I have to say the food was great! But my server sat at a booth, playing games on his phone. He did not come to my table or even look up one time until I waved to get my check. The thing that really bothered me was I was his only table. All the other waitresses were very attentive and checked on their guests. This was my first visit to this restaurant. I will return but not to his section read more

Always a real treat to go here! Prompt service with a smile! The food here is always top notch! The place is clean and if you like Mexican food this is great! Very highly recommended! This is a good choice when in Bethalto read more

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Service was really good. Food was very good as well. Wife had steak and chicken fajitas. She thought they needed more seasoning, but cooked very well. We both had rice and beans. Beans were creamy, rice was fluffy. I had a tamale and reallano. For 11.99 it was a great deal. The margaritas my wife had were strong and she had 2. Overall a nice experience. read more

El Mezcal Restaurant - Chips and a margarita! - Mexican Near Me - Bethalto, Illinois

We went to the El Mezcal in Woodriver, Il! Their service was decent, the food on the other hand was not very delightful. The seasoning for the rice wasn't mixed in all the way and there was clumps of seasoning that just tasted like chicken soup. They gave us limes instead of lemons for our drinks. Food had been great before, until this incident. read more

The fried tacos were soggy and the guacamole was tasteless. All the food was very plain and rice was cold. Other El Mezcal restaurants were decent but this was pathetic. I was overcharged in my ticket and waitress was below average. We will not return. read more

The worst. Before COVID it was fantastic, now may as well get Taco Bell. Every time we order they say 20-25 minutes, turns into an hour to to an hour and a half wait. They consistently mess up orders and forget items. Reminds me of a true gang mentality, "Telll them what they want to hear, then keep them around to benefit their-self.". Two younger kids that timing is everything, for dinner. They are the worst. No comp, no apology, just excuses and bs. Dine in, may be better, but I doubt it. This review is written by a 12 year restauranteur, embarrassing for the industry. read more

Good Mexican food. Service is always quick. Tonight I had the chicken nachos; little less cheese sauce than usual but still good. Would recommend anytime. read more

I am overall happy with my mango margarita and the fried beef taco. I ordered the 2 Special and the beef burrito included NOTHING but tortilla and beef, no lettuce,tomato, no veggies. Good thing I ordered the overprices $1.99 cheese sauce for the burrito and added green chili sauce. Next time, I'll pay more attention to the burrito contents, I like a lot more veggies and filling. But it was a $10.99 build-your-own special. Generally happy, will be back! read more

I have eaten here a couple of times with my pal Steven. Tonight I had the el Mezcal enchiladas. They were pretty good but I wouldn't get them again just because it's not my thing. However I've had quite a few other dishes from here and I'm always happy and satisfied with the taste of my meal. I also ordered some cheese fries and for me and Steven to split and we both thought they were quite delicious. The sweet tea was alright. Steven had 3 margaritas and they were pretty strong which he likes. I tasted a few. The strawberry was my favorite. I would say the ambiance was cute just like any other Mexican restaurant and the service was great. I left a nice tip even though we had to wait a little while for our food. Steven used the bathroom for about 20 minutes and said it was very clean. Sorry I didn't take any pictures especially because my plate was aesthetically pleasing. I would definitely recommend this! read more

We enjoyed the food here and thought it was decently priced. However, the portions were a bit small. Food was served promptly but the only thing that I didn't like about our experience was the rudeness of the waiter. No conversation with our table, little friendliness, very standoffish the whole time. A little courtesy goes a long way! read more

El Mezcal Restaurant - Mexican Near Me - Bethalto, Illinois

This is a great place to eat! The staff is alway friendly. The food is awesome. Come hungry and will not disappoint! It is worth the drive!!! read more

We ate here in a Sunday at noon. I figured that the place would be packed but there was two tables, one a group of four and the other a group of three. I mentioned that I was surprised and a member of our group said that they restaurant has really been going downhill in the last 4-5 months. I noticed that the floor beneath the table that the host took us too was dirty. The table top was sticky as well. Our server was at the table quickly, brought our drinks and took our orders. They arrived fairly quickly. The chips and the salsa are the ones Gordon Food Service sells, just typical quality bulk store food. I ordered chicken Fajitas with no tomato and no beans. The picture below is what I got. Notice the big hunks of green pepper, uncut ends. There was no cheese, no lettuce, no rice, no Pico de Gallo, no guacamole, no sour cream, etc. even though the menu says it is served with that. When I asked about it, I was told that was a Mexican Salad and asked if I wanted to order one. We had one drink re-filled one time. Service wasn't horrible but it wasn't average or above, especially when you consider the empty restaurant. When we left just before 1 pm they'd only had a total of 5 tables, the largest was the group of four (two adults and two kids). I guess they really have gone downhill. I'll go to one of the Wood River Mexican restaurants. They're only 3 miles away. Bathroom was a C-. I would HATE to see the Kitchen. read more

