El Metate — Restaurant in Signal Mountain

Oh buddy, buckle up, because I’m about to sing the praises of El Metate in Signal Mountain, Tennessee like it’s the grand finale at a fireworks show.

If you’ve ever said, “I could really go for some tacos that make me question everything I thought I knew about joy,” then El Metate is where you need to be. I walked in expecting a regular ol’ Mexican meal. I walked out feeling like I’d been hugged by a mariachi band and kissed on the forehead by a warm flour tortilla.

Let’s talk chips and salsa first. They come out faster than your cousin Gary at a NASCAR race, and they do not play around. The chips are fresh, crispy, and clearly made by someone who respects the sacred geometry of the tortilla. The salsa? Spicy enough to make you feel alive, but not so spicy you need a medic. It’s the kind of salsa that makes you nod after the first bite and say, “Oh yeah. We’re gonna be friends.”

Now, the food. Sweet mercy. I got the fajitas, and when they brought them out, the whole restaurant turned to stare like a soap opera twist had just happened. Sizzling, steaming, making sounds like a Fourth of July sparkler—if fajitas had a theme song, mine were playing it. And the portions? Let’s just say I had leftovers and zero regrets.

My wife got the enchiladas and made sounds I usually only hear when she’s watching Hallmark movies and someone finds love in a small-town Christmas tree farm. The rice was fluffy, the beans were comforting, and everything on the plate had the audacity to be delicious.

Service? Impeccable. Friendly without being fake. Our waiter remembered our drink order and gave me extra guac without judging me. That’s the kind of hospitality that deserves a parade.

El Metate is the kind of place where you can bring your kids, your grandparents, your in-laws, your mailman, and they’ll all leave smiling and full. Heck, bring someone you don’t like—they’ll probably forgive you after a plate of chimichangas.

So if you’re on Signal Mountain and not eating at El Metate, what are you even doing with your life? Put down whatever sad sandwich you were planning on and get yourself to taco heaven. Just be warned: you’ll think about those fajitas in the shower for the...

Used to be great. My wife called me a couple of weeks ago and had me come get our two-year-old because she had been there for almost 2 hours and they were still waiting on their food. A friend of ours accompanied me and my wife to El Metate the other night. Not on a wait, but it took five minutes to get a seat. The hostess took our order approximately five minutes later - it was a Tuesday night and we had three small children with us, so we obviously needed to get in and out of there as quick as possible. Waters arrived approximately five minutes later. Chips and salsa arrived about 10 minutes later. A server then came and asked if anyone had taken our drink order - she showed us what appeared to be illegible chicken scratch that the hostess had apparently taken down when taking our order and advised that she could not read the same (I would have to agree). Our drink and food orders were taken again. To make a painfully long story short, it took over 1.5 hours to feed three adults, a two-year-old, a seven-year-old, and an eight-year-old on a slow Tuesday night. No explanation. No apology. I am afraid the problem is that restaurant management knows they will be busy Thursday - Saturday night, and they know they have a liquor license which will generate a crowd and regardless of their low-end service. The good news is that La Altena is at the foot of the mountain on Mountain Creek Rd., and Signal Mountain residents will be repaid in spades for the short drive as both the food and service are top-notch. I will likely never return to El Metate as I can go grocery shopping and cook better food from scratch a whole lot faster. One...

I was excited to try this Mexican spot on Signal Mountain, as we were up there for a class and were hungry. Firstly, I will say that the service was top notch. Our waitress was lovely and very attentive. However, the food was subpar. Perhaps we just ordered the wrong things. Everyone else at the restaurant seemed to be enjoying their meals, and I think I could smell the fajitas, which smelled divine. However, I don’t recommend the grilled chicken salad or the chicken tortilla soup. We ate them because we were hungry but the chicken tortilla soup was especially disappointing. It was lukewarm and did not have much flavor. The best thing going for it was the avocado. The broth itself tasted like they just added diced tomatoes to some canned chicken broth. I think they could really make this soup great if they wanted to but maybe they’re putting most of their energy into tacos and burritos and fajitas, etc. Or maybe it was just an off night. If we happened to be hungry on Signal Mountain again, I might try this restaurant again and order something else, but I probably will not be ordering the chicken tortilla soup again and I won’t be recommending this restaurant to friends until I have a better...