La Mexicana

This is not the kind of Mexican restaurant that leaves you full of regret and shame when you’re done gorging.
Thank goodness for Unilocal on this one. There is no way I’d have found this place or even approached it without other Unilocalers guidance.
In the back of a Mexican supermarket (and I mean the BACK) you’ll find this place tucked away. It’ll likely be filled with locals as they’re the only ones who know it exists.
Between the 4 of us we ordered a good array of items off the menu– no one was disappointed.
Fresh chips and salsa to start off. Then quesadillas, burritos, nachos, platters, and more. Everything tasted fresh and came out hot and ready to be devoured. Portions proved beyond what we were capable of handling in one sitting, but were happy to revisit later.

We stopped in here on our way back from Panama City Beach, Florida (thanks to Unilocal reviewers)!
Walking in, we sat amongst the Spanish speaking customers and knew we were in the right place for Mexican food. Someone in our party of 8 has celiac disease so we had to ask and request our food be prepared on a separate grill than the typical (with flour tortillas). My cousin wanted to speak with the chef/​manager about this and none of the servers or kitchen staff spoke english so there was broken translation however we made our point across. Eventually they found someone that spoke fluent English for us to speak with and place our food order with.
We ordered everything from nachos, menudo, tostadas, tacos, sopes to tamales. The tacos and menudo were a hit while the nachos & sopes were not well received. The tamales were above average. The guacamole isn’t served with chips, go figure, so we had to order chips. We had vegetarians in our group and unfortunately for them the food was not very good. Vegetarian menu is very limited and didn’t deliver on the items that we ordered.
This is the place to go for (meat-​filled) mexican food with some items tasting better than others. The food is above average but I was most impressed with the service, hence 3 stars.
As others have noted, the entrance is behind the grocery store.

Food was great. Tamales were huge, tacos had a lot of meat on them. Between three of us we paid about $ 30 and we had a significant amount of left overs to take home. Place was definitely authentic; just like the food I get back home in Southern California.

I used to enjoy eating here, lately the food has been tasteless and burritos are not the same, the carne asada meat for the tacos was dry and needed additional seasoning. I think I’ll wait a few months before going back

Outstanding food!!! Truly authentic Mexican cuisine. I ordered the carnitas, and they were cooked to perfection. The guacamole ranchero was made fresh, and seasoned to a T. My colleagues, and I are in Columbus for business and this was a great find! I will definitely return every time I’m in the area!

Not bad… Only good were the carne asada taco or burrito; and the tamales. The other tacos like the lengua and carnitas were bland.

Ok so at first glance parking it can kinda scare you away but go inside the grocery store and the back right corner is the restaurant ! The food is soooooo yummy! Service is fast (went went during peak lunch time today) and friendly also!
We will make definitely be back again and again and for groceries to make some tamales which they sell too! Can’t go wrong here looking for some good a$$ Mexican especially coming from the west coast where there’s the best Mexican food !

Driving through town looking for a place to eat and found this on Unilocal.Better than I expected (wasn’t expecting much from this town) and was tasty. Would come back. Got the tacos, beef, pork, and chorizo… the radishes and grilled scallions were a nice addition. Only gripe is that they use jumbo styrofoam cups for your drinks… they are not recyclable and pollute our environment and landfills.

I read some reviews saying that this is the real, authentic stuff. It is most definitely NOT. Truth be told, it is mediocre knockoff Mexican food that is priced a little too high considering what they offer. For instance, their burrito is about the same price as a Chipotle burrito but smaller and with barely any vegetables or anything else other than charred meat, cheese, and rice. Chipotle is better value, and you can see what they put in and how they make it.

Oaky Mexican. Lived in San Diego, been to Mexico. If this was on the west coast it would be out of business. Slow service, waitress are more interested in conversation than service and the food is average. Meat was tough, rice over cooked, and the retried beans flavorless. The tortillas looked like hey we’re out of a bag and too soft. Even limes were dry.
Keep looking. Not a spectacular eatery.

Great service and decent food. Got the carne asada and cabeza tacos which was about $ 2.50+ for one. The cabeza was simply soft and tender while the carne asada was a bit over cooked. Also had some horchata which was okay, had better. Coming from Cali this place is alright. Something to check out if you’re ever down in the Columbus area.

This is a real gem, love the atmosphere! The food is authentic and incredibly delicious!

Excellent little hole I the wall restaurant inside a market. You are first hit aroma of fresh Mexican food when you walk through the door into a market. Kinda thrown off because you’re walking into a market! Walk to the right side of the market and there pops up a small restaurant. Great food and priced right.

