Taqueria el Vecino

I like to think we are becoming regulars at this establishment. The servers are always on point. Kind, accommodating, and nice to our boisterous young children (big plus!). There is a patio that remains usable in rainy and cold weather. Love this feature (see above re: boisterous young children). The menu is pretty extensive, and includes healthy options. The range of alcoholic options is also nothing to sniff at if you are in the mood for a little imbibement.

It’s a cut above your Mexican neighborhood spot, for multiple reasons. It has a great craft beer list and offers tastings in four little glasses on that long wooden paddle. The server knows from beer. So the real beer enthusiast can meet his or her needs here.
Good service, warm and capable. Age variety in the servers, younglings with tats and pink hair and mature ones too.
Another cut above thing is that it has a dessert case, with many choices, brownies, lemon bars, cupcakes, flan, tres leches and more. I am pretty sure they are made there, and that the place used to be something else which included a bakery.
It’s not «true» Mexican food, not that I care. It’s fusion food and tasty. Check this: Crispy smoked salmon quesadilla with avocado, black beans a spicy-​sweet-​garlic dipping sauce. That sauce hinted at Asia to me. Terrific, and not authentic, I imagine.
A free cookie for small children! And it attracts families with children, every time I go there are some. I like that.
Curious mural full of skeletons going about their business in a little Mexican village. Makes me go, «huh?» And another skeleton riding a running rooster, in large black and white paint on the wall. Cannot put this in context for you. Day of the Dead? Or what? Next time I go I will try remember to ask what the deal is with the dead guys.

I received a very defensive response from the owner. He simply tried to refute all of the claims in the review. His claim about the business being «busy» is not accurate. While I appreciate negative feedback can be hard to hear, the business would benefit from taking the feedback and acting upon it rather than trying to refute it on Unilocal

Excellent food !!! Will comeback for sure. We had fish tacos and they were absolutely delicious! Homemade cookies afterwards. Everything seems fresh and made from scratch! I don’t understand the negative reviews.

Great beer list, large selection of salsa’s and seasonings at the salsa bar, and friendly service.
My friend and I opted for the chips with white queso and combined that with some of the spicy salsa. PERFECT. We also got an enchilada special with shrimp and a side of some sort of corn dish. All really good.

I like the fish taco — broiled fish is my choice, and the friend shrimp taco. There is a mango chutney sauce on the fish taco that is quite tasty. The Mexican rice and black beans are very good. A little pricey, but the seafood tacos are good. My husband had the beef taco and he said the meat was cold, but his carnitas taco was good. The salsa bar is nice because you can get what you want — as much as you want. I like the pico de gallo and the green tomatillo sauce. Lots of families with kids. Full bar.

mmmmmm butt burrito, very cold mexican beer, and salsa bar

The perfect fish taco! My quest is over, this is the best one in Atl and blew my mind– the smoked meats and fresh ingredients for their other dishes are phenomenal, and the vibe is friendly and relaxed. Will definitely be back, it is a little gem of a place that has mind blowing food and great prices. Perfection!

Came here for lunch, and ended up mostly pleased with it. The fried shrimp taco was better than the fish one… The fish one was less fish and more fried batter. (Though still delicious) but the shrimp one was spot on. Also got the pastor taco (adobo pork, pineapple, etc)… And it was good. But I wish there was more discernable pineapple…
The cilantro corn cakes were perfectly fine… And the salad bar was good… But aside from one spicy green salsa, the rest completely lacked spice. I don’t know precisely what crowd they’re catering toward, but I think salsa should have more of a kick to it!

I thought about the salmon quesadillas two years!!!
I went back in 2012 before they renovated and my friends and I sat on the patio. They had the salsa bar back then, which I think is brilliant, although I don’t remember if it was as big as it is now. A friend recommended the salmon quesadilla and I’m always in the mood for good salmon. I don’t know if I love her or hate her for it…
As someone who lives OTP, nearly 20 miles from Decatur, it would be a virtual pilgrimage to come here every time I think about those quesadillas. They are paired with a sauce that is the consistency of soy sauce, but it’s sweet and so perfect with the food…
We went back a couple of months ago and I was pleased to see the restaurant has grown. My only complaint is the outdoor seating. Poncey-​Highlands people love a patio and I’m with them, so there is room to improve there. Granted, the parking lot is small and it’s in a shopping center, but there must be a better way. The two-​seater table we got was teensy. We had to decline a carafe of water just so our glasses would fit alongside the chips basket and bowls of salsa. Eventually, after a group left a four-​top, we switched so that we would have room for our plates.
As I said initially, those salmon quesadillas are the stuff of dreams. I beg you to visit just to try them!

The stuffed avocado was very good, as was the accompanying charro beans. The chips were good too, though the salsa could definitely be spicier (especially the ones labeled ‘extremely hot’). Overall it’s a great little Mexican place with good service.

One of my favorite restaurants, the burritos are very good. The staff are usually friendly and quick. However, the chips can be very hit or miss.

Service is outstanding! The food is great. I especially liked the steak taco salad: the quality of meat is high and generous. Their cocktails are delicious and not over priced (one of my fav mojitos for $ 7). Delicious salsa bar, to boot! Will become one of my new favorites.

Hands down the worst «Mexican» food I’ve ever had. We just moved to the area, and were very excited when we found out we had a Taqueria within walking distance of our new house. We came on a Saturday, and there was actually a wait, so we thought this must be a great spot. WRONG.
Everything from start to finish was terrible. The chips were so greasy they left a film on my fingers and lips, and were also very stale. Salsa was not fresh, and the food was overpriced and tasteless. In addition service was very slow.
Really disappointed as this has the potential to be a great neighborhood gem. However we will never come back, and would never recommend to anyone! Save your money and go somewhere else!

