Went there with family a few days ago, and it was amazing! Although it was during happy hour, we got a table with a short wait. The happy hour margaritas is a must. For $5, you get a large glass of margarita that will take you through your entire dining experience. The menu is extensive, but I haven't had anything yet that I didn't enjoy. The ambiance is fun and lively. read more

The Mexicano - Queso Fundido - Mexican Near Me - Phoenix, Arizona

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GREAT Food, But Apparently Service Is Now a Scavenger Hunt. This is a tough review to write because the food at The Mexicano is still A+. Unfortunately, this week's experience made it impossible to keep my previous 5-star rating. We stopped in around 1:30 p.m., when there were literally maybe six other people in the entire restaurant. Somehow, we managed to have three different waiters because each one became preoccupied with something else. At one point, we had to get up and go to the bar ourselves to ask for things. Nothing says "full-service restaurant" quite like having to become your own waiter. And then there are the recent changes to the menu and happy hour. Happy hour for individual tacos is no longer seven days a week--it's now Tuesday which has been reduced to one $3 taco. One. Taco. Refer to menu I've uploaded. I have no idea if this is an attempt to cut costs (there hasn't been a change in ownership), but if that's the strategy, I worry it's going to be a case of saving a few dollars while losing a lot of customers. Cutting back on the things that made people love coming here--great service, variety, and an appealing happy hour--doesn't exactly feel like a recipe for success. To be clear: this review has absolutely nothing to do with the quality of the food. The food remains excellent. A+. The issue is the overall experience and the noticeable changes to what used to make The Mexicano such a great place to visit. We've had consistently great experiences here in the past, which is why I originally gave it 5 stars. I genuinely hope they reconsider these changes, because I'd much rather be writing another 5-star review than updating this one. Great food + increasingly nonexistent service + a disappearing happy hour = a restaurant that may be eating its own lunch. read more

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I came for a larger sized party, and our party didn't all arrive at the same time which may factor for the quality of service received. I arrived early with one person and we were seated quickly. Once more people came, we were immediately given chips and salsa + water. The salsa is the best I've ever had so far. Since our party didn't arrive all at once, the server didn't take our orders for over an hour. It took someone from our table to get a server to take our orders. Our server spilled some of an alcoholic drink on my back but she didn't notice. The entree portions are definitely family sized/shareable portions and worth pricing. I ordered the birria enchilada ($23) and I definitely couldn't finish it in one sitting. I also got a mango margarita without alcohol ($4) and it was okay. Seating is clean and spacious, perfect for mid-sized groups. All staff are quick and friendly. read more

The Mexicano - Mexican Near Me - Phoenix, Arizona

Not at all what we ere expecting. Extremely loud disco thumping music, a girl rolling a cart around to each table blowing a whistle to serve shots. A dude on stilts in some weird robot suit....and the menu had all kinds of items titled 'the Best F&@$ing...' Super sad and disappointed, food could have been great but did not stay past 5 minutes and walked out due to the terribly mismatched "ambiance". Will not be back. Less than one star. read more

One of the best Mexican restaurants in city. We came in for an early dinner. We got the egg rolls, mini chimi, guacamole, and mangonada. The egg rolls were absolutely delicious, I'm glad it picked it. The guacamole was fresh and nicely done. The mini chimi, I asked for queso on top and it was delicious. Overall we really enjoyed our meals, and hope to be back to try other food items. Our waiter was amazing as well with the recommendations, and I loved how they had the cart of drinks making rounds in the restaurant. read more

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Excellent service, food and atmosphere. Jesus was fantastic. We were visiting from NY so he showed us the margarita bar, explained the entire menu and was very pleasant. The nacho chips were excellent, and a huge portion. We got carnitas, a chicken fajita and protein bowl. read more

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We came for my birthday, on cinco de mayo, it was definitely a party!!! They did not offer happy hour in the afternoon on cinco de mayo, unfortunately. We were bummed about that. They had a special menu for cinco de mayo. Food was good, music was playing, walking transformers showed up in the evening! The kids thought this was so cool. Our waitress in the afternoon gave the vibe she did not want to be there but our evening waitress was great! read more

