The El Felix

Very average food, very loud and dark. The service was ok, maybe they can’t handle being busy.

Second trip to Avalon after a disappointing first trip to Antico. El Felix was less disappointing.
El Felix is a bustling and busy restaurant serving mediocre Tex-​Mex to Alpharetta’s family scene. We were a party of three adults arriving at 1pm on a Saturday, and the place was packed. Mostly families, probably about 75%. If you have children, this is an ideal setting as you will be surrounded by your peers. The inside of the place is decent, but certainly nothing remarkable about it.
We were told a 10 minute wait, and they adhered to that pretty much on the dot. The service from the bar was prompt and friendly, while we were standing at it.
When we got to the table, service tanked. Long waits for servers to come around. I had two cocktails myself, and had to chase down our waitress for both of them. It makes me uncomfortable to do that as a guest, but I’ll do it if I have to.
Food arrived fairly quickly, and was nothing to write home about. Pretty run-​of-​the-​mill Tex– Mex. I ordered picadillo enchiladas and they were okay. The other people in my party seemed satisfied with the food, but when you aren’t eating lunch until close to 2pm, you’re so hungry you’d eat your own arm. The food was salty enough (but not too much) which was nice, but no real flavors stood out. Nobody was excited about what they ate.
Overall, I think El Felix serves its function: a family-​friendly, bland-​tasting Tex-​Mex experience closer to a nice-​looking Chili’s than anything else. Maybe good for an office lunch. The place seemed clean. And honestly, it’s not that pricey. Give it a shot if you’d like, but don’t expect to be blown away by anything.

The service was good but the food was just below par! First time I was ever dissapointed with text mex

Was here for lunch with coworkers, this time the experience could have been better, it was near to the midday close and it appears they were shortstaffed so service was slow, I really liked the green salsa with chips, the red salsa was just ok. I had the Camarones brochetta, wrapped in bacon and cheese on a bed of super greasy onions, no need for all that grease, the shrimp tasted ok but was tiny, had more bacon wrap than shrimp, the cheese was little, microwaved heated tortillas, hot on the inside hard on the edges. Guacamole side was ok, had some spice that overpowered the avocado. Not bad but just very average for the extreme price, the restaurant is in a nice fancy area hence the overpriced items.

I have yet to try a dish that wasn’t a home run. Awesome atmosphere and amazing staff. This is my go to destination for date night. Make sure you get the Campechana de Marisco. If you’re lucky, you will have Rahsaan as your waiter. He was fantastic.

My girlfriend took me here twice! The food is delicious. Very authentic Mexican food! The service is wonderful. I would recommend this place to anyone.

I had a very pleasant experience eating and drinking here last night. We sat by the bar and the bartender took great care of us. The food and drinks were prepared well, and we did not leave disappointed. The space is also very attractive, and it is located in a cute shopping center. Will definitely be back when I want good quality Mexican food!

This is the loudest place. The food is just average. We had horrible service. I really don’t know what the hype is about. I wouldn’t spend the $ 30 a person.

Very cool place. The interior was very well designed of this restaurant. I’d say this is the best restaurant at avalon that we’ve been to so far. We sat at the bar since there were no tables, but we the service was still very good. The bartenders are definitely experienced and watching them make the drinks was fun. It definitely looks like they care about the caliber of drinks they are producing. The margs were very good, we had the regular and the sweeter one (Texas I believe? It had orange juice in it too). You should definitely get the queso, it works well with the free chips and salsa. I tried the steak tacos and the grilled chicken ones. The steak one was very good, but the chunks of meat were a little too big, but also tender. The chicken taco wasn’t very flavorful, and the tacos were too doughy and thick. Too much bread to insides ratio. The tacos were at best, average.
My boyfriend got the enchiladas– now those were great. Worth the calories. He got the chicken verde (the best one), and one with mole sauce. Both were very good, but the chicken verde was fantastic. The tortillas were much more delicate than the ones they use for the tacos and the sauces were very very good and the meat was flavorful.
In all, it’s a cool place to hang out and grab some good drinks, and if you’re hungry– queso and enchiladas!

