El Mariachi Mexican Restaurant — Restaurant in Auburn

Birthday lunch was a success: We asked for extra bowls and enjoy the dishes, family style. We had a lady bring us chip and salsa. We asked her to bring an order of hot sauce which was not brought and we had to repeat 3x: one to her, the server and then the manager. Our server was okay. He mixed up one of our order # and fix it. I also believe once a dish hit a customer table you don’t need to bring it back and if they do I hope they toss it. I would recommend repeating back orders so this would happen again. One of the things I do not like about being seated in the back is you will be forgotten but he frequently check on us. Even the manager came by a few times and check on us. Restaurant was overall nice and spacious. We have guac, deep fried tacos which was a bit heavy for the first go to meal.. birria gravy was rich with flavor. We also had chicken soup and seafood/chicken stone platter. Food was okay. Bone-in on the chicken soup would of been better than their boiled chicken as described on menu. Bf thought the guac was bland and merge salsa on top. We also order their signature hot sauce and gave the...

We went here yesterday and we were not a fan at all. We got there right before the evening rush at about 4:45. The waitress did nothing but hang out in the back even though we were her only table for the first 15 minutes. Didn’t come back after she dropped the food off, didn’t get us refills or ask if we needed them. Terrible from the service standpoint. The food came out super quick, which was not a good thing. My kids cheese quesedilla wasn’t melted, my chimichanga tasted like it had been fried hrs before and heated up in the microwave and put on a hot plate. The stale rice and beans were had no seasoning or flavor in my opinion, the chips had no seasoning or salt and the salsa was just bland. There wasn’t a thing brought out to us that tasted good except the drinks unfortunately. We usually go to Viva La Vida, but we have been giving other places a try to mix it up. We will never come back here again, this has got to be bottom of the list for Opelika. Maybe we came on an off day, but I’m not willing to...

Finally a Mexican restaurant in Alabama that serves quality Mexican food! And gracious service to boot. I've found that most Mexican restaurants in the area, if I'm being charitable, adjust their menus to suit a middle-American palate, and end up with enchiladas that are indistinguishable from store-bought flour tortillas under spaghetti sauce. El Mariachi is completely different, as was evident as soon as I saw molcajete on the menu. Savory stew, well-seasoned meats, all components properly cooked. Rice, refried beans, chips, salsa, and corn tortillas were all winners as well. The only element that wasn't my style was the guacamole. And while I don't place a priority on quantity, there was more than enough meat for two people. Diners on a budget will do well to order the $22 molcajete with all the meats, add another side of rice and beans, and maybe order an appetizer. I will be back every time I come to Auburn, and I look forward to exploring more...