Best Mexican restaurant
The Tacos sagrada at perennial Atlanta favorite Nuevo Laredo Cantina, which will be celebrating its 20th year in 2012. It's your pick for best Mexican restaurant in and around Atlanta. Photo: Becky Stein / Special
YOUR PICKS
1. Nuevo Laredo Cantina
You say, “Nuevo Laredo. I’m from Southern California and it beats anything else I’ve had around here, it’s a much better representation than anything else” and “Best Tacos de carne asada! Margaritas are excellent as well.”
2. Taqueria Los Hermanos
3. Taqueria La Oaxaquena
4. Bone Garden Cantina
5. Mi Barrio
The deliciously authentic tlayuda from Taqueria La Oaxaquena in Jonesboro. Now 10 years old, this beloved spot is our pick for best Mexican restaurant in and around Atlanta. Photo: Becky Stein / Special
OUR PICKS
1. Taqueria La Oaxaquena
The AJC dining team’s specialist in International Cuisine Gene Lee says, “The regional style steeped in Oaxaca, central Mexico, is the primary reason this Jonesboro restaurant is my top choice. And that’s largely due to the restaurant’s tlayuda, a thin crunchy tortilla topped with stringy quesillo cheese, avocado, beans and spicy chorizo sausage or steak. You can eat it like a pizza but the taste is undoubtedly Mexico.”
2. El Rey del Taco
3. La Pastorcita
4. Taco L1000000
5. Holy Taco
accessAtlanta Partner Sites
Sections
Advertise on accessAtlanta.com »
Reach the audience you want by advertising on accessAtlanta.com
Join the Access Atlanta Network »
Advertisers and Publishers, expand your reach by joining the Access Atlanta Network.
Tell us what you think about the site
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement | About our ads
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
191 comments Add your comment
MMMmmm...FOOD
September 26th, 2011
3:05 pm
NUEVO LAREDO CANTINA!!
Joe Hamrick
September 26th, 2011
3:15 pm
The best Mexican Restaurant is located off 85 at exit 109 on Old Peachtree Road in Lawrenceville, Ga.
The name is “Mi Case”.
This restaurant has be best Guacamole, Chicken soup, Taco Salad, Pico De Gallo, Steaks, Grilled Shrimp, Grilled Chicken, Chicken Fajitas, Mole, Churros, Guacamole dip, fried ice cream, refried beans, calzones
Liz
September 26th, 2011
3:15 pm
El Senor Taco!
Nathan
September 26th, 2011
3:16 pm
Way, way, way too many. Yes, Nuevo Laredo is gonna be at the top. But so should Bone Garden Cantina!
For something completely different, I think Chepe’s deserves consideration. Yes, it’s a chain. Yes, it’s OTP. But it SO delivers the goods. I think it also goes without saying that La Parilla is another great chain.
Given the diversity of Mexican restaurants, AJC may want to consider splitting this one up (ITP/OTP, chains/standalones, etc.).
kevin
September 26th, 2011
5:43 pm
Nuevo Laredo is tex mex, not Mexican. I am not sure I am aware of an authentic Mexican restaurant that is off the charts in atlanta. I suppose the best place legitimate mexican restaurant i am aware of is Mi Barrio in Cabbagetown. That said, the single best mexican inspired item in this city is a burrito from Bell St. Burritos, recently named 1 of the 10 best burritos in the country by USA Today.
Diego
September 26th, 2011
6:11 pm
Atlanta is crazy for Tex/Mex, ugh! Sorta like your regular Chinese restaurants, the menus are interchangable. Most meals have the same ingredients just wrapped differently, ugh! I quite eating ( Mexican ) when The Catus Cafe closed in the late 80’s early 90’s? Do you remember the cabrito and that great chicken soup? Is there a true Mexican restaurant in the Atlanta area??
Diego
September 26th, 2011
6:28 pm
Sorry I misspoke ( Not Catus Cafe ) I meant U.S. Bar and Grill………………
Calvin G. Sims, Sr.
