Zapata’s

I go to Zapatas regularly. Not for the good service, but for the amazing cheese sauce. The service, especially from one older server is quite frankly appalling, but most of the younger staff are very friendly. The food will keep me coming back though

The special nachos are rather uninspiring with cheesy corn chips being crushed by a clumsy wad of sour cream, guacamole and salsa. Something seemed to be missing from the guacamole, just didn’t have that morish taste to it. The fajitas are pretty good, plenty or toppings to fill them out. Crispy chicken taco is definitely the winner for me. All the drinks are top notch. Nice atmosphere, but the service leaves a little to be desired. The staff are nice enough, just seem to take a while to collect your order, and we found ourselves having to try and make eye contact for them to indicate we were ready.

Had a 70^th birthday party for 18 people there, arrived at 6.30 orders not taken until 8pm! It was a hot night, aircon barely worked. On arrival were offered a table in a room with no aircon but refused to sit there. Cramped conditions, food average. Would not go back.

I’m a bit surprised I haven’t written a review about Zapata’s on Unilocal.For one group of my friends, this is our go to place. Open till late (for Adelaide) and an all round pleasing menu, it’s a good all rounder for casual dining. I hadn’t been for a good 6 months or so till last nights experience, so I’ll focus on that for my review rather than prior interactions.
I was pretty disappointed by my Sunday night dinner due to a various combination of things, nothing was a big problem, but lots of small things did add up to one annoyance…
Service was slow, which is fine, it was a fully booked restaurant and there did seem to be a bit of short staffing going on with maybe three serving staff and no maître d’. This meant flagging down staff to put in orders which is OK, if not amusing when multiple tables are all trying at the same time and jump out of their seats to snag a waiter, but does become tricky when you can’t find one and would like a little attention leading to a while to place our orders.
Our meals were slow to come out, at first understandable due to the high volume of guests, but soon reached the point where we were glancing at watches and trying to work out when we ordered. Never a good sign at the dining table. We did get starters, which arrived promptly, but mains took far too long between courses. We ordered more drinks whilst we waited but our order was lost so came out 30 minutes after we ordered. As we dined, our table wasn’t cleared, which meant that our various drinks and starters remained at the table after we finished our mains, again, not a major issue, but still an annoyance.
My meal of the Sin Carne was quite nice, piping hot, with a small salad on the side and the rest of the group opted for the famous Tostadas in various iterations. There was some murmuring about the meat being a tad too chewy from my friends but the food otherwise was the standard Zapata’s.
We then came to settling the bill, not a lot of wait staff again, so we went to the counter, only to find that the Eftpos machine was down and they were getting it sorted. Another annoyance as none of us had brought cash (in an era of PayWave, who does), so we waited. We checked back 15 or so minutes later and still no luck. As we debated heading to the ATM a few blocks down, we checked again, only to find it back in working order. This was a bit strange, as one of the few tables left I would’ve expected them to let us know, but nevertheless we paid and left.
Overall I was a bit annoyed with this whole experience. So many little issues added up to a highly unsatisfying dining experience that could’ve been easily relieved with some simple communication but staff seemed so pressured, a couple of simple words never occurred.
I’ve had good experiences here before, but I must review in the present, so following the Unilocal review system, this was definitely a «Meh, I’ve experienced better» night out.

Disappointing. First drink was billed as pomegranate margarita but was mostly ice. Second was a sangria that was average at best. Guacamole was excellent but salsa con queso tasteless. Entrees had virtually no flavor. Very surprised by the positive reviews. Would not recommend.

I’ve seen this place popping up on my Unilocal app for weeks now — so I finally gave in and checked it out!
My girlfriend and I visited Zapatas for a ‘romantic’ date night, having said that — it’s definitely not first date food!
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Zapatas is a brightly lit family restaurant on Melbourne St. It boasts a large menu of traditional and more western Mexican food, along with a pokey and homey feel.
The décor is very old fashioned with a straw ceiling buffering warm reds, yellows and browns; stained glass and pictures of famous Mexican freedom fighter Emiliano Zapata are littered throughout. It feels crowded but in a good way, I’ve never seen Zapatas quiet, ever.
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We decided to skip entrée’s and head straight into the mains, I ordered the Tostada with Beef, GF went with the Chica Enchilada (WHICH INCLUDES A TACO)
The Tostada is kind of like a bowl made out of the shell of a spring roll it’s deep fried but light and puffy with rice inside, beautiful marinated beef, lettuce, cheese, and salsa, guacamole and sour cream to garnish. Served with a side of Refried beans on old fashioned crockery. The Tostada is rich with flavour so very Moorish with every element combining well. The servings here are huge!
The enchilada along side a taco is served again on the old crockery with a side of rice and Refried beans, both were tasty and everything you expect, the flavours live and breathe Ol’ Mexico.
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This is once again a very harsh 4, the food is great it is generously proportioned and very tasty. We waited a little longer than I expected, the staff were friendly but didn’t go above and beyond. Lastly the Sangria… Oh! The Sangria, was woeful I love Sangria and there are some beauties in Adelaide, Zapatas definitely need to work on theirs.
I would never lie and say we didn’t have a wonderful time, alas The price of being a 7 time (IN A ROW) family restaurant of the year is the weight of expectation.

