Went here a few years ago and had an incredible meal! Went yesterday, had a very sad excuse for a meal. Can't say one good thing about the food anymore. Poor food quality, enchiladas tortilla fell apart like it was super old and dried out, the enchiladas were cheese only but had a very sharp aged white English cheddar in them. Not edible. Beef tacos had no cheese at all and were so greasy they also fell apart. Rice was ok, beans were old and bland. Nachos were ok. A half carafe of plain margarita was like £28!!!! It was only 2.5 drinks in there! Plus it was frozen for some reason (did not indicate that style anywhere on the menu) and were difficult to drink. Brain freeze! Unfortunately, the staff/owners probably don't care because the place is packed anyway. Eat here at your own risk. read more

My family and I went here to visit my sister and were really craving some good Mexican food. Originally we went and they put us in the basement and there was not many people and no music so the ambiance was a bit awkward. After a little while more people came and they put on some music which made it a pretty good vibe. The service was really good and we ordered the nachos, burritos, and chimichangas with vegan hagis and they were all really delicious. The tortilla soup was a little too spicy for my comrade but still delicious nonetheless. They crammed us in to one table with 5 people but it turned out to be fine so I'd give a review of 4.3/5.0. read more

Viva Mexico is: -Cute -Comfortable -Warm It's staffed by friendly folks. It looked super busy when I walked in, so I hesitantly asked about a table. They brought me downstairs to the most adorable and semi-empty room and gave me a menu. I ordered some sort of chicken tostada meal -- the "cheese" part drew me in. I also ordered a cup of tea. It was basic tea but there's nothing better than tea on a cold night! When my plate arrived, the portion was massive. Way more than one person could eat. I overheard the folks at the table next to me say the same thing when they couldn't finish their meals. Now, the food was okay, don't get me wrong, but the tortilla was a bit overcooked and the chicken was dry. I didn't taste much cheese either. My rice accompaniment was crunchy like it needed to be cooked longer. If not for the welcoming atmosphere, this would probably be a 2-star review. If I lived in the area, I'd try something else but from the other reviews, it looks like my experience was typical unfortunately. Scotland is rather far from Mexico. read more

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Yes, I know it's odd to go to Edinburgh and go to a Mexican restaurant because you don't really know what you're walking into, but this place did not disappoint! Being a native Southern Californian, I know my Mexican food and this was it. The salsas were fresh, the chips crispy and the offerings classic and delicious. If you're a local and want some authentic Mexican this is it. If you're traveling and need a change of pace, look no further. It may look small, but they've got two floors with plenty of seating. read more

Viva Mexico - Chimichanga! - Mexican Near Me - Edinburgh, EDH

Some of the better Mexican food I have had in Scotland. Very good service and casual Mexican decor. Started with some fried tortillas chips and salsa, guacamole and sour cream. These were fried in house but didn't come out warm and must have been done earlier. They were still pretty good although unlike in the US there was a charge for the tortilla chips rather than complimentary as many places in the states provide. Chicken fajitas were nice ( I tried my friends) but there are better things on the menu that are tastier. I had the shredded beef chimichanga with refried beans and rice. It was good and I'd recommend it at £13.50 as very reasonable for central Edinburgh. My other friend had the chicken burrito with black mole sauce. I tried the mole sauce and it was good although pretty sweet an I didn't get much more than sweet chocolate coming through. I'd personally get it on the side but if you have a sweet tooth go for it. All in all very good and I would definitely come back again. read more

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I'm from Texas and grew up eating Mexican food, and I was so thankful when I discovered Viva Mexico when I moved to Edinburgh! It's authentic and delicious! The service was fabulous and I really love the decor is bright and festive! I particularly enjoy the ceviche, guacamole, beef enchiladas, & margaritas. Felt like I was home again! read more

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This place is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year and so it has to be a bit if an Edinburgh institution, right? Wrong! Despite being a nice enough looking Mexican in a great location, this place goes to support the theory that it's hard to find decent reliable food in the touristy vicinity of the royal mile. So disappointing to find both our shared starter of chicken nachos and our mains of pork burrito and chicken fajitas tasteless and honestly substandard to something I could have rustled up myself from an old El Paso dinner kit in the flavour stakes. The presentation was pretty (1 star) and the staff friendly & efficient (2 stars) and so the only ingredient missing was - well - the ingredients! Won't be returning! read more

