El Tlacoyo is a hidden gem! I got the steak tacos and they were seriously amazing. perfectly seasoned, fresh, and full of flavor. My buddy ordered the enchiladas and they were just as good. Daniel was our server and he absolutely killed it. super friendly, attentive, and made the whole experience even better. Great food, great service, and a spot I'll definitely be coming back to. Highly recommend! read more

El Tlacoyo - Mexican Near Me - Tempe, Arizona

This restaurant was such an amazing experience. I walked in and immediately felt at home. The waiters and staff treat everyone like family and are so sweet and helpful. The food tastes HEAVENLY. They have many food choices including vegetarian options!! The prices are fair and the food is served quickly. This place is very authentic and has wonderful music and decor. I would rate El Tlacoyo six stars if i could. read more

El Tlacoyo - The tortilla soup is delicious. - Mexican Near Me - Tempe, Arizona

One of the only places you can find hulcitoche in the valley and I'm obsessed I really love their menu

My daughter and I just visited El Tlacoyo for the first time and we had an amazing experience Starting with the service, we were greeted and sat quickly, chips and salsas were brought as soon as we sat. The red and green salsas were spicy and tasty. I had a mezcal drink that was spicy and refreshing. To eat we started with the barbacoa, super tender and flavorful (came with cilantro, onion, lime), lamb soup with hominy (bomb) and Guarache ! Everything was fresh, authentic and seasoned! Would recommend anyone to come and try this amazing food!!! read more

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Came back and had the exact green Chile beef burrito lunch I've had a few times before, and although be service is GREAT and the burrito was tasty - it was a bit smaller, included rice and beans were a bit less, and it no longer comes with the small side of guacamole - but the PRICE RAISED from $7 up to $11.44! Ouch. That's pricing for a much nicer restaurant, not a little fast food place. Also there was loud tv on in the kitchen (playing some soap opera with lots of crying/whining and laughing), and different tv (playing loud sports) on in the dining room and I couldn't wait to finish and get out of there quickly. Lastly, my first review talked about how cute it was on the inside. They freshly painted everything white and got rid of all the decor, so now it's pretty bland. read more

El Tlacoyo - Menu August 2023 - Mexican Near Me - Tempe, Arizona

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Just went in and tried to test it out. Got literally ignored by staff. The waiter was talking to a table saw me pointed to me then walked away and disappeared. Sucks because the food actually smells awesome . read more

You know this place is authentic when you walk in and you're the only non Latinos dining in! We came on a Saturday for lunch and it was a full house. Super friendly and patient staff. They do not skimp on onions, lime, and cilantro!! Salsas are really spicy. Chips were good. We ordered a burrito and 3 tacos. My husband normally does not like beans and he loved his side of beans!! While the meat can be a bit dry I didn't mind as the toppings and salsas helped. We were super full and had leftovers! Can't wait to return to try more menu items, esp the carne asada plate! read more

El Tlacoyo - Burrito - Mexican Near Me - Tempe, Arizona

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We always love the food here! Authentic Mexican cuisine. The mushroom soup is my favorite as well as the lamb soup and the Chile relleno and micheladas. Always leave full and satisfied with the great flavors of Mexico City! read more

El Tlacoyo - Mexican Near Me - Tempe, Arizona

Okay so the ambiance won't melt your heart but if you're from SoCal, the food will. If you're looking for the American greasy cheesy flavor this is not it. I spoke to a customer from Pacheco, Mexico and he said the food was very similar to home. This is more the authentic taste I grew up with in OC. It's hard to find Mexican food without the TexMex style here but I even love their chips & salsa. Red dried chile taste. We've had the nopales, chicken, Carne asada & other tacos. Chilaquiles, mushroom soup ... etc. all of it was wonderful! Don't judge on atmosphere, just try it! Oh - they may not know what gluten is but they have many many gluten free options. My husband and I are gluten free & we never get sick from their delicious food! read more

Disgusting. Reheated old food. My toddlers fries were rotten and the nuggets were dry and hard. My torta had old carne asada. read more

El Tlacoyo - Old French fries and dry hard nuggets - Mexican Near Me - Tempe, Arizona

Ok, this is a big one for me. Majority of my reviews are negative. Positive reviews are hard to come by from me. This place was amazing, the service, food and atmosphere was phenomenal. And oooooh my the green sauce! Talk about a hidden gem. Absolutely absolutely absolutely let me say that again, absolutely recommend coming here and having dinner or lunch. Delicioso read more

Delicious and always great service! Wide variety of vegetarian options! I love going there to try new dishes.

