Los Tapatios

Los Tapatios /​New Tapatios is no more. I’ve been going there for 15 years and went on Tuesday night 2÷24÷15 with my son for dinner. Walking up to the door I notice the sign has a totally different name on it and is serving Guatemalan cuisine. Then I notice the long time owner’s car in the parking lot so we go in. The once owner has now totally dedicated himself to the adjoining bar business while the restaurant is indeed serving Guatemalan cuisine so I will review them.
The menu is totally in spanish with no english translations nor descriptions (this might be helpful in the predominantly english speaking United States).
The waitress (the 12 or 13 year old daughter of the restaurant owner) should be out playing or doing something other than working which is not even legal for a child her age. Service is what you would expect from a 12 or 13 year old… slow, and disorganized.
Son had chicken tacos I tried to find out about various steak dishes but had to settle for pointing at a menu picture and saying «I want that» because there was no knowledge of the menu items and her dad appeared overwhelmed with invoices etc as I watched him shuffle papers and bang a concerto out on an adding machine my entire time there. Food was ok but just ok and prices were inexpensive.
On the way out I popped into the bar and spoke with the owner of the place that I knew and he recognized me as a regular on sight. He said he has been approached my many regulars to revive Los Tapatios Mexican and he indicated that he was strongly leaning in that direction shortly because the current Guatemalan place is catering to a select few and his former regulars who are too polite to leave once they realize the place is no longer serving Mexican food.
In summary I will continue to pass by and when I see that Los Tapatios Mexican is back in business I will go back to eat. Until then I will be searching for a new place to quench my Mexican food cravings.

NEVER!!! its a bad taco spot

I have long liked Los Tapatios. I have eaten here 45 times since 2003, spending a total of $ 1,537.75; but I won’t be going back. It got steadily better for the first few years, but has dramatically dropped in quality for the last three. Last night I gave e it one more chance, given my fond memories of good food and good experiences there
The floor, which used to shine, was dull and dirty. The one person there to wait tables stared at me and stayed seated for 3 – 5 minutes.
«What do you want to drink?» she said unenthusiastically.
«A Mexican beer would be fine,» I replied.
«We don’t have any Mexican beer,» she said.
«Not even in the adjoining bar?» I asked. The proprietor owns the restaurant and the bar.
«They have beer,» she said.
«I’d like a Corona then. Do I need to go in there to buy it.»
«I’ll bring it to you,» she said, still not smiling.
««Thanks. These chips are stale and the salsa is watery,» I said more to inform her than to complain.
«You want me to bring more chips?» she asked. I had eaten only 3 of these. «Not if they’re from the same batch,» I explained.
She seemed not to hear me or not to care, I couldn’t tell which.
When she brought the Corona, she never asked whether I wanted a glass. «What you want to order?»
«Is the fried red snapper large or small tonight.» I asked. While the price does not vary, the size does.
«We don’t have any fish tonight. What else do you want?»
«My check would be nice,» I said, gently. I had lost my appetite.
While she prepared the check, the proprietor came through the restaurant after leaving the bar. He is always friendly He said he was glad to see me again, and updated me on his family. I knew I was not coming back, so I did not see any reason to make it an unpleasant evening for him. This was actually better than the last time I had dined here, when the fish was overcooked. The chips were stale then too, and the salsa was watery then too.
I will miss Tapatios, but I’d rather hang onto good memories than risk more bad more experiences that I would rather forget.

This is our local go to place for Mexican. The food is authentic and very good. The ambiance is definitely lacking and the bar that is connected to the restaurant is very loud and cheezy. Also, somethings on the menu are priced a little high for what they are. The ceviche, guacamole, and queso fundito are great appetizers, prepared just like you would get in Mexico. The cheese chile rellenos and shredded chicken enchiladas with pipian sauce (pumpkin seed sauce) are my favorites. The shrimp Acapulco and Puerto Vallarta are also delicious, but are light on the shrimp. Not really enough for me as a main course. Tacos are also good and their salsa is great. The margaritas are just ok and are expensive, $ 9, if you want to upgrade to Jose Cuervo (which is not that good) from the house tequila.

I’m a regular here… love it. They are as authentic as they can be. My favorite??? Chile Rellenos… yum!

My wife had fajitas and I had chicken enchiladas in molé sauce. The fajitas were just sorta okay. More like chicken stew than I think what she was expecting. The enchiladas were good but nothing I would go back for twice. Good corn toritillas but the margaritas were not well mixed (could have been made with a pre-​mix).
The ambiance? Do you like Mexican telenovellas? There were plenty on and they were plenty loud.

Overall great food and service. The sangria is excellent; guacamole is awesome! And I especially love the cute quesadilla that comes out with the chips. I usually get fajitas with chicken and shrimp. And for dessert I recommend the flan.

I’ve been going here for the past 10 years and this is one of my favorite places to go for dinner. They serve quality mexican food in a nice atmosphere for a low price. They recently re-​vamped the place and now you can order alcohol since the bar is connected. The menu is simple and don’t expect anything mind-​blowing (except for the guacamole, which is incredible) but you can always get a good meal for a reasonable price.

Um, this was recommended to us as being the best mexican restaurant in Essex county. If it is, then I’m really depressed, and will have to start making regular trips to California to get real mexican food and margaritas.
Our meals were mediocre. The margaritas tasted like thawed cheap frozen pops, with some tequila. The chips were not good. The only thing that was decent was the guacamole.