Cafe Azteca

I grew up in the southwest, my mother having grown up in northern Mexico, and I remember fondly the celebrations with all my aunts and cousins cooking in the kitchen and all the great food. When I moved to the northeast, my expectations weren’t very high that I would find a good Mexican restaurant. Of course, my palate was looking for some good northern Mexican food… corn tortilla, spicy sauces, refried beans, flavored rice. rather than the more coastal or southern Mexican dishes. In reality, I would have been happy with anything close.
My family and I decided to try Café Azteca on a Saturday night. The place was busy and we were seated at a nice table close to the entrance. After about 15 minutes, the waitress finally came to our table and was clearly rushed, but pleasant enough. The menu had the typical Mexican fare, with nothing that really stood out and made you say «I gotta have that!». We opted for an appetizer of beef nachos, which came to the table after about 10 minutes. As many of you know, not all nachos are created equal. A good nacho platter uses thick cut tortilla chips that do not break when pulled out of the pack and are able to hold the meat and cheese together. A good restaurant will take the time to layer the toppings, so that the bottom and middle layer of chips have the same amount of ingredients as the top. This was NOT the case at Café Azteca. They threw a scant amount of toppings on the top and the rest of the platter was just overheated tortilla chips. A great disappointment, since at least this part of the menu is not rocket science.
A common mistake in Mexican restaurants is to lose focus on creating a flavorful Mexican rice dish and refried beans. Mexican rice is a staple in Mexican homes and many families will enjoy just a simple dinner of rice and beans. Mexican rice is flavored with just the right amount of cumin, cilantro, tomatoe, onion, garlic — sauteed at first and then gently boiled to a fluffy texture. Cooking beans is a craft that every Mexican family does different and is often a signature dish… I knew who made the beans at any fiesta because every family had a unique way to make it. We ate beans freshly cooked, even before they were refried, and a good bean dish is pure heaven. Refried beans made correctly often are mashed in lard with Mexican chorizo to create a unique delicacy. Here at Café Azteca, it was more of an afterthought. They both lacked flavor and seem to have been thrown onto the plate and placed into the oven with the rest of the dish to reheat. If a restaurant brings you a plate and says it is hot, it is because they reheated everything in the oven.
The sauces on our enchilada dishes were decent, but not good. They lacked flavor and were tempered down, perhaps to accommodate a New England clientele. I always think this is a terrible way to manage a Mexican restaurant. Create the dish in the traditional manner and people will find you and enjoy the food the way it is meant to be. Do not make the food to be like the Mexican chain restaurants — make it authentic. My son and I asked for some habenero and jalapeño sauce to help liven up the flavor of our meal and the waitress finally brought us out 2 little plastic containers of sauce, each with about a tablespoon of sauce. They didn’t add much flavor, but at least they generated some heat. To our surprise, when we got our bill, we realized we were charged $ 2.00 for each of those small sauces… something our waitress never told us about.
There are so many other places to eat that are better than Café Azteca. Heck, go to a chain restaurant like On the Border and you will be better off. At least they have a better selection of Mexican beer and Margaritas. To be good, this restaurant needs to get back to the basics of good Mexican cooking — fresh, flavorful, never reheated, and new and innovative dishes. I would much rather go to a Mexican restaurant that tries to fuse flavors together or experiment with new dishes, than a restaurant that claims to do traditional Mexican food, but does it badly.
Unfortunately, Café Azteca does it badly.

Some of the best Mexican food in the area. Fresh, tasty and served by friendly people. Small and parking is not always great, but worth the walk. Margaritas with a strong kick and wonderful flavored.

Had lunch here — we came in at 2.40 PM and were charged more than what was written in the menu, because it was supposedly lunch time when we came in?! This is the first time that I am charged more than dinner time, isn’t it supposed to be vice versa? And it was not like it was crowded, there were 3 or 4 other tables. The food was okay, I had tamalas (for the first time in my life), it was too sour for me but not a bad taste. The decoration inside was interesting too. I guess the best part was the music they played. Would I ever come here again though? Nope.

One of the best Mexican restaurants around! It is hard to find tamales, and theirs are delicious. We also recommend chiles rellenos and enchiladas. The dessert menu includes five variations of flan. Our party of five had the place pretty much to ourselves late on a Sunday eve. In addition to the food, the décor and ambience make this a place worth driving to in its own, and not just because you happen to be in Lawrence! We will be back.

The hype is real: this is seriously the best, most authentic Mexican food around. Since visiting Café Azteca three weeks ago, I’ve now been two other times. So, if my math is correct — I’m now eating here once a week.
The staff is great, which helps since I guess I’m now a regular.

