I discovered Mega Mercado, an amazing Mexican market and restaurant, on a trip to Lakeland, Florida and was extremely impressed with the food the restaurant was serving. Mega Mercado is located in a shopping plaza located in the shadow of the Publix corporate building. Walking in, the restaurant part is to the left. I was greeted warmly and quickly seated. They brought me salsa and chips and the salsa had a nice kick to it and was absolutely delicious. Looking over the menu, i went with three tacos, an asada taco, a chorizo taco and a cabeza (beef cheek) taco. I think it is worth noting that most of the tacos are $2.49 each, really a remarkable deal, especially at how amazing these tacos were. As I said, the tacos were amazing and deserve several mentions (once again, they were amazing). A tough choice, but if I had to pick my favorite out of the three,it would be the cabeza taco. If you are in Lakeland, this is an amazing place to try. read more

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Writing this review for the Tienda (store) part- I have been to the restaurant and enjoyed but the tienda deserves its own spotlight here and there. If you know Lakeland you probably know about Megamercado- one of the best Mexican joints in the area that also has its own convenience/ grocery store with very non american (and awesome) choosings. Well, with the Megamercado now having a south Lakeland location, and a matching south Tienda (store) to go with it, there's double the fun! As soon as you walk in, to the left there's a huge case of fresh baked goods. It's mouthwatering and tempting every time. The store looks small from outside but actually goes back pretty far. They have ice cream that is freshly scooped, fresh meats & seafood, tons of Mexican snacks, spices, and other cooking items. They have hair products, cleaning products, and piñatas everywhere. That's probably one of my favorite parts. There's fridges on the far right side with refrescas, of course, and so many other things I haven't mentioned. It's truly an impressive mini grocery store, and worth taking a stop in, if nothing else to grab a pastry! read more

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We came for lunch on a Thursday and the restaurant, which is colorfully decorated, was packed. We got seated and they brought us chips and salsa. You better like heat because this salsa will light your world on fire. It is quite spicy, and I like spicy foods, but it has good flavor. I got the Enchiladas Verdes with cheese. They were fantastic! You get four and they were loaded with cheese. The green sauce was so flavorful. I could only eat half of it and enjoyed the leftovers at another meal. I look forward to coming back again soon. read more

Mega Mercado - Enchiladas Verdes with cheese - Mexican Near Me - Lakeland, Florida

I recently visited Mega Mercado's second location in South Lakeland for lunch. I really enjoy their original location, so I was looking forward to visiting this one. I was extremely disappointed. I ordered 4 Mexican style tacos (Al Pastor, Chorizo, Barbacoa, and Lengua). All the meat was dry and bland. The Lengua was also very chewy. I had to add the table green sauce to add any flavor. The green sauce itself was also on the watery side. The complimentary chips were the best part of the meal. The chips were nicely crisp and paired with flavorful spicy and non-spicy salsas. Overall, Lakeland and the surrounding area have many significantly better options for Mexican food and I recommend skipping this one. read more

Mega Mercado - Chips and Salsa - Mexican Near Me - Lakeland, Florida

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This is an absolute must go to for authentic Mexican food. Everything from the atmosphere to the menu and drinks were absolutely amazing. The staff were all very friendly and service was quick and fresh. Really loved everything we had from the margaritas to the burritos, everything was delicious and absolutely recommend. read more

Awesome service, music was so cool and the food was delicious! I'll definitely be ordering from here again..

Got this door dashed to my home and it was delicious! Packaged well and super tasty. Would like to check it out in person next time. It was a bit pricey for tacos but I guess everything is getting more expensive in the area. read more

Mega Mercado - Tacos De Birria (4 Tacos Y Consom) Birria Tacos - Mexican Near Me - Lakeland, Florida

Still one of our favorite Mexican restaurants that we found in Lakeland. The food is always incredible. Staff is amazing. Overall the places is pretty chill. Stop by on a Friday night for mariachi. read more

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Every time I go here the food is always good and the service is exceptional. They have a variety of salsas and many options to choose from on their menu. read more

