Los Comales

Smaller size lunches, slightly more expensive, great hot sauce with the salsa. Mexican rap music.
Did you know there’s such a thing as Mexican rap music? I guess it’s called Chicano Rap. No Mariachi. No Ranchera. No Macarena. No trumpets, double bass, or accordions. I don’t care for Mexican music to begin with, but I can tolerate it in the restaurants for the short time I’m there, and that’s only if the food’s good. What I can’t stand is rap, and the only difference I can find between this and hip hop, is that I can understand some of the words in hip hop. A lot of the words shouldn’t be heard in public, so I don’t know if Chicano Rap is pg or mature. Maybe it’s immature.
As for the restaurant, it resembles nothing I’ve seen relating to Mexican food. It just has blue walls with weird art prints. I sat in a booth and sank way down into the box springs. It was most uncomfortable. I immediately moved to a table though.
As for the food, it was pretty good. Service was great too. I noticed that they tend to serve the food two waitresses at a time. I think this must be a safety protocol to protect them from being mugged or something. There were quite a few Mexican, Chicano, or Latinos, or whatever eating. That’s how you know it’s good! They served 3 salsas which were great. I loved the hot ones, especially the green.
The menu was a little different than most. Smaller and not as well organized. It wasn’t easy to decide. I like to eat, and noticed the quesadillas don’t really come with much in the way of sides. I figured the quesadilla was huge, but decided to order something small to accompany it. The food took slightly longer to arrive, than most Mexican places, but still quicker than other restaurants. All in all, I was in and out pretty quick.
My beef quesadilla, which was supposed to be a lunch, was among the smallest I’ve ever seen. It sure was tasty though! My chicken gordita for $ 3 hit the spot, but was a little lacking in the department of chicken. The guac was great.
All in all, a good lunch, but you may need to order something additional. I easily finished a quesadilla, the gordita, and tea. With tax, it was $ 11.46. The price wasn’t out of line, but I can get better value elsewhere for food just as good. And without the rap.

The food was average. They don’t serve mixed drinks, just beers. I was highly unsatisfied with the customer service I received and I’m pretty sure I’ll never return. The food didn’t stand out enough to outweigh the horrible customer service.

Love this place! Reliable, delicious mexican food and great beer. Best in Memphis.

I ate here a while back and I can’t wait to get back. I am never north of Walnut Grove for any reason other than to hit the Mexican Restaurants that line the street from 240 to Highland.
I have hit a few shops without being impressed but this place was really good. I dug the three salsa’s served with the chips right off the bat. The green was my fave. I pretty much gauge whether I’ll return to place like this based on their chips. These were good enough for another visit at least.
I ordered the lunch Chimichanga and was impressed by the contents. The steak was seasoned very well and was moist and tender. It was fried just enough to be a bit crunchy and still have a slight softness to it. The sides where your average rice and beans with nothing notable about them. Tasty, but just the norm.
The ladies were sweet and the food came out really fast. That’s always a plus!

I went to Los Comales for my friends birthday. It is a nice family owned restaurant. Now I will say that the service is very good. We had a large party of about 10 and everyone’s order came out fresh and correct. I ordered chicken fajitas and they were just okay. I’ve eaten better fajitas at other Mexican restaurants. The chicken tasted bland to me. However, I tried the chicken adove and it tasted amazing. I will definitely order that next time. If you want good service and decent food try Los Comales.

Probably one of the best Hispanic restaurant I’ve been to in a long time. This is my second visit and everything is as good as the first time. I’d highly recommend it to anyone.

Everything I’ve had here has been the best I’ve had in the city. The fish tacos are fantastic. Their salsa and sauces are great. Affordable and good service.

This is one of my new favorite restaurants! Authentic Mexican food. I can’t stay away from the chicken enchiladas or the house-​made chips and salsa. I am not the adventurous type when it comes to food, but this place could convince me! Favorite Mexican meals I have ever had.

This places has some really good authentic Mexican food. You really can not go wrong with anything on the menu I have always had great meals… love the tacos and huevos con chorizo. The girls working here are very nice and are always checking on you. They only serve beer so if you are a margarita person sorry you are out of luck. If you are in the area give this place a try their food never disappoints.

Try everything! Authentic and delicious. A friend who now lives in Nashville introduced me, and we go every time he comes to Memphis. I wish I had known about this place much sooner. Start out with the chorizoqueso. Oh, and our service is always great. Go for lunch!

