We were passing through Dunlap on our way to Nashville during our vacation. We were feeling like Latin food, so we stopped here- I'm so glad we did! The food here is really genuine- the head chef must have been trained in Latin cuisine, or have lived in Latin America and understands how to prepare authentic barbacoa dishes. Everything was tasty and satisfying: the fajitas, tacos, chilaquiles, burritos, and chips & salsa. Even the drinks were made well. Wait staff was attentive and thorough in explaining each meal. The place was clean, even the bathrooms, and the greeters were friendly and thanked us for our patronage when we rolled out of there (generous portions). Good atmosphere too, even though the place was pretty crowded when we had our meal. If I'm ever back in this area, I'll be sure to stop off at this place- hands down some of the best Latin food I've ever had. Five stars! read more

Food is pretty good. Friendly service. I had the bean and chorizo nachos and was pleased. Hubby had fajitas Texanas and was equally pleased. Beer was cold. What more can you ask for? read more

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I had the chimichanga today and the meat was not seasoned very well. My boyfriend had the burrito and it was the same meat in it. There was no love to the food as far as any spices or anything to make it taste good. The service was OK. We were sat quickly the server brought chips and salsa and drinks fairly quick. I had a Mojito and it was not any thing like I've ever had before . It had a syrup taste to it one lime slice and no mint in it at all. The ambience or condition of the restaurant does need some updates.. I've eaten at this place for the last five years and it's still the same decor and I just think it needs a fresh facelift. read more

El Metate 2 - Chimichanga, rice, and beans - Mexican Near Me - Dunlap, Tennessee

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I went today and got take out Birria plate - which I'm very into Birria now a days. So it was perfect for what I wanted. I'm Hispanic, so I want meat, beans and rice. Tasted good, better than I can cook and I didn't want to cook. I was worried about some of the comments but it was good, some people just want to be mean and picky. Service was nice as well - on the phone and in person. I'll go again! read more

Thought we'd check out someplace new. I ordered the pork in rojo sauce. The pork was fork tender for sure and zero fat. However the sauce was bland. It had no spice or flavor to it. I tried a bite of my wife's chicken fajita and it lacked seasoning as well. Service was fine and the prices weren't crazy either. Also the iced tea was horrid. It was as if they waved a tea bag over the water. read more

A delicious surprise on Dunlap. My cousin kept taking this place and their fajitas up. After a day of hang gliding we were famished. So we stopped in gave it a try! Fast friendly service. Good salsa and cheese dip- excellent fajitas. Check it out if you are in the area! read more

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Great food at a very fast pace. Orders are always correct, waiting staff checks in appropriately. Good prices for amount of food. Bathrooms could be cleaned a little better. Great family environment or date night go-to. Feel welcomed as a customer. read more

Authentic Mexican food, typical Mexican restaurant looks and ambiance. Prices are reasonable. The chilaquiles were food and the soft tortilla tacos were jist tradicional Mexican tacos, staff was attentive and welcoming. read more

Some of the best Mexican food I've ever eaten...and service is always top notch.....

Amazing!! Had poblano real. Worth a 4 Michelin star rating. Far exceeded expectations.

This was a nice surprise. They atmosphere is casual, the service prompt, the food was tasty, and the prices reasonable. Being vegetarian, sometimes the menu is limited but, they had a great vegetarian section. The food was good and we didn't wait long. I would recommend this place to my friends and family. read more

El Metate 2 - Veggie quesadilla. - Mexican Near Me - Dunlap, Tennessee

Great tasting Mexican. I had the steak and chicken fajitas. Can't go wrong with them. Not crazy about the tortilla chips-- a little thick for my taste but salsa was tasty. Service good too. read more

The easiest way to put this place is hit or miss. We go usually once a week. We went last week, we went this week, and we will go next week. They are always nice to us. They sometimes mess up but always fix the problem. We like it. Definitely not a 5 star but kinda like family. Definitely you can do a lot worse. Stop in and give them a try. read more

Heaven on Earth, I would die if they closed down, as my lungs would simply not want to inhale air if I could not also inhale El Matate

We eat there at least once a week. My wife is addicted! Service is always quick and efficient. Food is slightly above average. Price is a little high compared to other Mexican restaurants but it's a good meal anyway. read more

Terrible. First as you sit down, there are flies everywhere and not one or two ... the windows are covered in them so we moved tables. Ordered and they brought out nachos but never came back to see if you needed anything else. Then they bring out food but not for the baby. When they bring out a cheese quesadilla it is covered in refried beans. So much for finger food. When I ask about it the waitress explains to me that it comes this way and won't replace it with one not covered in beans. Last I checked a plain cheese quesadilla does not come with beans on it. She's says I'm yelling at her about it which is not true but became true when the whole staff gathers around to discuss this quesadilla/refried bean issue. Just so you are aware .: just cause I'm from Dunlap doesn't mean I don't speak Spanish. So I listen to the conversation. That's disappointing ... do you normally talk about your customers thinking they can't understand you. Five thumbs down.:: I'll never eat here again. read more

Oh my goodness! This place is amazing! Some of the very best Mexican food I've ever had. Stuff is friendly and service is exceptional. I highly recommend, if you are in the area. read more

Definitely my favorite Mexican restaurant in town. They have excellent food and usually good customer service.

