El Azteco

I have given up on this place… poor service, the food is overcooked and it can take up to 45 mins to arrive at your table. don’t waste your money.

the lighting is so bad. they put bright spotlights over the table and it hurts to sit there. also the food is not very good at all and service is slow.

Worst Mexican food I’ve had in years! Pre made, reheated, bland slop. Only thing worse was the hour and 25 minute wait. I’ll never go back! I’d give it zero stars but it won’t let me.

I have always had a great experience here. I have never sat on the rooftop but the ground floor is great. Always had fast service, great food and margaritas.

This place was meh. I would give the food 2 stars, but the upstairs rooftop seating bumped it to 3. The salsa was nice and spicy but not overboard. However the chips were stale. It took a while to get our food, which came out cold. I ordered chicken fajitas and a beef taco, even the taco shell was stale. It’s a good location by campus but the food isn’t worth it.

Great comfort food (Mexican style)…nothing to write home about, but I always enjoy good, basic mexican. Very filling.

If I could give this place 0 stars I would. The service was awful. The servers were behind the counter flirting while the guys were grabbing the girls asses. While they were fooling around I wait 25 minutes just for my check. The chips are harder than rocks and the salsa is too spicy to even enjoy. If someone recommended this place to me I would tell the you’re better off walking down the street to 711 and getting taquitos there if you want an authentic Mexican experience.

So disappointed after years of coming here. Food is completely bland and uninspired. Service was awful, from attentiveness to getting the order wrong. Everything was notched down in quality… culminating in our carryout being two paper plates and a bag.

Service was bad. The waiter gave us an attitude and brushed off our questions about ingredients for our son with food allergies. The food wasn’t good. I ordered the salad everyone seems to rave about and have no clue what all the hype is about because it was basically a plate of lettuce. Didn’t even like the chips. We will not be returning. Very disappointing.

I’ve never understood the hype around this place. The rooftop deck is nice, but the service and food are lacking. I usually get the enchiladas suiza, and they always come out looking like they were microwaved and sat under a heat lamp for awhile. The prices are pretty steep for the quality of food that you get. I will say that the cheese dip is very good.

The reviews don’t lie. I read them and said no thanks, a co-​worker insisted in-​spite of your reviews. He loved the idea of the roof top patio. First, the downstairs was dead, servers just standing around. Second, the deck was busy and servers were running all over. It took what felt like a long time to get served and even longer for the beverages. We ordered a second round that took even longer than that. Third, the food was not good. My rice was very cold and the Chimi was soggy on the bottom and flavorless. One of the guys who was with ordered Fajitas and (this was new to me) the were served on a standard plate. I’ve always seen Fajitas served sizzling on a hot plate. His rice was also cold and inedible. Pass and find another place, the only benefit this place has is the location.

Food is just OK, but the rooftop bar is a nice spot in the summer. Staff is friendly and they have a nice selection of tequila.

Came with a group of friends. Food took one an hour to bring out then other 45 minutes to get the check.

Whenever people badmouth El Azteco, I always defend them. The food quality is reasonable (though not as good as Tex Mex) and I have a lot of fond memories that took place there. I also have some respect for the place since it is one of only 4 restaurants in East Lansing that has endured since I moved here 26 years ago. They have a prime spot in the middle of downtown with a roof patio that offers a lot of nice ambiance in the summer. The only thing I don’t like is the service. It has never been great, but it seems to have gotten worse over the years. Tonight, they hit a new low and really pissed me off in the process.
I was hanging out in front of the El Azteco with my salsa friends for a couple of hours, smelling all the food being cooked. I just *had* to go there for dinner afterward. I ordered some fajitas and a margarita. The waitress forgot to bring the margarita until I gently reminded her 10 minutes later. After 15 minutes, I finished eating all the chips and was ready for the fajitas. I kept eyeing the service door hoping that the next person who walked through would be bringing my food. After 20 minutes, I became anxious. I was starving! After 25 minutes, I noticed the party that came in just before me was paying and preparing to leave. My food was still not served. After 30 minutes, my waitress came to me and said that she just checked on my food and found out that they «screwed up in the kitchen» and didn’t even know the order had been placed. However, they were definitely cooking it now.
I don’t think the kitchen screwed up. I think the waitress forgot more than just my margarita! During my long wait, I watched as my waitress chatted for a long time with the table next to me and even went to the bar and did a shot with one of the people at said table. I can’t help but think that my waitress had her mind on other things besides serving me!
I was so annoyed. I got up and walked out. I told her that I would get what I wanted elsewhere. The non-​asshole in me was kind enough to leave some money for the margarita I had already consumed. They wasted my time and left me hungry. No longer will I defend El Azteco when people trash talk the place.