ONE OF THE BEST MEXICAN RESTAURANTS IVE EVER BEEEN TOO! 100% recommend. The seasoning of the meat was delicious!!! I tried the chicken tacos… A little dry but flavorful. I highly suggest getting steak everything (but that’s just cause steak is my favorite hehe). Indeed it is in a very sketchy area but man oh man this is as authentic as mexican food gets!

Great Authentic Mexican food! in a world full of «tex-​mex» and overly bland Mexican dishes– this was a refreshing surprise (esp. for the area). Try the horchata! Delicious drink!
The only downside of La Mexicana is the location– I definitely wouldn’t feel comfortable here at night or by myself (Sketchy).
The service has always been very attentive and prompt. This restaurant is attached to a small Hispanic market which is fun to explore.

Want authentic Mexican food? Come here! Yes, it looks like a hole in the wall but once you walk through the Mexican grocery store it is actually pretty nice. They are stingy with the chips, but I kinda like it because I usually stuff myself on chips before my meal comes. The servers really only know Spanish and I had fun using my old Spanglish from high school. Great place for lunch or to take an adventurous person on a date. I think if there is one hidden gem in Columbus it is this place (even with the great reviews). The Social? More like the NO-​cial. El Vaquero? Nah, more like El average-​o. Go to La Mexicana!

A really great gem. I have been wanting to check this place out for a while but am rarely in the area.
After seeing a great show at Oxbow Meadows, we went there for lunch. If you are not looking for it you can easily miss it.
Then you walk through the supermarket to the restaurant. Very cozy and clean environment while soccer is on TV.
Had the Fajitas, and they were great! Everything was very fresh. Loved the Avocado especially.
I also really likes the coke bottles made in Mexico.
Just a really nice place with great food for a really good price. Highly recommended.
I will try some of the desserts next time also:)

The food here is certainly Mexican. A lot more Mexican than any other restaurant that claims to be. You’ve got to admit that most Mexican restaurants now serve an Americanized version, but you won’t be disappointed here.
NOTE: Posole and Menudo are o la available on weekends.

We stopped by La Mexican half grocery store /​half restaurant after a friend recommended it. It was a pleasant surprise. The outside isn’t much to look at and the seating area is more like a high school cafeteria but the meat case and smells make up for any ambiance.
I ordered 3 tacos and picked different meats. I even asked for a custom order I had in Mexico that was not on the menu and the they happily obliged. In all, this is about as close to real Mexican food I have ever had in the states. This is not Texmex and once you have it you will know the difference.

I tip my hat to La Mexicana. I could not believe how good this place was. I had heard that a certain Mexican «hole in the wall» type restaurant was «pretty good» and how a lot of people at Fort Benning frequent it during lunch break down the road on Victory Drive. Well, I decided to formulate my own opinion after attending a Ranger graduation to see an Air Force member graduate last week.
If I could sing the praises of this little restaurant every day, I would. If I could clone this restaurant and put it outside of Robins Air Force Base in Warner Robins, GA, then I would in half of a heartbeat’s time! WOW, authentic and delicious doesn’t even begin to describe it.
La Mexicana is a restaurant/​bodega so make sure you’re not confused when you open the doors and look inside and see rows of produce, meats and goods. I promise you that when you walk down the aisles and make a right and keep going that you will be met by the restaurant portion.
The staff is mostly monolingual (Spanish), but they know enough to put your order in and to get in out to you in a timely manner. If you don’t speak Spanish, then I suggest pointing to the item on the menu.
They have a variety of beverages to choose from. From regular fountain drinks to Mexican Coke to horchata to agua fresca, you’re covered. I had a pineapple agua fresca. The chips and salsa are not complimentary but if you so desire them they are under $ 2 and are SO good and the portion is large. I also ordered guacamole and I fell in love. It was freshly made and it had the right amount of cilantro, lime, and other accompaniments. I just could not complain.
As for the main stars of the lunch. It was a nippy day, so I opted for a nice bowl of caldo de res, or beef soup. It comes in two sizes, small or large. I picked the small which is really a nice filling size. This soup was amazing. The broth was extremely flavorful without being overly salty. The beef chunks were falling off of the bone. It had a hearty amount of vegetables to include cabbage, corn still on the cob, chayote, potatoes, and carrots. It was served with a garnish of fresh chopped onions, jalapenos, and cilantro and fresh soft tortillas.
I will definitely be here again to try something else on the menu. Bien hecho, La Mexicana!