The food is fabulous, flavoursome and fresh. If you have a massive appetite then you will have to order the «dinner for two» meal for yourself. They are small serves, but I don’t mind that. So far the best marguerites I’ve had ever!

Meh, these guys are coasting. Nothing special, but there’s not much competition to what they offer.

Go here often. Always great food. The cocktails are delicious and everytime the meals r consistantly good. Warm and cosy atmosphere. We go here often. The one at semaphore is great to. good mexican!

The few times I’ve been here is always busy and good atmosphere. The staff are friendly and attentive. Food is average. Big meals but tastes bland. The chili con carne was nice but not amazing. The enchiladas are yummy but come with a bland tasting rice and retried bean mix which isn’t great. Don’t rate the tacos at all. They didn’t taste very nice. To be honest I’d rather go buy a taco kit from Woolies and have them at home (even if it’s not as traditional, I think it tastes better).
Cocktails are first class! Great for catching up with friends in a big or small group. Recommend the piña colada and strawberry daiquiri. Also have a large range of Mexican beers which are nice.

Amazing food, great service what more can you want. Very big serves which is great as you never leave hungry! Always delicious food we just a diverse menu. Sometimes the wait for food can be a little too long but definitely worth the wait. So much flavour and they have vegan options, such a bonus! They also stocked the most yummiest moscato ever!!! Can’t wait to come back again and again!

Great Mexican food — we mostly eat Mexican in California and this was just as good. And MOST IMPORTANTLY I would like to thank this place for being open on a Sunday which shouldn’t be such a strange thing but apparently it is. The restaurant was a life saver and the food was great. Definitely recommend.

Decent food, but nothing special. Had to wait for 50 minutes for our tacos and nachos.

Have had good experiences in the past but a little disappointing this time.
Had a poor meal on our table, just average as a general assessment on the others.
Slow service at times — forgot to bring drinks out and had to get up to order.
Probably 2 and a half stars in fairness.

Mexican of my tastebuds, this place has it.
Such a groovy place, and though there are many tables, it still feels like for some reason — you are all there together (and in a not creepy way).
Mix traditional with the modern, take a burrito or a enchilada. Have sangria, beer or softies. Bring the kids, the family, the first date. Come and just experience the tasty good food here. I am definately coming back again!

This is my absolute favourite restaurant in Adelaide!!! I love it here! I’ve visited with just one other person and also in big groups and have always had the same pleasant service.
Zapatas can seat big groups of people comfortably and in a manner that you’re not yelling down the table to speak to somebody.
Wednesdays is half price nachos night (seriously, I dare you to even finish the half serve) and Thursdays is half price margarita night.
My absolute favourite dish here is the tostada! Simply delicious. Not just your average corn chips and beans Mexican place. Would recommend this above anywhere any day of the week !!

Consistently good is the perfect description for Zampatas.
The tosdata is my personal favourite, vegetarian beef or chicken whichever you would prefer.
The nachos are delicious. By warned the half serve is still quite large and the perfect starter for a group of people. Any questions you have will be answered by the helpful waiting staff. They will recommend serving sizes and what dish they prefer.

Muy bien chicos and chicas you deliver service, value and style in one large ranchero package.
This is a restaurant you can feel comfortable bringing a big group of friends to any night of the week. The place is cosy but not crowded and table service ensures you can sit back and focus on the friends, not the line up at the counter.
Our table had almost one of everything from the mains from steak to barramundi, tacos and tostadas. All were delivered steaming hot and fresh.
I was very impressed that they had a gluten free menu for my friend and a good wine list of some classics — we didn’t even get into cocktails but it sounds like that will have to be a Thursday to take advantage of the 2 for 1 margarita night!
My chicken breast tostada had crisp lettuce, salsa, refried beans, a bit of a kick and was not smothered in sour cream. The best bit? You can eat the tortilla shell at the end when it is a mix of crisp and soggy blended with the left over sauce. I would normally question the price of $ 22 — 28 for a simple main Mexican meal but at the same time the atmosphere, service and quality of ingredients justifies spending that little more.
And if you have room it is worth doing a coffee liquor at the end; a perfect winter warmer before you leave and brave the elements again!

Food was amazing had a half serve of supreme nachos was more than enough and tasted amazing. Went on a Wednesday which was half price nachos night so only ended up paying $ 10 for my supreme nachos. They were really nice tasting authentic nachos.
It was good service we had a group of 12 and there was definitely enough room to seat us comfortably and we could all hear each other.
Most of the staff were really nice and friendly. I had my meal slammed down on the table by one unhappy looking girl which did make me a little uncomfortable.(the reason I gave it 4 stars)
Overall was a really good night am keen to go back maybe on a Thursday which I hear is two for one margaritas night. They had a good looking list of margaritas including mango and piña colada flavour.

This is Mexican done right, not ‘beans & corn chips 101′ like their old once loved competition down the road. I love this place. I’ve had the steak, the chicken, enchilada and the salad too… But what keeps me coming back is the nachos. Piled high and packed with punch (not forgetting half price on Wednesday) they make a great starter to share or meal all by themself. The atmosphere has a great vibe to it and you quickly grow fond of the squishyness of some areas.
The friendly and accommodating staff have no issues with large groups who want to split the bill, just let them know on booking and they’ll have numbers all over the table for you.
Margaritas all round to start the night off and a shot of Patron to end, and you’re set for a great night out.