50 Best Mexican Restaurants in Knoxville

“First time in and it was amazing! Great food, drinks and service.“

“WOW! What a gem Caza Brava Mexican Restaurant is! My friend Jason was craving Mexican food to celebrate his birthday. I just googled nearest restaurant to us and this came up first. So glad we decided to give it a try! From the moment Xavier graciously and enthusiastically greeted us at the door, we had the most scrumptious meal served by our most attentive waitress, Mary Bell. What a lovely person and hard worker! Oh, right! You want to know about the food! Fantastic! Jason had nachos and I was torn between a shrimp dish and their vegetarian dish which had more and varied vegetables than you see on most Mexican restaurant menus. I asked Xavier if he could add shrimp, and he came up with a solution immediately, which turned out to be SO FLAVORFUL And the presentation was truly beautiful! I never take pictures of my food at restaurants, but last night I did! And I’ve never written a review of a restaurant, not ANY restaurant…ever. Xavier and the rest of the staff, the quality of the service, and the tastiness of the food deserves five stars plus plus plus! I’ll be bringing more of my friends here!“

“On brief vacation with my lovely wife, our hotel clerk suggested Monterrey which was close by. Visited of Friday evening and the place was packed. Many of the patrons appeared to be of Mexican descent, always a good sign of good, authentic food. We were quickly seated in a super clean, delicious smelling dining room and immediately greeted by a lovely young lady who brought us hot, fresh tortilla chips and a wonderfully tasty, fresh salsa which must have been made in house with chunks of fresh tomato and the perfect blend of chillies and herbs. We noticed that everyone was super clean and superbly efficient in doing their assigned tasks without being in the way, all the while appearing to be genuinely happy! This is a sign of an excellently managed business. A handsome, well I groomed gentleman (who I think is a part of the nuclear family who has operated this business for 35 years) stopped at our table to greet us and express his genuine appreciation for our patronage. He recommended a house specialty 'POLLO MONTERREY'. What a magnificent dish! Perfectly seasoned, perfectly cooked chicken with spinach and some secret ingredients and spiced most excellently. Sizzling hot dancing sauces made this dish visually stunning and aromatically enticing. I cannot recommend this dish too highly. It was so delightfully good that we came back today, Saturday, for a repeat performance. This restaurant shows me how well an establishment can be operated. Nothing but excellence, unpretentious class, and the utmost in genuine customer service and satisfaction. Just so you know, my wife and I are not food critics, just common folks who appreciate being so well cared for in every respect. I forgot to mention the prices! We found the entire experience to be a tremendously good value. Do yourself a favor and visit this place. I expect you'll become regulars. We would be except that we live on Jane beautiful west (best) coast of Florida. Once again, Monterrey is in our decades long experience, right at the top of restaurants we would chose to frequent. Alan & Jane“

“We had our new place set up for internet today. Our installer highly recommended Pepo’s Burrito Bar. We visited for dinner tonight and everything was absolutely delicious!!! We all loved our food!!! We will be back time and time again!!!!“

“We had a group of 30 Jeeps stop in there after the Halls Christmas parade and our entire group had 1 server. At first I was a bit concerned but he was phenomenal! All of our orders were taken correctly, the food was hot and amazing, and it all came out together! I’ve eaten there a bunch and always had excellent services and delicious food!“

“I’m visiting from out of town and stopped in here for a late lunch. The Chile Verde (they call it Carnitas) was EXCELLENT!! Very tender chunks of pork and the green sauce was delicious. Good portion for the price. My total bill with the Carnitas Plate, basket of chips, and salsa was $12. I could barely eat it all but it was so good I had to finish it.“

“Nice clean restaurant. The service was fast and friendly, and the food was excellent. Would definitely recommend this place for you and the family. 5 ⭐️ all the way!!!!“

“Really glad it’s finally open. Food is great. Disappointed they do not serve whole wheat tortillas.“