This place felt pretty authentic. The meat had good flavor but was dry. The tortillas are store bought. The salsa they give you for chips and salsa is really more just hot sauce. They know how to do cilantro and onions though. They do not skimp on cilantro and onions. read more

El Tlacoyo - Mexican Near Me - Tempe, Arizona

Food was delicious as always. Try the hitlacoche for something different and tasty. Coffee has cinnamon and I love it. read more

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I visited precovid and ordered waaay too much food. The food was all tasty and the portions were huge!

El Tiacoyo is not your usual Mexican Restaurant. It's Hidalgo Regional Cuisine. That means you can order things like cow foot tacos, cactus soup, head meat tacos, sausage and intestine tacos, huitiacoche cheese crisp, barbacoa, mixotes and so much more! They have weekend specials this past weekend it was lamb tacos but on past visits I saw goat and brain tacos. They start you off with chips and a creamy green very spicy sauce thats very good and a smokey red sauce that's also good and less spicy. We got the huitiacoche (also known as corn smut or Mexican Truffle) cheese crisp. It's not the Americanized watered down version it's the real stuff. Very earthy and interesting. From what I tried so far from here I've found that they do very good fish dishes here very reasonably priced. They don't use that cheap tilapia or muddy tasting swai fish like other places use. From the two fish dishes I tasted it seems like a very fresh sweet snapper kind of fish. This time I tried what they called grilled fish. When I saw it I thought they gave me the wrong thing because I received an aluminum envelope filled with very moist very fresh tasting fish cooked in juices from tomato and onions and a little butter. By looking at the envelope I think they cooked it on the grill. This dish came with average rice and beans and tortillas. My husband tried the chicken enchiladas, They were made with very fresh tasting chicken and were or mostly were just filled with chicken. The green chili sauce that topped them was very heavy with lime juice. I should mention that this place is not fancy and is very raw looking so you only come here for the food and not the ambiance. It's also hard to see from the street because it's located behind another building. 4.5 stars I didn't round up to 5 because of the average rice and beans and lack of atmosphere read more

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Disgusted. There was rotted meat in the order and also a French fry that looked like it came from a rotten potato. read more

El Tlacoyo - Gross - Mexican Near Me - Tempe, Arizona

In a locale full of hard core and amazing authentic Mexican food. This spot nestled off University and Evergreen provides you that experience. No frills and wholly affordable with all of the traditional drinks of Horchata and Jamaica. Then traditional and tasty cuts that you get with ethnic Mexican food with Lengua and Buche tacos and that I ordered. The Lengua was chopped up enough for anyone that's squeamish. The Buche tacos were also amazing...yum. read more

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This place is really authentic! Not only are the quesadillas really good, we also had the tlacoyos, sopa de papa and on my previous trip I had barbacoa de Borrego. My daughter never finishes her food and this time she finished her entire bowl of soup. The owner is very friendly and a really nice lady! I'm definitely going back! read more

El Tlacoyo - Quesadillas de huitlacoche and flor de calabaza. A gordita de chicharron on the back. - Mexican Near Me - Tempe, Arizona

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El Tlacoyo is a quaint, homey restaurant located in Tempe, AZ just east of the 101 north bound. The atmosphere of this cozy restaurant is casual and relaxing. Soft music plays on the speakers while TV shows play on a low volume. It is comfortable and offers opportunities for conversation or distraction during your meal. The food at El Tlacoyo is authentic and flavorful. They offer you chips and two types of salsa, salsa verde and chipoltle salsa, right as you take your seat, and both varieties are delicious! The menu offers a large selection of Mexican cuisine from the more familiar chicken enchilada to tacos tripa (intestines!). The food mirrors the flavors found from the northern border states of Mexico to the tropical southern tip. Everything, fromm tacos to tequila shots, is priced well and arrives to the table quickly. If you are looking for an authentic Mexican restaurant to try, visit El Tlacoyo. read more

