El Azteco

Well. They have a lot of space. I had an easy time getting in on Cinco de Mayo. They seated us in the basement which seriously smelled like bathroom. The chicken fajitas were good, though, and reasonably priced. The service was all right.
Lansing is lacking in Mexican food options. I’d rather go to Taco Bell.

I placed an order for delivery tonight through Grub Hub. The order came 2 hours after I ordered. Not only was it late, but it was delivered between two sandwiched, soggy plates, in a soggy paper bag. SO GROSS! And totally unsanitary. I called the restaurant to find out if anything could be done, and the manager told me this is how they always package their take-​out. She also claimed the order was sent out way before it arrived and that it was Grub Hub’s fault it was late. And when I asked for a refund she was simply unwilling to help at all, telling me I had to speak with Grub Hub and not her. However when I called Grub Hub, I found out it actually was the restaurant’s responsibility. After Grub Hub called, the restaurant still refused a refund for soggy disgusting food in unsanitary packaging. Will never go to this restaurant or order again. I suggest you get Taco Bell instead!

I love their chimichangas and the topopo salad, yum! Delicious margaritas for a decent price. Always excellent service too I love it

I’ve been coming here for decades. The décor is the same. So is the menu. Food can be hit or miss. The blue corn enchiladas spicy when made right are the bomb. They are usually $ 10 but are $ 7.50 on Wednesdays.

I can honestly say this was the worst restaurant experience I’ve had in a decade. Five tables were sat at the same time as we were in the back room. We all waited for 20 minutes for someone to take our orders. Three tables left before even ordering. Thirty minutes after ordering, another table left because we still hadn’t received our food. Another table was sat 40 minutes after we were (party of six) and received their food well before we did. When our food (a shared plate of nachos) finally arrived it was stone cold and the remaining table still didn’t have theirs so they left. We waited 15 minutes for our bill, then had to wait at the register to pay because only OUR server could cash us out at the register. Disgusting food, horrible service. Will NEVER go there again.

Oh so disgusting :(Our food was chewy nonsense. The chicken quesadilla was dry, crumbly chicken. Maybe they don’t know cheese goes on quesadillas? The food was just poor quality and not worth the money. Our waitress asked if anything was wrong with it since we didn’t eat much. When we told her, she just defended the food and that was that. The cheese dip was sad, cold crud that came in a plastic tub and cost more than a pitcher… I could have made a better batch at home for much cheaper or bought from a store for far less. Never again. We want here for margaritas. They were ok. Next time I’ll just grab food from El Oasis and make drinks at home. Also the restaurant was really dark, cold, and loud. It was hard to have a conversation. So embarrassed that I brought friends here.

I’ve been going to El Azteco for about 30 yrs and I USED to love this place! Unfortunately the food quality has gone down while the prices go up. Our last visit finally convinced us it’s not worth returning to. This time, we decided to try something and ordered the queso dip. I’m not sure how they typically serve it here, but most places will serve you a warm, cheesy dip. The waitress brought us a cold plastic container (like what you would see at a deli) that looked liked cottage cheese with herbs. It was GROSS! When we complained to the waitress she talked to the manger who did absolutely nothing. Our waitress was told there’s «nothing she could do because we ordered it.» Really? We had to pay $ 5 for a plastic tub of cold cheese dip?! Clearly the rude management doesn’t mind serving disgusting food to their patrons as long as they get their money. If that’s the type of service and quality El Azteco wants to provide to their customers, we won’t be back again.

Possibly the worst Mexican food I have ever eaten in my life. Greasy, zero flavors, slow service. Awful.

Foods good not to many flavors. Didn’t have cilantro which is odd to me for mecican. Service was great though, I had the chicken fajitas and the chicken was moist and tasty. All around good just lost a star for no cilantro.

Oh Elaz, what happened to you? I have been coming to this restaurant since it was in a basement and the food was OUTSTANDING! You could order anything on the menu and be pleased. The texmex flavors were in comparable and made dealing with hit or miss wait staff well worth it. Sadly, I think Art (the past owner) took some of his recipes with him when he sold because now the food is just kind of yuck. The beans are terrible and the chicken is dry. The salsa is still good and the chips are still thick and chunky. I think the topopo is still pretty decent but the dressing lacks pizazz. I gave three stars because I’m sentimental but Elaz is not what it was.

Been going here since I was a kid and still not sick of it. Great food. Great prices, I love their free chips and salsa! I would recommend the bean or beef burritos they are huge and taste amazing.

Food was decent but nothing I would rave about. Small booths and not the warmest servers. It’s a college dive for Mexican food.

It’s local it’s loco and delicious. Lets put it this way… anyone who visits us from out of town and grew up in the area makes El Az the #1 stop. Nuff said

I’ve been to the West Lansing location several times over the few weeks. I’ve always enjoyed the food at both locations. You aren’t getting a fancy Mexican dinner, but what you do get is well priced and a Lansing tradition that remains in my rotation of local eats.

