Don Armando

This restaurant has a some big highs and lows. And I mean when it’s good it is so GOOOOD! The chips are salty and warm and all the salsas are made in-​house. They are all kickin’ flavorful. The arbol salsa and avocado salsa remind me of home. Delicious! And oh my gosh Don Armando have the BEST HORCHATA in the entire state of Tennessee. Trust me, I have searched all over. It’s a creamy, smooth, and cinnamon-​y delight. Also made in-​house, the corn tortillas are very good. My heart swooned when I see they served me double-​tortillas for my tacos.
And then my heart sank. When its bad it is BAD! The carne asada was bland and although the chicken was very tender it was also bland. Throw more onions on it and drench your salsa all over it then suddenly its better now. Salsa should compliment the taco. I just wish I didn’t have to compose or mask flavor altogether. The green tamale (which I have been searching all over for) was not actually the tamale I had in mind. It was a roll of masa. Undercooked. And the sopapilla as a JOKE. Basically it was a set of tortilla chips with honey and cinnamon drizzle. CRIMINAL.
So what do you do? Do you give 2 stars or 5 stars? Meet in the middle with 3? I’ll give 4 stars for all the excellent HAND PREPARED components that are truly hard to find. All the rest can be drowned out by good salsa and horchata when it’s this good.

Excellent authentic Mexican food in a cozy local restaurant. Fabulous friendly owners with a good variety & huge portions. Definitely will return to this restaurant!

Tiny little hole in the wall but excellent food. Everything is fresh and great salsa. Best Mexican in town!

HUGE difference from your normal Mexican joint! Made the 30 min trip just based on Unilocal reviews, was not disappointed. Food was very fresh, made in house, not frozen or sitting around for hours. Better than any Mexican I have had in Cleveland! Waitress was very helpful in suggesting what to order for our first visit. Fried ice cream was okay, not fantastic. But the queso, guacamole and chicken dish were so good that we will make the drive again in the near future.

This is my favorite Mexican place! Their guacamole, cheese dip, and gorditas are amazing, but everything is good. Great traditional Mexican.

So delicious! The waitress was very helpful with selections and the meal was generous, reasonably priced and very tasty. Thanks for a great experience.

My favorite type of Mexican restaurant is the kind that has a few different types of salsa that they give to you in squeeze bottles. You don’t find a whole lot of these but Don Armando does have the standard salsa that comes in the carafe and four other delicious salsas in squeeze bottles. My favorite was the avocado but the spicy red was just behimd. There is a tomatillo which is also great and also a jalapeño tomato which is wonderful too. I loved it. The chips were ok but not great but the salsa made up for it.
They have a Tex Mex menu as well as a traditional Mexican menu. I’d really like to have this place closer to my house so I could explore the traditional menu.
We all enjoyed our meals and the good, friendly service.

A good Mexican restaurant is always judged by its salsa. The sales at Don Armando is a home run! Food is always great and the atmosphere is awesome. I would recommend the fish tacos. They are incredible!

I’m a foodie from Houston Texas so when I hear about GREAT Mexican food I’m all in! Well let me get started on this review. This is a small place located in downtown Athens parking is not great but the restaurant wasn’t full so I found a spot easily. The chips are thick and crunchy and the salsa isn’t bad. You’ll get 5 options of flavor! I ordered the Carne Asada tostada and told the waiter twice no sour cream as it doesn’t sit well with me. It comes out loaded with meat and there it is drizzled all over with the sour cream. I tell them I can’t eat it and request a new one. The cook scrapes off the top throws new lettuce and sends it back to me with sour cream still in the beans and meat! I then ask again I don’t want this I want what I ordered. A new one is made and half of the meat is gone, the shell was over fried and chewy! I also ordered the beef fajitas. Man where is the lime marinade? Where is the spices? No flavor at all just tiny pieces of meat cooked and served on a bed of onions. But don’t you worry remember those 5 salsa options I was talking about? You get the luxury of seasoning it yourself because no one up in Tennessee can cook Mexican food like we can in Houston! Where’s the cumin? Garlic powder? Chili powder? This was a 2 ½ at best restaurant but due to the lack of REAL Mexican food up here I see how the locals are excited for anything better than Taco Bell. I’m considering opening a Mexican restaurant in the north to show these guys what it’s about. Also I seen on other reviews «authentic» Mexican. NOT! Where is the menudo? Where is the mole? Where is the frijoles al la charro? This is not an Authentic place at all!

