dishes -- from the popular Mole Poblano to a simple vegetarian quesadilla. Fuentes recommends the Mole Poblano, a marinated chicken dish cooked with a mole sauce made of chocolate, three chiles and 25 spices. It is served with rice and beans.

"In Mexico, it is very popular," he said.

Fuentes and his five full-time and several part-time staff try to accommodate patrons if something needs more spice, he said.

"Some people tell me some of my food is not spicy enough to be Mexican," he said. "We can spice it up or tone it down."

Aside from the more complex entrees, there are burritos, enchiladas, tacos, salads, soups, guacamole, nachos, tamales, all sorts of side orders and combination dinners, as well as a kids' menu.

"We have seafood, including garlic fish filet and shrimp and chipotle sauce," Fuentes said.

A very traditional Mexican dish is Tacos Al Carbon, a mixture of steak, grilled onions and sausage made with dried roasted chiles. Imported and domestic beer, margaritas and soft drinks also are featured.

For dessert, you can get a scrumptious sopapilla, which is flour dough deep fried with honey, cinnamon and sugar. "That tastes like a doughnut, basically," Fuentes said.

There's also flan, a custard-like dessert, fried ice cream and choco chimi, a banana wrapped in a tortilla, deep-fried with sugar, cinnamon, whipped cream and chocolate.

The outdoor dining patio is popular on warmer days; the restaurant, which seats 150, also has a bar area.

Fuentes, 34, of Winslow, says he is enjoying his time in Waterville and learning all the time. He grew up in Guadalajara, Mexico, where he lived 19 years before moving to the U.S. 15 years ago with his family, who all are in the restaurant business. Most of his family members are in Atlanta, Ga., where they own and run a restaurant.

"My wife and two daughters, who are six and eight, will move to Maine in June, right after they finish school," he said.

The family also owns the Fajita Grill, which opened two years ago in Westbrook.

"I've been in the restaurant business 15 years," Fuentes said. "I can be a cook if I have to, I can be a dishwasher, I can do whatever needs to be done."

Fuentes and his brother, Guillermo, were living in Atlanta and decided to spread their wings -- thus, ending up in Maine.

"You always want to get an adventure and go somewhere where they don't have a lot of Mexican restaurants," he said. "We were talking about Minnesota, Wisconsin and North Dakota. He said, 'What about Maine?' so basically, we went to the Internet. We came first to Waterville before we went to Westbrook. We looked at Angelo's (former restaurant on Kennedy Memorial Drive). They wanted way too much money for the place."

They discovered the Westbrook location and it was perfect.

"That restaurant's booming," he said.

The brothers still wanted to come to Waterville. One day, a real estate agent called and said Steve's was available. They immediately made an offer.

"He took the offer and here we are, bringing Mexican food to people in the Waterville area," he said. "We hope they enjoy it."

Amy Calder -- 861-9247

acalder@centralmaine.com