Mezcaleria Oaxaca

I went to this place a few days ago. I always search restaurants beforehand to see their prices and see if they have happy hour.
Unfortunately, this place doesn’t have a happy hour and doesn’t have any prices online for food, which I understand from an updating perspective but not a fairness to the customer perspective.
FOOD:
Fortunately, the food is all in the $ 10-​$ 12 range, with some $ 6 things and a few $ 14 or $ 16 for a big shrimp or steak platter. So the food prices ended up being great. Although the $ 6 for chips and guac is a little high. We think of chips as free at a Mexican restaurant, so it seems like $ 6 for guac, which should probably be $ 4 for the amount you get
Their margaritas and drinks are not as cheap. They are all $ 10+. That’s when a happy hour would come in handy.
We had the Gringas Oaxaqueñas (learn to pronounce it and they will pretend to think you’re cool), carne asada tacos, bartender’s marg and strawberry marg. Everything tasted great, including the chips and the awesome salsas from the salsa bar. They actually had one that was really hot, and I usually can’t find stuff I think is hot.
SERVICE:
The service was pretty good, it seemed kind of like all hands on deck. We had 3 – 4 different servers. I asked to move seats when we got in (see below why) and we eventually got moved and they were nice about it.
RESTAURANT:
By the way, if you sit at the bar right where they’re cooking, it will be hot, because the bar top is metal. Not that it would burn you, but the heat sort of radiates up towards you, you might get a little sweaty.
I am not so sure this would be a good place for a date. It’s not very intimate. The back seating room has a sink and is loud and the lights are a little bright. In the front might be good for a date, but there is not a lot of seating.
Compared to the Cap Hill Oaxaca:
Smaller, less fancy, fewer things with cheese on the menu :(

I love the service and the food. Authentic, flavorful, and consistent! The only reason I give it four stars is because chips and guacamole shouldn’t be 6 bucks. The salsa bar is free though, so that does help!
All in all, it’s a fun place to go with friends or for lunch! They do get crowded around dinner time, so plan accordingly!

Best Mexican food I’ve had in many years, great service, good prices, very worth it! Come early.

Funny that Unilocal was hiding a bad review of this place posted by an Elite.
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Very disappointed in the food.
Got the Barbacoa de Cabrito (slow roasted goat), Gringas Oaxaqueñas, pork mole and chips.
Chips were nice an fresh. Salsa bar (seemed odd to have such in a «classy» bar restaurant) was stocked with forgettable salsa.
Goat was very tough and largely bland. Pork was also tough, served lukewarm and overly sweet. Mole — I’ve had better from a jar.
Caddy margaritas were Good.
Ambiance is bad. Sitting at bar is the best bet. Front dining room has every seat next to high traffic areas. Rear dining room is like sitting in a shipping container — there are no windows. Rear dinning room is also popular with families (this is cool).
On a weeknight it was about 60% full. Service was fine.
I don’t get the hype. Sure it’s different than the typical retried beans & cheese enchiladas places. But it’s nothing to write home about.

While this Mexican food is small portion fir the price, its absolutely delicious. Plus, they have a great salsa bar. I always get chips and guacamole and binge on the salsas. I love this place for lunch and i love the molé.

Decent margaritas and decent food. Service is a little slow, but the kitchen is fast.

Always came during night with friends. Great place to have a drink and socialize. Good customer service and good vibes here. Haven’t tried any of the foods but by the looks of it, it looks delicious. I recommend coming here if you’re look for a social type bar to go out with friends. Order a basket of chips and they give a free refill.

Delicious posole and mole, but terrible service. Not enough servers to cover the tables. No water refills, no clearing of empty bottles off the table. Long gaps; waving of arms to get attention. Servers are out of breath and over-​stretched. Management seems unaware or, worse, accepts a low service standard as ‘good enough’. Too bad.

When we came out here in June last year, looking for a place to live, we ate lunch here. It’s nice and cozy inside. We sat at the bar and watched the kitchen make everyone’s orders. Everything was made fresh and to order. We both got tacos and they were so good. Hope we head back there sometime!

I love a good mole and Mezcalaria Oaxaca fits the bill. Later hours, solid food all around and a great selection of mezcal-​centered cocktails.
The bar is about the best seat in the place. Comfort was not the primary focus when they created this place.
Instead of higher prices, they opted for smaller portions which is fine with me. But if you’re looking to get filled up, this might not be the place.
The guac is decent. Nothing noteworthy. The mole is great; on the sweet side which I prefer. I had the enmoladas which were very good, even if a little over-​moleed (not a word, I know). I’ve wanted to try the tamales, but they are always out of them when I’m there.
They carry Victoria which is a huge plus and they are open until 11pm which is another plus. Worth a visit.

I’m very excited that we have our own mezcaleria Oaxaca in Queen Anne. They have lunch specials. I ordered the gringas tacos. They were delicious!
Service was excellent.
They make their tortillas in house and there’s a self serve salsa bar.
Hoping they bring hh to this location in the near future.

Carne asada was delish. I didn’t really care for the Mexican pizza or whatever that was called. Drinks were good too.

I used to be one of the biggest fans of this place and originally its sister restaurant La Carta de Oaxaca. The combination of their authentic preparation with the lively atmosphere has made it a winner in my books — before they expanded… and sold out.
Now, this place has jumped the shark. Previously, they served a very delicious halibut fish taco which was pan sauteed to perfection (as is still listed on the plain paper menus which they’ve failed to update). That’s not what you get though — instead you get a beer battered and poorly deep fried fish nugget on a taco, which you could get for $ 10 less up the road at Rancho Bravo. Mole Negro? Nope, that you can only get on the pork, the chicken now served with what I can only describe as marinara with peanuts and spice.
Oaxaca, you are serving as a very clear example of getting too big for your damn britches. Don’t get me wrong, these types of tacos are amazing, but you’ve failed to live up to your heritage and what made you special. I’ll have no sadness if you close down.

