El Azteca Mexican Restaurant

I was seated at a table and the waiter was walking around to all of the tables around me but never stopped at my table. 10 minutes later I got up and left.

the best fish tacos in the world!

Rorshach test.
That is all I could think when I looked at the Sunday buffet, yesterday. Not sure what anyone would make of my psyche but I’d guess some version of complete overload.
My friend Mary Locke M and her girls adore this Sunday feast and I happily joined in. My verdict — this is one of the most confusing buffets I have ever seen. Watermelon and pineapple? Check. Chicken flautas? Check. Bresaola? Yep. Pudding? And so on… if you like variety and a deal (I think it’s $ 14 or $ 15 for the obscene amount of food you can eat), check it out. Personally, I think the options are too odd and not so tempting (see below); the girls have been in love for awhile, and like to each get a couple plates with a little bit of different stuff (basically equating to a big yet still reasonable treat-​meal) and decided things weren’t quite up to par this day.
Hence my point of writing an update: everything is unpredictable.
Much as I (still) love their «queso» (c’mon, we all know it is micro’d cheese product) and endorse the chicken fajita quesadilla (when they get my order right for just cheese and chicken– which they did perfectly when I picked that over the buffet) and the carne asada tacos (when they are brought with still-hot-meat)…you just never know.
Back patio — tends to be ignored, like with my lunch a few weeks ago. Everything is slow– refills, food (never know whether your order will come before or after the table next to you). Slow like… that day my friend and I took our food to go by the time it was finally ready.
Inside, there always seems to be one server that isn’t yours «supervising» that group of tables… but not doing anything. I’d get so busted for this if I did that at work.
Bottom line– classic, divey Mexican that I enjoy but never need to visit when order-​correctness or time is a factor.

Good food! This was actually a consolation to Neighborhood Eats that everyone raved about on Unilocal.I couldn’t find it and it seemed closed for Labor Day. This was close and I didn’t want breakfast. The staff was very pleasant and polite and the lunch menu was a wonderful price. The chicken enchilada want what I was expecting but was pleasantly surprised. I’m used to cheesy style and this was more saucy. I actually enjoyed it once I got over the different flavor. Great spot, glad I stopped in here.

Got to know what you are getting here. This is not quite an Americanized Mexican place. Service is a little abrupt and not like a chain, but solid food and a nice front patio.

I really don’t know if it was just me but probably the best thing here was the valet parking, the hosts has an attitude with my guest and the service sucked! it was our first time and nobody would explain of it was buffet style or we had to order. they took like an hour and a half to get our drinks and food.

Guilty pleasure. I grew up going to Americanized Mexican restaurants, in fact me, my
Mom and my dad used to go to Monterrey every Saturday for lunch when I was younger. We would do the crossword puzzle together at lunch, so places like this are nostalgic for me.
There is never a reason to get crazy at place like this. Stick to the basics, tacos, burritos, enchiladas and chile rellenos. This is the ultimate comfort food to me.
With an unassuming exterior, the restaurant has a surprising amount of space inside. For a Mexican restaurant like this, it has a decent bar too. Kelly does not necessarily love this food, so we don’t eat it too often. However, I’m a big fan.
That’s my word and I’m sticking to it.

I’ve definitely had far better Mexican food, but this place is convenient with good parking and ample patio sitting. And for those reasons, and only those reasons, I will probably keep coming back. If you want better than average food and/​or margaritas, I would go elsewhere.
I most recently came on a Saturday evening and they were slammed! The hostess who seated us warned us that they were very busy and it would be a while before a waiter could take our order. We said it was no problem as long as we could have chips and salsa and order drinks. She obliged, and very quickly someone took our drink order and brought us chips. It was easily 30 minutes before we got a chance to order food, which wasn’t the worst part. We were pretty much ignored once our food arrived at our table. We practically had to flag someone down to get our check, which then took forever to arrive back to the table. It wasn’t the most terrible experience of my life, but I wouldn’t go here on a weekend evening when they are too busy to handle the rush, which happens often.

I’ve been a fan of El Azteca for years. The menu is very different from the past and the prices have increased dramatically. ($ 31.00 for a lunch that would have cost ¹⁄₃ less elsewhere). The food was way below average and the service was very poor. I will not be returning anytime soon.