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The food is reallyyy good and the service is even better! The inside of the restaurant is modern and appealing. All the staff here are so friendly, I was sold on this place before even getting our food. They seem to pride themselves on fresh ingredients and timely service. I, personally, would skip the churros. read more

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We enjoyed our visit to The Mexicano. We were searching for a place with Molcajete and ran across this place. Overall, it had a fun and active vibe but the food was disappointing. I would consider going again but maybe a different order. This is a 3.5 stars but only because of the dancing robots. Let me start with the atmosphere, which maybe the best part. The place is huge. We sat on the patio which was nice but you are basically in a parking lot. The music and the whole place is super loud with club like music playing. It's not exactly my style but somehow I kind of liked it. Nice change of pace. Definitely not a quiet date spot and kind of gives tourist vibes. We had two dancing robots while we were there. And I was fascinated by them. I have to admit- I liked it. lol. the place is huge and still packed so they obviously know what they are doing. As for the food, I have some mixed reviews. Chips and salsa were solid (a must for me) though the chips needed salt. Salsa was flavorful and good. I came for molcajete. I ordered the steak, chicken, and shrimp one for $47. It was not remotely worth the price. Frankly, I would give it one star and do not recommend at all. It had three shrimps (way overcooked), two small strips of steak, maybe three strips of chicken. They used fajita veggies very thinly sliced instead of large chunks of veggies which I was expecting. Everything but the three shrimp were soaking in the sauce and the meats were not seared on the molcajete. None of the meats were good. The sauce was thin and not great. They didn't even know how to serve it really. It was a complete mess bc of how it was served like a soup. Complete disappointment and would never order this again. That said, my husband generally liked his food. He ordered the restaurant week special with the margarita flights (sorry we were late on some of the drink picks). The shrimp cocktail had very small shrimps in Zing Bloody Mary sauce. I thought this was ok and my husband didn't really like it. Needed lime. For dinner, my husband had pork carnitas which he enjoyed. The three mini cocktails were small but good. We finished with churros (four small ones). They were good but I wish they were served warm. The cold chocolate dipping sauce was good. Messy to eat bc they didn't give us plates or new utensils and our waiter while attentive was too busy with other tables. In sum, I was mostly disappointed by the food, kind of liked the atmosphere. My more extroverted husband liked his main course and loved the atmosphere. I will give this place another try and try something else on the menu. By the way, you can see other pictures of the molcajete by other reviewers and, as you can see, mine looks nothing like the others. Also my beans and rice were served as slop on a plate and not in small bowls as in other reviews. They need to fix their consistency bc what they served me was an unprofessional mess. read more

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We went to The Mexicano for lunch on Cinco de Mayo to celebrate a friend's birthday. We were surprised they didn't have any special holiday menu or drink specials, which was a bit of a letdown for Cinco de Mayo. They did offer a $5 Cinco de Mayo taco, which a few people in our group tried, but it didn't have different protein options, so I ended up ordering off the regular menu. The Cinco de Mayo taco was more of a tostada verses a taco and my friends enjoyed it. I ordered the jalapeño margarita, which was served in a plastic bucket. It was cute and a clever presentation, and the drink itself was good and spicy with a Tajin rim. For food, I ordered two Baja tacos, one fish and one shrimp, à la carte since I wasn't in the mood for rice and beans. Both tacos were solid, but I would have loved the option to do grilled fish instead of both fried. The menu felt a little more limited than usual, which I'm guessing was due to the holiday. That said, the atmosphere made up for some of it. We sat out on the patio, the weather was perfect, and the space is always colorful and festive. Our server was friendly and attentive. It was also my friend's birthday, and they did make it feel special. They surprised her with a birthday shot on the house along with a dessert, which was nice! She took a spin on the shot cart and won a margarita as well. We've always enjoyed our past visits to The Mexicano and the food continues to be good, but for Cinco de Mayo, it felt like they could have leaned in a bit more, especially with drink specials or something extra. I think they were having more entertainment and things in the evening, which is so fun, but wish they would also have things for lunch! read more