This place is the worst. We’ve been here a few times because of the roof top, but every experience has been terrible. The service is awful and the staff is so rude (not all staff, I won’t call out specific people). The last bar tender we had tried to cut us off– we were sober… The food is half assed prepared and they don’t even have pico, unreal.
The chips, salsa, and margaritas are solid, but that’s about it– I would recommend this place for that.
Long story short, I’m way out on this place.

It doesn’t even deserve ONE STAR! This place was bad. The patio looks inviting so we wanted to try it but I had read a flyer advertising it was the best Mexican Gringo style. That alone scared me but it was too true.
There was little Mexican about it. The chips as salsa were good, spicy. The guac was canned. They serve no carne asada, no carnitas, no chorizo. The only tacos you can get are chicken and ground beef. What authentic mexican place serves ground beef tacos? None… except in the Midwest. My husband got food poisoning 2 days ago from the ground beef tacos… 2 days later he feels like he can finally eat something. The only thing I thought would be safe to have was chicken quesadilla… there was no chicken! I think I saw one shred.
Would never go back. If someone suggests this place and you are familiar with what Mexican food should taste like, and expect it… DO NOT GO HERE!!!

My stomach still turns a bit when I think about this place. I totally should have checked Unilocal out before coming here.
I came on the first sunny day Michigan had seen in a LONG time so everyone was out and looking to have some fun. We only waited about 10 minutes to be seated but then waited another hour and 30 minutes to get our food while listening to the same Shakira cd over and over again.
I can’t really say we were hungry when we finally got our food (I think our bodies had begun to dip into our ‘reserves’) but it was exciting for it to arrive at our table. Then came the taste (or rather, lack-​there-​of)…, and the massive amounts of grease. Flavorless tacos, flautas and burritos should be a ‘comida’ crime because when they are presented in their true form, they are nothing less than delicious! The kind that has you liking your fingers!!! The ones from El Azteco were depressed and seriously in need of some renovations. My burrito consisted of beef with massive lard infestations and a tortilla. The flautas could have been used as drum sticks and the taco sported some wilted lettuce. All of that, combined with the long wait and Shakira’s ‘She-​Wolf’ song one too many times made for an unpleasant experience.
I’m sure this is iconic to Michigan State but even college folks like good food!

It’s probably more 3.5, but I don’t like that it has a 2.5 star avg right now… they’re better than that.
I graduated in 05, and have fond memories of the chips and salsa and hanging on the roof.
The place still looks the same, but the new roof over the upstairs patio area looks pretty cool. Inside is like a remember, which is a Mexican pueblo look. It could be a touch cleaner with the details, but it’s not bad 0verall.
The chips and salsa are on point and free. The margarita is tasty too, and they have good Mexican beers. The overpriced, didn’t look like they made it guacamole was annoying a day bland. The entrées of enchiladas and gorditas were ok… again a touch bland.
Service was decent from the middle aged white woman taking care of us this Tuesday afternoon around 3.
Prices are fair other than the lackluster guacamole and the maybe-​could-​do-​a-​little-​better-​than-​$ 4.50-@Happyhour pint of beer.
the bonus sopapilla at the end of the meal was a nice treat.

This is so weird, I can’t believe how many negative reviews there are about this place! I absolutely love El Azteco when I want actual not taco bell Mexican food on campus. I love everything I have ever gotten here! The chips and salsa are free, but they are pretty spicy so beware. I recommend the chimichangas but most importantly the amazing sopapillas. I love how fresh everything tastes and I don’t know how there are so many mixed reviews about this place but I can say that I’ve been there multiple times and I still love it.
Plus rooftop seating so that’s kind of cool.

We would have been better off at Taco Bell!
The only reason this place got any stars at all was because the margarita was good. Otherwise, they would have rank «no star» in my book. I do not even know where to begin. Without exaggerating, I can honestly say that this is the worst Mexican food I have ever eaten.
I came here with my sister and two nieces. We had guacamole to start. (definitely had canned avocado pulp in it). Then we split the Botana, chicken fajitas and beef and cheese enchiladas. All of it stunk. The Botana consisted of bean smeared on corn chips, covered in bad cheese whiz, loaded with shredded lettuce and about 5 small pieces of diced tomatoes. For the fajitas, they seasoned a poor quality chicken breast with salt and pepper and grilled it, topped it with a few grilled onions. There were no other veggies, and no seasoning to it. It was served with rice and beans (no sour cream or guacamole — canned or not). You cold have made the enchiladas with an easy-​bake-​oven. What a let down!!!
If you are thinking of coming here for dinner — do yourself a favor and drive on by. Taco Bell blows this place out of the water!
BTW — the bus boy did not even know if they served liquor there and the first waitress we asked had no idea where the bathroom was. How about a little staff training before you unleash them.