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I've tried three Mexican eateries in Edinburgh and I've been to this one a couple times and have to say it's my favorite! You can get sharing tapas where each Dushanbe us about £2-3 and comes with two portions.. Works out perfectly for trying different dishes! Everything we tried was great so young can't really go wrong.. Up was my first time trying mole sauce (chocolaty creamy sauce) and was not disappointed! There's lots of seating (surprised they had a downstairs which we were lucky to get a table) - gets busy so make a reservation! Oh and the first time we came, we were able to try the huge Mexican hats.. Good fun! read more

Viva Mexico - Mexican Near Me - Edinburgh, EDH

Aside from the refried beans and rice, our food tasted pretty bad, one dish even tasted exactly what I imagine a wet towel would taste like- GAG! We were seated in the basement and the service was pretty slow, not sure if they forgot us a few times. I ended up feeling quite sick from whatever I did intake - was not a fun experience at all. The table legs were uneven and the table surface was sticky - not a good look guys, not at all. read more

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I would give this place 3.5 stars, but not possible, such decided to pull out the daredevil and go for a 3 star. The location is ideal, just off Royal Mile. The big windows decorations just scream to come in and try a Mojito. Oh yeah. There is not much space upstairs. A few tables utmost. There are no table cloths, but the wooden tables match the rustic mexican interior with its yellow walls. I like it. It was Halloween, so the waitresses made efforts to dress up in scary costumes. I ordered the Mojito, which came in a small glass with large ice cubes. Hmmm, not enough Mojito and largest ice cubes ever, such a no no. The burritos came with beef, rice and various mexican typical sauces . I missed the proper spices for my taste buds. Nevertheless, I like this place and would go there, even for a romantic get together or with friends. read more

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My wife and I stopped in for lunch as we remembered eating fish tacos here on a visit a few years ago. We live in Southern California and eat Mexican food a couple of times a week. This restaurant serves the closest thing to authentic Mexican food I have experienced in Europe. My wife ordered the Chicken Fajitas cooked fresh and served with flour tortillas. She said they were very delicious. I ordered the beef enchiladas lunch special that was served with rice and tortilla soup. The enchiladas were tasty, however I think they were prepackaged and microwaved before served. The soup was delicious and was topped with sliced avocado. They only thing that would make this dining experience more authentic is if they served complimentary tortillas chips and salsa as you were seated. #edinburghmexicanfood #edinburghmexicanrestaurants read more

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I have been traveling and I'm always on the search for some good Mexican/Tex-mex and this place did not disappoint! I ordered a frozen margarita and then the ground beef tacos. Chips and salsa were good and I ate every bite of my meal. I will be coming here again before I leave. I'm from Texas and this is the closest I've come to Tex-mex since I left. Definitely recommend you give it a try! The service was good and friendly, too! read more

Viva Mexico - Mexican Near Me - Edinburgh, EDH

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Probably the best meal I had in Edinburgh. I am from California, and we are SNOBS about Mexican food, but this place was pretty good. I had their lunch special: tomato soup and taquitos. The soup came out as an appetizer and it was good; very spicy, had literal tortilla chips (not the strips) but I liked it and it was filling! They wait for you to finish your appetizer before bringing the main out. While there are only two taquitos with the lunch portion, it comes with a side salad and rice. The taquitos were SO GOOD. So much so that I'm sitting in the airport at 5am right now craving them. I was worried that two wouldn't be enough but again, the soup was very filling, and coupled with the sides I left satiated. I washed everything down with a couple of gold margaritas. I wish I had time to return and sample more; they are not quite authentic but they do hit the spot! read more

Viva Mexico - Tomato soup...loaded! - Mexican Near Me - Edinburgh, EDH

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Come to Edinburgh, enjoy the Mexican food. Pretty good food. Ceviche, burritos, etc. Excellent service. UPDATE: We stayed for dessert. The flan and the chocolate chili cheesecake were excellent. read more

Amazing food!!! Loved their lunch chimi Great taste and price was also excellent. THE place for Mexican food in Edinburgh read more

Maybe I'm just spoiled from being near Mexico and South America, but this was very average Mexican food and also the most expensive Mexican food of my life. I understand USD is worth less than the pound but a bean and cheese burrito that would average at max $12 in the average nicer US Mexican food restaurant was a whopping $24 dollars here. The food was tasty and satisfying but was not worth the price tag and everything could have used some more salsas as well. read more