We have given this place three different tries since it opened and it's definitely not the original location. The atmosphere is upbeat and they have a live mariachi band on certain nights. The quesadillas are always good but the tacos are very bland without lots of flavor. The guac is also lacking in flavor and tastes like it was pre-made and not really worth it our my opinion. The large guac is what we got and is pictured but was way too much. Get the regular size unless you have a huge party. My husband always enjoys the Burris tacos. If I had to choose between this and Taco Fiesta down the street I would go to Taco Fiesta hands down. read more

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Delicious food, great service, beautiful murals on the walls. I wish the restaurant was closer to my home. read more

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This restaurant has some of the most authentic and delicious Mexican food I have ever eaten. I love everything I have ever ate there but here are a few highlights: Amazing Chicken Tamales Birria Tacos delish Best Beans & Rice Posole is great but on the spicy side read more

Great food, service and prices! We frequent this place and it never disappoints. The chips were warm and we love that! read more

This southside Mega Mercado Restaurant & Tienda (store) are separated but run as one business. They came out of the gate professional and ready to serve the best of Mexican tastes. I'm not sure whether I like the restaurant or store the best!. The store has a butcher in the back and a wonderful pastry collection near the front. They also have grab & go items. The restaurant has a great menu. Sometimes the service is a bit slow "Mexican style", but chill with a cerveza and enjoy a great meal! We did! read more

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Fabulous food. We'll be back as soon as we can. The shrimp fajitas were awesome. John loved the tacos. read more

Mega Mercado - Fresas con crema - Mexican Near Me - Lakeland, Florida

Authentic Mexican food, large menu, individually hand made margaritas, and great service! Love Taco Tuesdays, when the taco dinners are half price. read more

Mega Mercado Mexican Restaurant and Grocery 2009 George Jenkins Blvd, Lakeland, FL 33815 You already know that when it's Taco Tuesday we have to spread our taco love somewhere. Here's a great place you can come by and visit and enjoy some good tacos. Located in Lakeland. Aside from that, you can enjoy some Molcajete and Taco Mix plate that will be perfect for Taco Tuesday. ******* Un buen lugar para venir a visitar y disfrutar unos buenos tacos es en Mega Mercado Mexican Restaurant en Lakeland. Buena comida y tienen un Mercado Mexicano donde venden productos mexicanos y Pan Dulce sabrosos. read more

Stopped here today for lunch while working in Lakeland today. It was Tuesday so we decided to try their tacos. The fresh corn tortillas and ingredients were both authentic and delicious. My combo came with three tacos of my choice along with rice and beans. Everything was so good. After we ate we wandered around the store. What a great find. If you are craving Mexican food and or ingredients for your own dishes you won't go wrong visiting this gem of a place. One detail of note here is the large butcher shop that they had. One of my tacos was beef cheeks. Super tender and flavorful do I wanted to see if they sold beef cheeks and sure enough they did. I certainly will be back. read more

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Visited with some coworkers on 10/11 during lunch time. I had heard that this was the go-to taco spot in Lakeland and was very excited to try. I was surprised to see a Mexican market attached to it as well! It was a moderately busy afternoon, however, the server accommodated our party of 10+ people with ease. The inside was nicely decorated with Mexican flags and other festive decor. Food- Complimentary chips and salsa. Beware- the salsa is on the spicier side which took some of our party by surprise. I enjoy spice but did agree that it had a strong kick to it. I ordered 2 carnitas roasted pork and 2 pollo chicken Mexican street tacos (corn tortillas with cilantro and onion as the only toppings). I was pleasantly surprised by the large size and the amount of protein in each taco. The tortilla was also double wrapped (2 corn tortillas) which made the taco more durable and less likely to leak/break. The chicken was a little dry and I used the various sauces on the table to add some sauce to it. My coworkers ordered the shrimp and beef fajitas, birria tacos with a delish consomé , pozole, and tamales. The pozole was a bit bland and the green vs red tamales didn't have much flavor distinction. Overall, everyone was moderately pleased with their food. Didn't order dessert, however, the flan looked amazing and I will definitely be trying it out in the future. Drinks- Ordered a Mexican coke and no complaints. It was a large bottle size. The tap water did not taste the best. Would like to try out the mangolada and horchata next time I visit. Gratuity was included in the bill so keep an eye out on that. read more

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Amazing food, great service and good selection too. Nothing but the freshest ingredients, they never fail to amaze us. Super authentic and delicious. read more

Went there for the first time last week and it was amazing! Love the hot salsa! And tacos! Good prices too!