The Mexicano - Jalapeño Margarita - Mexican Near Me - Phoenix, Arizona

A family member and I came here for lunch recently. We noticed the fun atmosphere from the get-go! After looking over the menu, we decided to order the pork empanadas to start off with. They were okay, a bit bland for our preferences. For our main entrees we ordered baja shrimp tacos and baja fish tacos. The shrimp tacos were to my liking, nicely sized fried shrimp, with good flavor. The family member I went with said her fish tacos needed a little more umph in flavor but still enjoyed it overall. Since we always have room for dessert, we each decided to get our own order of flan. What I really appreciated about their flan was that it was not overwhelmingly sweet, just the perfect amount. Overall, service was attentive and friendly. At no point did we ever feel ignored or rushed. I would say this is a great place to get together for a group meal since the restaurant is so spacious. read more

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The restaurant has ample seating and fun, party vibes during dinner time. There's a candy shot cart that goes around for $8 per shot and comes w/ a candy chaser, but be sure to ask for the candy if you want it! Service was friendly and attentive. Overall, great atmosphere. Food missed the mark for me though. I felt like flavor was lacking in the beef/pork dishes. The fish taco was not bad, but I think the best dish was the quesadilla. read more

The Mexicano - The Taco Trio - Mexican Near Me - Phoenix, Arizona

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This is a difficult review for me. My family was visiting from San Antonio and craving Mexican food. This was my first visit to The Mexicano as it has been on my list. It is such a cute restaurant. From the moment you walk in, the vibrant colors, decor, beautiful patio and friendly staff is so inviting. Our servers were actually the bartenders, Laura and Kayla. Both were attentive and never left us waiting for drinks or food. Very friendly. We all ordered Margaritas. I ordered the Saguaro Margarita; LALO blanco + cactus juice + prickly pear, cucumber + lime. Unfortunately, I didn't taste anything different other than a regular blanco Margarita. My family liked the Classico margaritas. The chips and salsa were tasty. I liked the salsa. We all ordered a variety of the enchiladas. Unfortunately they were all delivered to the wrong people and we didn't notice until we had each eaten part of the enchiladas. Sadly, none of us enjoyed the enchiladas. Although the chicken and beef were tender, there was not much flavor. There was little to no cheese in the cheese enchiladas! I felt terrible for my uncle as he said these were the worst enchiladas he had ever eaten. He was so looking forward to dining at The Mexicano. He didn't finish his meal. Then there was the young lady trying to sell drinks and yelling "shots". I understand the concept but it just didn't come across properly. I'll just leave it there. I don't know if we will be back. Most of the reviews are good. Service was very good. Perhaps our meals were just not on par that night. read more

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We love that place ! Always kind and quality service . Food is amazing and you can't buy their happy hour !

This is a very nice restaurant, ambience is very nice and they make you feel welcome when you arrive. The waiter was very attentive considering the number of tables he was responsible for. The food was very good and some items had a unique flare. I.E. the guacamole was topped with sweet corn which made it a unique twist that I found somewhat pleasing but my wife did not care for it. The tacos were good (I ordered a 3 combo platter) but nothing out of the ordinary. The carne asada seemed overcooked but with condiments I was able to overlook the texture. Price was reasonable. All in all a good place for lunch if I'm in the area but I would not go out of my way to patronize. read more

Absolutely delicious tacos. I tried my first potato taco here, and wow--instant favorite. Sat at the bar, and the bartender was on point, keeping the tacos flowing for endless‑tacos day. If only the East Coast had a place that could match The Mexicano's flavor. Scottsdale is lucky to have so many great places to eat and this is one of them. read more

