Mezcal

Comfortable, warm atmosphere. The margaritas are very tasty, but be careful– very strong! Ordered the chicken chimichanga… oh my heavens, absolutely delicious. You will not be disappointed! They serve free chips with salsa verde– but be warned, it’s very spicy! However, our waitress willingly gave us free guacamole & pico de Gallo.

Excellent in every way. We got there at 5:30 and were glad we did. We got seated right away but shortly afterwards a line formed for seating. The Juana Gallo margarita was amazing and I am very picky about margaritas. We had nachos, machaca and enchiladas verde. All were excellent — generous portions and very flavorful. Service staff was friendly too although a bit understaffed for the numbers of guests. Half way through the meal a mariachi band set up and played. We loved the atmosphere and the food!

Been by here a bunch and have always been skeptical of the outer appearance and odd location. But when Caesus had no room and it was well past dinner time we decided to give it a try and we are so glad!
A little bit of a wait on a Friday night but the place was busy with people of all ages and families too. Very comfortable inside and friendly staff — nearly everyone greeted us.
Delicious and authentic food at s reason all price. Best Mole I’ve had!
Salsa was a bit spicy but had great flavor — we both like hot food and still found it a bit spicy.
Had our baby with us And the staff was so friendly to her as well! Great environment & good food — excellent classic margarita as well! Can’t do 5 stars till we try dessert! Stay tuned, we will go back :-)

Finally some authentic Mexican food! I didn’t think it existed in New Haven, but I was wrong. I enjoyed the pollo asada and a mojito like nobody’s business. I can do without loud mariachi music in such a tight space, but besides that it was worth the wait! Trek up to East Rock and have a margarita, you won’t regret it.

It’s really hard to find real margaritas… they even hand make the mix for the margaritas! And a must try is the «Alambras with chicken»… Great authentic Mexican restaurant!

Our waiter was amazing and the food and drinks are the most authentic I have found on the east coast. perfect little place for lunch or dinner

Debatable three stars. Very authentic Mexican. Any new haven/​Mexican feel. The menu is delicious but the pricing is very expensive. The tequila selection is slim but delicious. Again it was very good but very expensive I probably won’t won’t return due to the price. But definitely recommend it to others

Growing up in Dallas and visits to west Texas have me frequently missing Mexican food. We found some highs from this restaurant but also had some dislikes.
We found the food to be flavorful but missing heat. The salsa was mild at best. We started with the carnitas nachos which were good but again not hot at all. I ordered the fish with the quarillo peppers and roasted garlic. The fish was spiced and cooked well. The jalapeños were visible in the pico of my salad but had no heat. We’re not looking to bite into ghost chilies or expecting to be perspiring due to the heat while eating, but jalapeños are a staple to a lot of Mexican food and I was missing that. My boyfriend ordered mole con pollo which he enjoyed and reminded him of his grandma’s cooking.
Lastly, I would like to comment on the service. We arrived to a pack house so we were expecting to wait a little bit. But then table upon table started to leave. There were 3 tables open and a large group that left before we were even seated. Throughout the dinner, my boyfriend and I would comment back and forth, where is the waitress. We just weren’t impressed with the customer service.

Mojitos on point! And their No. 3 nacho is so delicious with generous amount of toppings. I would come back. Definitely recommend this place!

My favorite Mexican place by far! They never disappoint with their amazing dishes and always on point margaritas. The atmosphere is a little bit cramped if it’s busy… but that just means they need to expand because it’s a hidden away gem that keeps getting more popular. I take any friends that come into the area and want a good Mexican dish. Definitely worth a visit!

I wouldn’t have given this place 1 star if it weren’t for the service. Even then, the food was not spectacular. We ordered guacamole, which was alright but tasted like the store-​bought kind with diced tomatoes inside.
We placed our order — an order of Filete de pescado al ajillo and Camaribes al mojo de ajo — and waited for half an hour. During this time, our waitress didn’t even look at us ONCE, but seated 3 other parties who all ordered AND received their food before us. At this point, my wife spoke up to another waitress, who apologized. We waited another 15 minutes, again without apology, before our food arrived.
Not sure how the food warrants such great revues; almost every other Mexican restaurant I’ve been to tasted infinitely better.
After we finished another waitress brought over a desert on the house while our waitress stood back and watched. That was nice, but again, our waitress’s cold and neglectful demeanor, along with our long time waiting and subpar food, made this one of the most unpleasant experiences we’ve ever had.

After relocating from New York City to New Haven I was desperate to find a new authentic Mexican place for happy hour… and I found it in Mezcal.
Whether it’s for happy hour or a night out, Mezcal hits the spot.
For only $ 30 you can get a pitcher of margaritas, which gets you about 5 – 6. It’s a pretty good deal. Also, you have to get the nachos when you come here. I also tried the Chimichanga which was delicious.
The first time I came, I sat outside and I felt like I was kind of forgotten about, so I made sure to sit inside the next time I came and the experience was much better.
This place puts out some really good food and drinks for not too high of a price tag.

A hole in the wall with some exceptional Mexican food! Try the nachos with chicken or pork… wow! You can just have that as a meal. I have had the shrimp enchiladas and it was delicious… flavorful and I’m not a fan of enchiladas!
I love the hip atmosphere and the staff is always friendly!