The El Felix was a fall-​back lunch choice when the restaurant we had chosen proved to have not yet opened for business at Avalon.
The main factors for me in choosing a Tex-​Mex place are flavor & spiciness. This doesn’t seem to be what El Felix stresses. They seem to be more focused on ambiance and an upscale atmosphere. That’s fine, if you don’t mind paying for it (which you will).
Overall, the food here was decent, but not such a draw that I’d come back for it. There are plenty of other Tex-​Mex places (outside of Avalon) that have better or more interesting food than El Felix (though admittedly in a less-​classy environment). Your focus may vary, but I doubt I’d go back given the many other as-​good-​or-​better (and closer) choices for Tex-​Mex.

Native Texan here — with strong opinions on Tex-​Mex food. This place had good and not so good aspects:
Chips & Salsa — Decent… The salsas were pretty good and the chips are great.
Queso Fundido con Chorizo — Just not good. Would absolutely not order again.
Sopa de Tortilla — Quite similar to a chili. Not what I expected, but not awful.
Posole Verde — Very good! I would absolutely order this again and could eat a ton of it.
**FYI — if you order a «cup» of soup, the portion size is HUGE**
Skirt Steak Fajitas — Perfectly seasoned and prepared. The fajitas were surprisingly good and we were happy to enjoy them after some not-​so-​good starters to our meal.
Chocolate Pot de Crème — Also VERY good! Made my list of one of my favorite desserts!
Texas Margaritas — Just okay — kind of watered down…
Overall we enjoyed our meal — but not for the cost when compared to other options (PURE Taqueria, for example…) & it’s also difficult to not compare to options in Texas that we are so accustomed to. :/

Yay! I’m happy to update my review to ⁴⁄₅!
DH and I had a fantastic dinner here this past Saturday night. The salsa was on point, the guac was tasty, the chips were AWESOME. Our entrees were fantastic and the service was 95% great. The only issue was DH ordered a 2^nd margarita when our entrees came and he didn’t receive it until after we’d finished eating. IDK if this was due to an unusually slow bar or our server forgot. But it was literally 15 – 20 minutes for that drink.
I’m glad this spot got their stuff together and is now back on our go-​to list!

We very much enjoyed El Felix! The food is kind of gourmet-​ish mex with lots of options, there’s a large menu. Chips, salsa and queso are terrific, I could’ve made a meal out of those. Service was exceptionally good, and fast.
Be warned, this is not the place for an intimate, quiet lunch or dinner. It is almost painfully loud and seating is close. There’s not a lot of personal space and coupled with the high ceilings it is so loud you are in on everyone’s conversation.
We’ll be back!

I’m surprised by how much I enjoy dining here. The service is always good and the food has been excellent every time we go.
Food: I admit I’m boring and always get the steak. Yes the husband gets different things and yes they are also delicious, but that steak, it’s heaven. The green salsa on the table with the chips is also amazing as are the rice and beans which I think are unlimited.
The children’s menu and actually the adults as well is a bit thin on the healthy options front. I enjoy ordering a side of veggies with dinner and here there were none. The kids menu was also a bit uninspired and the quesadilla we ordered from there was super oily. Still they have big portions and will get you extra flour tortillas so we have just started making our daughter little burritos of our meals. She loves it and those flour tortillas are awesome for parents if there are any left over.
As part of my new review system I will say they are very kid friendly. Now, my daughter is fairly well behaved and sits in her high chair or on a bad day my lap, and is not running around. So not sure how that would go over, but still, they have high chairs and the staff caters to them pretty heavily. Just know you won’t have a lot of healthy options for them on the kiddy menu. Oh and they have crayons and a menu you can color on.
The atmosphere here is nice as well, it’s trendy yet accessible and dark and loud-​ish. These last two are great for me because it means if my daughter gets excited and makes a bit more noise than I’d like before I can shush her no one really notices. She can also take her shoes off and I’ve got them back on her before anyone notices. Not that she ever does that. But you know… In case. Lol.
Overall this place is great for a dinner at Avalon. The only reason they get four stars vs five is that they don’t take reservations. When your wait is over an hour most nights, get over yourself and take the reservations.