We’ve now tried this restaurant on two different occasions and really like the food.
On both occasions, we ordered the Chicken chimichanga, beef tacos and chili Rellanyo. All of this was outstanding!
What really stands out to us is that they spice their food very well, so that it is all very flavorful. As well, on both occasions, the staff has been very friendly, and prompt.
Real Mexican Coke, real cheese, and great spices equals great food. Add great service on top of that and you’ve got a great experience!
Actually just realized that the food smelled so good and was so tasty, but I forgot to take pictures. Sorry, I’ll submit some next time. Ha!

Don’t eat here. Read 2 reviews and thought it sounded ok. NOT. Salsa thin as water, nothing but liquid, beans almost as thin-​no flavor, rice sticky and no flavor. I got enchiladas and have made better at home. Sadly, husband got them too. Oh, and beans came COLD, but didn’t eat after first taste anyway-​too thin for a fork. Pancho’s down the street is much better or any Las Delicias location. The other reviewers must have been paid to post.

The best of all the Summer Avenue taquerias. Definitely start with a shrimp cocktail… It’s the traditional Mexican kind that’s more like a chunky Bloody Mary gazpacho with shrimp. And it’s amazing. I always get the tacos, and they pork is my favorite. They serve them with grilled onions and radish slices, which adds even more flavor and textures.

Last night, the boyfriend and I had planned on eating at another establishment but our plans were foiled by the fact that their menu proved different than expected. After a drive down Summer Ave., we spotted this place. Normally, we would’ve stopped at our favorite taco truck on the corner of Mendenhall and Summer to pick up some delicious tacos. However, we got a wild hair and decided to give this place a try. I quickly checked Unilocal and the reviews look good, so why not?
Upon entering, I saw that it was quite small and semi-​bar-​like but it was almost 9pm and I’d rather it be small and bar-​like than chain-​like. We were quickly seated. I’d wanted a margarita but they don’t have liquor. so I settled for my backup of a Corona with a lime.
Next, the typical tortilla chips, salsa container, and bowls were placed in front of us. The salsa served at a Mexican restaurant is usually a great reference point by which to judge the rest of the meal. And this salsa was phenomenal! Brightly colored, fresh cilantro, and chunks of onion. It even had a nice bit of heat… definitely not too spicy but at least you knew it was salsa and not tomato sauce with chunks of onion in it. Not the best I have ever had but definitely in the top 5. We came close to finishing the small jar placed before us.
The menu was quite extensive but included some options that you normally don’t find in a Mexican restaurant in Memphis… more ethnic than usual and that’s a good sign as well. I usually go for Tacos de Pastor whenever available but seeing as I wasn’t at a Taco truck, I thought I should go for something different. I ordered a Chimichanga de Camaron (Shrimp) that came with rice, beans, sour cream, and guacamole. The waitress was super nice and willing to trade my sour cream for extra guacamole without telling me there would be an upcharge or assuming that I wanted an entire side order of guacamole, as most places do. I also got a Taco de Pastor because I am on a mission to find the best one. The boyfriend ordered a Gordita de Pastor, a Taco de Pollo, and some other type of taco… truth be told I didn’t listen when he ordered and he ate it before I could see what it was.
When the food arrrived (didn’t take too long but wasn’t as fast as some places… we had time to eat chips and salsa and I appreciated that) the tacos came with a side of grilled onions and a mini-​salad of radishes. I don’t like radishes so I quickly pushed them aside. I added some of the grilled onions to my taco which already had a few raw ones and fresh cilantro on top, and quickly scarfed it down. It was really good. Not the best I’ve ever had but very good. I liked the addition of the grilled onions.
The chimichanga was larger than at other places and the plate was presented nicely. The amount of guacamole on the mini guac-​salad was impressive. If only it had tasted as good as it had looked. I added the lime from the boyfriend’s corona (he doesn’t add it to his beer and I find that weird) and some salt, thinking that would help. But no, it was still pretty tasteless.
The chimichanga was topped with a small amount of white queso and looked delish. The outside part was yummy, but the shrimp weren’t great. Nothing was inside the chimichanga but the shrimp… no beans, no onions, no peppers and unfortunately, I think they forgot to add any seasoning whatsoever to the shrimp before wrapping then up in the tortilla and frying it. It was very bland and they were slightly overcooked. It wasn’t horrible, it just wasn’t great. I tried a couple but nothing freaks me out more than seafood when I’m not sure about it’s preparation. Maybe I’m just being picky but it needed some sort of flavor. The rice and beans were standard Mexican restaurant fare and I ate some of the beans. I’m not a fan of the rice at any Mexican restaurant, so I didn’t try it.
The boyfriend’s Gordita looked good. It was a homemade dough, pressed flat and fried. Then, stuffed with Pastor (spicy pineappley pork) and cheese. He seemed to enjoy it. I asked for a bite and he obliged. It was good but again, not great. The pork this time seemed a little stringy. I might’ve been already freaked out by the shrimp and was just on high alert. He finished his Taco de Pollo (chicken), whatever the other taco was, and more than half of his Gordita. That’s a good sign for him… he isn’t a huge eater and that was more than normal. I also waited to feed him dinner until 9pm so I could have just starved the kid.
The waitress was super friendly and quickly removed our plates when we were finished. The check was $ 33.35 and that included our 3 Coronas. We paid with cash but they did accept credit cards. I really wanted to love the place but for the price, my pjs, the tv, and tacos from the taco truck wouldve been much better. It is possible that l just picked the wrong menu item, so I am willing to give Los Comales another try.