Although I was having fun traveling, and in love with Edinburgh, I couldn't shake the emptiness that I felt. It had been several weeks since I left the west coast of California and therefore just that much time since I had enjoyed a burrito...or even a taco. I could feel the absence of Mexican food and it weighed upon me. Then, one evening, as I glanced out of the window from where we were staying, I noticed the "Viva Mexico" sign. "Mexican food...in Scotland? Get the [insert expletive here] out!" I exclaimed. I was sure it was merely travel weariness playing tricks upon me. So, we went the next evening to check out what I was sure would prove a mirage. The "Viva Mexico" experience did not disappoint. The price at first was shocking for thanks to geography, I'm accustomed to getting superb Mexican food at bargain-basement prices. The food was was in retrospect, acceptable, but at the time the fact that it was Mexican food (extra star!) made it taste as if each dish were sprinkled with magic. We ordered a tomato-based tortilla soup, quesadillas (they call them quesadas and in their defense, they were big), Sonora style-refried beans, and they special made some potato-chickpea flautas. We topped these off with freshly made margaritas. The dinner was expensive but the atmosphere was lively and the staff was both sweet and accommodating. And, it instantly cured my culinary case of homesickness. TIP: If you go, sit in the back. You'll get a glorious view overlooking Waverley bridge. read more

Whoa. I'm in love. But, I'm in love with a hooker and I can't afford to have her every night, or even once in a while. Only on special occassions really, and even then, I'm uncomfortable spending that much money. And that's Viva Mexico. When I arrived on Thanksgiving Day I wanted a special meal to remember all of the important historical American facts about Thanksgiving and I thought Mexican was a pretty decent cuisine to eat considering we annexed most of their country in the past and there's not much American Indian dining to be had in Scotland (or anywhere for that matter). Mexican it was. Oh and it was damn goooooood. It tasted like sweet, sweet colonozation. Sangria went right to my head. Beans and rice, cooked just right. Warm tortilla chips and a prawn/shrimp filled plate. I was full and happy... and then I ordered the Chili Cheesecake and I was having inappropriately romantic feelings toward Viva Mexico. Then I got the bill. And It was 80 dollars. That's 55 pounds. That's a f*cking lot for Mexican food, of any sort, even the best sort. It is, in effect, beans, rice, cheese, tortillas and ground meat (the guacamole and sour cream are extra). I know how much that stuff costs. And it's not visa prices for your staff because as I could see... there was only one Mexican guy (if he's even really Mexican, he just spoke Mexican Spanish). There were no gold specks in my food and they didn't give me a foot massage or even a hot menthol towel at the end... and if I am going to spend my student-y 55 pounds, I want orgasmic piles of food and three days worth of leftovers or some sort of Mariachi band and Spanish Fly. Here's a tip: Free tortilla chips and salsa are f*cking MANDATORY for a good Mexican food experience. I'm not talking take away burritos (that's a horse of a different color) but if my ass is going to sit down and spend 55 pounds - gimme free chips like they would in real Mexico (I think). read more

Boy, was this ever a welcome sight to a couple Americans sick of eating fish and chips. We had a chicken and a shredded beef burrito, which came with refried beans and rice. We also had a margarita on the rocks and a Corona, both of which were super. The meal was filling although not as large as one you'd get in the US, but considering that most European portions are smaller, this was ample. The walls are decorated with iconic Emilio Zapata posters, sombreros and the like. The servers were friendly and helpful--2 ladies and 2 guys waited on us and brought us our food and drinks. I'm amazed and grateful to find this place on a steep street in the middle of Edinborough. Thanks to fellow Yelpers who helped us find and choose this nice place. read more

There aren't a lot of places to get Mexican food, so when I find one, I like to try it, but am not usually wowed by it. However, I love the chimichangas at Viva Mexico, especially with the carnitas. This time around it was a little dry, but it was still full of flavor and delicious. The beans are great, but the rice could use a little more flavor. To start, try the chips and pico de gallo. The pico de gallo has great flavor and be warned it is very spicy, but absolutely wonderful. The margaritas are strong, and the cerveza is ice cold. I love the atmosphere, the staff are friendly, and every time I bring new friends, they love it! read more

