Abuelo’s

Delicious food
Great atmosphere
Tables are overly spaced out PERFECT!!!
Décor awesome
I came on Friday during Lent 2016 so I ordered the shrimp angel hair with vegetables in a white cream sauce OMG better than an Italian restaurant
Friendly server Jayme
ASK for her
From Atlanta just visiting

We were in Chattanooga this weekend for my sisters cheer competition and after calling muultiple restaurants; making reservations and STILL having to wait we mentioned to ‘M’ word (Mexican) and my sister jumped at the chance! We called Abuelo’s and said we were a party of 8 and they said they could seat us in 10 minutes! Luckily it took it that long to get there thanks to our stupid GPS! First of all, the it’s a Mexican ‘Embassy’ – we knew we were in for a treat! We walked in and it took our breath away. NOT a traditional Mexican restaurant! The salsa sampler on the table was great! The tomatillo one was our favorite! My sister being the queso freak that she is; ordered it, I’ve had better queso, but the food was amazing! The bacon wrapped shrimp is SOMETHING SERIOUS! SOO good! My other sister had the shrimp fajitas and they were amazeballs! Chimichanga was sooo good as well! And if it wasn’t good already – the blackberry margarita was
! Soo yummy! Next time we are in Chattanooga we will definitely be going back there! My mouth is salivating right now…

Their dips were excellent. We ordered bean dip, queso dip, guacamole dip etc. All their dips were excellent. Food, not so much. I ordered a cheese and bean burrito since I am a vegetarian. It was average, nothing fancy about it.

Everything was good! Appetizers, entrees & drinks! Excellent service as well
Highly recommend the chicken & spinach chimi appetizers and sangria swirl. Definitely will be going back!

Came to this establishment back in October while I was seeing a friend in the TN/​GA area and we decided to come here. I had never even heard of the place until we had gotten there. We walked in and it was dead for a Tuesday night considering it is right next to the mall. I had a feeling it was dead for a reason. The salsa was honestly the best thing and that was only because they give you 3 choices at once and the spicy one was the best. I had ordered some sort of Chicken quesadilla and I will say it was terrible. The chicken tasted old, there was so much cheese on top it looked more like a omelet but the cheese did not bother me. The portioning was small for the money I was paying. My friend had the same and she said it was «okay». The service could had been a lot better too.

We are new to Chattanooga and are definite foodies. We decided to try Abuelos as we love Mexican food. The ambiance is great, love the décor. Didn’t love the chips and salsa but the nachos app we got was tasty. We have a special needs child that only eats chicken strips and fries and his food was by far the very best we’ve ever had at a Mexican restaurant. My husband had a platter with everything– he loved it! His favorite items were the green chicken enchilada ad the tamale. I had the chimichangas and they were delicious.
Service was ok. Nothing special. No refills in a timely manner for our $ 3 soft drinks. Wasn’t happy about that. It was horrible but expect better on a $ 65 tab.
Overall, we liked it. We’ll be back!

I gave this restaurant a ⁵⁄₅ because it’s different from all of the other regular Mexican restaurants we are use to eating at. To start everything off They give you 3 different dips and a basket of chips that we really enjoyed, the menu gives you a large variety to choose from but also had a chef’s specials which was helpful, our waitress was extremely nice and I never had to wait for a refill, she was also very helpful with the menu and answering questions. Our food was delicious! The dips and sauces they offer with your meal are wonderful. I really wish we had one of these back home in Tuscaloosa!

We love Abuelo’s and eat here all the time! I think the mixed reviews come from not understanding what type of restaurant this is. If you’re going, understand they are going for Mexican fine cuisine, not the typical tex/​mex fast food you get at every other Mexican restaurant. Plan to spend ⁵⁰⁄₆₀ bucks for a family of 3 – 4 and order something great! They have the best steaks in town, some wonderful seafood dishes and this spicy glazed pork that melts in your mouth. Yes they have enchilada’s but you can get those anywhere, and let’s face it, it’s pretty much the same everywhere. Go outside the box and get a house special and you won’t be disappointed.
* we’ve always had excellent service! Yesterday our server was Ian and he did a wonderful job. Thanks guys for always being reliably great!