This review is really based on one dish and one dish only… The tapiquena… Steak (well cooked and perfectly seasoned), with a chunk of flavored butter, two enchiladas (gooey goodness) a fried egg and some great slightly spicy sauce. This dish is perfection for a Mexican restaurant, it is plainly put very memorable.
The service leaves room for improvement, the décor is modern and the place is kept clean (outdoor tables don’t seem to be withstanding use). Twice they tried to squeeze parties of three people (that I was part of) at a two person table which really didn’t sit well with me. They weren’t really apologetic about it either which only made things worse. But again as I said, the dish covers up all warts.
One other dish that deserves applause is the queso fundido with chorizo, all I’ll say is if you like cheese — get it!

My friends and I ventured here as part of our progressive dinner, Avalon Edition. Unable to make reservations, we tried our luck with the 8 of us arriving around 7pm on a Sunday night. Luckily, the wait was only about fifteen minutes and our table was ready. The atmosphere at El Felix is dark, modern, and totally Tex-​Mex. We were seated at a long table adjacent to the bar where we were between varied clientele: the couples watching the game and drinking margaritas and beers at the bar and seated next to us at tables, families with their young children.
Not feeling very hungry but wanting to try everything, I opted for tacos, a tacos a-​la-​carte. The option to order tacos without ordering a full plate is not listed on the menu, so definitely ask your server if you’re interested in going this route! I chose three tacos: tacos de carnitas: crispy pork belly, hot and sweet guava glaze, cilantro and onions; steak tacos al carbon: wood grilled skirt steak, charred onions, and avocado salsa verde; and tacos de camarones: spicy shrimp, smoked jalapeño, Monterey jack, cilantro, and cabbage. The tacos are not the size of your traditional Mexican street fare – they are huge! The skirt steak taco is delicious, followed by the shrimp, and I loved the guava glaze on the pork belly, however, the meat consisted of huge chunks of fat that I eventually sliced off to the side. Overall, I think the food here good but not amazing. I would probably say the same thing about our service here – good but not amazing. Our server seemed to be just going through the motions and ready to go home, however, at the end of what I assume was a busy weekend, I don’t put too much blame on her. I’d come here again if I were in the area, but the restaurant alone is not worth the trek to Alpharetta.

At first glance, it seems like a really cool joint. The decorations are super cute and the staff seems friendly.
However, I was disappointed with the overall experience. We were a party of 7, and they sat us down at a really crowded table. Other tables could have easily been placed together for comfort reasons, but I guess that idea was overlooked. They are generous with their chips and salsa, which I really appreciated. Our waitress was really knowledgeable about which foods contained animal products, but service was so incredibly show. The vegetarian options are really slim, and the black beans and white rice they serve instead of the Spanish rice is super bland. Just because something doesn’t have chicken stock in it doesn’t mean you have to deprive customers’ taste buds.
Like, why do so many places not know how to utilize herbs and spices? I was super disappointed with the alternatives and question the chef’s background + skills. Animal products aren’t the only sources of flavor. But anyways, the entire table ended up mixing the green salsa with the plain black beans and bland white rice which was served. I’m embarrassed for the cooks tbh. I was so tempted to take that food to go & reprepare it at home with herbs and spices. It’s kind of a bad sign when your customers have to almost recook the food which was served.
I ordered the vegetable enchiladas which was good only bc it was smothered in cheese. One other good thing was the complementary birthday dessert they served to me. It was a chocolate mousse with hints cinnamon. It was good, but not good enough to make up for the slow service and overall bland experience.
The place is cute but the food is meh.