I go here often & the food is as authentic as you can get in a small town. This place has excellent service & such delicious home made Mexican food. Their Carna Asada is great alongside with rice & beans that they put feta cheese on. The guacamole dip is on point as well as their salsa. Don’t let the small building fool you. This place is so much better than El Charro when it comes to Mexican food. You can’t beat the prices either. The best Mexican food in town!

Hot chips and salsa. Great hot sauce selection ranging from mild avocado to spicy habanero-​ginger. Menus for meat-​eaters and vegetarians. My friend got arroz con pollo and I got the vegetable burrito grande. Both were great, affordable, and filling! Cool posters of famous Mexicans on the walls. Friendly service.

My friends and I lovingly refer to this place as Don’s, and we eat here at least once a week – which is really saying something, considering that half of us are from California and are therefore total Mexican food snobs.
If you’re into Tex-​Mex, then 1) shame on you, *joking…mostly* and 2) you’ll find your standard fare: taco salads, chimichangas, quesadillas, etc. Everything I’ve ever had from the Tex-​Mex menu has been fresh and flavorful. But you’re honestly doing yourself a disservice if you don’t branch out and try the delicious selection of authentic dishes. The tacos are incredible; my favorites are the barbacoa and the carne asada.
On top of everything else, the owners are so great. They really put heart and soul into every aspect of the restaurant, and it shows.

Great Mexican food in such a little town! I was so surprised with the quality. I got fajitas and they were delicious. Chorizo queso dip was awesome, and the sauces they have on the tables are great. I can’t wait to go back here, unfortunately I have to drive an hour from Knoxville but that’s ok!

I love this place. I always come here when I’m in Athens on business. My favorite place in Athens.

It’s new spot in town, they have big shoes to fill as this Mexican restaurant is opening in the same exact spot of a Mexican restaurant that was amazing but has been shut down for some time. My meal wasn’t bad… but it wasn’t great. I’ve been twice now and still haven’t hit on what there specialty might be.
The hot sauce is good but could use more cilantro and the chips could be kept in a warmer… I’m fairly certain that they’re not.

I loved Taqueria La Chiquita and was sad when they closed. When I saw this place was opening in the same location I had hopes the food was similar… and it was.
This place has the best Mexican/​Tex-​Mex food in the area. Their more authentic tacos are served with fresh cilantro and diced onions which make the flavors really pop.
I’ve been a few times and only gotten the Chorizo tacos. Next time I go I plan to try something else (we’ll see when I get there). Others I’ve been with have gotten other items and been very happy. I was happy to see a queso fresco type cheese used in dishes rather than shredded cheese like many others.
Salsa has a slight kick, but not bad at all. I wish they offered a (more) mild salsa, I guess I’m a wimp.
Do yourself a favor and order the guacamole, the portion isn’t huge but it is the freshest, best guacamole I’ve had. It’s basic but good, large chunks of avocado, fresh onions, tomatoes, cilantro and jalapeños all just mixed up well. This guacamole isn’t mashed together into a paste, it’s chunky.
Price and portions are on par, hit up Don Armando, you’ll be happy.

It’s the best Mexican in McMinn County. No reason to go to Mexi-​Wing or Monterrey now. Queso is fresh and thick, and the Carnitas (pork shoulder) is a great choice on tacos, sopes, etc. It’s a smaller place so it can get busy quick but they’re getting faster as they get fully staffed. Again, best Mexican in Athens.

I wasn’t impressed with the Tamales, which you can not find very often in East Tennessee, so I was hoping that they would be great! But they were just to «bready» and not enough spice to them.