Archies’s Restaurant

On 8^th Street right off of Washington Avenue and only a block from the Italian Market is one of the most unassuming eateries you will come across in Philadelphia. It is a Mexican Cantina called Archie’s Restaurant and it would be very easy to miss. It’s not usually very crowded because it doesn’t do any advertising and there are many other more well-​known Mexican places right near it. But Archie’s is def worth knowing about. Why? Well it serves up the best Mexican Sincronizadas that I’ve ever eaten in Philadelphia. You have a choice of ham, steak, or chicken sincronizadas … each one as tasty as the other. There are many additional dishes to try here as well … but I can’t get past the sincronizadas. Hey and the owner is extremely friendly as well. Maybe some word of mouth will help this small non-​descript Mexican café find its rightful place on the Philly culinary scene!

Meh.
Took advantage of a Unilocal deal here and ordered a carne asada burrito and wings, just to branch out. Good deal, so a lot of food for the money, but it was a lot of mediocre food for the money. Asada was bland, tasteless and chewy, and the wings… sucked. If I’d come here for the wings I’d be kicking myself for passing up far superior options in walking distance. As stands I’d return for a deal, but on the merits its a very so-​so establishment, I guess empty for a reason.

I would have given another half star if there was a way to do it.
Server was very patient and helpful answering questions. He even asked how I liked everything, which you don’t usually get at a small place with just 4 tables off the end of the counter.
Beef tacos had a nice amount of beef, but I left several wads of gristle that I got tired of chewing.
I should have asked about the sauce on the enchiladas, since it was a bit spicier than I would have preferred. For $ 2 more he added chicken, but there weren’t too many shreds of it.
Overall it was a decent deal, but not special enough to go back without a Unilocal coupon.

Had Archies’s twice… Take out then lunch. Both times had solid food… Sweet potato fries are really good, tacos are nice as well. Prices are great. My new goto do tasty Mexican food… But still need to explore more of the menu.

Ordering sincronizadas here are my new favorite past-​time. So simple, yet so delicious. Everything here tastes like homemade goodness, like coming home after school and having your Mexican mother whip you up a delicious snack. Can’t go wrong with the tortas. The prices are more than reasonable. I’d stick to just the Mexican here.

It is hard to give 5 stars after one visit. But I have to say that we had a wonderful lunch there yesterday. I was joined by my wife Karin and our friend Karen, my usual company. Archie’s is a unique place. The menu includes pizza and cheesesteaks and other American foods and authentic Mexican food. We just stuck to the Mexican food. It was delicious.
The owner Adrian answered all our questions and made suggestions. We had the guacamole (not on the menu) but made fresh for us. With it, we had home made potato chips and home made tortilla chips. The tortillas have to be ordered at 3 bucks an order. The potato chips are free with the dip. Both are very good. The guacamole (4.00) was delicious and a bit spicy. Nice to try guacamole that is not bland, which we have had in other places.
I had the chorizo tacos, 3 per order (6.50), and they were tasty, better than most tacos that I have tried. Karen had the ehchilada rojas (9.00). It was delicious and came with a homemade spicy, smoky sauce. My wife Karin had a quesadilla with corn mushrooms and chorizo (5.50). The corn mushrooms were not as flavorful as she would have liked, but she still enjoyed her dish. We also took two orders of guacamole home with us.
When Adrian gave us his card, the card only mentioned authentic Mexican food. I recommend you go and taste his Mexican food. If someone in your party does not like Mexican, there are things for them to order.
The food is delicious, the prices are great and it is a BYOB. Bring some beer or wine and have a good meal.

Astounding! I stopped here after running errands and it was the best happenstance meal I’ve had ever. I created this Unilocal profile just to be able to sing the praises of Archies’!
Fresh, delicious, cleverly assembled, I can’t say enough about the quality and taste of their food. I only wanted a quick snack, ordering a Tostada. I added Quesadillas and another Tostada before leaving. The restaurant is small but clean, well lit. A large cooler offers a variety of cold beverages. I ordered and the pleasant server was helpful, even allowing a substitution when my brief snack extended into full blown lunch.
I’m returning tomorrow and I hope you visit soon too. This is a rare gem with fantastic food. I can’t speak to the American offerings but the Mexican Food is on point. This isn’t a charity visit, this is a rare gem, do yourself a favor and get in the know.

Good food, nice owner and wife. Off the beaten track which is hurting them as they don’t get a lot of walk by traffic.

I came here solely because of the close location and reviews on Unilocal.I’ve ordered from here twice in the last couple of weeks. This is an interesting place because it looks like a Mexican restaurant but more of the menu has American food. I give them 5 stars for their Mexican food but only a 3 or 4 stars on their other menu items. Their burritos are awesome. My boyfriend also loved his stromboli and ham and cheese sandwich that he got from here. We both really liked the home made potato chips. The grilled chicken salad was just ok– it was just romaine lettuce with tomatoes, hard boiled egg, olives and grilled chicken. I wasn’t very filled after the salad and dug into the burrito that the bf got.
The décor is a bit odd as there are photos of Mexican food but then also inspirational quotes on some of the walls.
The employees are very friendly. Prices are very reasonable. It is a good place to go to if some people in your group are in the mood for Mexican food while others are in the mood for traditional food like pizza, sandwiches, etc.
Place is also byob.