Pretty decent. The food was quite good - at least as good as you can hope for in a Mexican restaurant in Scotland. The interior was nice, they (of course) had plenty of Mexican beer, and the cocktails were good. Food was served fast, and the taste was ok. All in all; pretty good, but nothing mind-blowing. read more

When you're homesick and missing the food back in the states.... you try to find decent Mexican food which is not easy. This place met the craving. Pretty authentic Mexican food. Real refried beans. Rice is good. We had burritos, tacos and taquitos and all were great. Service was good. read more

4.5 from me. As someone who has grown up on the Arizona/Mexico border, I would say I'm a pretty good judge of Mexican food, and Viva Mexico is pretty darn good considering how far from Mexico they are. I stumbled upon this place on a Friday night and had fairly low expectations (so far Mexican food in England has been dire). I was really presently surprised. The margaritas were delicious and authentic, the guacamole was fresh and the pico de gallo was very good. Had the fish tacos which were not quite the same as traditional baja fish tacos (different batter) but it came with a lovely chipotle sauce, cabbage and some very tasty refried beans. The restaurant itself was really cute. Very funky, fun Mexican decor with an eclectic mix of music. The staff was really friendly and the place had a fun, vibrant atmosphere. I would definitely recommend this place! read more

So I returned with a good friend of mine who is quite the Mexican food connoisseur. We ordered from the street food menu. Tacos all around. While they were good they weren't great. They are so far, the best I've had in Edinburgh. Some of the tacos were pretty great while others were lacking in flavor. The sopes were probably my favorite item. I am a real sucker for fresh handmade tortillas. Still a fan of Viva Mexico just trying to manage expectations at this point. read more

Who goes to Scotland and has Mexican food? We did. Looking for a lighter meal, we saw twinkle lights and stepped into a homey spot. Ordered a small pitcher of margaritas and tacos. Everything top notch. Service was attentive. read more

BEST MEXICO FOOD IN ALL OF SCOTLAND! Okay you might ask why do I want Mexican Food in Scotland, anyway? I first went to Viva Mexico at the ripe age of 23 as a graduate student at the University of Edinburgh. The original Viva Mexico was down a Close (walking corridor) very close to the current location on Cockburn Street, I remember how we used to finish up our studies and head out for some Mexican beer and nachos. I was in Edinburgh in August for the Edinburgh Festival to see Paco Pena's new Flamenco premiere, so I convinced my travel companions to join me on a trip down memory lane to an old-time favorite eatery. I'm not sure how to describe the food, except to say that if you have had stuffed nopales in Oaxaca or the street tacos in Cancun, you will appreciate when I say that this place is AUTHENTIC. Not a Brit's idea of what Mexican food 'might taste like' if they didn't buy everything at Tesco, but instead an authentic, home made assortment of traditional Mexican food with moles and ranchero sauces when and where you expect them. A wonderful find, a wonderful opportunity to relive my school days, and very happy to see that the kids are now running the restaurant in its larger, more posh location. VIVA -- Viva Mexico!!! read more

From the outside, this place looks good. I ended up visiting this place for a friend's birthday last night and I hate to say it but it just wasn't great. The menu is good and everything looked tasty but the food was very pricey. Mains were around £13-14 which for a burrito is a bit much, especially once you order starters/drinks. The main issue was that we waited a LONG time for our food. We were a group of 9, but it took well over an hour to come. This meant several rounds of drinks before even getting starters and lots of rumbly tummies round the table. When the food eventually came some of our order had got mixed up, though they did sort this out relatively quickly. The food was tasty, and we pretty much inhaled it after the wait (hence the lack of picture). After our mammoth wait for the overpriced food they also added on a service charge, which was rather cheeky I thought. The restaurant itself had a pretty view out to Princes St and the Balmoral, this was probably it's highlight. Overall I probably wouldn't recommend this place. read more

Loved it. We showed up at Viva Mexico late on a busy Friday night and, despite being packed, the staff worked their magic and found us a table. They definitely could have saved themselves the trouble and sent us on our way, so it was very much appreciated. We ordered a pitcher of margaritas (yum). The glasses came pre-salted, so if you're not into salt with your margaritas, there's your heads up. Warn the waiter/waitress ahead of time. Or just stop being so picky! The food was great. I can't even remember what I ordered because I was so hungry and it was so good and who knows if I even chewed because it was gone in about 2 minutes. Thus, my only complaint is the portions sizes could be bigger. read more