Food is always really good Service pretty fast. Beer is always cold. Prices are reasonable. read more

Decor lovely, the took place of the Tapatio's restaurant and even though food is slightly different tasting they have you a lot of it. Service wasn't bad. read more

Ordered through a delivery service - and I a bit far away so I knew it would all be cold-ish. Had flautas, steak, fish and carnitas tacos, chips, guac and queso and a tamale. The only disappointment was the tamale - masa was wet and meat was dry. But everything else was really tasty. Bean were the perfect texture, rice was fluffy and well cooked, tacos were fantastic. Will be going in person next time. read more

Very Disappointing. We heard such great things about this restaurant and we're excited to try it. Waited 15 minutes for someone to come great us. Another 15 minutes to take our order. After waiting 45 minutes for our food mine came out COLD. The staff didn't ask if they could get me a new one or something else. We are lucky there are so many good other Mexican restaurants around us which to choose from. We will not be back. read more

Food was authentic and amazing. The service was great. Everyone was very polite and friendly. A lot of choices on the menu. Great music and good atmosphere. read more

Mega Mercado - Huevos Rancheros - Mexican Near Me - Lakeland, Florida

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My mum has become obsessed with Mexican restaurants attached to little grocery stores so when she heard there was one nearby called "MEGA Mercado," well, it didn't take long before she insisted that we had to go there for lunch to check it out. She was not disappointed and neither was I. It's located in a well-maintained older strip mall on George Jenkins Blvd (across from Publix Corporate) but the parking lot has more than it's fair share of pot holes, so be careful. It's clean though. Here's a tip that we did not know - the restaurant door is located on the left and the store is on the right hand side, but no worries if you enter one or the other, you can just walk over to the opposite side. We arrived close to noon but the restaurant side was practically empty. They become busier later on in the day. We had a nice booth and the lovely waitress brought us our drinks (fountain or bottled from a cooler) and complimentary salsa and chips. Me, being smart, saw a yellow tint to the salsa, and took a cautious taste. WOWZA. Knocked my eyes for a loop and almost, but not quite, gave my sinuses a bite. Absolutely delicious with a heat I haven't had in a FREE TABLE SALSA in I-don't-remember-when. Mum didn't believe me! Served her right when she took a huge bite and had her eyes water like crazy. I continued to enjoy it, making sure it did not touch my lips. The menu wasn't too enormous, but it was large enough to give pause; many choices to ponder. Our food did not take too long to come out. Mum ordered the large quesadilla platter with chicken. Tender meat and LOTS of cheese, soft grilled tortilla, made up the quesadilla. She devoured the beans and rice right away, loving every bite. I had the Carnitas burrito, which was a large surprise for $5.99 (for that price, I thought it would be small). It had pork, rice, beans, cheese, sour cream, onions, and cilantro. Basically, everything I wanted to try (and love) wrapped up in one package. It was literally comfort food for me. Very filling but I was not overly full, thank goodness. We saw other ladies working in the restaurant while eating, they all were quite nice and pleasant to talk to. After finishing and paying, we walked a couple of feet over into the store part. Mum was in heaven. This was literally a little department store that had a tiny bit of everything here. They had clothing, hats, boots, religious items, kitchen ware, canned & boxed food, fresh produce, dairy goods, frozen foods, a butcher shop (with an actual butcher working there, not just a meat market), and a bakery. I'm sure I missed a ton of items trying to keep up with my mum. The highlight of the store was watching the bakery staff box up still-warm Rosca de Reyes (a type of King Cake) getting ready for Epiphany tomorrow. Beautiful and smelling divine, it was something we had not seen before. The young ladies working there were very helpful talking to us about it. I've seen comments online about staff here and we had absolutely NO language problems with any one here from the restaurant to anyone in the store from people stocking, to one of the butchers, to the bakery ladies, to the cashier. Some did have heavier accents than others, but all could understand English as well as anyone else can in Lakeland. In all honesty, the best translator is a smile and a pleasant demeanor, even with a mask on. We will definitely be back! read more

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This is the best Mexican food I've had. It's so tasty and so fresh each and every time we order it. 5 stars, nothing less and I'll say with my whole chest. Besos to my pookies who are cooking and putting their whole heart and soul into it. Period. They served and ate and left no crumbs‍. You also can't beat their prices. In this economy, honey?? Thank you, my sweet angles for these amazing prices and staying true to who you are and to the people. Period. Again, 5 stars . I recommend literally everything. read more

