We went to Matatlan this week after not having been in the area for years. It was a very nice surprise to see that their service was still top notch. They also have a special now where you can get your margarita to go! Yes we did that as well! There's nothing wrong with taking the drink home and enjoying it later. As for the food, everything was just as we ordered and very fresh and tasty. I got the potato burrito and spinach enchiladas. I will say that their spinach enchiladas are some of the best that we have had in some time. We definitely recommend this place as a great family spot and a nice venue for watching sports as well. read more

Matatlan Mexican Restaurant - Mexican Near Me - Durham, North Carolina

Come and try Matatlan!!!!!! I come here after church when I'm craving Mexican food and this place always hits. The service is great, and restaurant is engaging, and the food is phenomenal. Anything on the menu tastes great and their bottomless horchata and frescas are super refreshing. I would come here just for their mango. If you love food try this place out!! read more

Great food and super helpful workers! We catered this food for volunteers and everyone loved it and great price.

We enjoyed a late lunch here, and we are glad we found this spot. I ordered grilled chicken with yellow rice and a salad with avocado. The chicken was nicely seasoned. The red rice was interesting. The seasoning was good, but the rice tasted like Pilaf. Different from what I am used to getting at a Mexican restaurant. The chips were on point. I wish the salsa had a little heat to it, but I still enjoyed it. Overall, this is a great local spot that I will be happy to visit again! read more

Great food and Great service, we really enjoyed our dinner. The staff was very friendly. The dinner options are plentiful and taste Great. They offer specialty dishes that we have not seen before, they are really good. read more

Matatlan Mexican Restaurant - Pina Loca Shrimp, scallops, chicken, zucchini, red and yellow bell peppers with onions, all served in a halved pineapple, topped with cheese - Mexican Near Me - Durham, North Carolina

I ordered the AC PC from there and ended up with food poisoning. Prices are way too high for a combination meal. It's $16 when other places that runs from nine to $13 this place is overrated. Food is horrible. Service is horrible. Never would go there again due to getting food poisoning and they're horrible prices so if you don't wanna end up with food poisoning, I would not go there. read more

Food was great! Had the A.C. Texano and it was wonderful. Just the right amount of sauce, spices and rice. Also had the table side guacamole. It was also muy bueno!!! read more

Service was awful! Waitress never came back to check on us but she did go to the table w/4 Hispanic males multiple times. Order the dinner size b/c the lunch portion is seriously small, like not enough for a kid! Not sure what has changed b/c this used to be a great place to a decent sized lunch, Bidenomics maybe? read more

Very clean; fast, friendly service; great tasting food; good price. We will be back!

Wonderful local spot for tasty authentic Mexican food if you are in North Durham. The owner is as kind as can be and their Camarones al Moho de Ajo is delicious, good chips and salsa and amazing carnitas! read more

Great food, attentive service, and reasonable prices. Easily overlooked from the outside, but delicious and one of the best Mexican restaurants we've tried! read more

This place has very good food and service. I had the fajitas Mexicana and my wife had steak and shrimp. Both were very good. My son had pizza that he enjoyed. The margaritas were very good as well. read more

See all

My favorite place for carne asada. Best skirt steak around and cooked perfectly. Comes with rice beans grilled green onion, jalapeño and cactus. There margaritas are good too! read more

Yes good food and excellent drinks. :) They are closed on certain days. Prices have went up recently.

Portions are small but overall good. Just don't expect too much from this restaurant. Service is good and their margaritas are the best! read more

Matatlan Mexican Restaurant - Very disappointed at this dinner called matatlan for $12 ‍ - Mexican Near Me - Durham, North Carolina

We are blessed in Durham with so many great restaurants. This one is our favorite Mexican restaurant in town

Our favorite Mexican restaurant...we can walk there. Food is good and service is always good.

last chance! Food mediocre, over priced. The fam left hungry. too bad. Fajitas for two, $26, was normal amount for one. Kids were unhappy. Sorry read more

