El Centenario is pretty decent Mexican food in Topeka…read more I've been to El Centenario a half-dozen times. It helps that it is just a couple blocks away from work, it's easy to get a consensus among co-workers as a place to go for lunch, and it has had good and consistent food that comes out pretty speedy. I know that the menu is filled with diverse items, but I keep gravitating to the same lunch item over and over -- 1 taco, 1 burrito, and refried beans. It's not an exciting lunch, but it's remarkably affordable (~$6!) and it is very filling. El Centenario also plys you with heaping baskets of tortilla chips and salsa. My recommendation -- request the salsa picante. It's a spicy ranchera-style sauce, it has a rather spicy pepper bite, but I've gotten to the point that I will eat chips with it spooned over the top, while one of my coworkers mixes some of the spicy salsa into her bowl of regular salsa. I won't say that El Centenario is the most authentic Mexican restaurant, but it does fit solidly into the current concepts for TexMex / Mexican that is run and staffed by Latin-Americans. Considering some of the other "Mexican" food in Topeka, it's about as authentic as you are going to get without heading over to the taquerias on the east side.

Dropped in for lunch. Service was fast and they checked several times to ensure everything was ok…read more I had the lunch special Speedy Gonzales with an extra taco. Chips were hot n fresh. The deco is very culture centric and very well done and very clean. I'll be back

Small local place with good service. Often busy and understaffed. Small parking lot and street…read moreparking near college. Most choices very good. Free chips and salsa. Coke, Margaritas and Beer.

I want to go back and try this but the last time was a bust. The only other two guys there were…read morevery very loud and made no effort to reduce their obnoxious activity. The lady who was working there took my order at first and then went back to the kitchen to prepare it. In the face of the disturbing noise by the two, I decided not to stay and wait for my food. I did not want to stiff the waitress/cook so I put a $20 bill on the table to pay for probably 4 chips and 2 drinks out of my diet cola and left. I never did see the waitress/cook again. Topeka is blessed with several good mexican food places so I would think this place would be more accommodating. I urge you to try this place only if the many others are closed.

service was great, everyone in there was extremely nice, Jose is the best server he had exceptional…read moreservice and great attitude, and the owner was very nice as well, would definitely come back here.

Woooow! Jorge & his team really put together a fantastic catering spread for my family for our…read moregrandma's 90th surprise party. I love supporting local & Jorge really went above & beyond to provide a wonderful meal for our family! Joey & I picked it up right when we arrived in Topeka after an 8hr drive from Denver, and Jorge was just the sweetest, thanking us for choosing his business & sharing his excitement for our upcoming meal. Soooo sweet!! We had 25 people & still had so many leftovers, and it was all packaged perfectly. We had a crunchy taco & burrito bar with 4 huge pans with chicken/veggies, ground beef taco meat, rice & beans. It came with 2 huge pans of chips, as well as half pans of queso, salsa, cilantro, onions, smoked jalapeños, shredded cheese, lettuce & sour cream. The chicken & veggies were phenomenal, the taco meat was perfectly seasoned, and everything was piping hot! And most importantly, none of it was too salty. Too bad i didn't get any pics, everyone just dug right in! Just wow.. many thanks Jorge & team for the most incredible meal for my family. From mine to yours, gracias! We can't wait to come back- you're now our fav Mexican spot in KS :)

A small, order at the counter, Mexican restaurant that delivers authentic taste and expertly…read moreprepared meals. During the Christmas holidays you can order tamales to take home (they are unbelievable)! The enchiladas are perfectly seasoned and the white cheese queso will swear you off melted velveeta with salsa forever. Pay attention where you sit. If you are under the air conditioner you might get a little condensation on your table. It's all good though as the food is worth a little water. I highly recommend this family owned business!

Went to the Tacos El Mexicano and ate 3 tacos for lunch. I had also called ahead and ordered a…read moredozen Tamales to go. You can order them cold if your not going to eat them immediately or freeze them, or you can order hot to eat soon. The lady that runs this small but has great food makes the place feel like family. You can get discounts between 2 pm and 8 pm on Tuesdays for Taco Tuesday.

I'm in the middle of eating the Carne Asada burrito as I write this and it is absolutely delicious!…read moreIt's a massive burrito with a fantastic tortilla and no gristle. They have good reviews, but the place is empty. The ambience is lousy, but it's pretty clean. If you're going to some chain for your Mexican food, you're doing it wrong. This place is doing it right.

Taking a cross country trip and rolled into town late on a Sunday. Gerardo's with its late night…read moredrive thru was perfect. Fellow taking and delivering our order was pleasant and helpful. We had queso & chips, chicken taco, and carne asada burrito with hot sauce on the side. It was prepared pronto and delicious when we got to our motel a couple exits away. Portions were generous.

Wanted a quick bite and decided to try! My order consisted of Mole Enchilada w Chicken. The service…read morewas quick and the ambiance was family oriented. I would try again .

Came here on a referral from a friend of ours who lives in the area. Authentic Mexican cuisine…read more Came in for lunch and I was actually able to get Huevos Con Chorizo on the lunch menu. House salsa is great, but they do have a much spicier option which we opted for and it was delicious. Chips are definitely made in house. The value for the food was excellent. Will definitely come back when I'm back in Topeka for business.

Definitely a gem! Staff is very friendly and on top of their game. My favorite Mexican food spot in…read moreTopeka! The food reminds me of home.

Excellent food and service. Was only able to taste the beef and pork street tacos due to a…read moreValentines Day promo, hence not hitting five stars. Will definitely be back to try the birria tacos.

Love this sweet family-run restaurant just off of Kansas St in downtown Topeka…read more To begin, their fajitas are legendary among my friends and co-workers, with the peppers and onions grilled and seasoned perfectly and a choice of either corn or flour tortillas. Their margaritas are sizeable and come in many flavors and I was pleased to realize they are not too sweet, YAY! Chips and salsa arrive at your table while you study their voluminous menu, the salsa is very tasty. Staff are friendly and kind and happy to answer questions. I hope to make my way through the entire menu

Great customer service the entire time we were there. Food was delicious as always. Our waitress…read moreremembered us from the last visit last month. That is impressive.

This is some of the best Mexican food in Topeka. Their chile verde went downhill after their…read moreremodel, but after switching to their Burrito Gordo Timoteo I had to come to Yelp and review our old stand bye. My wife swears by their pollo loco plate, and the shrimp topping my steak tip burrito were excellent.

My family and I went to dinner around 5:00pm on a Sunday evening. The restaurant was not too busy…read moreand we were told to pick a table. The restaurant was decorated nice for the FIFA games-which several customers were sitting up at the bar top eating/drinking watching the games. Our server came to the table with chips and salsa, the chips did not taste fresh and were cold. Getting hot fresh chips is always a plus so they missed it on that. I ordered a Mango Tango Alcohol drink, I didn't really taste any alcohol in it. I had been craving Nopales so my mom and I decided to share the molcajete dinner which has steak, chicken, chorizo, shrimp, nopales and grilled onions. It definitely was enough for us to share-I even had leftovers. This dish is a little pricey but so worth it! I wish it had more nopales in it-either you like them or you don't! Everyone enjoyed their meal and our server was friendly.

Very yummy , we wanted menudo but it's so popular they ran out these are all really good optionsread more