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I am afraid to write this review, for fear of it becoming super busy! If you are coming here for the decor you will be disappointed. But if you are coming for some amazing food (and aren't a spice wuss), you will be blown away. The service from the lone female server is always sweet and quick, despite a bit of a language barrier (...if you're a silly gringo who only speaks English, that is). I shy away from meats, including the more interesting offerings here, but anything I've had that is vegetarian, or vegetarian after my slight adjustments to the menu, are delish. Annoyingly closed on Wednesdays. Bonus: keep up to date on your telenovelas while you dine! read more

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My mom asked me where I wanted to go for dinner this evening. And El Tlacoyo popped in my head. I haven't been here since I was like 12 years old and everything I had today reminded me why this place has stuck in my mind. This place is in a little strip mall and there is a nicest girl attending all the tables. She paid great attention to every guest. So now to the food, this place is authentic food of the state of Hidalgo, Mexico so it's pretty spicy. Since my mom is vegetarian We had huaraches with cactus (nopalitos) which was perfect, just like my Nana cooked them. The nopalitos were tangy and cooked perfectly. We also got a quesadilla with huitlachoche and a quesadilla with pumpkin flower, I would highly recommend the pumpkin flower. The taste was subtle and a nice contrast to the salsa. In addition to that I had the BBQ lamb taco, this did make me disappointed because the lamb was very dry and under seasoned. All in all if you aren't afraid of spice and want epic Mexican food this is the place. Beware they are closed on Wednesdays. read more

El Tlacoyo - Huarache with with cactus - Mexican Near Me - Tempe, Arizona

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Well, the bad news is that after eating here now I may need to relocate to Tempe, AZ. The place is small and low budget, but I found some food favorites that I have not seen anywhere else. Tacos de buche (pork stomach?), tripitas (tripe?), lengua (tongue) aaaaaand.... sesos (brains)... plus the quesadilla de huitlacoche... well, I was not so crazy about that one, but the tacos were awesome! I even ventured to try a flan and it was very good. read more

Great authentic mexican. First time here and was very impressed. A simple restaurant, not very fancy decor, service was very good and the food was fantastic. They offer many dishes that you will not find in your traditional American Mexican restaurant. I asked the waitress to pick an appetizer and a main dish for me. I really do not know what either was but both were extremely good. I would recommend being adventurous and trying something new. read more

El Tlacoyo - Mexican Near Me - Tempe, Arizona

Great homemade Mexican tortillas excellent ingredients great soups like Menudo and seafood soup. Huraches, tortas, really good variety and lamb too!! read more

Very authentic place w friendly service! If you like Mexican food, you'll love this place! read more

El Tlacoyo - A picture says a thousand words of Yum! Carne Asada plate. - Mexican Near Me - Tempe, Arizona

I love Lamb & when I discovered they cook it on Sat & Sun it became a must try. Their green salsa which comes w chips has some delicious fire to it. Friend ordered Shrimp soup which was tasty especially w the limes..Lamb sandwich I ordered was decorated beautifully w avocados, cheese, & sauces....Un4nately, the meat was dry & lacked seasoning. Disappointed because I was expecting more flavor like gyro meat. Luckily there was more green salsa 2 help me finish it off. Lamb was OK , will need 2 explore menu in the future. read more

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Authentic and tasty. Get the tlacoyos with tinga. They're the perfect balance of spice, queso fresco, crunch, chewiness, and sauce.

Best Mexican restaurant I have experienced in my 8 months in Arizona. My boyfriend and I love it, the food is so authentic and the service is amazing read more

