Mario's Mexican Restaurant — Restaurant in Adrian

Picking the best Mexican restaurant in Adrian is like picking a favorite child -- you really shouldn't, but, statistically speaking, you probably have one anyway.

Mario's is not my metaphorical favorite kid -- that award goes to Sunnyside Café, which is the most direct competitor of Mario's.

It might not even be my second favorite. Or my third (I get that those can be fighting words). Mexican food in Adrian is absurdly competitive -- in 95%+ of towns, this would be the place to go.

First rule of Mario's -- leave any snobbery at the door. There are gaps in the ceiling and random nails on the walls. The wallpaper is coming undone and there are huge gaps by the back door where there should be carpet. Basically none of the tables match and they're so worn that the paint is almost entirely off some of the bases. You're across the street from the prison. Maybe the new ownership will renovate -- part of me hopes they don't (seriously, they should.)

This isn't a place to get trendy street tacos or oversized margaritas to post on Instagram -- go to Cancun for that.

You come here for Tex-Mex -- the kind that gets served with mountains of shredded jack cheese and Coke out of a red plastic cup from the Walkman era.

The tacos are excellent. The tortillas are a slight touch on the tough side, but that's by Adrian standards -- we're picky. The "hot" salsa is flavorful, but isn't a tongue burner -- "medium" would be more accurate verbiage.

The ground beef is juicy, appropriately seasoned, and portioned generously. In fact, everything is portioned generously. If you don't leave feeling "Thanksgiving full", you're doing it wrong.

When you (think you) are done, go for the churros. You...

The new owner needs to learn better customer service! Her attitude was terrible. We had been waiting for at least 20 minutes or more to be served. When we asked if they had forgotten us, or at least for some complimentary chips and salsa because we were hungry. She came out in a huff and in a scolding tone said, "Is there a problem here? We are very busy!" As she brought out our food and handed us our food in a gruff manner. She just lost us as customers! The food was edible but not tasty like before. Not a good dining experience at all. :( (Since that day, we have gone to Maria's Sunnyside Restaurant! Better food & service with a smile!) 3/9/24 Response to owner: Wow! You missed the whole point again! You only see one viewpoint (yours), when you should be seeing things from your customer's perceptions & needs. The prior owners were kind & considerate of their patrons. And realized that they mattered to the restaurant's success. Stop taking things so personally. Learn from your reviews and implement change for the positive! Reviews are there to help you...

Original owners knew what they were doing. Luckily the new owners have the same food but WOW the customer service is absolutely horrible. Last time I got a to go order, I walked in and waited, and the owner looked at me like I was stupid for standing there, then pointed at my food and said "it's right there.." with an attitude, while she stood there yelling at her daughter who she was making cry. I just placed a large to go order, and since it's Friday, I assumed it would be busy, so I called with plenty of time before my husband would be there to pick it up. The owner Jenn called me with a huge attitude, like we weren't coming to pick it up, then hung up on me. We used to eat here at least once a week. Tonight will be our last visit. I would also like to point out the owners make extremely negative and rude posts on Facebook frequently and they close at 7, when most people are ready for dinner, then want to blame the city of Adrian for their business...