The Mexicano - Tacos - Mexican Near Me - Phoenix, Arizona

Im so sad and disappointed on the changes that happen at the Mexicano like : it's not a real molcajete anymore ( that was the special flavor on the dish ) also now its swimming on a sauce it was good just too overwhelming , Another one is they don't have the ribeye chicharron guac , or the Michelin taco. We still love the flan so far is the best I have try and the churros with the little cart so cute The service is excellent love the welcoming crew our server very attentive she was the one that made it a better night The ambience I could t love it more the music and the dj always on point with the music and vibe read more

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Nicely appointed restaurant typically of Chef Joey's eateries. Friendly, attentive, knowledgeable waiter. I don't usually drink margaritas but considering the cuisine I ordered their house version which was outstanding. Well balanced. Refreshing. Plenty of tequila but not overwhelming. Food wise, they offer a nice selection of traditional dishes with several upscale offerings. I ordered their crispy carne asada tacos which were pretty good although the carne was overcooked and somewhat dry. I thought the prices were reasonable but I'm not sure I'd go out of my way to return unless I had other business in the area. read more

Matthew Kelley was exceptional! Best humanistic hospitality! He portrays empathy, warmth, and personal connection as he ensures your getting the best genuine service. 5 Star! read more

The Mexicano - Mexican Near Me - Phoenix, Arizona

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I can't say enough about this restaurant. I have never felt so welcomed and taken care of in a restaurant. The service was outstanding!! The food was even better. The atmosphere was just WOW!! The Have a SHOT CART and yes I said AND, and build your own MARGARITA BAR (please see photos). It went from relaxing after to work to party just at the right time. The timing was perfect. I will tell you the green pork empanadas are the best I have EVER had!! I want to eat them everyday. I live in Surprise so I can't. I order the steak fajitas and was not disappointed. My husband loved his tacos. We can't wait to bring friends!! read more

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Really amazing restaurant... great atmosphere and food. High quality service with some of the best Mexican food I've had in a long time. It's one of those places that you just have to come back to. The margaritas are excellent. The happy hour has incredibly reasonable prices and makes the dining experience that much more enjoyable. I brought my family here and we had the BIRRIA VAMPIRO STYLE, THE BEST F#*%ING BIRRIA, SHRIMP CEVICHE*, CHICKEN TINGA QUESADILLA, COCHINITA TACO, BAR NACHOS with BIRRIA and many margaritas I particularly love the mango margarita that was my favorite. This restaurant has fun atmosphere great service and excellent food and I do look forward to returning again soon. read more

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The decode I. The place was adorable. We sat outside but it felt so cozy and warm you didn't even realize you were next to a busy street. The red sangria was delicious ( the white not so much) Started with some homemade original guacamole which was fresh and delightful. Had the chicken enchiladas which were great. Good flavor, not too spicy. The little sweet corn tamale was also delicious. The empanadas were fried perfectly. We will definitely be back. read more

The Mexicano - Chicken Tinga Enchilada - Mexican Near Me - Phoenix, Arizona

All day happy hour at the bar! I would say shrimp cocktail is more like a ceviche that's very spicy. Five dollar margaritas which you have to love. The only thing is the bartenders. Don't look real happy here, a bit of an attitude. And little chef Joeys running around looking like guidos which is funny. Gold chains and unbuttoned shirts. read more

THIS WAS NOT IT. The main food was not good! The nachos were okay I wish mixing it would have been a given. But! The food. Was nasty. The salsa was canned green chili salsa. The meat was marinated weird. So it tasted sour at the first bite. The tamale crumbles were not necessary. The beans were cold too. I truly feel this was a huge insult to Mexican Cuisine. The ambiance was beautiful. And the servers were so kind. I feel like they deserve more recognition for putting up with this lame show in food. I will leave 2 stars for them and their efforts to keep clientele cause the food isn't doing it! Celebrating the aesthetic of a street corn vendor isn't it. I think it's distasteful and rude. The party corn cart is excessive. I would not come back like ever. Or have anyone I care about try this out. It's a super skip for me. read more