In the mood for a Margarita? Go here! The rocks version is perfect. Strong, not too sweet, not too tart.
Food-​wise, I’ve only been here once so far. The servers were nice (and anytime anyone walked by us they asked if we needed anything or if everything was alright, hence servers being plural. I’m not even entirely sure who our actual person was). Free chips & hot (YEEESSSSS!) salsa. If you don’t like the spice you might want to back off the salsa. It makes me happy when it’s actually hot, so I hope they never change it! I had the chili relleno & it was good. I really liked the sauce they put around it. It was tomato based and was really nice with the cheese and pepper. The cheese they use is also awesome! I would get this again, I practically licked the plate I liked it so well.
I’ll definitely be back to Mezcal. You should go too!

I’ve been here many times and always enjoyed the food but tonight I was very disappointed. The food has gone completely down hill as has the service and cleanliness. There were fruit flies everywhere and we spent half the time swatting at them and the other half trying to cover our food and drinks. My piña colada was served in broken glass. My chimichanga was not fried at all and was only half full. Our water glasses were not refilled, dishes not removed it was just a mess. I sat closest to the wall and the wall had many meals splashed onto it and never been washed. This place used to be authentic Mexican and unfortunately it’s not about as good as the other franchise Mexican places. Don’t think I’ll be back, I was just too grossed out by how dirty looking it’s become.

The shrimp enchiladas are so freaking good. I don’t feel like writing a whole review, but I feel obligated to let you and anyone who cares that this is probably the best Mexican meal I’ve eaten.
Also the service is great. Friendly and knowledgeable. And live mariachi music most of the time I go.

So I didn’t even want mexican tonight but my boyfriend wanted margaritas and my coworkers always rave about this place so why not.
As always free chips and salsa, very spicy salsa and its the real mexican style salsa not the stuff you get at like on the border. We also got the ceviche de camerones and it was delicious.
For entrees i got the carnitas and my boyfriend the pescado apanisado. Both were fantastic. Someone mentioned previously the carnitas has no flavor well I must’ve came on the right night! Because mine was all flavor, and I’m mad after trying to replicate a good carnitas at home
I still cannot get that flavor. My boyfriends fish he loved, he basically licked his plate.
Overall very good mexican food, great service, and reasonable prices compared to like puerto vallarta or geronimos which is very overpriced and not that good. We will be back for sure!

I don’t think this place is bad, I don’t. I just think it’s really average and kind of overpriced (and definitely overhyped). I’ve been here twice now, as I just moved within walking distance. Their lunch specials are good, their margaritas are GREAT, their dinner is alright. Rice and beans one the side are A-OK…nothing mind blowing here… the rice actually wasn’t very good.
Their mole and salsa verde are both solid. If I was judging this place by those sauces + the margaritas alone, it would be five stars. My boyfriend’s chilaquiles were disappointing, however. Some of their salsas served with chips are underwhelming. I like my enchiladas but they could have been more flavorful. The service has been satisfactory for us.
I don’t know, I guess I just don’t get it with this place. It’s fine, but really nothing to write home about.

This is another place I’ve heard rave reviews about for years, and what a letdown! I don’t know if something’s changed, or what, but man. What a disappointment. We were seated quickly, our server was friendly enough, and the margaritas were strong. The positivity ended there. I guess the salsa that they serve varies from day to day, we were given the darker, smokey salsa with some chips. We weren’t fans of it, it was all heat and no flavor. Whatever, they’re complimentary, it’s not the end of the world, but it did set the tone for the rest of our meal.
The food came out far too quickly for it be even kind of fresh, I’m talking we had our plates in front of us within three minutes of ordering on a busy Saturday evening. It was so fast that I’m confident it was already plated and waiting under a heat lamp for someone to order it. I opted for the chicken enchiladas, my boyfriend had the carnitas. The food was absolutely flavorless. I’m talking flavorless as in you could have blindfolded me, and if it weren’t for the different textures I wouldn’t have been able to tell you if I was eating beans, rice, or chicken.
Again, this is one of those places where I feel like I’m missing something. Regardless, it was so underwhelming that I wouldn’t give them a second chance.

This place was incredible! I’ve eaten Mexican food in Mexico, Texas, and New York. I was impressed by the quality of service and food right in little old New Haven. It looks nondescript from the outside, but inside is a gem. Speaking to various people inside the restuarant, everyone said we couldn’t go wrong with anything we ordered. I had just a plain Margarita on the rocks, no need to upgrade the tequila, it’s strong and balanced. Carnitas Nachos… to die for. My brother and I were crazy about these things, big chunks of pulled tender porky goodness with home made seasoned chips, mounds of guacamole… I had the mole chicken, it was very tender. My brother had the steak chimichanga, inside was a generous helping of steak, a nicely fried shell.
Now…there was a party, I’m eating my food, and I hear singing, and then someone produced a very large glass shaped like a shotgun, and tequila was poured down the welcoming throats of the party. Talk about a good time!!! I LOVE this place. To the owner: thank you for bringing this place to my little hometown, it’s people like you that make my city better!