Oaxaca Margarita Bar & Mexican Restaurant — Restaurant in Edwardsville

My husband and I were waiting for a table for my birthday dinner and decided to head over to the bar to grab drinks while we waited. When we walked up, I had a smile on my face and was about to ask for menus when the bartender looked right at me with a disgusted look, rolled his eyes and walked away right away. This was around 7 pm on 10/28/23. I am truly not a person who writes bad reviews often (as evidenced in my review history) but I couldn’t let this experience pass by. I have never in my 15 years in the area, since coming here for college, felt so unwelcomed in a space anywhere in Edwardsville. I felt like crying. I don’t know if it was a pre-judgement of who I am based on looks, which would be unfounded because I’m a multiracial person who is part Hispanic, or if they were having a terrible day, but I couldn’t stay there after that experience. The hosts were nice and even the server was nice but that first experience was with the bartender before the server popped up behind us.

It was truly disappointing because I had been looking forward to finally trying this restaurant out because I heard such awesome things from friends who have gone. I wanted to go somewhere new. We decided to head over to 1818 Chophouse instead, which is great but somewhere I’ve been multiple times. I was REALLY looking forward to the experience that others of my circle have had but I didn’t get to. Anyone reading, I suggest maybe still trying it out but being mindful that there’s a possibility of that feeling of being in a space where you’re not welcomed.

It just truly hurt to experience that and in Edwardsville, a city that has made me feel at home for so long. So much for a new place to celebrate...

When Oaxaca first opened, they had amazing customer service. Today there was a new manager and he was ridiculous. My best friends mom made to clear to the server that she couldn't have anything spicy. She ordered the shrimp tacos and the enchiladas de moles. I told her that the enchiladas weren't spicy and the server told her that there wasn't anything spicy in the shrimp tacos. So she proceeded with her order. Once she received her order she had a reaction to the spice. It turned out, the shrimp tacos had jalapeños in the Pico and the sauce on the enchiladas had a spice she couldn't tolerate either. We asked to switch it out for something else. The manager came over, (which by the way we couldn't tell he was a manager because he was dressed in a plain white tee, some jeans and pink and white airforce ones, like he was about to serve dope on the block. ) I explained the situation and he said he would talk to the owner. He left and came back and said he spoke to the owner and the owner told him to tell us, we could order something different but we'd still be charged for the food my best friend's mom couldn't eat and if we didn't want to pay for the food she couldn't eat, we would have to leave. I immediately became annoyed and asked if him if it was because of our race that he was talking to us like that because as he flirted with the servers, he seemed kinder. We asked our server to put in another order for enchiladas without the molè sauce, but she came back and and said he refused to put the order in. We paid for everything but the shrimp taco and we left. Please find a new manager who wants to run a business and not a trap house. He's bringing the...

This is by far my favorite Mexican restaurant on the Eastside of the Mississippi. I have never been disappointed with anything. Each of my visits have been top notch.

As with any Mexican restaurant, I'll start off praising their complimentary chips and salsa. If they charged for these like some places do, I would gladly pay. The chips are crisp with a good flavor and the salsa is spicy with a good thickness that clings to the chip. I recommend treating yourself and ordering a side of cheese dip or guacamole to accompany your chips and salsa.

Then there's their Margaritas and all I can say is, OMG. They have so many flavors to choose from and they are all strong. So they truly live up to their name that says, "Margarita Bar". Normally it takes two or more to give me buzz at other Mexican restaurants, but I can get a buzz with one here. My favorites are; Blue Jalapeño and Cadillac.

My most recent visit was to celebrate, National Burrito Day. I went at lunchtime and was able to get a special on the Grilled Chicken Burrito. If size matters for you, this burrito is "HUGE". I had to take a small portion of it home for a night snack. It was filled with; black beans, rice, lettuce, tomato and shredded cheese and then topped chipotle sauce and a dab of sour cream. For me, it was a great way to celebrate National Burrito Day.

A previous visit, I enjoyed an order of their Nachos Supremos. If you order these, make sure you have someone to share them with. When I ordered them, I took a pass on the free chips and salsa and that was a smart move.

The service is friendly and very attentive. I eat at a lot of Mexican restaurants and they by far offer the...