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The Mexicano never disappoints! The food was incredible, the drinks were amazing, and the atmosphere is always so fun and energetic. Our server, Jesus, was absolutely outstanding. He was friendly, attentive, knowledgeable about the menu, and made sure we had everything we needed throughout the entire meal. He truly made our experience exceptional. I also have to give a huge shoutout to Quinn--she is seriously the sweetest! She went out of her way to make us feel so welcome and made the experience even more memorable. You can tell she genuinely cares about every guest, and her positive energy is contagious. And thank you to Matthew as well for helping make everything run so smoothly. It's obvious this team takes pride in what they do. Hands down one of my favorite restaurants in Scottsdale. Amazing food, amazing drinks, and even better people. Can't wait to come back! read more

The Mexicano - Skinny margarita - Mexican Near Me - Phoenix, Arizona

This is such a friend restaurant! The interior is decorated so fun and cute, and the vibes were fun for a girls' night dinner. My friend and I started out with two Mexican Candy shots, which were large and delicious! Their complimentary salsa also was amazing, we went through more than one bowl. To eat, I got enchilada divorciada - so good! They were half birria with red sauce and half chicken tinga with verde sauce. My husband got a molcajete, which was huge and could have definitely been shared! Everything was great from the service to the food to the drinks. If you're looking for a quiet dining experience, this isn't the place, but it's definitely a fun spot! read more

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The Mexicano hands down has the best Happy Hour menu of food & drink around! $2 Street Tacos on Tuesdays & Thursdays is a tremendous deal! Food quality is excellent and the bar service is solid! I've enjoyed dining at the bar but the dining areas are very comfortable. When I visit the Valley area, I always make it a point to visit The Mexicano. It's a favorite! read more

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We came here based on a customer's recommendation and had heard good things about this place, but our overall experience was just average. Starting with the positives, the mocktails were really good. Also, judging by how many tables had them, the margaritas looked great as well. The ambiance was beautiful, with lots of color and nice cultural touches that made the restaurant itself feel welcoming. The nachos were okay. The meat and queso had great flavor, but the shredded cheese was not melted at all, and many of the chips were left uncovered without toppings. The molcajete was also just okay. The chicken and shrimp were very good, but the sauce tasted bitter compared to similar dishes we've had at other places. The beef was average, not bad but not especially memorable, and overall we didn't feel the dish was worth the price. We had higher hopes for the guacamole ferris wheel. Based on the description, we expected to try different styles of guacamole, but in the end they were all the same guacamole with different garnishes. The guacamole itself had good flavor, but at $25, we expected more variety. Unfortunately, the service did not match the atmosphere. From the beginning, it felt like our server did not want to be there. The interaction felt forced rather than warm and welcoming. Overall, the restaurant is beautiful and the drinks were a highlight, but the food and service left us feeling that the experience was good, not great. read more

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From the start, walking in I was greeted so kindly. We came for happy hour for food and drinks and it was a GREAT experience. The food was delicious and the happy hour menu had a great variety of tasty items. We choose the beef tacos, birro nachos and chicken quesadillas! Very fulfilling! The ambiance was colorful and beautiful! I will come back! ‍ read more

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Great spot. Great staff. Great food. Chef Joey does a wonderful job. Mexican food with an upscale presentation, and the staff is always attentive, friendly, and fun. read more

Upon first arrival, we saw the candy for the make your own marg bar and KNEW that was being ordered. The whole table ordered the build your own margs and came up with wonderful combinations from the syrups and toppings. I had a strawberry mango marg with some candy and fruit on top: nothing short of amazing. We had gotten an array of items from the menu such as beef tacos, birria tacos, tacos el pastor, and street corn nachos. Each bite was delicious and has us wanting more. We still talk about the salsa and the tortillas and chips made in house. The decor was also lovely with a flower/ foliage wall. We recommend the frozen bar bar! read more

The Mexicano - Melina's Street Corn Nachos - Mexican Near Me - Phoenix, Arizona

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Great flavorful food, amazing service and margaritas, super cute ambiance. Definitely recommend this restaurant! Also, wheelchair accessible read more