F — -G GROSS! Awful! The salsa is ketchup and chilli, the chips are OK.
The vegetarian enchiladas are nasty, the cheese was stale and the «secret sauce» was a pile of secret bull shit. What a turd
Then, I tasted the cheese enchiladas, those sucked too. Waaaaay to much salt, and the sauce was sucky sucky blow blow.
Beans– GROSS! Not even canned, probably powdered.
I can’t believe this place was slammed! It was dirty, waitstaff is nearly brain dead and the parking lot is dangerous and needs to be reconfigured.
FU-​K YOU GUYS! Peace!

How can you go wrong with Mexican food. In a nutshell — queso dip, chimichanga, and a few Bob Marley’s and you are set!

Ate here for the first time on Friday during my lunch break and was pleasantly surprised at the selection and pricing for it to be a Mexican restaurant in Midtown (most have bland, over priced selections in my opinion). I had a super burrito with Mexican rice, loved the burrito, the rice not so much. The staff was super friendly and the venue was nice with a relaxed ambiance. I’ll definitely dine here again.

3 stars. Yes. The Sunday brunch buffet is good at best. The food gets cold and sits under heat lamps.
Their patio gets 4 stars though. Lots of tables that you can rearrange as needed.
It’s cheap. Easy. Parking isn’t always ideal. Margaritas are good but noting great.
I’d be willing to try fajita night on Mondays.
The one plus is everyone gets their own salsa dish — so no worries on double dipping.
My friends adore this place. But I’ve been for the buffet several times and am just not convinced it’s that good.
If you’re going there, try a regular time or just not the Sunday brunch buffet. Not worth the $ 15.

This review is based on the sunday buffet. I flew in from california the day before so with that said looking at thiz place made me think it was going to be canned Mexican food but i waz so wrong everything i got tasted home made. The horchata was really good service was fine.
Moving out there this month and will for sure bring my family from cali to eat here on sunday.

Not bad. Not great… but decent. The food & drinks are relatively cheap for the area. I’ve had better Mexican food but I’m not saying I wouldn’t come back. If you’re looking for cheap and quick Mexican food… this is your place. I usually order a chicken quesadilla with a side of cheese dip. I like it. I hear it gets loud on the weekend. I went on a weekday so I can’t speak on that.
They have different specials throughout the week. So double check the website.
Parking is free which is a plus. I went on a weekday so I was able to park myself. I went a while ago and they had valet on the weekends but I’m not sure if they still do that.

El Azteca is a small chain of Mexican restaurants with four locations in metro Atlanta. This location, just north of the Brookwood Interchange, has been popular with folks in the neighborhood for years. It’s a good place to come for reasonably priced Mexican food and drink specials.
This place is slightly nicer than the typical casual Mexican eatery. I’d say it’s on par with La Parrilla, another Atlanta Mexican chain. Because the restaurant is often busy, the atmosphere is energetic, lively, and sometimes loud. A lot of Tech students like to come here. There’s an outdoor patio which is a good place to eat when the weather is nice. I like it because it’s tucked away in the back, away from noise of Peachtree Rd.
I’ve been for dinner on a few different occasions. At dinnertime, you can expect to spend about $ 10 – 15 each for most entrees. Lunch specials (Monday-​Friday, 11am-​3pm) are no more than $ 8.50 apiece and there’s a Sunday brunch buffet that starts at 11am and lasts well into the afternoon (4pm). The restaurant always seems to be running various specials, such as $ 8.99 fajita night (normally $ 13+).
I’ve tried a handful of items including some dips (cheese, beef & cheese, and guacamole), fajitas, Tampiquena steak, and some of the combos involving tacos, burritos, enchiladas, and tamales. In general, everything is decent.
I do like the chips and salsa. The chips seem fresh, aren’t too oily, and the salsa isn’t runny. The cheese dips are flavorful and rather thick. I probably like the guac dip the best. It seems freshly made from ripe avocados.
The fajitas are very filling. I like to get the steak fajitas. Chicken and shrimp are available as well. The steak strips are served still sizzling with onions and green bell pepper. Sides include shredded lettuce, guac, sour cream, salsa, rice, beans, and corn or flour tortillas. I prefer flour tortillas for both taste and texture (smoother and softer).
The quality is the steak is OK and isn’t rubbery nor old. The same can be said for the Tampiquena steak, which is an 8-​ounce ribeye. The steak is marinated well so it’s quite savory and sufficiently tender. I ordered it cooked medium. It’d be nice if the portion size for the steak was bigger, but only because it tastes good.
The combos are par for the course when it comes to Mexican food. The combo plates come out super fast and are loaded with melted cheese. While not bad, I’d steer clear of the combos menu and order one of El Azteca’s specials instead. You’ll probably be happier as the combos tend to be pretty generic.
Service is fine. It can get slow on busier nights.
Free parking is available in the rear.