I really enjoy this spot! It’s perfect for date night, or grabbing a quick drink with friends.
The staff here is so friendly and accommodating. They always seat you right away and the food comes out quickly!
The food is delicious, I love that they have a salsa bar that you can visit anytime if you like a little extra heat! I’ve never had a bad dish here. Anything you can order is going to be amazing.
The cocktails are also great, I usually ask to sub out tequila for gin or vodka and they are always willing to do so!

I’m soooooooo bummed. I really, really loved the ambiance here, and the food too! But unfortunately, the service was AWFUL. The host was extraordinarily nice, setting up the table and chatting with me while I waited for my party to arrive. He recommended a drink for me, gave me some of his faves from the menu, and generally was a super out of the way gracious host. But then we didn’t see the server for probably 20 minutes. He RIGHT away asked if we wanted some chips and guac, we said sure! He took our drink orders and then didn’t deliver them in full (my beer was missing) and our food came before the chips & guac. Then, we were out of water since it had been eons since we had seen anyone, so my friend asked for water. Normally, doesn’t water come for everyone? Instead, he brought ONE glass of water just for her! Everyone needed water! Der! Lastly, my beer came literally with the check.
I would give this place another try, with a different waiter, but until then it royally blew.
The salsas were really good. Hence the one star.

We decided to eat her purely on accident. We were walking up Queen Anne and they were opening their doors for the night and the girl smiled at us and greeted us as we walked by so we said, sure, why the hell not.
This is one of the best Mexican restaurant in Seattle.
It is a small, literal hallway. The menu is short, seasonal and very concise. there is no five-​paged menu, just a list of things they do best. You get some hot chips and guac, they point in the direction of the salsa bar and you are left to choose.
This is a place pushes the boundaries of what you know about Mexican cuisine. Oaxaca is a southern region of Mexico, so there was a lot of twist to dishes I had never seen before. The tamales had mole sauce and was wrapped in a banana leaf and sweet and savory at the same time. The star of the show though, was the Pozole, or pork stew. I had never heard of it before, so we took a dive. Great choice to take a dive on.
Very authentic Mexican food. My favorite Mexican place in all of Seattle is a food truck, but if you are looking to sit down and eat, this is a great place. The food is always on point and you can see them making it fresh from just about anywhere in the restaurant.

This was hands down some if the best Mexican food I have ever had. Why? A combination of amazing, fresh flavors, combination (s) of said flavors, and HOMEMADE tortillas which put this lunch in a category if one of my all time greats. We grabbed a seat outside. Chips and guac were both fresh and satisfying. Get one of the lunch specials – for me, it was the thin sliced banger steak in black-​bean sauce, on top of a homemade cheese filled tortilla. Simply amazing flavor. Co-​pilot ordered the chicken tacos and again, flavor, spice, and craft cooking were on display
I’m a visitor to you fair city of Seattle, so I don’t know neighborhoods and their issues, but I can say with certainty that I had no issues with this meal, the service, and location. It was one of the best and we would return if we had more time. Yes!

This was an outstanding meal.
We started with the ceviche. It was that great balance of sweet, spicy, sour, and salt. It was a generous portion (it needed more chips) to share.
I had the barbacoa de cabrito (braised goat). The masa side was great. It was like a fun creamed corn. The goat was tender and amazing. You put that on the tortillas and you will be happy.
It is a fun environment with good service, great drinks, and cold beer.

True fact: Writing an entertaining review of an excellent restaurant is challenging. So I’ll just say this — I like this place a lot.
The cocktails are excellent. I had the Michilada (nice and spicy, one of the better Michiladas I’ve had and certainly the best I’ve had in Seattle so far) and one of the Mezcal cocktails that I can’t remember the name of, though I do remember it had tamarind in it. Good stuff. My friend got the sangria, and that was underwhelming. Skip the sangria.
I ordered the red pozole, and I loved it. Guys, I’m a pozole snob after having eaten delicious homemade pozole for years, but this place gets it right. It’s got a kick too, which I appreciate. The tacos looked good too, though I didn’t try any.
Tortilla chips and guac was good, though not too memorable. I ended up eating a bunch of the chips without the guacamole. I think I prefer my guac more avocado-​y than what was given to us.
The servers and host were super nice, as was the bartender, though it was a very busy Friday night and she looked like she could use some backup. Because of that, the drinks did take a little longer than they should have to come out.

Four of us went on a Saturday afternoon for lunch, and the menu looked great. We were seated in the back room, which is remarkably cheery for a room with no windows.
I ordered the barbacoa de cabrito (braised goat), which said that it came with a side of black beans and corn masa. I’d never had a side of corn masa, but was expecting some kind of corn pudding or something like that. The goat itself was pretty tasty, and came with two delicious tortillas. The beans were non-​existent (maybe half an ounce of black bean slurry), and the corn masa was another slurry of masa chunks in a flavorless liquid. Pretty disappointing overall.
My friends ordered the enfrijoladas, which came with thin steaks that were very well-​seasoned and very well prepared, but the tortillas (they which were supposed to be enfrijolados), just had a thin layer of bean sauce, and very little cheese.
Probably the least impressive part was the service. The restaurant was only half full, but we seemed to wait a long time between ordering drinks, appetizers, and main courses. I found myself thirsty at the end of the meal, and realized that the waitress never refilled my water glass. When the bill came, we were charged for 4 margaritas when we only ordered 3. It just felt like a sloppy operation overall. Will probably go elsewhere next time.