Zapata's Mexican Restaurant — Restaurant in Charlotte

(Picture is 12oz beer in "24"oz mug) I came to Zapata's on Tues, 11.12.24 at 6pm. It was totally dead, only a couple of tables were taken. That gave me a red flag right away on Taco Tuesday!! I ordered street tacos, and my sons ordered chimichanga and enchiladas. My tacos were decent, nothing different than any other Mexican restaurant. No complaints. My son's enchiladas looked unappetizing. They were just basically 2 small burritos in flour tortillas. I am used to mine being rolled in corn tortillas with red sauce all over it. Chips and salsa were the highlight. The salsas were good imo and chips were fresh and hot.

So why 1 star review? They ripped me off. I ordered a draft 24oz beer, and it came in a semi-tall skinny glass. After drinking it in about 2 minutes, I was like there is NO WAY that was 24oz. I have drank the same beer in 12oz cans many, many times and I know what 24ozs feels like. So I then ordered a 12oz beer in a glass bottle and poured it into my "24"oz mug. It filled up the mug 3/4 of the way up. There was NO WAY I would be able to pour another 12oz bottle in there. At best this mug is 18ozs. I spoke to waitress, she brings asst manager. She says it is 22ozs, not 24. She had no logical explanation as to why they were advertising 24 but only giving 22. I saw no point in arguing, so I let it go. She did comp my 12oz beer, so that was nice. I then ordered their 16oz draft and poured it into the 24oz mug, and it filled up the mug a little past my 12oz pour. So the 16oz beer is not 16ozs. They are ripping people off. I then get my check, and see I was charged $16 for my 2 street tacos, rice and beans. As I am walking out the door, I see a sign in the window that says, "Street Tacos $11." I didn't say a word, it wasn't worth my time because I knew I would never step foot back in Zapatas. Go there is you want, just don't order draft beers and make sure you double check the bill before you pay.

Me frankly, Los Aztecas near Northlake Mall is the best Mexican restaurant. It's about 45 minutes from me, but its totally worth the drive. I get a 30oz+ draft there, and I can barely lift it up to drink it. Plus their street tacos are amazing. They are served with charro beans (the best I've had) and grilled whole green onions, lightly salted... I dream of those onions. Plus, I get 4 tacos, and it's the same price as Zapatas. It doesn't come with rice, but frankly who cares. I'll take 4 tacos, charro beans and green onions any day over 2 tacos w/rice...

From where I reside, the 30 minute drive is worth it! (Especially with Charlotte traffic). My first time, the wait was awful, food came late, and my food had tomatoes and onions. When I ordered I asked if they could not come with, and he said yes. Of course I sat there picking through my food and did not enjoy. I summed it up to them having a bad night. We only came back the next two times because a manager had gave us our food for practically nothing, and we only paid for our drinks. During those next two times the service was better, and my fiancé enjoyed food. My food was good as well, but again it had the tomatoes and onions. I asked both my waiters if the food came with it, and both said no. Again, I picked through my food. This sort of made it not as exciting to come here, and I wouldn’t unless my fiancé really wanted it.

We simply didn’t come for a long time, until tonight because my fiancé wants Mexican (he loves the food here). We go in and immediately we were seated. As soon as we sit, our waiter comes to get our drinks and someone else brings our chips and salsa. It’s clear to see I DO NOT like tomatoes! Worst case scenario, if it’s too difficult to exclude, I might eat depending on my mood. Obviously this means I hardly eat salsa, and I mean hardly. Tonight the salsa was good! I don’t know what it was, but it was so FRESH! And for me to actually eat it, my fiancé was shocked I liked it so much. He gets his usual and I get a taco bowl thing. I ask the waiter about tomatoes and guacamole, and he says it won’t come with. I ask a few more times to make sure, and he’s positive it won’t come with. Food comes super quick, and the bowl is PERFECT! I ate the whole thing, with no picking! Chicken was juicy and flavorful, and paired with the bowl and toppings I enjoyed my meal. This made me happy because as mentioned above the drive is one thing, and then my food not being what I would like. Today changed my mind about this place, and I simply had to leave a good note. My fiancé is definitely happy that he can continue to enjoy his food, without me having to stop somewhere after and get something else.

I honestly have nothing bad to say here. Only suggestion is that the booths are a little tiny for big chested women, but this can be fixed by sitting at a table. Give this place a shot and you will enjoy it. Especially those looking for authentic Mexican food, you will not be disappointed...

EDIT: Was left blank. Owner asked for a response on why I had a 1 star experience. It does seem i hand 1 stars out a fair bit but id rather warn people of a mistake then boast over a great place. Overpriced margaritas with more ice than margarita mix (which is a shame because they claim made fresh) and maybe a smidge of tequila. Tacos are outrageous. Not in a good way. They are at least $6 per taco for a small hard shell Americanized mess. Once again this place claims to be as authentic as possible yet in my many years of time spent in central and south america, yellow stale hard shell corn tortillas are not something that even jogs my memory. The bathroom for this location was a train wreck and service was minimal to the point myself and my coworkers wouldnt see a server for around 10 minutes after finishing a drink (which already took some significant time). The staff were not attentive at all. The food was not fresh nor authentic. The drinks were abysmal and overall I am not going to come back to this specific location. So in full response to the owner on why i gave you a one star review, theres a reason your restaurant is mostly empty over lunch in a very busy and popular business centric...