We ate here about a month ago. My husband liked his food just fine. We sat at the bar. Our problem with the place is my husband ordered a top shelf margarita that was supposed the have Grand Marnier in it. Instead of telling my husband they were out, the bartender tried to use some cheaper brand Without telling us. Although we were still being charged for the more expensive drink. My husband called him out on it too. The guy never acted like he was sorry. We stayed anyway, but the fact he tried to trick us was not right. He got half the tip he would've gotten. read more

El Metate 2 - Food was good but bartender tried to use cheap liqueur on more expensive drink. This goes with my review. - Mexican Near Me - Dunlap, Tennessee

WAY overpriced and super greasy. I just haven't gotten quality food the few times we have eaten here. I live in Dunlap and drive out of town for good Mexican food. read more

As I am reading the previously written negative reviews, I think that they must have eaten at a different restaurant than the ElMetate in Dunlap! I then realize that every review was written before new owners and managers took over. ElMetate is absolutely the best Mexican Restaurant in the Sequatchie Valley. The food is excellent, seasoned to perfection, and served by excellent servers. The food is reasonably priced. One can always expect the same fantastic food and service. I enjoy that there are pictures posted by the menu items. I should also tell you that I drive to Dunlap to eat there at least weekly. read more

Low quality food for average price compared to other similar restaurants. Got chicken con queso, the chicken was full of cartlidge and tendon. The only good part of the meal was the queso and cheap ass mexican rice with the flour tortilas. This was at lunch and a lunch special, with a water to drink, price was over 8 dollars after tax and a tip I hated giving. Will not be going back. read more

I was really hoping this place would be good since we drive through Dunlap quite a bit. We had friends in town so we were a large group and we were seated right away which was great, but once we got settled the music hit us. I typically enjoy most all music, I even have the Caliente XM station programmed in my car, but this..... this sounded like 4 songs overlapping through busted speakers. We started out giggling about it and then as we could barely speak over it and it went on and on it felt like some psychotic torture! So it's just music over terrible speakers, whatever, right? We ordered Coronaritas, some of us had salted rims, others not salted, some frozen, others on the rocks. They came out such a mix up and when we voiced it was wrong we got the drinks thrusted at us with the waiter saying, "its ok?!?" ummmmm sure... whatever. Now it's time to order, but our waiter does not come back and despite our bug-eyed attempts to get his attention, he zips around and at one point visits with a coworker at the bar for a bit. Still, we are reasonable people and just wait. Ordering went fine, but when our food came out, we were missing several plates and one of the orders was completely wrong. We decided our waiter must not speak much English at this point based on everything combined and his lack of caring when we explain drinks are wrong (margaritas were not good btw, but I'm not a savage..... I drank mine anyways. haha) food was wrong... We finally had to approach him at the bar and explain that one of the kids ordered cheese enchiladas with cheese sauce, he looked confused (she got beef enchiladas with red sauce), he never came back to the table but about 10 minutes later he brought out a single (plate came with 2) cheese enchilada with RED SAUCE. We just told her to eat it. Check came and we were charged for the EXTRA enchilada... again I can only guess it was a language barrier. Nobody finished their plates, it wasn't terrible, but it wasn't good. I ordered the combination fajitas and everything tasted the same. (unflavorful) I doubt we will go back..... there is not a lot of food offerings in Dunlap and a margarita is always tempting but it was just too many issues in one visit. read more

This is best Mexican restaurant I have ever eaten and I have been to a lot

Ate here earlier today. It was very good, the staff is friendly and the restroom is fairly clean. Love how the menus have pictures of the food on them.lol read more

On the road to the 127 yard sale and stopped in for some lunch . I can say is great food great service . I know there are as many Mexican restaurants as there are Baptist churches but take my word for its worth the stop . read more

For your local Mexican joint, this is probably as good as it gets. Has more choices than most small town Mexican places. I had the lunch, chicken fajitas with corn tortillas. My husband had huevos racheros with chorizo. The kids split a lunch, pollo con queso plus a side of beans. No complaints about anything. Service was pleasant as well. Chips and salsa are better than most. read more

No wifi which was disappointing as I had hoped to get a little work done on my computer during lunch. The service was good and the food was tasty. read more

Came here to have a nice dinner with a margarita and was told that they "lost their liquor license for a few days" which tells the tale of an improperly ran restaurant. read more

Love this place! It's usually packed, since the food is so great. The menu has lots of choices. :).

Came here on a busy Friday night. Although the Mexican food is not necessarily what I am used to in the southwest it was flavorful and good. I wish the salsa was tastier but I understand you need to cater to your audience sometimes. Margaritas were strong and tasty! Reason for 4 stars is FANTASTIC service. This place was swamped and our server never skipped a beat read more

Most of the food is pretty good. Half the time they do get the orders wrong so make sure you check. Also a few of them are a bit rude and take forever to fix your order when you call it in. Last time it took an hour and they had told me 15 minutes on the phone. We don't come here often for these reasons, but it's the only Mexican food in town now. read more

I have eaten here many times through the years and have always found it to be a very good to excellent restaurant. For a small-town restaurant, they have an amazing variety of dishes that are, for the most part, really excellent. I have always found the staff to be reserved yet friendly and responsive to my requests. The one negative I have ever had was with the spinach enchiladas, and they tasted quite "off" to me, as if they had been frozen WAY too long. For the freshest dishes, I recommend sticking with the daily specials or something that would be ordered with frequency. read more

I cant decide which was worse, the overpriced food or the very poor service. I will never eat at any el metate again. Minus 3 stars.

When you walk in there is plenty of room no matter what size group you have, whether just you and your honey, or a family or even a larger group. You start out with the never ending tortilla chips and salsa which is very good, but I would recommend getting the bean and cheese dip to go with the chips, you will love it. The food is good and they give you a lot of it. The Burrito California is out of this world. They do have daily lunch specials. Whether you eat in or order out you will not be disappointed. read more