The Mexicano - Chopped Baja Shrimp Salad - Mexican Near Me - Phoenix, Arizona

I have 2 updates since my last review in 2024. We went back when they reopened after the unfortunate fire. New menu! They had all day happy hour and taco Thursdays. We went on a Sunday and they had dancers and robots, it was pretty crazy. Too loud for me but it was definitely a fun environment. The crispy beef tacos were sooo good. The margaritas only $4 for HH and they were big and tasted good. We went several times and enjoyed our dinner. Fast forward to last week, they raised the price of the margaritas to $5 (which is still good) but they stopped making our favorite taco and there are limited options now for taco Tuesday (they changed the day). Disappointing! I guess good things don't always last... read more

The Mexicano - Mexican Near Me - Phoenix, Arizona

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I never review but this place was great all the staff was here to help and you see the manger pitching in to help when needed for refills overall great food and ambience!!! read more

The Mexicano - Mexican Near Me - Phoenix, Arizona

Why and how is this my first time here. LOVE LOVE LOVE! Highly recommend. What a wonderful time! Celebrated my birthday here and it was the best! Stupid good food and stupid reasonably priced! What a gem! read more

12/10 experience!! We were near by and needed to finally come try the Mexicano and I am so grateful we did. We were greeted by friendly staff upon entering the building and sat right away. Our waitress was nice, welcoming, and made good suggestions when we asked. My hubby got the tour of Mexico and I got the Birria enchiladas. Both dishes were full of flavor, portions were bigger than expected, and so satisfying! The beans and rice also were tasty. I want to add that the salsa with the chips was enjoyable too. I can't get over how amazing the Birria was, even my left overs were good! read more

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The Mexicano is definitely a vibe! The Dj had the best music selection, a bit loud in the restaurant so if that's not your thing they do offer a large outdoor patio with misters. I ordered the fuego style 32oz margarita, it's equivalent to 2 1/2 margaritas according to our server. It definitely hit the spot and I was able to take the cup home as a souvenir :) My appetizer was the jalapeño poppers they were a bit spicy but very tasty. I had the queso birria tacos. I'm Mexican American and consider myself a birria tacos connoisseur lol so just a friendly tip, the tacos don't need the extra tortilla with the amount of meat that's in the taco and the consomè is a bit oily for my liking but overall the tacos were decent. This is my second time dining here and will most likely come back again because it's a good time every time. Shout out to my server for being the most attentive and the sweetest! read more

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Fun and festive restaurant with the absolute best vibes!! Amazing food, drinks and staff with great happy hour pricing and a fabulous menu. The greatest Margarita bar around!!! Always something fun going on during the weekends!! The fire dancers were there when I was there for a Friday HH. Best Dj's to keep things lively!!! read more

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Do I recommend this place? Hell yeah. Hands-down the best Mexican food I have had since being in Phoenix. This cannot be argued ha ha. We dropped in at 4:30 PM via reservation and got seated immediately. Our waiter Jorge was from Chile and provided great recommendations on the appetizers and may I add he was nice enough to allow me to practice my Español. Per his recommendations we got guacamole and the egg rolls. I was a little worried about the egg rolls, but this was very flavorful along with the dipping sauce. The guac was very fresh and tasty as well as the chips. He recommended me watermelon margarita and baby this was a great recommendation. If you like a sweet refreshing drink, this is the one. They have a shot cart that goes around the restaurant which is very fun!! For the main meal I opted for the mini Chimi and yes, it gave what it was supposed to give. Flavor was on chimi was well done and the corn tamale gives it a little sweet taste on the side along with rice and pinto beans. Finger licking good!! Food was sooo good we didnt get dessert. read more

The Mexicano - Mini Chimis - Mexican Near Me - Phoenix, Arizona

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Saw this place on TikTok as a good birthday spot. My daughter was open to trying it out for her birthday. It was a Saturday night they had a DJ. It felt more like a club than a restaurant, the music was so loud we couldn't have a conversation. Our server was not the best as well. There were times she was missing for long periods of time and she did nothing for my daughter's birthday. The food was ok. Pass on the chicken enchiladas and ferris wheel guacamole. Get the birria tacos and enchiladas. read more

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