Another great example of solid execution by a restaurant that knows itself and its’ customers. Café Azteca is a mini museum of Mexican art (sugar skulls, Day of the Dead, Frita Kahlo paintings, etc.) and a real slice of Mexico in a city with a very large Hispanic population. The menu is HYUGE as Trump would say, and with prices so low it’s like a throwback 25 years. Entrees for $ 9 – 13. Insanely affordable. Drinks are affordable but more market priced… bottled beer between $ 6 and $ 9, margheritas were $ 8 – 12, and other cocktails around the same. Chips and salsa on the house. Dinner for two with two drinks plus tip $ 50. Can’t beat it, and the food is deeply authentic. Also noteworthy is they are very well staffed with lots of specialization (hostess, manager, waterbearer, table cleaners, waitress, etc.). All focused on their respective jobs, happily paying attention to details, and commonly focused on creating a great experience for their customers. Sure, it’s in a economically depressed neighborhood that can be a bit sketchy, but the warmth of the experience and authenticity trumps all if you go into it with the correct expectations. El gusto es mio!

Very rare I would leave a two star for a restaurant but got a chicken burrito for a take out today and by the looks of it wasn’t to great. The rice was the only thing that was good, the chicken absolutely had no flavor but for $ 9.60 I guess I can’t complain.

Great price. Best tasting authentic Mexican food around. Great service. A hole in the wall in Lawrence. Beautiful décor !

Authentic Mexican food! Delicious food and drinks! Beautifully decorated! Excellent service!

Was recommend from a friend to try this place after stating that I can not find a good Mexican place– and oh boy was she right! This place is good– real good! The fajitas are amazing– the place is clean the burritos my husband had were so delicious. We are very happy we found this place. Staff is so attentive and place is so clean! The décor is fun as well which makes the atmosphere even better and want to have another one of there sangrias!

Great dinner. Café Azteca doesn’t dissapoint. We had steak quesadilas: fish tacos and coconut cake… but my favorite was the chile’s rellenos. They had some great specials too and drinks and while. busy they were attentive. Owners Mary & Antonio are wonderful. Many mexican restaurants have opened in the area but this remains my favorite.

I went the restaurant was promptly seated. My Heineken and chips immediately. Then 23 minutes later still no one had come back to my table. I stand up put on my coat. Immediately someone comes to ask if I am ready to order. Little to late for that. Maybe 4 other tables were sat. I will never go back here. Can’t tell you how the food was… did not have any. 23 minutes later I honestly do care to eat there at all. Paid for my beer. Left.

Been a little while since eating here, went with the family on Saturday night. Most tables taken but able to be seated right away. Definitely still some of the best Mexican food in the area. Friendly staff, decent portions, good food, good margaritas. What’s not to like?

This place is SO AMAZING! I am from New Jersey and whenever I come up to visit my uncle I insist we get food from here! It’s delicious. I crave it sometimes, I wish we had a location near by

If you’re from out of town like I am, you might find the area pretty dead and the area appears to be a low income, predominantly Hispanic neighborhood with abandoned buildings. Not unsafe, but the area has seen better days, but it being dead means plentiful parking. It was decently busy on a Thursday night, not packed and not empty. Friendly hostess and server, who brought chips, took my drink order and brought my drink right away. I never had a Chambord Marguerita before — yum.
I ordered the qeuso cheese dip. I like spicy and they had both chipotle and habanero salsa you could add. I said the full habanero is usually too much for me, but I like close to that heat level and the server had them make it with some of both, which was perfect.
Got the pork poblano plate which was two slices of pork loin with a creamy poblano sauce, rice and beans. It was good and the sauce was mild and subtle. I was glad they offer black beans. I live in California so I’m always interested in what Mexican food is like elsewhere. Very good food, accommodating service and fun décor make for a good experience.

–décor is beautiful
–bathroom is clean and it’s beautiful as well nice big selfie mirror
— food and drinks typical authentic Mexican food

Solid 4 stars. Just can’t find Mexican food in New England to satisfy my California roots…& the plethora of incredible restaurants out west. Howeverrr this sexy not-​so-​little-​seemingly hole-​in-​the-​wall location in Lawrence? is the best bet for the area. The daily special, which happened to resemble tampiquena steak, was delish. Rice and beans were quite good here. Drinks well made. A new waitress that really wasn’t quite ready to be working solo was still quite accommodating & pleasant — overall no big deal. Enjoy the fun décor

Café Azteca is super cozy inside and the staff is welcoming. The lovely artworks and ornate décor makes me feel like I’m visiting Mexico. You can tell it’s authentic and I really want to give them five stars.
Unfortunately, the flavors fall short for me. When I go out for Mexican I expect my food to be flavorful but I felt the food was kind of bland. I had the chicken chimichanga — the portion was good but it was missing seasoning. Even the complimentary salsa tasted plain. Their guacamole was good but was a bit too creamy?
I don’t mean for this review to sound negative because I really enjoyed my experience there. I just wished their food had more kick to it — maybe I picked a safe dish? I will definitely try again in the near future.

I love this place great mexican food the service is good And the menú is great
Perfect place to go with your Family And the place look is really nice And clean

Went there again past sunday… what can I say except wonderful experience. Tried couple new stuff like queso and chk fajitas and they were great.
My friend ordered chicken chimichanga and said the chicken was very bland and hence 4 stars this time around and the chili rieno was great though.
Everyone should go and try it