Mexico City Gourmet

It is finally going out of business. 20 years too late!!!
Absolutely the worst dining experience I’ve had in Atlanta. Very bland food with horrible service. Our meal was half price and even that didnt help.

I love their carne asada and the workers are all very cool and personable. Great margaritas too

I remember back in the day (aka 1990s), everyone raved about this place having the best and most authentic Mexican food. 20 years later, I finally got a chance to try it. The food wasn’t all that. But maybe that’s unfair of me b/​c my review is based on 1 dish and the chips & dip. I live near Buford Hwy and I think we have better Mexican food over there. Still, maybe Mexico City Gourmet is the best and most authentic in the Emory area.
The menu looked interesting though — they have quite a number of upscale-​sounding Mexican dishes. I was craving salad though, and our server said the Fajita Salad was really good. So I got the «Fajita Salad w/​Chicken» for $ 6.95 — it had Romaine lettuce, tomatoes, sauteed onions, poblanos, and cheese. The chicken was very tasty. My friend had the «Quesadilla Especial w/​Shrimp» for $ 6.75 (plus extra $ 2.95 for the shrimp), and it looked really good — my friend said it tasted good, too. I didn’t feel comfortable enough to ask her if I could try a bite :)
The complimentary tortilla chips had a funny taste. My friend had ordered the guacamole dip and that tasted funny, too. I’m sure the salsa was homemade but it tasted like Pace’s.
We came on a Friday night and the place was packed. They also had live music so that made it even louder. The place is kid-​friendly, and they have a kids’ menu, too. Service was very friendly and attentive.
Overall 3 stars but I don’t think I’ll return. I can get better Mexican in Doraville. FYI — they’re located in the same shopping center as Mediterranean Grill and Suno.

I always forget about this place, but when I remember… its worth the memory rush! Stopped in here on a whim and extremely pleased, again. Best Mole sauce in town!
Cold Amber Bock, great salsa, decent service! Atomosphere — dreadful! Chips — boring! But Food — VERY GOOD!

It was a grand opening of SnoO and luckily Mexico City Gourmet was next door, we wanted to have a quick bite to eat before the drawing of prizes. We ordered a cheese and bean dip, when it arrived, it was «yellow» like velveeta cheese… the waitress said «we use American cheese» the manager says the deference between yellow and whit cheese is the color, but as a connoisseur of cheeses, what the manger said was horribly wrong, I’m sure they are doing it to save some money… salty bean dip didn’t help the ‘American cheese dip“
Anyone who is in the restaurant business that tells you that «difference between the Yellow cheese and white cheese is only the color, shouldn’t be in the restaurant business»
We ordered a ceviche with scallops and shrimp but we asked the waitress if they can add tilapia in the dish too, the waitress said they have no problem doing so, but when we got the dish the tilapia was no where to be found, as a ceviche it was served over a bed of lettuce, scallops and shrimp with tomato, onion, cilantro and avocado, with lime juice vinegar and vegetable oil with some seasonings. the ceviche was actually not bad, it was very refreshing and emptied our plate in no time.
As for our dinner, we ordered a fajita, with beef, chicken and chorizo. It was very salty, it was so salty it wasn’t edible, we decided to have ours take home and figure out what to do when we get home. The manger said, «chorizo is supposed to be salty, so we serve our dish salty.» but what we felt was if they have a good chef, they an use the chorizo as a seasoning of the dish and withhold the excess salt from the dish to make it less salty. Perhaps the restaurant should re-​think about the this dish, and also they were supposed to have the «flame show» when we order the fajita, but there were no «flame» when the fajita was served, I’ve see other customers who ordered the fajita got to see the show. We felt cheated. (the chorizo fajita still sits in our fridge).
The manger knows well about this Unilocal site, he says that often people uses his site to make them look bad by writing bad reviews. The waiters and waitress often stand around and don’t do anything, I had to get my own water, our waitress «NEVER» came to fill our waters. And what’s with the manager asking us «how much tips do you normally leave?» it makes me angry to have the manger ask me this question. Yes we leave 20−26% most of the time, from our experience they didn’t deserve any, but we left them $ 4.00
It’s not the review that makes this restaurant look bad, its the staff that makes the restaurant look bad. The restaurant should re-​think about this!

Do you like sweet tea that tastes like carrots? Do you like strange unidentifiable cheese? Do you like tasteless salsa? If so, you’ll love this place. I remember going here a long time ago, maybe 10 years back and not liking it so today I figured I’d give it a shot again, I mean it’s still there so it has to be decent, right? Ehh… not so much. The chicken burrito was bland as hell. When I can personally make way more kickass Mexican food than a restaurant there’s something wrong.

