I'm going with 5-stars for Rey's. Is it the best Mexican food that I've ever had. No. But it's very, very good. So good, in fact, that I ate there both nights that I spent in Cookeville. The first evening, I had chicken enchiladas. The second night, a ground beef burrito. Everything was tasty and super-fresh. They serve a simple little garnish/side of lettuce, pico, and sour cream. Nothing fancy, but you can taste the freshness. The beans and rice were excellent, also. Chips and salsa, you ask? Superb. The salsa is excellent. I'd probably prefer a little more zing. But the flavor was great and, get this...it's nice and chunky, which I love. Great chips, too. Like everything else, fresh. The service is wonderful, too. Very nice staff. The parking lot was packed both nights. Always a great sign, especially for Monday and Tuesday. Monday was bingo night and Tuesday was trivia. It was rather noisy, but patrons were having a blast. I would definitely go back! read more

Not as authentic as somewhere like El Milagro, but food still tastes great. We had a party of 15+ and still had great service. Menu prices range from a few dollars for an a la carte taco to nearly $30 for some seafood dishes. Portions are massive, so be prepared to take home leftovers. Unfortunately, their to-go boxes aren't compartmentalized. The restaurant was clean with typical Mexican restaurant atmosphere. read more

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Went for lunch and service was great. Had fajita taco salad and the quac ranchero. Super fresh and delicious BUT it's your typical Tex mex. Nothing special so that's why I gave 4 stars. read more

This is our new favorite Mexican restaurant. You will be greeted as soon as you walk in. It's a large restaurant, but divided into sections so it feels more cozy. I ordered the chorizo tacos. They had so much flavor, absolutely delicious! My husband like his enchiladas. For my one year old, they had booster seats and high chairs to choose from, and an extensive kids menu. My baby had the cheese quesadilla. There was so much cheese, he actually sat quietly and ate on his own. I don't think that's ever happened! Our waitress was so sweet. I highly recommend this restaurant. Also, huge parking lot, easy parking. read more

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Upon arrival we were when we arrived we were greeted and immediately seated. The server brought us our soft drinks. The soda was terrible. When we told the server the sodas tasted bad she told us the soda machine was down and we elected to have iced tea. The chips and salsa were fresh and delicious. We ordered combination plates. Lots of food for a reasonable price. The food was good, but didn't knock my socks off. Nice place for ok Mexican food. I'll go back again to try something different. Oh! Don't offer sodas to drink if you know your soda machine is down. read more

Great food great service and AMAZING MARGARITA PITCHERS! Highly recommend this place! I'll come back ! read more

Rey's Mexican Grill - Great food great service and AMAZING MARGARITA PITCHERS! - Mexican Near Me - Cookeville, Tennessee

I'm always on the lookout for great Mexican food. I guess growing up in the SouthWest makes me partial to Mexican cuisine. A trip to the Nashville airport is a looooong one, so we stopped in Cookeville, the halfway point between Knoxville and the Nashville Airport for a bite of lunch. Naturally, we Yelped Mexican restaurants and after pursuing the extensive list, we decided on Rey's. One of the reasons for choosing this restaurant was their most recent health score of 100%. The restaurant is not far off the freeway, perhaps a half mile. It is near a hotel and has a bar area as well as a large general dining area. A Covid notice was posted at the host stand which asked the standard questions and assured customers that they followed Covid protocol. The restaurant was clean and attractively decorated. We were immediately seated and our server, Alyssa, asked for our drink order and then brought them back and took our order. There were three adults and two children in our party, and everyone ordered different entrees. My daughter had enchiladas which she said were some of the best she has tasted. My wife and I both had chimichangas, she had the shredded chicken and I had the fajita chicken. We asked that they be extra crispy with queso on the side and they were delicious. Our granddaughter had cheese nachos and all our grand-baby wanted was guacamole (at 11-months old, she is a guacamole connoisseur. Each entree was delivered at the same time to our table, piping hot and beautifully plated. Food and service are the most important issues at a restaurant. Our server, Alyssa, was attentive and pleasant and the food was outstanding. This place deserves your attention and patronage. read more

Fast friendly service. Chips/salsa were excellent. All our meals were great. Very nice and clean.