We had a lovely meal here on a busy Saturday night. Despite having two large groups in the service was quick and staff were very attentive to our party of 2. We started our meal with drinks, unfortunately their barman was off but they did their best to make my Mojito! We did also try Micheleda for the first time and would thoroughly recommend this beer based cocktail. My chicken tacos were delicious and came with rice and super tasty refried beans. My partner had a chimichanga which was also hit the spot. I think the only let down were the starters, the nachos felt a bit lacklustre so could perhaps do with some sour cream / guacamole so this is where the star was lost for me. Overall a delicious meal, great atmosphere and good value for money! read more

We stopped in here for lunch on our last day in Edinburgh. The reviews on Yelp looked good, and I love great Mexican, so why not? We ordered a pitcher of margaritas. We forgot to mention we like it on the rocks, so they were with crushed ice instead of ice cubes. The flavor was alright. More lemony than I'm used to my margaritas being, but not terrible enough to not drink them! For lunch, we split an order of Haggis nachos (not traditionally Mexican, but sometimes you have to try the fusion) with a side of the extra hot salsa. For our mains, I had the chile verde pork Chimichanga and the other half had the beef Enchiladas. How was the food? Yeah it was good. Not great, but good. The nachos were tasty, but the extra hot salsa was barely medium in my book. Good flavor, but far from the "extra hot" the menu was claiming it to be. The mains were alright too. The beef was better than the pork (in my opinion) and I used the rest of the extra hot salsa to spice up my Chimichanga a bit. Overall, it was decent Mexican (considering it's in the UK, where a lot of stuff is terrible). I would have preferred it hotter. Given the national dish of the UK is curry (or so some claim), I would expect that people here would like their Mexican a bit hotter. Unfortunately, the waitress claims that people really don't want any spice in their Mexican at all. Maybe these are the people who order Korma at the curry house. I don't know. I'd probably go back if I were in Edinburgh, and I were with people who wanted to go. The lunch prices were fantastic (£5.75 for the mains, and about £4.50 for the nachos we split), and the food was decent. However, if this is the best Mexican in Edinburgh as some of the other reviews claim, then Edinburgh is in dire need of something better. read more

Perfect!! My family was craving Mexican so much and it totally hit the spot! I recommend the burrito;) their drinks are great too!

I have been twice to Viva Mexico, once for lunch and once for dinner, and I loved it! The staff is friendly, the atmosphere is fun, the place is quirky with various rooms and near decorations, and (importantly!) the food is great! The mole enchiladas were especially fantastic and authentic, and at a great price for such a delicious sauce that is both difficult and time-consuming to make. We had them both times we came and also enjoyed the Plato Nacional variety platter of appetizers. It's rare to find such good Mexican food in the UK, and I love this place. I will be back! read more

viva mexico is one of the few mexican restaurants i had yet to try in edinburgh, so when dinner was arranged here for friday night i was looking forward to going. i had a quick peak at the menu and was slightly disappointed that i may not be able to eat a lot of it as it's still passover and bread/grain options are off limits. still though, margaritas were still allowed so i knew it would still be a good night! i very carefully walked down the hill that is cockburn street in 4 inch heels to arrive at viva mexico. from street level the restaurant looks tiny as there is on a front room to be seen. but on entering i was instructed to head down the stairs to the back dining room which was much larger and there is a second dining room as well so loads of seats. i definitely was digging the decor, it was super colourful and stereotypical and cheesy but i thought it suited the vibe of the restaurant. the pinata was a nice touch and after a few jugs of margaritas we were tempted to hit it and see if there was candy inside!! so the margaritas were awesome!! a wee bit expensive though as a jug was about £25 or so. this did provide about 10 small glasses of drink though, so i'm not sure what the value for money is on that... we ordered some corn tortillas and guacamole which after some googling i realised i could eat as they were gluten free and only made from corn. in fact after that i realised that a lot of the menu was available to me and it was quite handy that they had marked all the GF items! the guacamole was super tasty and quite garlicy, some of the best guacamole i've had in awhile. it was quite obvious this had been made in the restaurant and not bought in which was good. for mains i ordered the pork tostadas and this is where my three star rating comes in. when my dish arrived it looked tasty enough (i've posted a picture), but on digging in i wasn't overly impressed. there was no taste explosion and the pork wasn't super tender it was actually a wee bit dry. the corn tostadas got rather soggy underneath all the pork, refried beans, salsa, and guacamole as well. but the rice on the side was quite tasy and overall my dish was ok but not as good as other mexican i've had. the portion was also fairly large so i only managed just over half of it. on paying the bill we all commented that prices were a bit high for what we had gotten, which is another reason for the 3 star review. we did pay a lot for the margaritas but mains were also a few quid pricer than any other mexican i've been to in edinburgh and not as good quality. so i think overall i had an ok experience here and some of the food was very good, but my main was just ok. i would go back here, but i'd probably opt for another mexican first. read more