El Mezcal Restaurant - Mexican Near Me - Bethalto, Illinois

I ordered 12 fried tacos last night which were very good. the only issue I have is I was overcharged. They are $3 each which equals $36 plus $2.82 tax plus $1 svc charge which comes to $39.83. Was charged $44. I asked the young girl about it and she told me he said to charge $39.90. So menu prices don't mean anything. I think who ever he is should be re instructed. The extra amount won"t break me. Just bad ethics. read more

SUCKS DURING COVID!!!! This place is AMAZING if you're able to eat inside! If you want to do the COVID-19 pick up option skip it. Our order was SO wrong even after they repeated it back to us. The drink we bought was a kids size for an adult size price!!! I am SO disappointed in the entire transaction and won't be going back until we can eat inside. read more

We've eaten here twice now as we are new to the town and both times we've been greeted with wonderful personality is great smiling faces and hospitality that knows no end. The food is delicious and the fishbowl margaritas for happy hours on Wednesday nights are a great choice just one though...... Wink wink :-) I recommend this restaurant to anyone who would like to enjoy some authentic Mexican Cuisine. read more

Locally owned Mexican restaurant. Real homemade mexican food. Not your typical read more

El Mezcal Restaurant - Mexican Near Me - Bethalto, Illinois

My wife and I ate dinner here on 5/17/2021. It was our first time visiting this restaurant. The service was good, though the food took a while to come out of the kitchen (even though the restaurant was only at about 25% capacity). The atmosphere was fine. My wife's Fajita plate looked, smelled, and tasted good. My Enchilada Supreme however, was beyond disappointing. The cheese and bean enchiladas were edible. The chicken and beef enchiladas concerned me. Did I just contract COVID-19? Why do these taste like cardboard? Had my taste buds been numbed by the mounds of lettuce that completely covered the plate? "No" to all those questions...just very poorly prepared food and very hastily thrown onto the plate...one visit will do me. read more

We all loved our food. Fajitas were delicious. Service was friendly and very quick. If you're in a hurry, this is a good place to dine. Plus, this restaurant is VERY Clean--the bathrooms in particular are much cleaner than most restaurants. read more

My wife and I come here very regularly. Food is very good and everyone there is always really friendly. Birthdays are fun there as well with getting free fried ice cream put in your face! read more

El Mezcal Restaurant - Birthday fun - Mexican Near Me - Bethalto, Illinois

We love this place. Almost weekly experience for us. Good margarita specials that are great. Food has never disappointed and service is great too. From fajitas to pick two and daily specials, it is all good. read more

I've been going here since the establishment opened it's doors. The owners and the employees are extremely polite. The interior has been nice and clean every time I've gone inside. Menus offered a nice selection of authentic Mexican dishes, and the margaritas are quite delicious. The food arrives much faster than most dining-in restaurants and served piping hot. The taste and quality of the food is consistently good. If you are looking for a local spot that serves good Mexican food, there is no better place to go. If you haven't been here before, I highly recommend it. Cons: Don't fill up on the chips and salsa before your food arrives. Lol read more

This place is a candidate for Gordon Ramsay's "Kitchen Nightmares" tv show! Service: waiter asked if we needed menus. What? Who asks that? Gave us menus and stood there asked us what was our order. Told him we needed a minute, he disappeared for 16 minutes (I timed it). Food: NEVER trust a place where your food comes out within 7 minutes of ordering it. Everything and I mean everything has "cheese sauce". In other words, nasty cheap canned cheese sauce instead of Chihuahua cheese. Even things on the menu that didn't MENTION the "cheese sauce" had...you guessed it, that cheese sauce! The quesadilla had lumps of what tasted like grandma's roast beef stew in it. Chunks. And the squishy sauce.... The chimichanga, supposed to be deep fried, was simply a burrito in a stale wrap. If that's what Alton-Bethalto calls "authentic Mexican", yall need to come a bit further north and taste REAL "Mexican" food. Bathroom: lock on handicapped door broken (unable to lock). Lock on regular stall LOOKED unbroken, but I was locked in for a good 7 minutes until I whacked it a few times with the heel of my shoe. Summary: taco bell is more authentic than this place. And I bet you wont get locked in bathroom, either! read more

This is my favorite Mexican food place in Bethalto. They were extremely crowded but still managed to make us feel special, service a little slow due to crowd, but food was worth the wait. I had Pollo Cancun which was an excellent combination of shrimp chicken and mushrooms in a creamy sauce. We had their refreshing margaritas to accompany the feast, which made all the troubles of the day (lost wedding ring, auto accident with no injuries) melt away. Family owned, you see pictures of the family on the wall. Good place. read more