El Azteco has been around for ages and people all over the Lansing area love it, but it has definitely lost it’s appeal. I used to love this place, although I always went to the East Lansing location in the past. My last East Lansing experience was horrible and I’ll never return, but I read that this location was better, so I took my teenaged daughter out to dinner tonight.
The staff is definitely nicer here. We were greeted with friendly smiles and great service. Our chips and salsa arrived promptly, as did our cheese dip. We had just enough time to finish off the appetizer when our food arrived. All in all they get five stars for their punctuality and service, but I can’t say the same thing for the food.
I ordered the chicken flauta plate and my daughter ordered a la carte items: 2 beef tacos, a quesadilla, and a chicken gordita. While we waited we were given some chips and salsa – and the cheese dip appetizer we also ordered. Their salsa isn’t very good. It’s thick and tastes like it came from a can. It has a little spice to it but not much. Their cheese dip is not like other cheese dip, and that, thankfully, is still as good as always (they use various cheeses, including cottage cheese, green onions, and a special secret seasoning. It is chunky, not melted). Sadly, the chips are very hard and not very tasty.
What I find a little strange is that they have absolutely no hot sauce in the place. When I asked our waiter his answer was «we’re just a simple place.» They’re a Mexican restaurant, and while my flautas were supposed to contain «spicy» chicken, the spice was not very spicy. I like hot food, and there was nothing I could add to liven up the food. I asked if they had tomatillo sauce — anything that I could add to moisten the dish up a bit because everything was dry. Nothing. The beans and rice were… well…beans and rice. Nothing spectacular at all. The rice was dry though and I had to use the salsa on my food to moisten it. I got a little guacamole with my flautas and that didn’t taste very good. No garlic.
My daughter’s quesadilla was gross. It was soggy, greasy, and horrible. She couldn’t get past a few bites. Her tacos came with dry ground meat (seasoning was so-​so) and lots and lots of lettuce. No cheese. No sauce, No onions, no cilantro, no lime. Nothing. I almost had to laugh because they call themselves «authentic.» I ended up taking one of the tacos and giving her a flauta. After pulling out all the lettuce there was about ¼ cup of filling inside the big soft shell. I put the guacamole and some salsa on the taco to make it a bit more palatable. The gordita was the favorite on her plate.
It’s a bit sad that I find Qdoba, Chipotle, and Panchero’s more authentic tasting than «El Az.» The owners could really benefit by taking a trip down to Mexico, or at least out to the west coast to see how things are done. And for Pete’s sake! Get some bottles of hot sauce!
I will definitely miss the cheese dip once we move out west next summer, but at least I can buy it at the local health food store until then. That’s the closest I’ll ever get to El Azteco again.

I have been coming here for over 30 years and still visit when I come home. Obviously many of us are very nastalgic about the food and restaurant. I especially crave the cheese dip and chips and enjoy the enchilladas de jocque. Many would classify this as a «dive» restaurant and certainly the interior could benefit from some updating. Come for the good food and memories (if you are from the area).

Apparently people LOVE this place, but I am not one of those people.
Cheap Mexican food, crappy margaritas, and an unpleasant atmosphere.
The service was excellent though.
Definitely not an appealing restaurant. I’d prefer elsewhere.

This place is one of my all time faves… Consistent, friendly service, delicious food. Always busy. I’ve come here for probably 30 years… Every item on menu is the same as its been for decades… That’s how much people love what the serve… Nothing has changed!

I went to the W. Saginaw location after not eating there for almost a decade.
Holy cow, what a dump! Dingy, dirty, loud, depressing and gross.
This has to be the most unsanitary place in town.
We sat where we could see the waitstaff placing orders and picking up the food from the kitchen. It was very dimly lit and they had to stand on milk crates (?) to get their food. I started looking around and was astounded how old and filthy everything was.
The help were constantly yelling things at each other while frantically running around.
The food was uninteresting and bland. There’s no question the rice was days old. I spit it out and didn’t eat any. Enchilada was fair at best. Chips were unsalted and tooth shattering. This is the Mexican version of Emil’s. A place that rested on their laurels from the 1970’s and never changed anything, recipes as well as décor.
If anything, they cut corners and made it cheaper.
I’m not joking when I say a trip to Taco Bell would have been more enjoyable.

«This place used to be pretty good. Now they microwave almost everything. The topopo salad is decent, but overpriced at almost $ 15. Also the margaritas seem to be lacking in the tequila department. Two stars for nostalgia.»
I wrote the above review about a year ago and since then the ownership has changed. The food has gotten a lot better and there is liquor in their drinks.
If you ever liked this place, it’s time to give it another shot.
Final edit. I find myself here just about every week. The chicken tacos are fantastic, the bean burritos are also great. I just can’t figure out a better way to spend $ 6 on a great meal.