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!“

“👍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.“

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

“This restaurant is inside a Mexican market so the atmosphere is very casual and pretty noisy, but comfortable. The staff were super friendly and efficient. The food was excellent! Real, authentic Mexican food. I had carnitas which were melt-in-my-mouth tender, and my friend got the steak, chicken, and shrimp fajitas, and there were two ribs laying on top of all the yummy goodness of the fajitas. The portions are very generous and we'll definitely go back when we're in that neck of the woods again.“

“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.“

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

“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“

“Great food, friendly service.“

“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“

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

“I recently tried this restaurant and liked it a lot. The pinatas inside are very whimsical and the rest of the restaurant is very well decorated.

Our server was nice and had our food out pretty quick. The food and drinks are not insanely good, but still very yummy for a casual lunch or dinner.

I would definitely come here again!“

“Excellent food and service. Highly recommend.“

“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.“

“Siete mares! Great people. Great food.“

“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.“

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

“Wonderful staff and amazing food!“

“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!“

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

“Great food, friendly service.“

“They have the best tacos and homemade cheese dip. You need to try it, you won't be sorry.“

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

“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.“

“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!“

“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.“

“I can’t believe I just found this place. The food and drinks are amazing!! Best Mexican restaurant in Knoxville!! I had the Mojarra Frita and fish tacos. Chips and salsa were included which is the best part! I also drank a cocktail called yummy yummy and it was delicious! Indoor/outdoor/bar seating available too!“

“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!“

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

“The service was phenomenal! As soon as we walked in we were kindly greeted and welcomed. The food was delicious. I got the steak burrito, and my boyfriend got the barbacoa quesadillas. I also got the Piña Colada frozen margarita, and it’s one of the best that I have had! Overall, great first time experience, and we will be back!“

“This is the second time we've been there and we went for taco Tuesdays. It's a $1.50 a taco and you can pick between beef or shredded chicken. The shredded chicken came cooked in tomatoes peppers and onions so it was nice and tender and juicy and flavorful. They tacos are small like street tacos but three was filling enough for me. The food came out super fast. Our waitress was very attentive and came back to check on us several times. I did get the queso to go with my chips and salsa but I found it kind of watery. There's salsa has a little kick to it but I'm not fond of the tomatoey taste I wish it had some cilantro or chopped onions in it. But definitely worth a visit“

“Great food, friendly service.“

“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’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!“

“Pelanchos is AMAZING! We hosted our 50 person rehearsal dinner there and it could not have gone better. The service was top tier, the food was great, and the atmosphere was perfect. They had the perfect space to host our group and they were so accommodating. I would highly recommend Pelanchos whether you're looking for a quick dinner or to host a large party. 10/10 all around. Thank you Pelanchos and their staff!“

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

“Best gorditas at Knoxville chicken soup. And friendly people“

“🐙 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.“

“Hubby and I went about 2 weeks ago. The food is amazing!! If you like it 🔥 I definitely recommend the hot and spicy burrito!! We both had margaritas on the rocks, his lime and mine mango. Both excellent! And if you decide to go, absolutely ask for Kevin!! Best server ever!! Kevin, you rock!!!
Ok!! Second time and was just as awesome as the first!!🙌 Food was amazing!!🌯 Margaritas excellent!!🍹 Nicole was our server and she was awesome!!!🔥💯 I absolutely recommend Secor Cactus to anyone and everyone!!“

“Best food, prices, and service around! Highly Reconmmend!“

“Pretty solid self-serve Mexican place. The food is made fresh, the tacos are always crispy, and the prices are very reasonable. The food is a little bland, not a lot of seasonings, but you can get a lot of food for under $20 and decent lunch for under $8 in a fast-food style restaurant.

I recommend getting their chips with queso whenever you order something. Adding the queso to your taco, burrito, or quesadilla is a must have when you order here.“

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

“Authentic food. Burritos are rolled well so you can hold them. Kind people. Salsa is A+ refried beans taste excellent. Could use upgrade on outdoor seating I’d add shade and water misters. Not stingy well worth it. Tastes the best. Moved Macotaco to my #2 position.“

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

“Great food, friendly service.“

“Every time I’m in the mood for Pastor Tacos this is place I always choose! Some of the best pastor tacos I’ve had in Knoxville always flavorful and fresh! Even when I order takeout my food is always warm from the time I pick up and bring it home to eat! I recommend it to anyone wanting to eat some pastor tacos give them a try! Make sure to ask for extra lime for the tacos that’s the magic touch to punch it with more flavor mixed with how sweet the pineapple is that they use to go with the meat I appreciate that detail a lot cause the taste of the pineapple can make or break the flavor! I’ve been to places where the pineapple is sour and it ruins the whole experience!“