Editing my review as I was finally able to hit this place on a weekend night — as others have said, the service is subpar & honestly sucked. The waitress has no knowledge of basically any of the drinks. Frustrating when you want to order a good margarita and the waitress basically reads you what’s on the menu??? Thanks. Food is still 4 star in my opinion.
Contrary to the past few reviews, the level of service we received here was far above average. We went for lunch on a Saturday, and it was pretty busy being it wasn’t dinner hour. We had two waitresses working our section and they both were very attentive and pleasant.
Everything on the menu looked very tempting, but we kept it simple and ordered the queso dip to start. That house chips and salsa are fantastic. The tortilla chips were not overly salty as they are at most Mexican restaurants. Both house salsas were great. One is a green, avocado based with a small kick, and the other being a more traditional red, tomato based salsa.
I ordered the Chicken Verde Enchiladas and was glad I did. Great overall taste, and the corn tortillas were tasty, along with the chicken.
We also had the steak nachos, which come with medium rare individual steak bites on each crisp. The chips were thicker and different compared to the house tortilla chips which was nice. The steak had tons of flavor.
I wanted to order a pitcher of margaritas, but being it was lunch we will give it a go next time. $ 35 for a pitcher though — yikes. The dish prices range from $ 12 — 25 so not the cheapest bite to eat. But hey, it’s The Avalon so it’s expected.

I finally had a chance to check out The El Felix. I met a girlfriend here for dinner since this is about half way between the two of us. I stopped in as soon as I got to Avalon to find out how long that wait was. I was quoted 20 minutes (on a Thursday night) so I gave them my name and cell. They send a text message when your table is ready. I love this because it gave me the opportunity to exchange some clothing at a store in the shopping center. I got the text as I was checking out — pretty close to the quoted 20 minute wait time. We popped back over to the restaurant to grab our table. We were seated immediately at one of the few tables for two.
You must start off with one of the cocktails. They are pretty amazing.
Each table gets complimentary chips and two types of salsas. I really liked both of the salsas and ate entirely too many chips. Don’t worry, they will refill the chips for you. We decided to share an order of the queso fundido. You can’t go wrong with gooey cheese and tortillas.
I decided I wanted to try the enchiladas, but I couldn’t decide which ones I wanted to get. The server allowed me to get two different ones for my order. I got one pollo con mole and one chicken verde. Both were very tasty, although I preferred the chicken verde a bit more. The mole was good, but had a bit too much cinnamon for my taste.
Service was great while we were there. I’m sure that we will check out most of the places at Avalon for our dinners, but will probably keep gravitating back to The El Felix.

For the longest time, Tex-​Mex has been looked down upon by many a food critic as a bastardized cuisine or as food masquerading as authentic Mexican cuisine. I believe it is long past due to put that notion to rest. Tex-​Mex is not authentic Mexican cuisine, nor was it ever meant to be… that’s why it’s called Tex-​Mex. It is a cuisine that I believe is more than capable of standing on its own merits. I appreciate that Ford Fry and Kevin Maxey, fellow Texans, celebrate all that is Tex-​Mex.
The El Felix, located at the upscale new Avalon development, commands an upscale price. Yes, their guacamole is pricey at $ 9, but it’s really good guacamole and you get a lot of it. Yes, their entrees may seem a bit overpriced: $ 12 for hard shell tacos, $ 14 for two enchiladas, $ 15 for chilis rellenos, $ 28 for carne asada, etc. — but these aren’t your typical Tex-​Mex foods that you’ll find at any hole-​in-​the-​wall spot in town. Bottom line: respect that this is a Ford Fry establishment in a well-​to-​do area.
Once seated, you are quickly served chips and two different types of salsa — a roasted chipotle salsa and a tomatillo salsa. Both of them were excellent. The guacamole that we ordered was also very good and plentiful, it even came with different, made on site, tortilla chips than the complimentary ones served to us.
My wife decided to have the chicken flautas, an $ 11 appetizer as her entrée. Flautas: chicken tacos dorados, shredded lettuce, sour cream, and queso fresco. I chose one picadillo and one chicken verde enchilada ($ 14). Picadillo — spiced ground beef, chili gravy, and monterey jack. Chicken Verde — morita chili braised chicken, salsa verde, and sour cream. Side of rice and beans.
BEST ENCHILADAS EVER. Oh my, were they perfect! It was everything that Tex-​Mex is supposed to be, all on that one plate. Flavor nirvana. I couldn’t pick a favorite between the two. It didn’t matter. I relished every bite. Hang on a second, I need a moment…
Okay, are you still with me? Cool. So, yeah… my wife really enjoyed her chicken flautas too. If you ask me, it was worth the price. I’ll definitely be returning.
Side note: Would they get upset if I started beating on the piñata they have on the wall? Because candy…