Let me start with the sad news and then end with the good. The sad news is that Matatlan lost us as customers, because they took advantage of us. The check came and they had the wrong price for my refried bean nachos (hold the cheese please)--they were supposed to be $4.75 and they charged us $5.75, as if we wouldn't notice ("oh well" we said, "not worth fighting over a dollar.") and then when we got the check back after giving our credit card, we noticed that they had rung up sales tax again (twice)...as if we wouldn't notice. It left us with a sour taste in our mouth that a family restaurant would try to trick us into paying a few more dollars...and I'd love to say that they were distracted or rushed but we were the only ones in the restaurant. In the end, we just adjusted the tip to accommodate the extra dollars they charged us. As well, my husband ordered the ACC Shrimp, which costs $12...and he only was given 12 pieces of shrimp. That's a dollar per shrimp on his plate! We were a little surprised by this... The good news is that the food was delicious. If you are (gluten-free) vegan or vegetarian, they are able to accommodate. The margaritas are strong and the salsa and free chips are delicious too. The staff is attentive and the two times we've been here, we've been the only people or 1-3 tables taken...so not very busy. Just be sure to double check your bill, in case they try to trick you like they did us. My husband and I wish them success but hope they don't try to survive by charging people more than what is on the menu. read more

We were surprised how few reviews this place has, it's such a large space too! The service was quick and friendly, the food came out fresh, and the portions are big. My husband had the 'best chicken enchilada' he's ever had and I enjoyed a vegetarian dish that was a little different than what I usually find at Mexican restaurants. There's a vegetarian section on the menu with fairly standard options, but don't miss out on the quesadilla and burrito meal options that are in other sections. I had one of the vegetarian burritos that was prepared more like a quesadilla, but light on the cheese, and packed with veggies and jalapenos. Drinks were cheap here too. Will come again! read more

Matatlan Mexican Restaurant - Mushroom and spinach quesadilla. Pleased it had refried beans, which balanced the cheese well - Mexican Near Me - Durham, North Carolina

See all

Just okay is all I can really say. My husbands taco was soggy and the ground beef was mealy. The chicken ACP was great but all other food was sub par. Service was fairly good. read more

We ordered take out. Two combination dinners and Chilaquiles with rice and beans and a salad. The salsa and chips are delicious, and I'd go back for those. The salad was just shredded lettuce and guacamole, so not worth the price. The Chilaquiles were tasty, but Matatlan honestly has the blandest beans and rice I've ever had. I had to use all of my salsa to give them flavor, and the food was pretty bland, as well. The relleno had meat in it (that's new to me) but overall there are better options in the area. We'll stick with La Super or Del Rancho, I think. read more

This restaurant is excellent. It is the best Mexican food around. We have done take out several times during the covid lockdown and each time the food is off the chart good. They always have a high rating of 98 or above and the food is so consistently spot on. Highly suggest you order take out from Matatlan. You will be very pleased. read more

We were happily surprised how good this restaurant is! It's quite large, with a warm and friendly wait staff. We easily found a table for dinner. Then we looked at the full menu and was very impressed with the offerings. I had the chicken fajita which came to the table sizzling. My husband had one of their specialty dishes with chicken and chorizo sausage. The food was delicious and the atmosphere warm on a rainy evening. Plus the price was incredibly good. We will definitely be back again and again read more

This place sure reminds me of a Mexican joint in a strip mall in Texas that I used to love, and I mean that in a good way! It is a whole lot bigger on the inside than you'd expect and the food is very good! I was here about lunchtime on a weekday and the tables were mostly empty but they do a brisk business in take-out too, so that's something to remember in the area. Everything we three in my group ordered was quite nice and service and iced tea was very good. Bathrooms spotless! And in the same bright colors, even! read more