“Great food, friendly service.“

“I’ve been to a lot of Mexican restaurants in the area, but they have the BEST street tacos! My husband loves their posole. Very authentic“

“Wonderful food, fabulous craft Margaritas, attentive service, and the outdoor patio was perfect!!“

“Yes great food and cold beer. I recommend eating here. The staff was on it.“

“This place never fails to deliver authenticity. If you're looking for real Mexican food you'll find it here. Be advised, this is no regular restaurant. It's essentially a grocery with a dining area in the back. Go on the weekend and grab some barbacoa.“

“rude, blamed me for my sea food allergies after they poisoned me with seafood when I ordered chicken. rude nasty people. offered to pay for the free chips and drinks, got sworn at even after they saw that we only ate 2 bites of our food. they cross contaminate the sea food with everything else. good luck to all who dare enter, the waiter was a jerk, his boss was even worse. when asked if they cooked seafood with everything else (after my allergic reaction) he said why wouldn't we. & his boss said that it was our own fault for getting sick for going there. my advice don't go there unless if you don't care about your safety or your life“

“Just had lunch there with my partner. Very friendly, professional, nice staff. Instantly greeted at our table by our server. The chips and salsa were perfect. Warm, crisp chips and the salsa was the perfectly spiced. I had an ACP that was out of this world, and my partner had nachos. The only issue with the food is my partners nachos were inedible when he got to the bottom of the plate. It was just too watery and it made the chips and food soggy on the bottom. May need to find a better way to drain the water from the lettuce Maybe press it through a strainer before applying it to the plate. Other than that, we also had churros for dessert and they were amazing. We will definitely come back, but we hope that the vegetables will be drained in the future.“

“rude, blamed me for my sea food allergies after they poisoned me with seafood when I ordered chicken. rude nasty people. offered to pay for the free chips and drinks, got sworn at even after they saw that we only ate 2 bites of our food. they cross contaminate the sea food with everything else. good luck to all who dare enter, the waiter was a jerk, his boss was even worse. when asked if they cooked seafood with everything else (after my allergic reaction) he said why wouldn't we. & his boss said that it was our own fault for getting sick for going there. my advice don't go there unless if you don't care about your safety or your life“

“Best tasting Mexican I have had in my commute to Nashville. I will remember this place in my travels and look forward to returning. I got the Burrito Pinata with rice on the side, and a tall Dos Equis. The food is not expensive and worth the exit if you are searching for good eats on your commute on I40. I consider myself a connoisseur of Mexican restaurants, and this one, although humble on the outside has all the love on the inside. You won't regret it.“

“🐙 seafood menu is extensive. my octopus + shrimp was cooked delightfully. the many salsa options was excellent. I am a queso afìcionado. the queso was delicious. next trip I will get the grilled whole octopus. Happy to have found an authentic Mexican seafood place 🤍 good service.“

“Great food, friendly service.“

“We saw ALFREDO! He is the man. We ate here in the past & had extremely bad service. We loved the food so we decided to try again. Thank God for Alfredo! He saved this restaurant from a BAD REVIEW. This is an awesome place to go. Their house margaritas on the rocks are amazing!!!! We highly recommend.“

“The food was very good! But the super friendly, helpful waitress hadn't had such professional service in years. I think her name is Kelly, something like that. I don't remember exactly, but if you go ask for her, you won't regret it. I will definitely come back more often. I was delighted!“

“Tasty food at a fair price.“

“Great food, friendly service.“

“great service and great atmosphere wonderful time even better margaritas“

“El Charro catered our daughter's wedding. Guests LOVED, LOVED the food!!! I cannot say enough great things about Juan and his team. They are professionals and made the process so easy. Even with hurricane impact at the venue, El Charro team made it work at excellence. I would recommend them for any catering event!“

“One of the best food I’ve ever tried loved it so much I would definitely will visit a thousands times. Fenomenal services“