El Tlacoyo - Mexican Near Me - Tempe, Arizona

I came here several times with a large MeetUp ethnic dining group, 20 people. I love lamb, but I do feel the same that the other Yelpers commented, that the lamb, tho tender, is dry and rather bland and boring. The first time I had it, I tried to put it in the lamb broth, to make it less dry and try to give the lamb more flavoring, but the broth was also rather boring. Then 2 years went by , and I came back with the same MeetUp on a weekend June 25, 2017. Being that they only have the roast lamb on the weekends, I didn't remember enough of my previous lamb experience, and ordered lamb burrito on June 25. The lamb inside the burrito was plentiful (8 oz) and the burrito cost $9.99, but there was nothing but the boring lamb and cilantro inside the burrito. No sauces, onions, or cheeses. And the folds of flour tortilla made for a big wad of dough inside the burrito. I give the burrito 1.5 stars. I added as much green salsa and onions from our condiment caddy, as I could push into the burrito to jazz it up a bit. The service for our group of 20, even tho we forewarned them and made reservations, was really slow and they didn't even bring arrivals water. It was SO HOT IN THE RESTAURANT, THE AC COULD NOT KEEP UP. Every seat almost, was occupied in the restaurant. Two people in our party left as soon as they got there because they could not stand the heat, and they/I/we could not get anyone to get around to bringing them/us water. I give the service 2 stars for our group service both times. It would be 1 star if the service was rude, but they were not rude, just busy. I had the flan for dessert. 5 stars for the taste and the price, only $ 2.50. Then because I saw their sign about their 18th year Anniversary on June 30, where you can buy 3 beers for .18 each, I went back again on June 30, at 2 pm, to eat my favorite Mexican entree, chilli relleno with rice and beans. The taste of the relleno (2) was unremarkable, and portion not a lot, when the lamb burrito had much more, plus rice and beans, and both were $9.99. The chili relleno during the lunch special at Si Senor is much larger, even tho it is just one, vs Tlacayo's 2 small ones. PLUS for $6.99 Si Senor lunch special, you get lotsa chips with 4 different dips, rice and beans (more generous portion than El Tlacayo's) AND a fried sopapilla with honey for dessert, all for $3 less. Eating there makes me soooooo happy ! For the 18th Anniversary beer at El Tlacayo I had Tecate light, because the other Mexican beers had more alcohol and were possibly bitter. I love beer, but it's gotta be light and mild, like PBR. And I can only drink one. We Asians lack an enzyme in our livers that processes alcohol, did ya know? Asians who lack this enzyme include native Am Indians, but too many of them drink anyways. My chili relleno server's name was Mary (aka nick name Pirus). She was excellent, 5 stars. She came to check on me twice. But this time, I WAS THE ONLY PERSON IN THE RESTAURANT! So I was attended to, 5 stars for Mary lifts 1-2 stars for previous slow service, no water in insufficient AC (fine with no one in the restaurant but me), bad enough for people to leave and not eat there, and for the dry and boring lamb. Average rating for all these experiences is 3 stars. I like lengua, tripe, tongue, beef head, brains, menudo, and beef feet, so someday I will go back and try those. I like it that other than the MeetUp Whitey Gringos including myself, all the rest of the customers here are all Mexican and their families, sign of true authenticity. read more

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Only a couple of months later their prices went up a little too much considering it is not a fancy restaurant and it is located in a popular part of Mesa. Yesterday I had a tripa taco and it was so salty, it lacked limes that I had to ask for them. My husband ordered a rajas con queso quesadilla and he ended up getting a stomach infection. We also ordered water with ice for drinking and the water tasted pretty bad. I think it was from the fawcet since one of the workers got a bottle of water from the convenience store next to the restaurant. It was obvious that not even him would drink from that water. We used to like their food but they are taking a lot of shortcuts in the preparation and the ingredients plus the are doubling the prices in some of the foods that honestly are not expensive at all to make. Never again we'll go there read more

Ya dude, this place is awesome! This is Mexico City to the max, with dishes you've likely never seen at a Mexican restaurant before. Went down there with my homeboy Manuelito, and all I know is it's a good thing he's a Spanish speaker. They have a huge menu and everything is cheap, cheap, cheap. I ordered the El Tlacoyo's ($7.95) with a corn tortilla quesadilla on the side ($2.50). This quesadilla is freaking huge! And the tlacoyo's, which I had never heard of let alone eaten before, were awesome. Manny got the pumpkin flower quesadilla, also a Mexico City tradition, and it was awesome! Also never something I had heard of. The most expensive thing we had were our Mexican Coke's! All around this, this hole in the wall is delicious and really opened me up to some authentic Mexican food I'd never had an opportunity to try before. Try this place out, you won't regret it. read more

El Tlacoyo won't win any beauty pageants, which makes it my kind of place. They had a bunch of stuff on the menu that I wasn't familiar with, so I asked for some help and ended up getting the huarache con costilla. My order came out pretty quick and I promptly enjoyed the fiesta in my mouth for the next 20 minutes or so. read more

El Tlacoyo - Huaraches, muy good - Mexican Near Me - Tempe, Arizona

Excellent service and food! Saturday & Sundays specials include Menudo and Lamb, both were very flavorful and not fatty. $10 for a bucket of 6 Coronitas. Sorry, no pictures because we ate it too fast! read more