There’s an entrance to parking that is north of the restaurant. I was pleased to find so many available spots. You have to stroll past the patio to get to the restaurant. There were plenty of seats available during one weekday at lunch. The servers were prompt to provide chips, salsa, and ask for a beverage order.
The menu is extensive but I asked for a fish recommendation. The server directed me to the grilled tilapia with rice. The fish is tender and there is a hint of the smell of the grill as I bit into the crispy outer edge. It was decently marinated.
Rice was soft and fluffy but I would like mine more fluffy and flavorful.
Salsa is good. It has a bit of a spicy kick to it.

Is this a strip club or a family friendly restaurant? It’s the latter, but we needed so many singles that at the end of the night, I still left the restaurant feeling kind of sad and dirty.
It was a Friday night in the ‘burbs and we came out with my husband’s family to enjoy some delicious Mexican food. We were a large party that included several children, which I felt made us extremely vulnerable to a series of unsolicited vendors that performed services for us that later required tips. First the balloon animal man. Then the mariachis. Then the balloon man again… and again. It added to a fun and festive atmosphere but also made me feel really uncomfortable, as I have no idea how to tip appropriately for a «free» service that we didn’t ask for to begin with.
The food was pretty good. Generic Atlanta Mexican food. Cheese, guac, fried bowls — you know the drill. The weather was nice and they have a nice patio, although our group was too large for outdoor seating. I’d come back, but I’ll be better prepared next time so I don’t break into a cold sweat when I don’t have any dollar bills to spare.

Coming here was the best decision I could have made on a Saturday afternoon.
The weather was beautiful and this place is nestled away on Peachtree — blink and you might miss it! We decided to sit on the patio to enjoy the cool breeze and a margarita. They are huge! Tons of options and reasonably priced to boot.
I got the carne asada tacos and they were so good, I’m salivating just thinking about them. The meat is cooked to order so it’s super fresh and hot when it reaches your table. Luckily I wasn’t too full from all of the warm chips and salsa I was wolfing down. You have the option to get the tacos with diced onions and cilantro and I highly recommend it. It was the perfect bite — grilled meat with a margarita while sitting outside. Plus it didn’t send you into a food coma afterward.
Our waiter was a little slow and I was waiting for water now and then but it wasn’t a big issue. It was slow (maybe around 2 in the afternoon) so I thought he could have paid a little better attention.
I’ll definitely be back again when I’m craving Mexican!

I LOVE THIS PLACE!!! Seriously how had I lived in Atlanta for six years before experiencing El Azteca? I plan on making up for lost time with many Mexican brunches here in my future.
I learned about their lunch buffet from Unilocal and dragged a friend along for this culinary adventure. We got here at 12:30 (gotta love Sunday liquor laws) and were promptly seated. It’s a good thing we got there when we did because I am pretty sure every Hispanic family in Atlanta comes here after church. Our server took our drink order and delivered some serious margaritas while we were hitting up buffet.
The amount of amazing Mexican food you can eat here for $ 13 is no joke! Three plates and four hours later and I was ready to admit I liked El Azteca as much as Nuevo Laredo. In hindsight, that might have been the deliciously potent margaritas talking. Seriously though, they have all of the traditional Mexican fare, raw oysters (avoid), an omelette station, and dozens of desserts to choose from. Chile rellenos, chicken enchiladas, ceviche, beef brisket, rice and beans, oh my! I will be back to El Azteca on a regular basis.