I've never went to El Mezcal and left without a reason to give 5/5 stars. Very courteous staff, very quickly prepared food, and a relaxed environment. Win-win! read more

Visited this restaurant with my parents on w Saturday morning around 11:30. There was only one other table occupied when we were there. Our food came in five minutes but was cold. Then the waiter did not come back and offer more chips until we had finished our meals. My mom ordered a flan and it clearly tasted freezer burned. We do not plan on returning. read more

I've been going to El Mezcal for several years. The people are friendly, the service is good and I've always enjoyed the food. I hadn't been to the Bethalto El Mezcal in about a year, but I was looking forward to a good evening with friends. The service was excellent and the atmosphere was relaxed. The food, however, was very disappointing. The chips tasted like the fry oil had not been changed recently. The salsa was salty and tasted like it was straight out of a bottle. I got the enchilada supreme which is 4 enchiladas (beef, chicken, cheese and bean). The beef in the beef enchilada tasted like plain hamburger meat. The chicken was very dry. The wraps themselves were dry and hard. The only spice I could taste in the entire dish was salt. I will go again, but I'm hoping that this review is a wake up call to the owners. read more

Service was good food was ok. There are plenty of other Mexican restaurants that will not only leave you full but will give you that authentic Mexican feeling, this is not one of those restaurants. I had the Enchiladas Mezcal while my boyfriend had the Burrito Mezcal. The sauce was good but the texture & the steak filling of the burrito left a lot to be desired. read more

Best Mexican food around! Their salsa and queso dip is a must have. Very friendly. Clean inside.

our hostess was great with customers and a pleasure to have. food was great, server was excellent!

Carna Asada was nasty and found a hair in my food. It wasn't my hair. Management handled it well and took care of everything. Can't blame them too much for the hair because stuff happens. I did try some deep fried ice cream another time and liked it. read more

Me and my wifey been going to EL MEZCAL for about 4 years now and still going. Love their awesome food, Cold MODELO beer and the staff... Good service and Great people. read more

El mezcal was filthy, fans all over the floor as if restrant had been flooded, cheese dip was cold, fried taco was burnt , no air-conditioning , they should not be open ! read more

First time here, got seated fast but the wait for food was long. Great waiter. Food was delicious. Will be back. Casual, yes family friendly but SO LOUD. read more

I just ate here alone for lunch at 130pm on a Tuesday. I was driving by and thought I'd give it a try. It looked a lot better on the inside than it does on the outside. My waiter was friendly and gave the right amount of attention. The complimentary chips and salsa, pretty standard for Mexican restaurants, were really good. I ordered the Burritos Supremos, a common dish at Mexican restaurants that I've had many times at many places, left a lot to be desired. It came out about 2 minutes after I ordered. The beef and the chicken filling undoubtedly had been prepared earlier for the lunch rush and had sat there for awhile. They were both dry (the beef really dry) and didn't have much flavor, and what flavor they did have wasn't the greatest. Everything else about them was good, but was all underwhelmed by the meat. If I return here, I will choose something that needs to be cooked to order. Overall, I'd recommend this place if you plan to come during peak hours when the meat is freshly cooked. read more

El Mezcal Restaurant - the front of the restaurant - Mexican Near Me - Bethalto, Illinois

Good Mexican food with a friendly staff. We eat here several times a month and always get great service. Many of the staff know our regular orders. They even ask if we are working or not working. If we say not working they bring us a jumbo margarita, now that's service. Good food at a quality price. Our go to place for Mexican food in the area. read more

We come here quite often and the service is always excellent. The waiters/waitresses even ask if we would like the usual. The food is excellent and if there is a slight problem they are always quick to correct it. Great food for a great price. read more

I'm not happy with the new menu. Smaller portions and service was horrible. I ordered the fundito and it was over done. Well it was black and horrible. The chicken chimichanga was half its original size and just chicken in a fried wrap. No peppers no seasoning covered with a small portion of cheese. The staff was slow and worthless. We usually enjoy this restaurant but if this continues it will be gone. This was a Friday at 6:00 and it was half empty while the neighboring restaurants were full. There are plenty of other choices that do a better job of earning your business in the area read more

The food is Great! I have been going there for 4 years now every Thursday and I see the same people there. I often go on the weekend and other days too! I think I have had just about everything on the menu and it was all delicious. The staff is very friendly, and I never have any problems. The best part is on your birthday they give you some fried ice cream. They barely put it in you face and it is wonderful! read more