September 26th, 2011
7:00 pm
El Nopal (The Cactus) on Old National Highway, Atlanta. Especially if you like cheese.
El Guapo
September 26th, 2011
7:02 pm
Luv luv luv me some El Azteca in Milton. The service is quick and the guacamole is off the charts!
kf
September 26th, 2011
7:04 pm
I remember the U.S Bar and Grill..Best ATL Mexican restuarant ever!
SAWB
September 26th, 2011
7:06 pm
Sangria’s in Tucker is a very nice restaurant with a solid menu, wonderful staff and very nice patio area. I personally like the Carnitas Michoacan Style finished off with a nice flan for desert.
Retired Old Atlantan
September 26th, 2011
7:09 pm
Willy’s
Tamara
September 26th, 2011
7:11 pm
La Fonda!!!!!!!
Thomas Wooldridge
September 26th, 2011
7:15 pm
The best Mexican in Atlanta, hands down, no questions asked, is Bone Garden Cantina. They use the finest ingredients, have truely authentic receipes, daily specials that are truely special (not just the stuff left over from the night before). I just can’t say enough fine things about them.
The only Mexican that I’ve ever had that was as good was sitting in a Bar in the Yucatan in Mexico. It’s one of the cities best kept secrets and I just let it out with this review.
All the previous reviews have identified fine restaurants, nothng wrong with them at all. But if your goal is to identify the absolute best, top of the line Mexican food, Bone Garden is the clear choice for Number 1.
P.S.- I have it on good authority that it’s Alton Brown’s favorite Mexican in Atlanta also.
jenny
September 26th, 2011
7:16 pm
Taqueria Los Hermanos in Tucker.
Joy
September 26th, 2011
7:18 pm
I agree with SAWB about Sangria’s. Their refritos are made with black beans…yum. Great fish tacos. Shrimp or filet fajitas are to die for. They also do Puerto Rican one night a week. My absolute favorite, and I never met a Mexican restaurant I didn’t like. Tex-Mex or otherwise!
Thogwummpy
September 26th, 2011
7:23 pm
Taxco on Roswell Road & Weiuca Road near Chastain. YUMMY!!!
Dandy Jack Crawford
September 26th, 2011
7:26 pm
Frontera Mex-Mex Grill. A local chain with several locations throughout ATL, mostly on northside. Good high quality food every time. Excellent chips and dip and pleasant servers. It’s a place we always take out-of-town guests when they visit.
ATL native
September 26th, 2011
7:30 pm
My favorite isTaqueria Los Hermanos in Tucker. It is in a strip mall but don’t let that fool you. They have great seafood options. Their tamales are very good too. It is a family owned & operated.
La Gitana
September 26th, 2011
7:32 pm
Sangrias in Tucker for Tex-Mex (Cinco de Mayo fun), but Los Hermanos for pure Mex. The best tamales every anywhere.
Pink Lady
September 26th, 2011
7:32 pm
El Solecito in Mableton on Veterans Memorial is “REAL” Mexican food! OMG!!
POLE
September 26th, 2011
7:32 pm
Los Reyes, Marietta and Kennesaw, Ga.
sangrias is awful
September 26th, 2011
7:34 pm
Sangria’s is ok if you think taco bell is good. I keep trying to give this place a chance (on and off over the last 6 years) and it’s just meh at best.
Fericita
September 26th, 2011
7:39 pm
El Zocolo! Great food, great atmosphere!
Capt K
September 26th, 2011
7:44 pm
Another vote for Los Reyes. Authentic family recipes, always fresh.
george orwell
September 26th, 2011
7:45 pm
Sangria’s is great ! I love the fish tacos and the giant burittos! If you live in the Tucker/Stone Mountain area there is none better in that part of metro ATL .Also, they are very reasonable priced compaired to other Mexican restaurants!