Muy Auténtico! Big menu, with TONS of stuff in many categories - tacos, combination plates, quesadillas, tortas, etc. I had a "corn smut" quesadilla, and the barbacoa taco. It was the first time I had ever tried corn smut, and I did enjoy it. Very tasty. The barbacoa was good, but did not have a lot of seasoning....it was on the line between "too dry and barely not too dry." Would not order it again, and that's the only reason this little place is not a 5-star from me. They brought a tub of cilantro, one of onions, and one of limes with my food for doctoring - nice touch you don't get from most places.... They have a little jalapeno cream salsa served with the chips and a red salsa. When I asked the server what was in the cream sauce, she said they would not tell her - "Grandma's secret recipe." It was DELICIOUS. I had two tubs of it and wanted to strap a pump directly into my mouth and have it 24x7. Great stuff. I was the only white boy in the place, and it was packed. Locals must love it. I'm definitely going back. read more

I love this place! Most delicious and authentic food. You'll always get chips and salsa. Red and green, which are both spicy! I typically order the tacos with the option of onion and cilantro. Tasty! The server is the same person every time. Friendly and fast service. The owner is on-site a lot and greets customers. The environment is colorful, brightly lite from the large windows. TV, music, bar. It's nice to walk into an inviting place. Home food, away from home. read more

I'm 101% Mexican and I love this place! Their food is so authentic que voy a terminar esta oración en español! read more

I highly recommend El Tlacoyo! I am not qualified to say this place has "authentic" food, because I'm not Mexican and it's not for me to say. But I've had a lot of Mexican food and this place was probably the best I've ever had. We had to try their signature dish, the Tlacoyos. So unique - and REALLY GOOD! We also ordered the Azteca torta (absolutely delicious), tortilla soup (interesting, really flavorful without being over-seasoned like it was trying too hard), a couple of soft tacos, and a lingua (tongue) burrito. I managed to get a bite of almost everything and it was all top notch. I don't get the comments about lack of atmosphere. The place was simple, but full of rich color. It did not distract from the food and that was fine. To the gal who could not eat anything because her mouth and throat were burned and blamed the waitress for it, understand this: To ask "how hot is it?" is a stupid question (yes, there are stupid questions). Perception of "hot" is completely relative. I will just say I don't like intensely hot (spicy) foods, yet I found nothing here that caused discomfort at all. You might want to watch out for the very pale colored dip that comes with the opening chips - it looks creamy, but it will kick your butt...but still managed to be flavorful. It's relative. If you don't like spicy foods don't go to a freaking Mexican restaurant and then give them a rotten review, OK? read more

Like the other reviewers have commented....I second their thoughts this is the Real Deal! El Tlacoyo gets 5 Stars for Best Tortas and Authentic Regional Mexican Food from the state of Hidalgo. I originally found about El Tlacoyo Located on the West-Mesa/Tempe border from a good friend many years ago who spoke fluent Spanish learned while serving as a missionary in Mexico. He said the food was awesome and is one of a kind or a hidden, Diamond in the rough! Found nowhere else in Phoenix! To start with you will be the only Gringo's in this place but fear not they have menus in both Spanish and English. By far we LOOOOVE the giant fully stuffed, Saturday ONLY BBQ Lamb Tortas. Oh my what great flavor! Just seven bucks each. We stock up on 4 or 5 of them and deep freeze them at home. This is what earns them Five Stars! The flavors here are a bit on the spicey side with an awesome creemy green chili hot sauce and a sharp red chili too! The combo plates are one of a kind and these guys make some great Civiche y Mariscos. The Shrimp Fajitas are to die for!!! Most dishes come with Mexican black beens and rice with the authentic cheese toppings. Best of all the prices are great with a Ninos menu too and a nice atmosphere with the music alive and an occasional Fotbol game on the TV!!! VIVA EL TLACOYO! read more

Only positive to say about this place! (Okay maybe one mild negative, if you can call it that.) Their food is delightful, very spicy but definitely authentic. I went on a search after finding out what a tlacoyo was and found this gem. It's in a mini "strip mall" not really but that's all I got, next to a 7-11. You go for the food not the ambiance. Only downside was I am trying to learn Spanish and went in a spoke to the women on Spanish...not Spanglish, Spanish...and she would only respond to me on English. I wasn't trying to offend, I really just want to practice my skillz! Check this place out if you're on the area, have a taste for spicy food and want real Mexican, not that chipotle filibertos garbage. Yum. read more