Great food a little bit pricey than other Mexican restaurants in the area, but definitely worth it! read more

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GREAT margaritas!! Service was fast and very attentive. Food choices were varied and good.

Been here many times. Always great service, great food. We went in yesterday, cold, snowy day, we were in the dumps, and Yulisa made our day!! We sat in the bar, which is usually quieter. Perfect service, she's such a ray of sunshine. Needless to say, she got a special tip!! read more

I ordered take-out for the family and had a great experience! I placed my order online via their website and it was very simple and convenient. I had the authentic chicken tacos best in town. read more

Yulisa was a great server and had an excellent margarita recommendation ! The Cadillac . Made exactly like we like it - fresh made / not too sweet and with a kick. Perfect Rarely on these easy on/ easy off Mexican restaurants do you find such excellent fresh margaritas Fajitas came out sizzling but the stars of this lunch were Yulisa and the fresh margaritas Cheers and thanks for being open and Covid compliant - they even have masks and alcohol wipes at the door read more

Rey's Mexican Grill - a man eating a meal - Mexican Near Me - Cookeville, Tennessee

We went here last weekend based on the ratings and the pictures that looked amazing. All the food came out wrong bland, or with no meat on it and we spent over $90. It was terrible. I would never come here again. read more

We stop in Cookeville frequently on our way back and forth from Virginia to Texas. We have struggled to find consistently good food available when we need it, since we tend to drive all day and sit down to a good, fairly quick, non-fast food meal near our hotel. We tried Rey's last week and it met our need. The three stars is not a slam. Rey's is just fine for what we need. It is not great Mexican food. It'd good enough. Seating and service were quick, with the latter very friendly and responsive. Portions are huge and prices very, very reasonable for what you get. We will come back. read more

We have a lot of great Mexican spots in Cookeville, but Rey's is tops in my book. Their margaritas are balanced and taste fresh and authentic -- not the artificial, overtly sugary taste that comes from using certain mixers -- and their queso is 10/10! I typically opt for the chicken, cheese, and rice, which also comes in a half portion, but their burritos and nachos are great too. The service has been consistently solid on each visit. Give them a try! read more

Delicious!!!!!!! Staff is nice! Great bar and good food. Best place in Tennessee!!!!!! read more

Wonderful friendly place we happened to stumble upon!!! Glad we did Best Margaritas in town!!! It has a twist need to come by to see what it is won't be disappointed!!! read more

Rey's Mexican Grill - Margarita - Mexican Near Me - Cookeville, Tennessee

I have waited so long to write this review that I have since forgotten my waitress's name. :( I asked for it specifically!!! I think it started with a J? Thank you, whoever you are!!! Service was great. En route to BNA, we were starving. And needed margaritas. I got the spicy one... delicious and actually pretty spicy! We got nachos supremos to share, and while there wasn't a whole lot of cheese, I can tell you their queso is DELICIOUS from the little I tasted. Serious!! BF got a lunch chimichanga, 10/10, gone immediately. I ordered the taco salad with steak. You honestly can't go wrong with that, I know, but worth saying it was tasty!! A whole bunch of sides were involved. The tamal was a tiny bit dry but good filling. The Chile relleno was odd to me, but I think maybe it's authentic and I've been wrong all along?! Lol! The batter on it was more like lightly scrambled egg and just not complimentary at all - I couldn't finish it. I requested a spinach & mushroom quesadilla and lemme tell ya... I could eat that for every meal, I think. Just fantastic. I can't even tell you what's so special about it. It was deeeelish. Also a great location for when you overeat and must go take a hibernation break at the hotel in the rear. read more