Me and my wife rarely get a night out without kids so we thought we’d give this place a shot. Good experience but Chattanooga has 50,000 great Mexican restaurants with better food.
Good
Waiter was awesome with great advice and great service
Ambience separated itself from other Mexican restaurants.
Their baked potatoes were pretty good
Bad
Menu had way too many options.
Ingredients didn’t taste fresh at all. Beef made Taco Bell look like Ruth’s Chris.

Not my absolute favorite Mexican food of all time, but still pretty good. Had the dip sampler. The chili and guacamole was good, but I didn’t care for the cheese. I had the lunch chicken fajita, which was really good. The ingredients were fresh and the chicken was juicy. Service was excellent and the atmosphere was pleasant.

I don’t understand the reviews for 2 stars. We had a wonderful experience. The staff was very polite and helpful and the food was different and very, very good.
The dip sampler is great, but I do agree with another reviewer that the queso was a but weak. Other than that, we got generous portions of very good food.
Well be back.

Delicious food and some good beer choices, as well. The chips and salsas are fresh and better than your average salsa you typically get around here. The menu offers some interesting twists on traditional Mexican fare as well as some fresh and tasty traditional Mexican menu staples. I’m not sure why there are some negative reviews about this place. I’ve been several times and the restaurant and atmosphere are inviting, the food is fresh and delicious and the service is always friendly.

GNO! Great place for drinks and appetizers! Nice atmosphere. The entrees aren’t that great. It’s good but there are much better places in Chattanooga if your a craving Mexican food.

I should’ve trusted Unilocal and just stayed away from Abuelo’s. Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t awful it just wasn’t great. The waitress was super awkward and when she checked our ID’s she started talking about how one of my friends was old enough to be her mom… errrrr what? I know she didn’t mean anything bad by it and was trying to say my friend looked younger than her age but still… awkward. I ordered a classic margarita and the waitress asked if i wanted a small or medium but when i asked her how much more tequila was in the medium all she could say was «well im not sure but most people get the medium because its a better deal.» Better deal compared to… what? Because theres more tequila? Theres more margarita mix? What?
The menu its pretty comprehensive and had similar offerings to a Chuy’s or Chevy’s. I wasn’t super hungry when we went so I just ordered the chicken mini chimichanga appetizer. When I ordered i specifically asked if this was just like a Mexican egg roll or if it really was like a mini chimi and the waitress said it was a bunch of actual mini chimis. Wrong. They were definitely just mexican egg rolls and while they weren’t awful, they were kind of salty and just meh…
My friends both made note that their food was alright but very salty. I can’t say this is a place I’d visit again… i’ll stick to the hole in the wall authentic Mexican restaurants.

As a Texan this is the best place in this town to get Tex-​Mex food. The only place to get a decent fajita. When you order a steak fajitas you know that it was clearly a marinated skirt steak about 20 minutes prior. The meat cut is thick and can be ordered any way you like. Unlike the other places in this town who scoop cut steak out of a dish and place it on a hot plate so it sizzles and try and fool you.

A bit pricey for Mexican food. Quality is a tad bit better than your local Mexican restaurant but I found myself wanting to go to the local joints more.

This place. Me and Abuelo’s just don’t see eye-​to-​eye.
The Hubbs and I ate here when they first landed in Chattanooga, and once was enough. Not that it was terrible, but there was nothing about the fare that spoke to us and compelled us to return. In fact, one of the couples we were with was served raw shrimp. (It’s just one of those things that gives me a case of the heebie-​jeebies.)
Fast forward several years later. It’s the MIL’s birthday, and she insists on eating at Abuelo’s on a friend’s suggestion. I didn’t fight. It’s her birthday.
The MIL ordered the veggie fajitas. The fajita’s themselves looked okay, but her cilantro rice was hard! It had sat in the warmer for far too long and had already started turning translucent. She tried to eat around it, but overall the flavor didn’t agree with her. At least there were enough veggies to take her mind off the rice.
I ordered the enchilada combination with one spinach and one avocado, both with ranchera sauce. Imagine my disappointment with the avocado enchilada, as it was simply guacamole rolled in a tortilla. I wish it had read «guacamole» instead of avocado. Just not what I was thinking I’d get. The spinach enchilada was okay, but there wasn’t really any filling there. The beans were overly spiced with black pepper and tepid… as were the papas con chile.
Now let’s just stop a moment and discuss these papas. Papas con chile translates to potatoes with chile. What I got was over mixed, stiff, processed mashed potatoes and cheese. No chile. No spice. No heat. No wee little kick on the tongue. Just plain mashed potato. Why is this even on the menu??? Where’s the inspiration?
The Hubbs, ah well. Poor guy. He’s a bigger fan of enchilada’s than I, and ordered the Laredo. After searching for the cluck in one of the enchiladas, he gave up and ate it anyway. (There were a few shreds, but mostly not.) He had the same overall opinion of the sides as I did.
We’re usually the type of family that packs our leftovers to go so we can enjoy lunch the next day, but all three of us left food on our plates. The atmosphere is fine, if not a little big. The service was fair and the staff seemed nice, but not over caring to ensure your food happiness.