Viva Mexico - Pork tostadas - Mexican Near Me - Edinburgh, EDH

Worse service ever... I wonder if the owners are from Mexico or Spain, because the food was anything but Mexican, or maybe because we come from a place where we can find very decent and good Mexican food. The waiter was no friendly at all and very slow, he did no understand that we just wanted to drink water, and no alcohol or sodas, I think that upset him, it's pretty common in US and in London to drink water in restaurants without any problem. Anyways, I hope the owners of this place read this review, they need to put order with their employees and try better with their food. I ordered for a pollo asado and they gave me pretty much chicken nuggets and rice, my sister ordered for chicken quesadillas and they gave her 2 pieces of pita bread and boiled chicken. At the end we wish we never went there. read more

A group of us went here for dinner here last week. All I knew of it was that it was a Mexican Restaurant on Cockburn Street, so I had no prior expectations. When I wondered in it looked tiny but when a lovely woman showed me to our table to meet my friends I realised the place is like a rabbit warren and much bigger than it seems. We were sitting in a fairly big room downstairs, full of Mexican trinkets and seemed great fun. So far so good, but then came the problem... When scanning the menu, everything seemed rather over priced. I was a little strapped for cash so instead of joining in on the rounds of £25 Maragrita pitchers I opted for a couple of glasses of average white wine. I also wasn't that hungry so I opted for the haggis and cheese quesadilla starter for £5 and just had it as a main. This was a mistake as it was tiny and had very little haggis in it. Although I didn't have any envy of everyone's main courses as they also seemed pretty average and not very big. Considering you can get mini haggis quesas from Illegal Jacks for £3.50 and they are twice the size and have lots more filling, and not just haggis and cheese, I felt a little cheated. Overall, I loved the quirky Mexican decor and the staff seemed really nice. I wouldn't mind the prices if the food was great but I thought it was barely even good. In my opinion, for a decent quesadilla or burrito I would far rather go to Illegal Jacks on Lothian Road or Los Cardos on Leith Walk, unless Viva Mexico ups it's game. read more

Excellent, fresh Mexican cuisine. I had the Chicken Molle and my husband had the chicken Chimichanga but were superb. Fresh and flavour with friendly service. Our best dinner after a week in Scotland, believe it or not! read more

It was a rainy Saturday evening during the Fringe and we needed to find somewhere to eat. We phoned around a couple of places we had been before who all said they were fully booked or weren't taking bookings, you had to show up and wait for at least half an hour. I checked yelp and read the reviews for this place so decided it was worth a try. I'm so glad we did. When we arrived we were told that they would put us on the waiting list and we'd need to come back in half an hour as there wasn't room to wait - we pretty much expected this so went elsewhere for a drink and came back. The place was heaving (as I said - Saturday night during the Fringe) but we were seated as soon as we came back - the place is huge downstairs. Our order was taken quickly and within about ten minutes I was presented with an awesome veggie chimichanga and a small jug of frozen strawberry margarita with a gorgeous mojito and tostadas for the boyfriend. The margarita was lovely although not the best I've tasted but the food was gorgeous. It was a really good portion size (I'm pretty greedy) and we didn't need the salsa that we'd been given on arrival as the food was perfect. We were pretty full but as I have a second belly just for dessert I opted for the chocolate chili cheesecake. It was pretty rich and had just enough bite to slightly make the back of my throat burn a bit - lovely! The staff were friendly but obviously run off their feet and although it was pretty noisy there was a nice atmosphere. The decoration looks as though whenever the owners see anything slightly Mexican-looking they buy it and throw it in there. This means there's plenty to look at and the place feels really relaxed. We loved it so much we went back a few days later, my burrito was gorgeous as was the boyfriend's lemon cheesecake (which I had to test so I could review it obviously), If we didn't have a show to go to I'd have happily sat and had a few more jugs of margarita and don't think I'd have been ushered out. The only things I'd change is that they bring your drinks just after your food rather than when you're waiting for it and the jugs of margarita are quite expensive for the size. That said, this is now my favourite place in Edinburgh and I'll definitely be back next time we're there - I just wish they'd open one up in my home town! read more