Valerie C
September 26th, 2011
7:46 pm
El Toro in Decatur
Purveyorofpollo
September 26th, 2011
7:49 pm
Nuevo Laredo is ok… Not worth the wait or price, Jaliscos in peach tree battle is where it is at… Best cheese dip in the city, awesome nachos and good quessadillas
TF
September 26th, 2011
7:55 pm
Mi Barrio is certainly the best authentic Mexican restaurant in Atlanta.
mama@hotmail.com
September 26th, 2011
7:55 pm
El Charro in Griffin is the best Mexican food in the world. Absolutely the best north of the border! Love me some of those beans and salsa!
Buck
September 26th, 2011
7:55 pm
Canon Cafe at Peachtree Cennter. The tacos are like meet that fall off the bone and the burrito is like the one my daddy used to get me when he came home from his incarsirashion in Texas. I only have them three time but they were the best. Then after he go back the last time I have not seen him sense and they make him stay “behind bars” on acount of him leaving three times.
Kara
September 26th, 2011
7:59 pm
La Parrilla!
John
September 26th, 2011
8:01 pm
I don’t remember the name of the place off of South Atlanta Rd.going towards the city. Located in a small house that has upstairs and downstairs. The place is incredible
Mike
September 26th, 2011
8:04 pm
Del Rio in Dacula! Great food!
ABC
September 26th, 2011
8:09 pm
Without a doubt, it’s Tara Humata in Alpharetta.
Ruby Bridges
September 26th, 2011
8:09 pm
No Mas Mexican Cantina
Wesley Lmabert
September 26th, 2011
8:18 pm
I agree with Kara…La Parilla is the spot…They are a chain, but they are all over and most of my friends from North to Southside love em…My favorite is the one on Howell Mill…
hellatone
September 26th, 2011
8:20 pm
El Nopal on Cobb Parkway just north of the North Loop is my favorite. Love their green enchiladas with chicken. I was wowed the first time I went to Nuevo Laredo years ago but they have never measured up on repeat visits. Last time I was there I was wishing I had gone to El Nopal. I know it’s not really mexican but I used to love the paella at La Fonda on Ponce and in L5P.
3Green
September 26th, 2011
8:25 pm
Mi Barrio on Memorial Drive. Great, authentic home-cooked food served up by a very nice family.
Jen
September 26th, 2011
8:30 pm
Jalisco at Peachtree Battle; Chicken Quesadilla with Fajita Chicken. Yum. Been going there for years, consistently great, served hot and great service.
Bob from Accounttemps
September 26th, 2011
8:31 pm
@Diego and @Kevin: My sentiments exactly and well said — Mexican is the new Chinese in Atlanta. And they’re all the same. Traditional Mexican food is great, but that’s not what we have here. Zocalo has some traditional dishes, but just a few. Rosa Mexicano has a few, too, but it’s pricey.
war Eagle
September 26th, 2011
8:33 pm
Pure in Alpharetta
Bama
September 26th, 2011
8:33 pm
#1 Bone Garden Cantina
#2 Nuevo Laredo
#3 – who cares
ab
September 26th, 2011
8:34 pm
TAQUERIA TSUNAMI ON PEACHTREE ST. THAT PLACE IS AWESOME! CHECK IT OUT!
Boo
September 26th, 2011
8:34 pm
EASY! The Bridge Mexican Gourmet in Roswell.
ricardo
September 26th, 2011
8:37 pm
Who remembers Maria’s on P’Tree Ind. El Mongol was cooking when he wasn’t wrestling. Great!
Tech Man
September 26th, 2011
8:37 pm
Nuevo Laredo Cantina!
Grant Park
September 26th, 2011
8:39 pm
Is there any pick other than Mi Barrio?
Rane
September 26th, 2011
8:49 pm
El Taco Azteca in Kennesaw. It does not look like much from the outside, but it is by far the best Mexican food around. The tortas and fish tacos are the best I have ever had.
lw
September 26th, 2011
8:50 pm
MiCasa @85 and Old P’tree in Suwanee~~~~~