This could be a 2.5 but…
Think Chuy’s (currently in Atlanta) menu meets Rio Bravo-​impersonation (formerly — belovedly to me at least in Atlanta) décor.
Garish, «Mexican» vibe — pretty unsurprising for a spot by the mall. Where ALL chains pretty much exist around the circle encompassing the mall, Hamilton Place Blvd, and Gunbarrel Rd.
I think I was intrigued by the word «Embassy» in their (subtitled) name. So, last night after fabulous forays in and around HP — can you say Target for, most everything, Best Buy for — !! — a laptop, DSW for shoes … I digress — Mom and I decided to round out our day and put off unloading the car with new goodies and re-​loading it with stuff for her to cart back to Atlanta with a probably-​too-​much-​food-​needed Mexican-​ish dinner.
Good-​ish —
OK, if young (think college student age) hostesses and servers. Not super knowledgeable or personable, but got the job done.
Mom’s salad (except for just iceberg) was decent — she got one of the ones with chicken, I think the one with jicama etc in it.
Reasonably quick for food coming out, a plus since we were tired-​to-​almost-​punchy.
Quite good —
My fajitas (which, really, should never be «bad,» right?) with chicken and beef — the beef was a tad overcooked if you will have some to take home but the winner is you get two sides of choice (on top of your guac, sc, cheese and pico, and choice of tortilla or lettuce wraps — unlimited amounts here — pretty unexpected) — the rice was good but the mixed veggies, which they actually cooked on the hot plate under the meat, and included zucc, squash, red and white onion, broccoli and red and green peppers. Sweet! (It was $ 16.49 for the choice of two meats for a serving for one, so you decide the value.)
Meh —
The queso — we went with the simple version and it first came out — not hot. Replacement followed and was ok but you know, generic (not a surprise but still — the white kind at Jalisco is better). Decent and pretty hot chips.
Odd salsa trio — the tomatillo was an odd shade and the others were kind of indistinguishable though I think one was supposed to be your basic salsa and the other a fire-​roasted version…
Very crowded spot, though we did not have to wait at almost 8pm on a Friday (but then again, it’s a huge resto). Almost too big of a menu — how many Tex Mex whatever ish restos should have spinach and cheese stuffed, um, mushrooms on the menu? Exactly.
It wasn’t bad, it wasn’t great. Fajitas don’t quite bump them up to three, so two it is.
As my mom said about another restaurant we went to also near Ham Place — «I wouldn’t refuse to go back if someone wanted to, but I wouldn’t seek it out, either.» Again, exactly.

Well.. it wasn’t bad but wasn’t good… margaritas were excellent but way over priced.. I got the fajitas with pork, cicken, and steak.. Pork was the best of the 3. really wanted to try the enchiladas (supposed to be their specialty) waitress talked me out of it.. Service was superb.. probably will try elsewhere on my next mexican venture

Love this place. Service is always good and they Tilapia Veracruz is my fav lunch or dinner. Haven’t has a bad experience yet and don’t expect to. It’s obvious management is paying attention to what happens in this restaurant and that is always nice to see.
Oh and for the single ladies… my server today was ridiculously good looking. And the bartender was a looker too. Go grab a margarita and enjoy the view!
Enjoy!