Mex 1 Coastal Cantina — Restaurant in South Carolina

Came here for the first time to have dinner for my daughter’s 15th birthday. I have been a loyal Taco Boy regular for years now, so I wasn’t really expecting to be impressed. But my daughter had been given a gift card to Mex1 and it was where she wanted to go.

We were greeted kindly as soon as we came through the door, and sat at a tall table with bar stool chairs. Our server Sara comes over and lets us know it’s the last night of restaurant week, so they are doing courses instead of their regular menu.

I avoid eating out during restaurant week because if at all possible, especially toward the end of the week when staff is totally exhausted and don’t care anymore. However, our server was friendly and patient, the atmosphere was serene, and the deals were honestly so good it was impossible to pass up. We order drinks. Queso and chips come out right away, followed shortly by our drinks (I was really blown away by the quality of my margarita. Much better than I’d expected it to be.)

Our food came quickly, and was all excellent (the Bang Tacos are my new favorite Mexican dish anywhere in charleston). We normally go to Carmelo’s or Kaminsky’s for dessert on her bday, but we ordered cake since dessert was included w the meal for restaurant week. It was truly excellent.

The manager came over shortly after they brought out the cake to ask how everything had been. I could hardly sing my praises because I couldn’t stop eating the cake. When we paid and I was in disbelief at how cheap the whole meal was, especially compared to how great everything had been.

I don’t normally leave reviews unless a place is truly terrible or truly great. Since I was unable to convey to the manager just how exceptional the food, our server and the whole experience was, I felt compelled to share it on here. I cannot recommend Mex1 highly enough. I will...

UPDATE - 5 Stars! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

(I am not sure that Google is updating the star count to five but it should have.) I am in Charleston again and yesterday we had the pleasure of dining again at Mex 1. This time all of the food was excellent, including the nachos! Everyone was happy with their meals.

In addition the service was friendly and fast. Our server could not have been nicer, joking with us and even taking a moment out of her busy dinner rush to praise one of the kids' drawings. I only wish I could remember her name, so management would know she's doing a great job. (We had a party of 7, including 3 kids and sat at the patio tables outdoors, Weds Aug 6 at around 6:30 PM, near a couple with 3 well-behaved dogs, if that narrows it down.)

Just wanted to make sure management knows that we found the food to be back at its usual delicious high quality. 💜

We had a party of nine. Those of us who ordered the nachos, based on how they used to be, were super disappointed with our meals. The nacho chips were almost bare. There were a few black beans scattered here and there but it was mostly like eating just chips. They were served on a metal tray, which would have been fine, except the chef put a piece of serving paper on the tray . The cheese sauce was all poured on top of the paper and buried under chips the chips 😑 . The cheese sauce was white and the paper was white So I didn't even notice it until I was halfway through the chips. And of course when I tried to get some of the cheese sauce I was scraping up chunks of soggy paper. The people who ordered fajitas and tacos were happy. One family member ordered a margarita and it sat on the bar for a very long time before one of us finally went up to ask if we could take it. I know restaurants are struggling with the cost of food, but they definitely need to rethink their nachos and...

Used to love this place not anymore. I used to tell everyone I know not to sleep on this restaurant. I placed my order tonight and it said 15-20 minutes. Great. Two minutes later I get a text saying my food is ready. I get there to pick it up and there is no less than 3 servers standing around talking. They all look directly at me and then just keep talking. I could hear them say I am not going over there. I had to go over to the kitchen area and ask the guy on his cellphone who had no gloves on how to get my food. He puts his phone down and gets my food. I walk out to my car and take a bite and it’s ice cold and looked and tasted like it had been sitting out for 3 days. I take it back in and explain it and show it to him. He said I boxed it up 10 minutes ago. That is true. But it also appears to be a “dead” entree that you tried to resell to me for $23 as fresh. No apology, just attitude. He reluctantly asks if I want it remade. I should have said no. He finally puts gloves on after I stood bear the kitchen area watching to make sure I didn't get the same chicken. The second one was slightly better but not something that I could even finish eating. Something definitely didn't taste right. I normally clean my plate here and want more. Oh and the salsa that comes with it bad. I mean rotten. The smell and taste of bad tomatoes was the final straw. I absolutely hate to give negative reviews and as someone who used to work in food I get it. But what happened here tonight is absolutely unacceptable and shocking. I am just praying that I don’t get sick. Now I am out $23, dinner, and almost 40 minutes of my time that I didn’t have to give. Save yourself the headache I just had and go somewhere else. As a loyal customer of yours for years I...