Don Tequila Mexican Grill — Restaurant in Upper Arlington

I ate two very pleasant meals recently [4-3-2022 and 4-4-2022] at Don Tequila Mexican Grill Upper Arlington.

Both of the restaurants at the Kingsdale Shopping Center where I normally eat [a Japanese/Korean restaurant and a taco restaurant] had been closed on those two days so I decided to eat at Tequila Mexican Grill.

I had assumed that I would be returning to a Mexican restaurant where I have eaten occasionally in the past [Rancho Alegre] but instead found myself eating at a completely-new-to-me restaurant [that I understand had taken over the former Rancho Alegre space about two years ago].

The Don Tequila Mexican Grill menu is huge and has many choices on many pages; it took me quite a while to decide what to order and eat. Below are the food choices that I had made on those two days.

4-3-2022 (in the "Veggie" section of the menu) Mushroom Quesadilla with rice and beans

4-4-2022 (in the "Lunch" section of the menu) Huevo Con Chorizo [Eggs with Mexican sausage, served with rice, beans, and tortillas]

The food [both times when I had eaten there] had been delicious; the staff had been extremely friendly.

My one disappointment with Don Tequila Mexican Grill had been the side dishes. The rice had been boiled white rice with some added flavoring and/or coloring [rather than being fried rice as I would have expected at a Mexican restaurant]; the beans had been far too liquid for me to easily eat with a fork.

I would have preferred fried rice; I would have preferred less-liquid beans [my first choice for the beans] or to have been given a spoon with which to eat them [my second choice for the beans].

Except for my disappointment with the rice and beans, the food at Don Tequila Mexican Grill had been delicious; I definitely...

This was just a 'meh' experience.

Cam here with the wife on a Wednesday night , but it was dead. Only a few tables occupied.

Menu options were plentiful, but the prices were a bit steeper than I expected. I had the Nachos Jalisco, while flavorful, was paltry for the $19.00 I spent on it. I expected at least at lot more. It didn't even fill the plate completely and only had 3 layers. It was very disappointing. The chicken and chorizo was good, but the pineapple seemed to not be fresh and from a can (it had very little flavor or color).

My wife had the Molcajete, and she said it was a little bit better. It was $23.99 and included what was listed on the menu. But, given the name, there wasn't anything made of stone anywhere near it. I guess the "served in cast iron skillet" is kinda on the nose here.

Alcohol pricing was a bit high. $6.99 for a 24/oz draft domestic is OK I guess, but anything higher wouldn't be worth it. I had one, and it was a bit flat.

Service was friendly and prompt, and I had no complaints. The food did come out quick, almost suspiciously so, but tex-mex is like this usually.

Overall, not impressed, and kinda expected this out of a chain restaurant. I think I'll stick to the ma-and-pa type establishments where the pricing is a bit more fair and they can hold costs down without the over the top kitch they had on...

I have been going here for about 2 years now and I have not yet been disappointed. I always feel very welcome here as the service is really good. I want to give a shoutout to Roberto, he is extremely nice and always makes sure to treat us well.

The food here is fantastic. It is always delicious, and is extremely consistent which you don't seem to find with many restaurants now. It is always hot, it comes out fast and you get a really good amount of food, which I think is worth the money you spend. You get so much food sometimes I can't even finish it! Not a bad thing.

The inside of the restaurant has a really nice, pleasant atmosphere. The decor is really nice looking and everything is very clean. Even the bathrooms are extremely clean and they smell fantastic. The only thing Don Tequila needs is bigger tables, as they have big plates and it gets pretty crowded on the table. haha.

Anyway, I highly recommend giving Don Tequila a try, It will...