After a long day moving, this was exactly what I needed. As we walked up, I saw a sign for margaritas… Perfect, I thought. We opened the door and I saw cupcakes. I quickly announced to my friends that I wanted a margarita and cupcake for dinner. Then the smell of salsa hit me and I decided that would be a perfect compliment: margarita, salsa, and cupcake.
In the end, 3 of us did end up sharing a small pitcher. The fourth ordered… something. He said it was the best something he’d ever drunk. Sorry, can’t remember what it was, but it definitely had alohol. For dinner, I had the goat cheese enchiladas with chicken added. Can’t remember what the others ordered, because I was far too focused on my own food. It was absolutely amazing.
Here’s the grain of salt: I was starving when we walked in and anything palatable would have gotten 5 stars. However, everyone else agree it was fantastic. Sorry I can’t give details on the food, I tried three things and they were all wonderful, but I have no idea what they were (two of them were quesadillas).
Now, for those that say it’s not authentic: I totally agree. I’m from Southern California and I basically just assume I can’t get Mexican here. So I walk in with low expectations, thinking maybe I’ll find decent Tex-​Mex or something. This is NOT Tex-​Mex, but I’d call it an excellent fusion place. I mean, seriously, goat cheese enchiladas? Awesome, but not authentic.
I was sorta meh on the salsas. My friend got pineapple and it tasted like a smoothie. But the margaritas more than made up for it.
By the way, I did get my cupcake on the way out — we all chose a dessert and brought them home. We made a pot of decaf and shared — I enjoyed the mooncake (?) best, but it was super rich. The lemon bar and peanut butter bars were pretty standard, as was my red velvet cupcake.

Not really thrilled. I opted for one of their bbq options — brisket with a side of corn cakes.
I honestly could not say that was brisket I was eating. It was cut strangely and was dry.
The corn cakes were also a big disappointment — dry.
The complimentary chips were cold but the salsa bar was nice. Service was also spot on and very helpful.

This place ROCKS!!! Super authentic Mexican food. I moved to Atlanta after being in CA 19yrs. I’d been craving REAL authentic Mexican food that I was use to getting in CA. THIS PLACE IS THE REAL DEAL!!!
I love this restaurant! It’s worth the many miles and long traffic for me to drive to it from Alpharetta. I wish I lived closer to this place.

I really don’t get the negative reviews. I kind of wonder if they’re from «friends» of the competition or people who otherwise have an interest in this restaurant’s demise. Some of the reviews are insane, like having a problem with a white person with tattoos being a waitress? Really, what’s that all about?
I live in the neighborhood and have eaten here probably more than 20 times. I get that the prices are higher than other Mexican places, but this place doesn’t serve plop and slop. Every day there’s a new lunch and dinner special. There are rotating draft beers and good ones at that. The food is creative and thoughtfully prepared and, for that reason, sometimes things may not taste perfectly. That tends to happen when you try new things. Maybe you’ll get a little too much garlic or not enough salt. Other plop and slop restaurants never change their menu and serve the same crap every day and night.
This is a solid 4-​star place. I appreciate a restaurant that tries new things and is willing to not be like every other Mexican joint. My recommendation is to go with the daily special or something with one of their smoked meats. Always good. And, get a cupcake on your way out. Who cares if it’s weird? Just be a normal person and enjoy the damn cupcake.

My cousin recommended this place. He said he had eaten some of the best Mexican food he has ever tried here (and I know he has been so some truly fantastic places). The salsa bar is amazing and full of great choices. The daily specials are truly something special and not to be missed.
On the day I went they had a special of the day that was 3 pulled pork enchiladas with a side of rice and beans. The red sauce covering the enchiladas was a little odd tasting but not altogether bad. I wish they had left the sauce off entirely or at least put in on the side.
The tortilla chips were great and perfect for dipping in one of the fantastic salsas from the salsa bar. The salsa bar on the day I went was hit or miss. The roasted tomato salsa was absolutely fantastic. They had run out of the avocado based green sauce salsa (bummer!). Other salsas I had tried were just okay but none were as good as the aforementioned the roasted tomato salsa.
Perhaps not the most authentic of Mexican food but certainly quite good in its own right. I would say it seemed (to me) to be more Southwestern style (Arizona /​New Mexico /​SoCal) rather than Texas Mexican (Tex-​Mex) or real /​true Mexican.
I agree with Sara M about the horchata, «The horchata is a NO. More like a haaaale NO. It tastes like the horchata mix I tragically purchased in a hurry one night at a Mexican grocery store on BuHi that was somehow sweetened with both sugar AND aspartame. Why is that necessary, I ask? WHY? But long story short, don’t get the horchata. «
I should have gone with the fresh lime-​aid. I hear that is the thing to get here (drink wise).
Perhaps really deserves 3.5 stars but I will cheerfully round up the 4.

Came here for lunch the other day, and was definitely intrigued by the BBQ/​Mexican mix in the menu.
I ultimately decided just to go with a lunch special BBQ plate though instead of getting any of the BBQ meat-​based tacos/​burritos.
Contents of my plate: Brisket, chili corn cake, sweet potato fries. Man, the brisket here is definitely pretty good– maybe not quite as good as Fox Bros., but this place definitely holds its own in this regard. The corn cake and sweet potato fries were done competently, and complemented the brisket’s savory with sweetness. I only with there was a bit more brisket.
The salsa bar was pretty cool, especially since they serve complimentary tortilla chips. The Dos chiles and roasted chipotle salsas were my favorite. Both had a good amount of kick (but not too much), and had some smokiness to them. Easy to get addicted, and eat way too many chips.
While this place isn’t a destination-​worthy spot, I can see myself coming here regularly if I lived nearby. Good value (at least for lunch), good food.