Service was quick, staff is friendly, food is yummy and hot! They have great adult beverages, and the cheese dip is also great. We have sat on the patio, not a bad one kinda small. Make sure to check them out! read more

My husband and I ate here for Valentine's Day in afternoon. Waitress was great but food was not good at all. I ordered the Nachos Supreme there was no meat and little that was there was shredded chicken that had no flavor. Once you moved the tortillas out of the way there was water at bottom of plate. My husband ordered the Chicken Quesadilla with Pico de Gallo. He received one quesadilla with rice and runny beans. His dish had no flavor as well. This was the first time eating here and the last time. read more

We were starving when we started looking for a good Mexican restaurant. Rey's enticed us with the reviews. We were not disappointed. The place was clean and well decorated. The queso was very good. So good we had to get a second bowl. The food was good, lacked a little flavor but still good. The price was slightly higher than some Mexican restaurants. Service was great. read more

Delicious food, very friendly and accommodating servers, and a friendly and pleasing atmosphere. Ordered the special dinner and had plenty left over to go. Great prices. Will be back! read more

Rey's offers traditional Mexican-American food as well as Mexican food with a twist! You can find original creations such as Alyssa's tacos: a Korean BBQ taco topped with a fried egg, grilled onions, and carrots. The owner (Rey) is Mexican and his wife (Alyssa) is Korean. The dish is a joining of their cultural flavors in one delicious party in your mouth! The food is good and the service is outstanding. When you're at Rey's, you're family read more

Rey's Mexican Grill - Mexican Near Me - Cookeville, Tennessee

Good food. Margarita was the Best I've had in months. Other restaurants completely miss the mark. Good atmosphere. Waitress was very nice. The salsa was too mild for me but others might not like spicy. read more

Great food! Wonderful staff! Excellent service & awesome specials! You won't want to skip over this one!!

Great food, great service and love the atmosphere especially if you get a Mountain View!

Pretty standard American-Mexican food. We really liked the salsa. The grilled steak burrito with the tomillo sauce was spicier than I expected, but was flavorful and delicious. Service was quick and friendly. read more

Stopped in for lunch today and asked for a chicken chimichanga. The food was adequate but lacked any real Mexican flavor (seasoning). Having been in Mexico and enjoyed flavorful food I have to say that Cookeville only offers American versions of Mexican cuisine. A drink refill would have been nice with lunch. The server was very nice and friendly. read more

Went for lunch with my wife. Wasn't really busy. Good, friendly service and the food was good too. I got the taco salad and my wife had the hard tacos. read more

Nice standard food. Variety of margaritas. Always clean with nice wait staff. Manager is very good.

Love this place. Great food, great margaritas & a great staff & owner! You won't be sorry when you come here to dine.

I think they might have been having a bad night--there were at least 5 cars with lights on waiting for takeout. However, to be very honest, the food was just not that great. Salad, rice, and beans were all slightly warm. My vegetarian fajita had one piece of cauliflower, two pieces of broccoli and was mostly onions. The salsa that came with the chips was so hot in terms of seasoning that we could not eat it (and we had specifically asked for food that was not too "hot" as in seasoned. I wonder if they thought we meant temperature wise. Given the great reviews that others left, I am pretty sure this was not the best they could do. This was our favorite restaurant (Fiesta Cancun) pre-COVID so we will try it again based on the good reviews it gets... ALOT of food for the price and much healthier than Colonel Sanders, for example, for the same price. We will try them again and then do another review. read more

Excellent food and great service. I had Nachos Supreme w/extra guacamole...so fresh. Husband had a La Changa w/beef, also very good. Especially loved the Fried Ice Cream! Chips were crispy, fresh and warm with a 'not too spicy salsa'...just right. read more

My husband and I were passing through on our way home to SC and needed some Mexican food. This hit the spot!! Really great salsa and queso dip! Quick and kind service. This place is right off the highway so it's a great pit stop if you are traveling. Definitely stoping here again if we come through TN in the future. You won't regret coming here! read more