This restaurant is a foodie's nightmare - very bland and inauthentic food. I've been here a few times for group dinners, and it makes a decent meeting spot because the space inside is not too loud or crowded, but I've never enjoyed the food here. It has the typical American (Tex-) Mex menu, with chips and salsa brought out when you're seated. Unfortunately he salsa is very poor, nearly flavorless. In all the food in this restaurant there's no hint of chile, shred of cilantro, or any other token of authenticity to be found. The only seasoning used is salt. Portion sizes are small for the money. Most recently I ordered the quesadilla relleno de camarones. It was a disaster. The shrimp were overdone, the yellow rice was flavorless and a little crunchy (left out to dry too long), and the flour tortilla was a little brittle from being heated too long. In addition I was still a little hungry when I finished, in part because the salsa was so bland that I didn't eat many chips. The service was slow and a little confused (they had no idea who ordered which dish). Though I usually go for Mexican food (Roxboro Street has some great places), Tex-Mex can be really good, but this is the worst I've had in Durham. read more

I come here with my brother in law Chris a lot. He always tries to speak Spanish to the staff and they laugh (probably because his Spanish is awful). Sweetest people and great food for a good value. The jumbo margaritas are potent and tend to make Chris a little "handsy". Service is great and food is always fresh and comes out quickly. Reasonably priced too This is important because Chris always wants to split the check but the split is usually 80/20 in his favor. read more

The food is great and service is too!!! The sanitation rating is a whopping 99.5. It's cute a quaint! Try it out!!

Excellent food! Recognized some of the staff from the old Las Palmas on Duke Street.

My wife and I have been to Matatlan several times. I love their salsa and chips and I've gotten their tacos each time and they were great. I like them on flour tortillas and have had to ask for lettuce and sour cream. They come with pico de gallo and green salsa. The wait staff has been very accommodating and the tacos were great. My wife has had the quesadilla Matatlan and loved it. It's a nice Mexican restaurant in Northern Durham. read more

See all

We were impressed. We had hiked the Eno trails. Everyone hungry. Expecting run of the mill Mexican food. Pleasantly surprised by the food quality. Veggie quesadillas were bursting with veggies - including broccoli. Portions were generous. Thoughtful presentation. Fresh food and not over-salted. Much better than your average everyday Mexican joint. Quick and attentive service and very clean restaurant. Kid friendly and great value. We dined with 2- and 5-year-old. They ate tons and enjoyed it. It's obviously not gourmet or anything, but really good for what it is. We'll come back for sure. read more

First time going, however we just got food to go. Everything was delicious! The refried beans were smooth, the spinach in my enchiladas didn't taste like they were from a can, and the chips and salsa were fresh and delicious. Nice sized portions, and very reasonable prices. Looking forward to going and eating in and also trying margaritas. read more

Ever since Las Palmas closed down I have been looking for a great place to get Chille Rellenos and this is the place! I love ordering to-go and picking it up on the way home from work. Very friendly staff. The indoor decor could use an update but i'm sure this will come in time. read more

This is Durham's best-kept secret... outstanding Mexican food in a clean, newly-decorated full service restaurant. I tried the chicken and shrimp fajitas...excellent! read more

These are the same cooks/people from Las Palmas that was on North Duke street!!! I love their food! It is all amazing!

Tried this place last week, first time. Staff was so very nice. LOTS of choices on the menu and good size margaritas. Food was just OK though. I would describe it as your run of the mill Mexican place. My hubby and I only sampled 2 items from the menu, so maybe we need to try again. read more

My wife and I ate there 2/13/17 for first time (since the Las Palmas move). The new restaurant is so colorful and well-appointed. I had chile rellenos that were delicious and a chicken chimichanga that was crisp on the outside, tender inside, with a nice white sauce. My wife had the quesadilla rellena with chicken and Spanish rice that was also excellent. The house margarita that was standard fare. Our wait person Fidel was very polite, friendly, and helpful. We came away very impressed with the new iteration of Las Palmas, and we will be returning on a regular basis. read more

Great place to eat at. All the staff members from Las Palmas are now at Matatlan Mexican Restaurant, since it was shut down. For everyone that use to go to Las Palmas, Matatlan offers you the same dishes you use to order. Along with your favorite cheesedip. read more

Nice to have a good choice for casual Mexican in North Durham. Good food. Good prices.