El Metate

1238 Taft Hwy, Signal Mountain
(423) 886-0054

Recent Reviews

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Gail S

I had a Fahita Bowl. My first one. It was delicious with a little spiciness! The rest of the menu looked delicious, too. Fast and courteous service. Good prices. I plan to visit again.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Sue Ginsburg

Very authentic Mexican restaurant. Someone at our table ordered a taco salad with no cheese sauce and it came with the sauce ; other than that it was a pleasant experience

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 4

Service: 5

Karen DiPonio

Great margaritas...always a nice time!

Food: 5

Service: 5

Chad Marsh

Best Mexican food on the mountain!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Debra Griffin

Wonderful local place on Signal Mountain. Fast service. Feels like a family run restaurant. Ordered Combo enchilada and taco plate. Prok soft shell taco best I've ever had! Will be back often.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Michelle Michaud

This is a great Mexican food restaurant on top of Signal Mountain, let's face it. It's one of the only places to eat on Signal Mountain. Mountain. However, it is still good and has a huge menu and service with nice people. Food always comes out fast and there's plenty of it.

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 3

Service: 4

John E

Food was great, good dining atmosphere

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

owensfamilyarvada

Oh buddy, buckle up, because I’m about to sing the praises of El Metate in Signal Mountain, Tennessee like it’s the grand finale at a fireworks show.

If you’ve ever said, “I could really go for some tacos that make me question everything I thought I knew about joy,” then El Metate is where you need to be. I walked in expecting a regular ol’ Mexican meal. I walked out feeling like I’d been hugged by a mariachi band and kissed on the forehead by a warm flour tortilla.

Let’s talk chips and salsa first. They come out faster than your cousin Gary at a NASCAR race, and they do not play around. The chips are fresh, crispy, and clearly made by someone who respects the sacred geometry of the tortilla. The salsa? Spicy enough to make you feel alive, but not so spicy you need a medic. It’s the kind of salsa that makes you nod after the first bite and say, “Oh yeah. We’re gonna be friends.”

Now, the food. Sweet mercy. I got the fajitas, and when they brought them out, the whole restaurant turned to stare like a soap opera twist had just happened. Sizzling, steaming, making sounds like a Fourth of July sparkler—if fajitas had a theme song, mine were playing it. And the portions? Let’s just say I had leftovers and zero regrets.

My wife got the enchiladas and made sounds I usually only hear when she’s watching Hallmark movies and someone finds love in a small-town Christmas tree farm. The rice was fluffy, the beans were comforting, and everything on the plate had the audacity to be delicious.

Service? Impeccable. Friendly without being fake. Our waiter remembered our drink order and gave me extra guac without judging me. That’s the kind of hospitality that deserves a parade.

El Metate is the kind of place where you can bring your kids, your grandparents, your in-laws, your mailman, and they’ll all leave smiling and full. Heck, bring someone you don’t like—they’ll probably forgive you after a plate of chimichangas.

So if you’re on Signal Mountain and not eating at El Metate, what are you even doing with your life? Put down whatever sad sandwich you were planning on and get yourself to taco heaven. Just be warned: you’ll think about those fajitas in the shower for the next three days.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Lucas

The food was slightly worse than most Mexican places but rateing is almost solely because their was 3 customers and 3 servers it took me 30 mins to get a drink and an hour to order. Why? This shouldn't happen in that scenario

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 4

Service: 2

none listener

I was here.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 4

Service: 4

Jamie Harness

The waitstaff do not check on the table often enough. Specifically asked if peppers and tomatoes come on fajitas and was told yes. When it got to the table there was NO vegetables. They had to take the whole plate back to add vegetables instead of just bringing vegetables back. They don’t typically bring enough salsa for the table. The food does taste okay. Would be a better experience if they polished their service a bit.

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 3

Service: 2

Rodger Castleberry

Polblano prpper was very bad

Kat Sunshine

Went here after a long hike in the woods and just wow! We were seated quickly, and the food came out fast, even on a busy Friday night. The portions were amazing, and so was the quality of food. Omgod, yum!!!! I live in FL, and this is the best Mexican food place I've ever been to. Really wish we had one by us. The only negative thing I have to say is they charged me .99 for take out. It's weird but not worth a 4 star rating because everything was phenomenal. My server was Jesus, and he was great also.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Mike S

Food was great

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Ashley Overstreet

They got two of our parties orders wrong. I actually had dried food on my plate with my food. The waitress was friendly and kept our drinks refilled.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 3

Service: 4

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