50 Best Mexican Restaurants in Knoxville

“Hayden was our server and he was so friendly and got the the entire order correct! We had a party of 18+ ladies Highly recommended !“

“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“

“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!“

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

“👍Great place to eat love Mexican food my favorite place to eat. Friendly staff looking for flavor then take Mexican food this is the place to go so many things to choose from.“

“Amazing food at the cafe and a great selection in the market. We stopped in, not expecting anything special but we were wrong. This place is extremely special and definitely will become one of our new favorites.

The cafe was busy but well organized and ultra clean with tables promptly bussed. The food was excellent, freshly made to order, and plentiful. Excellent salsa with hot chips also.

I very highly recommend La Esperanza!“

“Great food, friendly service.“

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

“Excellent food and service. Highly recommend.“

“If you’re ever in Knoxville do yourself a favor and try this place. The food is INCREDIBLE!! Worth every penny.“

“I do recommend Country Burrito. However…today I visited your Town Center location, and my experience wasn’t great. The food was fantastic, bathroom was very clean, atmosphere was nice, but it seems the hostess waited on us, and unfortunately she was not attentive to our table, kept forgetting us it seemed like. We didn’t even get a check back for a refill on our drinks until towards the end of the meal. Then, out of nowhere she straight up left work. We sat there for 30 minutes trying to flag down another waiter who was busy with what seemed like all the tables in there. I’m not sure they know, but staff shouldn’t leave work unless all of their tables are closed out. If our table was meant to be taken over by another server, we should have been told. There was no communication. I have never not tipped for service, but in this case there was literally no service. My only recommendation would be to have your front of house employees be more structured and responsible. Sadly, this also isn’t our first experience with something like this happening before, either. We may have to just get our food to go from now on. I’d hate to see the company fall under because of no service. Please do something about it.“

“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“

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

“Siete mares! Great people. Great food.“

“This place is fantastic. Service was excellent-Brian took great care of us. Food was delicious-we split chicken fajitas and there was plenty to share. The yummy frozen margarita topped off the visit. Interior and exterior are well designed making the atmosphere warm and welcoming. I definitely recommend this restaurant and will go back. It’s my new favorite.“

“An excellent locally owned, operated, and patronized Mexican restaurant. The vibe is friendly and unpretentious. The fare includes standard Mexican and tex-mex favorites, but really stands out in two areas: they have 4 frozen drink machines so you can select from 4 delicious flavors of frozen margarita. And despite the east TN location, 8 hours from the coast, their shrimp entrees are excellent. I am Maryland born and raised; I know good shrimp. I've tried almost all the offerings here, and every one has a great portion of large, properly cooked shrimp with the perfect amount of seasoning.“

“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“

“Do not get the regular margarita! Order the top shelf. It was the absolute worst margarita I have ever had. They replaced it with the top shelf which wasn’t the best I’ve ever had, but was way better (especially after adding the lime). Granted, I am a bit picky about my tequila. The food was pretty good, but we didn’t get our queso until after we got our food, it was worth the wait though. Our server was very friendly, and other than the delay of the queso, was very good. It reminded me of a cantina in Cozumel.“

“Don’t live anywhere near this location but was in the area. Enjoyed our lunch there and had the best waiter who said he was new. He didn’t seem new but very professional and he took good care of us. He knew to leave us be when we were all in a serious conversation and made sure we had what was needed. Food is excellent and place is clean. Nice owners. Would go back.“

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

“Probably the best food in the local area. The food is always delicious and on point! I’ve never been disappointed and am consistently impressed. The service is always fast and friendly, there’s a salsa bar with many fresh and delicious options, and the drinks are high quality at a fine price. The variety and flavor of their options for ice cream and other frozen desserts are amazing too! This will be your new favorite restaurant!“

“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“

“I’ve been to 20+ mexican restaurants in East Tennessee. I’ve never experienced such a warm family welcome like at Dos Agaves! Good food! Big Portions, high protein meals and fairly priced! We will be returning for many more years!“

“Great guys and great food. I highly recommend checking them out! Tacos were only $2 for Taco Tuesday and the quality for the price was amazing. Give these guys a try!“

“Great food, friendly service.“

“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!“

“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.“

“I do recommend Country Burrito. However…today I visited your Town Center location, and my experience wasn’t great. The food was fantastic, bathroom was very clean, atmosphere was nice, but it seems the hostess waited on us, and unfortunately she was not attentive to our table, kept forgetting us it seemed like. We didn’t even get a check back for a refill on our drinks until towards the end of the meal. Then, out of nowhere she straight up left work. We sat there for 30 minutes trying to flag down another waiter who was busy with what seemed like all the tables in there. I’m not sure they know, but staff shouldn’t leave work unless all of their tables are closed out. If our table was meant to be taken over by another server, we should have been told. There was no communication. I have never not tipped for service, but in this case there was literally no service. My only recommendation would be to have your front of house employees be more structured and responsible. Sadly, this also isn’t our first experience with something like this happening before, either. We may have to just get our food to go from now on. I’d hate to see the company fall under because of no service. Please do something about it.“

“our server was so sweet! he let me know the co2 was low so i wouldn’t get a flat soda which i really appreciated. he was on top of making sure my friend and i were happy!
the food itself was incredible. i got these quesabirria and the pekes. i recommend both 100000%.“

“Wonderful staff and amazing food!“

“Fantastic service! Everyone was so attentive and kind. The food was absolutely delicious. Best salsa and guacamole we’ve had in a long time.“

“I ain't mad at Victor's taco shop and neither should you. Decent street tacos, fast service. All the salsa you want.

Oh and they skimp hard on those lime wedges though...come on man, fatten them up a bit!

Not the best street tacos I've ever had but definitely worth stopping if you got a hankering for some.“

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

“Good food and friendly service.“

“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“

“Great food, friendly service.“

“2022.03.24 We always eat here on our way through Knoxville, in both directions. And we really miss El Chico Cafe in Nashville. El Chico is often imitated but never duplicated. El Chico has the best food & service anywhere!
2025.10.05 El Chico is still the best! And we still miss El Chico in Nashville. Ask for Sherry a most excellent server!“

“Riquísima comida auténtica mexicana y de buen precio y buen sabor“

“Great food, friendly service.“

“Absolutely handsdown the BEST Mexican Cusine in Knoxville. You WILL NOT be disappointed!“

“🐙 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.“

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

“great service and great food!“

“This is a place you go for great food, not fancy atmosphere! The floor was dirty, but tables were clean. Tekemundo was on and the jukebox was blasting in Spanish. The corn tortillas are outstanding! Don’t be afraid to get off the beaten path, even though it might look a little sketchy! It was great!“

“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.“

“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!!“

“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.“

“First time there. The food and service was very good. We will be back and bring some friends with us .“

“Had their catering at work for lunch and they really thought of everything. There were warmers and stands for all the food and it was packed well. They gave me a box so the bag didnt bust on me. And the food was really delicious and fresh as well. Thank you!“