Mexicali Grill — Restaurant in Brentwood

Crazy coincidence...My 21 yr daughter and I were at Hyundai of Cool Springs purchasing a car and they told us it would be awhile so go get something to eat. After being there for hours we googled Mexican spots and just randomly picked Mexicali Grill. We walk in and Lord and behold it's the owner, Rasheed from Casa Fiesta on Bell Rd. If your from South Nashville (Antioch area), everyone knows about Casa Fiesta. I couldn't believe my eyes because I hadn't seen him in years. My daughter was 12 years old when we used to go there all the time. He literally remembered us. I instantly knew it was a blessing in disguise that we were all the way in cool springs and had randomly decided to stop there and we see him. That made us feel like we had made the right decision about the car lol ...The ambiance of the restaurant was AMAZING. The food was AMAZING 🤤... the drinks AMAZING 🍹... He explained that he had taken over the restaurant from the old owners but decided to keep the name the same. Im Soo picky when it comes to my food esp my meat. Our steak salads were delicious, our steak literally tender and seasoned to perfection... I live in Smyrna but on a night out I'll be driving to Franklin to eat at Mexicali Grill again... If your in the area and in the mood for some good, authentic, Mexican food you absolutely have...

Updated on 6/17 because we had a large group of 12 Sat night celebrating 2 birthdays. Very good place to have reservations for a long table and excellent service! We enjoyed all the dishes that come sizzling on ironware like fajitas and molcajetes. Most of us liked the homemade spicy salsa. Frozen margaritas are the best and made in house. Lots of fun with Mexican hats, singing, and Mexican desserts. Our children had room to move around and gather together. Then we left them with our mess. I took leftovers home and enjoyed every one of them. Thanks! Will be back soon.

Three visits that were all great! A Facebook group was the reason for the first visit and I keep going back. I've tried both margaritas on the rocks and frozen. They both taste the same and are the best in this area. The salsa is also the best if you don't mind an occasional hot pepper. The combination i has a chili relleno, is so good I keep getting it and think about it whenever Im hungry. You can specify your meat choices or beans or cheese. A friend got a different combination, loved it, and said he was stuffed. Another friend ordered cactus as a side and I had never heard of eating it. The manager was very nice and accomodated our request to turn off the music for a special needs young man. I will...

Service: Group of 20 (10 adults/10 kids) We arrived when there were no customers, took a bit to bring out the drinks, there were only the hostess and 2 servers. We received appetizers but no plates or utensils only to be told they didnt have any small plates for appetizers. I ordered a mojito and it was not good, worst mojito I have ever had. Our server was kind and quickly replaced with a water pwr my request, two others ordered horchata and it was not good either, we also returned it. We didn't get any drink refills, server never came around to refill. Margaritas tasted like the frozen lemon flavor you pick up at the freezer aisle and added liquor...it did its job but wasn't great tasting.

Food: Food was mediocre, I ordered chicken flautas, chicken was tasty and flautas were delicious but it didn't come with rice or beans, only lettuce and tomato. I have been to many Mexican Restaurants and never have I been told a plate doesn't come with beans and rice...awkward. Molcajetes were good, enchiladas were okay but definitely saved by the flavorful chicken.

We are Houstonians so we might be used to better food better service but its no excuse, definitely room for much improvement.

Definitely disappointing from a Mexican...