“Good food and friendly service.“

“Great food, friendly service.“

“Wonderful staff and amazing food!“

“We were pleased to find that the food, drinks, and service of Don Gallo's was as it used to be when it first opened in Hardin Valley. We'd had some rather disappointing drinks and meals on several occasions from 2019 to 2022, so we stopped eating there. Gave it another try for dinner and we were very pleased with everything. We will return.“

“Apparently, it is more important to have your employees sit at a back table and roll silverware into a napkin then it is to take care of your customers in your dining room. This was on a Saturday afternoon at 12:30 PM. This is now the second time this has happened. I am so disappointed. When I moved to Knoxville in 2019 La Fiesta was my place. I guess I need to find another place for my Mexican food fix. We certainly have choices in Knoxville and surrounding area.“

“Fantastic tacos, fabulous service, and a nice welcomed change from all the “Tex-Mex” style restaurants in town. Highly recommended!“

“Have eaten there three times and had one to go order. Very pleased each time with the food and service. Very reasonably priced also.“

“Sat at the bar. Great service. Attentive staff and management. Above average food and margaritas. Live music on Tuesday and the molcajete is our favorite.“

“You have got to try this place best Mexican food in town! Found them at Victor Ashe park on a Sunday tried the chicken quesadilla and steak burrito, both were excellent with toppings and condiments available for you to add yourself . I wanted to try the birria pizza but it’s only available at their Ebenezer Rd location . I made it there today and it did not disappoint ! This is now my new favorite thing . Loved everything about it . The people are so nice here and friendly please go visit and try their awesome fresh delicious food !“

“We had the new Hawaian Shirmp Appetizer which was great if you like pineapple I would definitely recommend. Had a pastor meat sope and some barbacoa tacos. They only have barbacoa on weekends and it’s definitely worth the wait to Saturday and Sunday.
The service is great, our waiter Evila is super nice and helpful when ordering.

Kid-friendliness: My kids love the arroz con pollo and the portions are great“

“Always great service and food. Treated like family. "Go to" for 9 years!“

“Great food, friendly service.“

“Wife and I have always enjoyed it. I just miss the beep beep beep beep beep beep song that they use to play a few years ago.

Parking: In a small strip mall so parking isn't an issue.

Wheelchair accessibility: They have a few tables that work fine for some one in a wheelchair“

“I had this location cater for my daughter’s baby shower and the food was amazing. Everyone kept talking about how great it was. I was super pleased with how it turned out. Great job!! Thank you!!“

“Had a great lunch for my first visit to El Chico. Salsa had a decent amount of heat and good flavor. Beef tamales were tasty. The charro beans were maybe the best part of the meal. The rice was pretty standard. The house margarita was delicious. Our server was very friendly and service was fast.“

“We could eat here every night!“

“I love the food here!! 😋 the food was so fresh and testy! I tried the soup call Menudo for the first time and it was amazing 🤩 if you are the big fan of cow meat I would say this is the best soup ever 🥣 definitely recommend and the waiter was so nice 👍 and good service 💯 and go back.“

“great service and great food!“

“Hands down best Mexican restaurant in Knoxville. Tried a lot of places but this is the only one with real Latino flavors and dishes. Prices are good and the service is great! I recommend trying the carnitas plate, pupusas, pollo loco, torta al pastor or the chilaquiles bowl with birria!“

“This place is awesome, I am a regular here. It’s Affordable, good mexican. Service is fast and friendly. The best place to go if you are at hardin valley, ive heard great things about the other knoxville location too. If you are expecting a taco bell type experience, this is not it. Unlike TB, this place is clean, consistent, and uses real ingredients. 5/5 I’ll be there again soon.“

“Food was good just slow to get it. But very yummy“

“What a find! We happened to be waiting for my wife's phone to get fixed nearby at CPR phone repair. (Shout out to them, as well. Great service!) It was lunch time so we saw DosBros and glad we did. It's very clean, the food and service is great! We'll be back to try (at least one of) EVERYTHING!“

“honestly salsarita's is better than any other Mexican restaurant I've been to“