Mega Mercado - All of their food, 10/10 - Mexican Near Me - Lakeland, Florida

Excellent lunch! The server was very friendly and prompt, food was delicious and piping hot, and the cost was very reasonable. read more

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Went with my family for the first time and it was very authentic Mexican food. The server was very kind and the ambiance although it was a smaller restaurant it was still very nice. I also loved that I had a store within the building as well as delicious homemade ice cream which was my favorite part. read more

Mega Mercado - Tacos de pollo, asada y carnitas - Mexican Near Me - Lakeland, Florida

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The Best Mexican Restaurant In Lakeland the food is amazing and excellent service, I have gone too every Mexican Restaurant In Lakeland and non can beat this one, Carne Asada Tacos Are The Best Flan , The chip sauce is the only thing that I can't eat way too hot but delicious,Tortilla Chips are so good. read more

Listen!!!! The staff is absolutely so welcoming and nice. It's a 2 in 1. You can grocery shop, they have a fresh bakery and restaurant. The food is authentic and filled with so much flavor. The bistec ranchero has me in a chokehold!! I can eat it everyday read more

Mega Mercado - Bistec Ranchero - Mexican Near Me - Lakeland, Florida

I did go right after they opened, definitely not what I expected. I ordered for pickup, I arrived early, had a drink while waiting. The atmosphere was not bad at all, seemed very clean. I received my order, I was on my way home and couldn't get past a smell, a smell that was strong! When I got home and was putting the food out, I realized that my chip's were the source of the smell. My order was not correct, I placed the bag on top of my jacket which was brand new and now smelling of old oil. If they can sell me bad chip's which is what we love with our queso, what we look forward to more than anything, how can I trust the food? They did try to make it right, however I'm not ready to give them another try just yet. I figure I'll let them settle in a bit more before trying them again. Definitely not Tapitios, however like I said I'm willing to give them another try one day! I'm truly praying they'll kick it up a notch, as we love to get just chip's and queso to snack on. I wasn't pleased on my first go around, I'll let you know how it goes next time, I'm praying for greatness. read more

Complimentary chips & salsa were nice. Thank you to the guy that kept the jukebox going. Mariachi band Sundays 12-3pm. Plenty of indoor seating. Food was all a NO for me. My husband and I agreed that everything was lacking flavor & texture of the tortillas was off. We tried the tacos, sopes & gorditas. They also got our order wrong - we ordered the tacos Mexican style but they were American style. When we told them that the order was wrong they said - no worries, we'll just bring you onions & cilantro to throw on top. read more

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Very authentic and local favorite. The chimichanga was huge and delicious. Service was prompt and professional even though it was lunch rush. read more

This is an amazing place! The best Mexican food, great portions and its clean restaurant. The only thing is if you do not know Spanish it can be a bit communicative issue. I've only went in person with someone who speaks Spanish. I consistently get it over Uber though. I've tried their tamales, tortas, tacos(all of them), chips, guacamole, salsa, American tacos, and those are the only ones I can remember. If you crave it, go here. The wait time can be a lot though, so be warned. read more

best authentic Mexican food in lakeland!!! this is our go to gir great food, good service and when ur done u can go next door and buy mexican ingredients or meats or pan dulce to go and make your own meal !!' yummy!!! read more

Authentic Mexican food, delicious!! On Sunday's they have live mariachis. The auga frescas were so yummy! Not pictured - bistec asado which was delicious as well. read more

Mega Mercado - Tacos Birria - Mexican Near Me - Lakeland, Florida

I have heard a lot about this restaurant, had to give it a try. It was actually very very good. I got it to go so it got a little messed up on the way home, but very good. Definitely worth it. Large portions and prices are very good. I just wished they had Mexican street corn. You have to go next door to order that, but it's not available until around 11:30. Service was fast and friendly. read more

Mega Mercado - Chicken flautas - Mexican Near Me - Lakeland, Florida

food was was 8/10 Service an absolute ZERO. Absolute no way a call in order which they said would be ready in 15-20 minutes took an hour for a quesadilla & ceviche. read more