For the love of all that is wonderful about food, please go and support this place.
I went with fellow Unilocaler Kevin J. and just had to post my own review. This restaurant is as authentic as it gets. Yes, the décor could use some help but you can’t eat décor!
The food is absolutely delicious. We didn’t know until we were almost finished with our meal that Archie was the person waiting on us. He answered all my questions on the menu and then suggested a great item — Enchiladas Mole Poblano, which he described as sweet and spicy (spot on!). I forgot to ask what was in them and it turned out to be chicken. ($ 9) It came with rice and beans which were very good. Two homemade tortilla chips stuck in the beans were a nice touch.
We also got Sinchinozada (sp?) which was ham and mexican queso inside a soft tortilla shell. It came with lettuce, 3 slices of avocado and tomato. we added on the avocado salsa. I have to say that this is one of the best things I have tasted in my life. All that for $ 4. We split it but I wished I had my own.
Finally we got bread pudding for dessert ($ 2.25) a la mode. I wasn’t going to have any but then I had a bite and it was divine.
Kevin had a chicken steak sandwich ($ 6.50). It was huge and tasted great. The chicken was fresh and well-​seasoned.
Frankly, I think Archie could get away with raising the prices a bit and I would still be satisfied. I will be back many times.

Another satisfied customer. Hidden gem found via Unilocal.Walked in on a Saturday and found immediate seating. Host/​owner Archie provided us with their extensive menu and talked to us about special dishes they offer. Lunch Entrees were reasonably priced in the $ 6 to $ 10 range. They also serve breakfast and dinner including two delicious dessert options. My favorite was the avocado sauce which had a spicy flavor and a texture as smooth as a chilly drink.

This place is fantastic.
For starters, this business is the kind you absolutely want to support. The owner seems like a great guy — really friendly and appreciative of his customers.
Of course, one cannot judge a restaurant solely by the pleasantness of an owner, but that’s no issue here because the food was excellent. After the homemade chips and hot sauce, which are a great change of pace, my girlfriend and I split a torta poblana, tacos de bistec, and an enchilada con huitlacoche. These were served with a delicious salsa verde that was the perfect amount of spicy.
The torta was great. The chicken was tender and the mole sauce was delicious. The taco was good, not perfect, but still some of the better ones i’ve had recently. The quesadilla con huitlacoche is something I will be coming back for frequently. The flavor of the huitlacoche was really earthy and nice, and the cheese (oaxaca, i think) was delicious.
All of this, plus 2 agua frescas (pineapple and guava — which are also pretty solid) ran us $ 22.
This place is great. No frills, just good service and great food. Go. Also, get the huitlacoche.

I am grateful for businesses like Archie’s that understand it’s food first, fancy stylings a distant second.
Archie’s is the real deal. Small, homey, mom and pop, with kids doing homework and art projects while the telenovelas are spinning their endlessly thrilling Latin yarns.
The chips and salsa were to die for. Chips were warm and fresh-​cut. Salsa was green, spicy and rich with avocado.
Archie’s enchiladas de mole were positively scrumptious. The mole itself was stellar — complex, ridiculously flavorful, subtle with quality ingredients — no short cuts. Dare I say it? It was exciting.
My entrée plus a yummy Jarritos (tamarindo, the best in my book) = a breathtakingly underpriced $ 9.50. I left $ 13 and for the quality and happy-​place feelings, it was worth far more.
Archie’s is a block off the beaten path — you’d might be inclined to skip it in favor of taquerias with more reviews. Big mistake! Come here instead and support an extremely worthy local business with totally delicious food. It’s well worth it.

Made a late reservation for lunch after a charity walk. They were very nice and accommodated 14 of us in their small dining room. The food was fabulous and made fresh to order (including the chips and the salsas). We tried multiple dishes: enchiladas verdes, chorizo sopes, chicken flautas, tacos al Pastore, lamb soup, quesadillas, burritos and more. The crowd favorites were the chorizo sopes, tacos al Pastore, and the lamb soup. Although the lamb soup does not sound appetizing, let me assure you that it was. It consisted of lamb broth, rice, garbanzo beans, and fresh minced onions and cilantro. The flavors were earthy and amazing. The sopes shells were moist and delish, as was the chorizo on top. The service was fantastic, the two men who took our order, served us, and cooked our food were extremely polite, patient (with our lack of Spanish skills) and bent over backwards to please us. They even made us fresh guacamole to order as the salsa verde with avocado that accompanied the chips was incredibly spicy and could not be tolerated by the novices in our group. I’m withholding the fifth star because as another reviewer noted, the environment is a bit drab. Our suggestions were to remove the «footprints» inspirational posters and add some Mexican artwork. That would certainly cheer up this delicious eatery!

Please come and support this family business.
Decent tasting tortas, and yummy taco al pastors that were up there with some of the best in the Italian Market. This is an unassuming joint where the owner and wife work in tandem to deliver a simple, yet tasty menu.

At at Archie’s again tonight (7÷21÷12). Incredible sopas with chorizo, sublime carnitas (weekend special) and enchiladas verde with beef. Everything is fresh and incredibly well prepared. The sauces are amazing — flavorful, well-​balanced. And the food is not swimming in fat. Right now this is my number one mexican restaurant in Philadelphia. Best to call ahead and make sure they are open.

i am mexican and this place is genuinely mexican.
and good.
horrible décor though :/​
and its not infested with fucking hipsters :)

This is a delightful little Mexican spot in South Philly. We opened lunch with homemade potato chips drizzled with hot sauce, which were a surprising but tasty change from tortilla chips and salsa. I ordered a chorizo burrito stuffed with beans, rice, cheese, and chorizo sausage. It came with guacamole and hot sauce, that when paired together, went great with the burrito. We chatted with Archie himself, who couldn’t be nicer. He even treated us to a bowl of his creamy zucchini soup. Overall, this was quite a find, and I will definitely be back!

Started off with homemade potato chips and hot sauce. Got a burrito, then had a fantastic cream of zucchini soup. Will definitely be coming back here!!!

A new Mexican Restaurant in south Philly. Authentic Mexican cuisine