Cocina Madrigal Tacos + Tequila — Restaurant in Phoenix

TLDR: Lives up to the hype! Superlative food, service and very reasonably priced.

Vibe: 4/5. Located just a short drive from the Sky Harbor Airport, Cocina Madrigal is easy to miss with its unassuming exterior. The restaurant has a small parking lot in the rear of the restaurant as well as ample street parking on the adjacent street. Cocina Madrigal offers both inside and outside dining (outside is on a patio under a sun shade). On our 1130am lunch trip, we decided to sit inside. The restaurant opens at 11am, however it was already starting to fill up quickly. The interior is nothing to write home about. There are several 4 tops scattered around the dining room which can also be pushed together for larger group dining. They also have a small bar in one of the dining rooms perfect for a few after work margaritas.

Service: 5/5. The staff was wonderful from start to finish. We had made a reservation for 12:30pm for our party of 6, however we ended up being super early and arriving by 11:30am. The hostess was more than happy to accommodate us at our earlier time and we were seated immediately. Our waitress was excellent at getting our food and drink orders in promptly and before we knew it, we were chowing down. Overall, solid service all around with no hiccups!

Food: 5/5. Being that this was rated a top 50 Yelp restaurant on several occasions, as well as many YouTubers coming to Cocina Madrigal to sing praise, the bar was set pretty high coming into this lunch. Needless to say Cocina Madrigal did not disappoint. To start, we ordered the Oaxaca fundido and the hatch green Chile pork. Both came out wonderfully, exemplifying bold flavors and pairing wonderfully with the heavenly homemade tortillas. For the mains, several of the group got different variations of the tacos. The shrimp and al pastor renditions were generously overflowing with meat and tasted incredible. I personally opted for the birria enchiladas which were perfectly braised and did not disappoint. We also ordered several house and spicy margaritas which was the perfect accompaniment to our meals. Overall, I highly recommend the food, especially at their modest...

Cocina Madrigal has been on my list of places to try for awhile. It was packed on a Sunday afternoon, which I thought was a good sign. We were told it was a 30 minute wait for the two of us to sit inside, despite there being 4 empty tables and no one else in line. Maybe it was because they take reservations. We opted for the outdoor seating since we were starving, but that was a mistake on our part. The flies were unbearable.

Our server seemed to have forgotten us. I had to walk inside to the bar to get our waters refilled, and even then, it took awhile to even be acknowledged with my two obviously empty cups of water.

You have to pay for chips and salsa, which sucks, especially when you consider the cost of the entrees here. And speaking of the entrees, while they sure do look pretty, I can’t say there was anything special to warrant coming out of our way to eat here. I will say, the mushroom enchilada was pretty fire, even though it’s far from authentic. As for the birria enchilada…. that wasn’t birria, my friends. It was dry barbacoa with none of the color or seasoning one expects with birria. If it is indeed birria as they claim, it’s some of the worst birria I’ve ever eaten, and I’ve had a lot of it, and I’ve even made it myself. To say I felt let down is an understatement, and I’d even go as far as saying they’re intentionally misleading customers.

The “sides” of rice and beans come in tiny little plastic cups that are meant to hold ketchup, and were good enough for only a few bites of each.

The experience as a whole was a mixed bag. The food sure does look pretty, and everyone clearly hypes this place up online; it wasn’t bad by any means, but if the food was “out of this world” good it could’ve saved the the experience as a whole. In the end, we felt forgotten and unwanted, nickel and dimed for chips, salsa, and the world’s smallest sides of rice and beans, and misled by barbacoa pretending to be birria.

Word to the wise: don’t sit outside. It’s loud, it’s hot (no fans, with misters they don’t use), but at least the flies will give you attention even if the...

Well after listening to everyone brag about this place as if it was a gold mine and being referred to it by a downtown eatery near my office, I decided to go and check this place out for myself. As I pulled into the parking lot, I saw there were parking issues.

I looked outside in the patios and then went inside the restaurant, and I immediately noticed there would be things they needed to work on. I sat outside so I could hear what the patrons were saying about their food, and that too may have been a bad choice.

Although I was greeted and tended to pretty fast by the hostess and my waitress, as soon as my waitress walked away, there was also a four-legged friend who decided to join me under-the-table. Don't get me wrong, I love animals. I love pets, and I love life, but this was not the place or the time for it.

I went ahead and ordered 2 chicken enchiladas and one beef taco. I was served within 10 minutes and also had a small glass of tea with my meal. The green chicken enchiladas were OK but not something that I would order again. I then focused my attention on the beef taco that I had requested, and that too was not a good choice.

This restaurant claims to be Oaxacan style food, and I do know what authentic Mexican food is as I have cooked for my family and friends many times. Maybe this was just an off day for them, I don't know. When my waitress came back out, she only checked on me once, while other patrons received more attention than I did.

My waitress did not ask if I wanted a refill of tea and just went ahead and poured water into my glass, and now I have a mixture of watered-down flavor. That is a big no-no. To do that to a customer is a lack of attention you give to them.

There is nothing else I can say about this place, so I think that's it. Was it just a bad day for them? I'll try again sometime. As for their sister restaurant downtown on Central Avenue and Monroe, I highly recommend...