It probably isnt fair for someone from the west coast of the US to rate a Mexican restaurant in Scotland... ... but I am going to anyway. After living in the UK for 3+ years and having constant, massive Mexican cravings, I have recently taken my Mexican Mission to Edinburgh. After searching around, Viva Mexico seemed to have some of the best reviews, so off we went! The location is dubious as it is just off the Royal Mile and makes you think it cant possibly good, but happily this is not a problem. The ambiance is very nice, lots of lovely 'authentic' Mexican decor and the servers were very friendly. Happy to say there was a good selection of drinks, including Mexican beer, sangria, and margaritas. Sangria was very good, with the proper amount of fruit, etc. We started with some appetizers. The boy had a set of three mini-tacos which he was very happy with. That is surprising as he is very difficult to please when it comes to Mexican. I had the ceviche, which was good, though it was a bit different than any I have had before. Unlike another reviewer, I wish the chunks of fish were bigger so I could distinguish them, and the reddish sauce sort of threw me off, but otherwise a very acceptable ceviche. For mains the boy had a something grande and I had a shredded beef burrito. The Grande said it was supposed to come smothered in melted cheese, but didnt. Otherwise it was good, though not amazing. The burrito was good. You could tell the meat was good quality and slow-cooked, and it was fairly big. Overall, a very acceptable Mexican experience. Definitely satisfied the cravings for a bit. Wasnt the best Mexican I have had, but very good for the UK. I am with others who say it is weird to give free salsa, but not chips. Also, overall the meal was very expensive for Mexican. Maybe we are spoiled by our American roots, as I kept thinking how I could get an amazing, massive burrito in California for $2. Though it was good, I think this would have to be only an occasional treat as the prices make it difficult to justify anything else. read more

This is the only place to get mexican food in Edinburgh, as far as I'm concerned! Yes, the place is decorated like a Tijuana gift shop, but everything was so delicious, I'm willing to overlook that. There's a pretty standard selection of yum yums: nachos, tostadas, enchiladas, chimichangas, etc. The bar also serves up a delicious frozen strawberry margarita in addition to several mexican beers. If you're looking for tacos that consist of pita bread filled with rice (curse you, Chiquito!!) then this may not be the mexican food for you. But if you hail from West Coast and would shoot a baby penguin for some decent guacamole, you're in luck! read more

Yeah, yeah, yeah, so I was tipsy, and not just a little when I got here. It was a friends birthday, and she had too much wine, ... so ... I'm excused. But listen, I lived in California, L.A. to be exact, for a year AND my best friend is Mexican AND I dined at their grandparents ranch. So I know Mexican food, right? Not even close? Deal with it. I LOVED IT. But man, I'm with Steph D. on this, it is expensive. I won't compare it to regular U.S.A. prices since their food is ridiculously cheap, but no student can afford this more than once in a blue moon. Mains are above 10pound easy, and starters are around 6-7, with a drink, that's well above my weekly budget for going out. That being said, I had a killer Margarita here with rock salt, I know, I know, rock salt (forgive me Jenny!) but I love it so. I know it's bad and I'm trying to kick the habit, but it tastes so goooooood. Right, on to the refried beans: I want to bathe in them. Now it is a well-known fact that when I'm slightly tipsy, everything tastes good. But usually, I'm not much of a fan of refriend beans, but these little buggers just hugged my stomach until it felt so warm and fuzzy, I could've been a damn Telletubbie (sp?). Dear me, was it good. Oh do I want to go back, but not unless someone else is footing the bill, I can't afford it. So I think I'll just play matchstick girl outside for a while until someone takes pitty on me and gives me their leftovers. I've been practicing on my Puss-in-Boots sad-eyes. read more