Azteca D'Oro Mexican Restaurant — Restaurant in Brandon

⭐ 3.5/5 I visited Azteca de Oro Restaurant on Wednesday and had a great experience with the food and service, but the bar/bartender needs important improvement.

✅ Service: My server, Melissa, was excellent—attentive, friendly, and professional. She made the experience enjoyable.

✅ Food: The food was fresh, flavorful, and well-presented. I especially enjoyed the ceviche, the tasty fresh salsa, the guacamole, the chicken quesadillas, and the queso. The strawberry spicy margarita was also beautifully served, but switching from syrup to fresh fruit purée would make a big difference. If they paired this with a properly promoted happy hour, they could attract even more guests. Doing the bare minimum will only produce minimal results.

❌ Mojito Quality & Bar Training: I ordered a mojito "light on the sugar", expecting something refreshing and well-balanced. Instead, it was overly sweet and syrupy, making it heavy rather than crisp and light. A proper mojito isn’t complicated—fresh lime juice, properly muddled mint, a light touch of sugar, and fresh soda water to finish.

❌ Flat Soda Water & Urgent Fix Needed: A major issue was the lack of proper carbonation in the soda water. Instead of bottled soda or tonic water, the restaurant relies on gun soda water, which had a bad taste, no bubbles, and was completely flat. For cocktails, carbonation matters just as much as fresh ingredients. Not only does the gun line likely need daily deep cleaning, but it also needs to be fixed or replaced—if sparkling soda water isn’t bubbling, it’s flat and unusable.

🚨 Important Consideration for Tampa Bay’s Demographic: This is Tampa, a region with a large Latino community, and mojitos are a highly desired drink in this area. If they can’t execute a solid mojito, it’s going to cut out a major demographic of customers. The bar should be a strong complement to their food, not an afterthought. Mojitos are a staple in Latin culture, and getting them right is essential for a restaurant aiming to appeal to this market.

After bringing up the issue, I was offered a rocks glass with what was supposed to be Bacardi and seltzer, but it had little to no alcohol and was just flat soda water. This didn’t fix the problem and felt more like a quick way to appease me rather than a genuine effort to correct the drink. It also felt deceptive, which I found insulting.❌️❎️❌️

🚨 Would I return? Yes, I’d give it another chance. The food was great—especially the ceviche, salsa, guacamole, chicken quesadillas, and queso.

What needs improvement: The bar needs better cocktail training, fresh fruit purées instead of syrups, and bottled soda water. Most importantly, they need to fix the gun soda system, because flat soda water ruins drinks.

Mojitos are a key drink in Tampa’s Latino community. If they can’t make them properly, they’re missing out on a large customer base.

I truly want to see Azteca de Oro succeed, and I’ll definitely be back—hopefully next time with improvements and heeding...

It's the newest Mexican restaurant in Brandon. I believe this is a family run chain of restaurants that started in Orlando. They've been opening many locations around the area. The first location in the Tampa Bay area opened in Wesley Chapel.

We visited at an off-peak hour between lunch and dinner service. They sat us in a nice booth at the bar area. It's nicely decorated with some very cool lighting and wall murals. The bar area seems massive. I'm guessing people go there for the margaritas and specialty cocktails that all look amazing.

The service was good. We got our ice tea right away along with complimentary chips & salsa. She gave us both to try. The spicier green salsa was the best. The mild red salsa didn't really taste like anything. No cilantro or garlic flavor. I don't recommend it. The chips were just okay. I know of many store brands that are better.

The entrées were also a bit disappointing. More so for my husband. He ordered the Plato Mexicano. It was a $30 platter that comes with carne asada and other specialties such as chicken taquito rancheros, an enchilada, and a chile relleno. He wasn't happy because it was served lukewarm. The cheese inside wasn't even melted. It tasted like it was reheated or premade. I can't even explain it. The taste was surprisingly bland. Maybe it was the time of day that we were there. I don't know. The server apologized, and offered to remake it for him. He declined because he didn't think that the temperature would make it taste better.

My steak fajitas were definitely sizzling when it arrived. There were no temperature issues, but the taste was pretty basic. It tasted more like a bottled marinade, and not much of a steak flavor. I guess it's what you would expect at any chain restaurant, but at a higher price point for the presentation. They give you a good enough portion of toppings. The grilled veggies were very good. The plantains were an additional charge. I don't recommend them.

They did give us a card for a complimentary future entrée. That was very nice. We may give them another try, but not...

Let me start off by saying Azteca is a beautiful restaurant. As soon as we stepped into the restaurant, we were at awe of the size of the place, knowing the restaurant that was in this same space previously was fairly small. Walking up to the hostess desk, all we could smell was the wonderful aroma coming out of the kitchen. We knew just by the smell we were in for a treat. We walked up to the hostess to see if there was an availability to dine. Approaching the hostess desk, we were greeted by the hostess and several other staff members with great smiles and a wonderful feeling of being welcomed. Okay, let me get down to the meat and potatoes of this review. we started off the night with the server bringing over some chips and salsa, which were delicious alone, but we decided to add on some of Aztecas' delicious queso dip. Now we will say the cheese was very good tasting. However, we found it a bit watery for our liking as we prefer a thicker cheese sauce so that it sticks to the chip better. with that being said, it still was very tasty. For our dinner choices, my girlfriend had their Tacos al Pastor, which came with three tacos filled with diced pork marinated with their spices pineapple and lime juice top of the onions and cilantro. Her overall thought on her selection was she felt it could of used a hint move pineapple. Now as for my dish I decided to go with their Borrego seasoned Lamb shank with rice,rancho beans and sliced avocado. It came with a marinade sauce that was a game changer. I didn't realize the sauce was for the lamb shank and was just eating the lamb, which was very tender and great tasting. Once I added the sauce onto the meat it created something special and brought this dish to another level. The staff their was on point and kept asking g if we needed anything. Overall, this place is great for a date night, large family gatherings or simply just hanging out with some friends. great beverage selections at a reasonable price. I can't wait to eat...