Here we go – another one of the boyfriend’s favorite ethnic joints. It took a LOT of convincing for me to agree to try Los Comales… but it was really good!
Now, this is real Mexican food, no American-​style Chipotle here. I glanced at the menu, but got overwhelmed by the pages of options and pictures, so just let the boyfriend choose for me. I’ve tried the shrimp «cocktail» (more like a gazpacho) and the grilled ribs. Both were amazing! I stuffed my face, licked my fingers, and was glad they give you extra napkins.
Service is decent — English varies, but they try, and they seem to kind of care. The boyfriend asked about a dish he saw someone else eating, and the server was able to point it out on the menu and describe it for him. They have pretty good chips and salsa too, and plenty of hot sauces for the boyfriend to choose from.
So, while I was extremely skeptical at first, I’m really glad I gave Los Comales a try — you should too!

Best authentic Mexican food around. Fajitas are the best. Fish tacos are outstanding. You can’t go wrong here. This place puts all others to shame.

Los comales has tasty mexican food, with a few items in the menu you wouldn’t find in other restaurants. I ordered the mixed fajitas which were good, but nothing special. My guy ordered the camarones con chipotle, he loves them. I’ve tried them and they are really good not too tomatoyee, just enough spiceyness. The enchiladas are ok, but dont compare to the ones at El Kora. This place sometimes feels more like a bar sometimes, since its rather small inside. They don’t have a lot of tables and sometimes the people sitting in the bar want to fight. I prefer to go during the week or Sunday.

Food tasted great. Four of us ate a hearty lunch and couldn’t spend 50.00 if we tried. The ingredients tasted fresh, chips, salsa and queso were Awesome. One person in our party spent some time in the bathroom. Coincidence? Not, sure. Oh, did I mention filthy?

Los Comales has been around for as while now and I have been going for a few years. Always have a good meal and the service is good. This is a little easier place to ease into the more authentic Mexican restaurants as most everyone working here speaks English well. They do have some authentic items and I really like the hongos gordita and the pork huaraches.

This often overlooked, smaller neighbor of La Guadalupana easily rivals the more popular Summer Ave staple on everything but burritos, and has a lot of unique menu items that merit multiple return trips.
Among the things I’ve not seen elsewhere: Grilled mushrooms (hongos) are treated as a «meat» option on most of the typical fare like burritos and tacos. But they really shine when featured on the sopes hongos. Given the price, you might be tempted to get 3 – 4, but believe me, 2 will do you, 1 if you add a couple sides or ala carte item. In any case, vegetarians will appreciate and even crave the option.
The egg torta is equally awesome. Like a lot of dishes here, Comales adds lightly grilled poblano peppers to the usual bean/​cheese/​onion/​tomato/​cilantro/​crema mix, which add an extra zing of flavor. The egg version is enormous, fluffy, and perfect for nursing a Sunday brunch hangover along with a Michelada (beer & spicy tomato juice) or a Dos Equis on tap.
Next time you’re headed to La Guadalupana, stop in and give this place a shot. You’ll still love Guad, but you’ll be thrilled with the little options and delicious twists.