Two words to describe our Mexico City Gourmet experience: Very Good. Capital «V,» Capital «G.»
My pal and I headed to MCG with a $ 25 gift certificate, so we had money to burn. We started off w/​chips and queso, which was good, but I learned early on not to fill up on chips. Plus the queso was an odd color of orange; I’m thinking there was some Velveeta in that oaxaca cheese.
Next came the entrees. I had tacos al pastor (pork tacos) which were very good – the pork was marinated in a really interesting mix of spices and pineapple. The biggest «eh» was the tortillas. I personally hate it when restaurants wrap their warm tortillas in foil so that they become soggy and impossible to eat like a taco. But nonetheless, the tacos were a-​ok. I also had my favorite saffron rice and black beans to make the meal extra yummy. My buddy had a burrito, refried beans, a beef taco and Mexican rice. His plate was a Mexican mash-​up, and all exceptional.
Finally, the Texas margies were ah-​mazing. After a pitcher, we were about 10 sheets to the wind. And then went to drink more.
Go to Mexico City Gourmet!

Ugh, I hate to write this ab MCG because historically it’s been one of my got-​to-​have-​it spots, but I have certainly experienced better. Food temps the last time I went were REALLY OFF. Salsa was lukewarm, drink was lukewarm, and finally my food was lukewarm. Good service, although I should have sent it back but I didn’t…Maybe it was an off night but another one like that and I’ll be looking for a new go-​to.

Disappointing. Recommended by friends, will never trust their opinions again haha.
Thursday night, we were the only customers which should have screamed «RUN AWAY». Employee’s were standing around the bar and yet our drinks were not refilled until we had waited 5mins after emptying them and we waited 5 – 10 mins for the check. Ok, some places can be forgiven for spotty service if the food is tasty. Chips were greasy, ordered the fajita’s as I only wanted a comfortable favorite to eat that night. While it was a large portion for the $ 14.95 price, over cooked and dry was not what I had in mind. Very oily, soggy onions and everything had a «old food in the oil» after taste.
My dining partners meal was just as unappetizing and barely touched but left on the table as we would not want to bother trying it again the next day.

Just not good.
I ordered the carne con chile colorado and it really tasted like it came out of a freezer bag, was quickly warmed and put on a plate. There was really no flavor to it and the brisket was really processed and frozen tasting. My wife’s tacos al pastor were OK (double corn tortillas, shredded pork and pineapple), but were absolutely nothing special.
Also, I have to agree with the reviewer who pointed out that the men’s room is really inaccessible. Getting to it requires a walk through the kitchen. All of the walls are grimy and look like they could absolutely benefit from fresh paint. Overall, the restaurant is just grim.
It’s mystifying to me why this place has as many positive reviews as it has. On the positive side, the waiters were attentive and the on the rocks margarita that my wife ordered was good. The chips and salsa were OK. Looking for an alternative? Try El Potro on Buford Highway or Mi Barrio on Memorial. Either is *much* better.

Really good food. Sorta dark and creepy on the inside… but hey, its in a strip mall.

I’ve been eating at Mexico City Gourmet since I was a kid (I grew up in the area) and have always considered it my second favorite tex mex restaurant (First is Los Loros which is across the street.) While I love Los Loros for serving quick, cheap, greasy mexican food, which is exactly what I think when I think of «tex mex», Mexico City Gourmet puts a little bit of a classier spin on things.
First, the food just tastes fresher. The salsa seems less processed and chips have a flaky crunch. I did find the salsa to be a little too salty though.
I always get the chicken enchiladas for my main course and they are the reason I keep coming back to MCG. While the chicken isn’t as juicy as the chicken at Los Loros, the enchiladas are topped with a yellow cheese and an amazing cinnamony flavor that makes them unlike any mexican dish I’ve ever had before.
The place is simple, not usually very crowded and a little more expensive than your average tex mex but the freshness of the ingredients and the unique flavors make it very worth the visit.

This restaurant is right next to my work, and I must admit I look forward the shrimp taco salads for lunch!
It can be hit or miss here. I have had really good meals here, and I have had very average meals here. At night the menu seems to get a little more interesting, with cool specials. The daytime is when I seem to get the blah food. …But the service is always great so I’ll be back.

The food was mediocre, the kids’ meals didn’t include a drink, they wouldn’t give us water. When I ordered water the waiter told me they only had bottled water, once I had ordered a margarita he brought me a glass of water. It was dead there on a Saturday. The chicken in my enchilada was tough. And it smelled like a sewer in the restaurant. Need I go any further…

Wheelchair accessible? I’m able-​bodied and could barely get into the men’s room. A four-​foot stack of boxes blocked the hallway to the bathrooms (the hallway is also, incidentally, a fire exit). Even if the fire hazard isn’t in your way, getting into the men’s room requires going up a step. (Ladies with mobility impairments fare slightly better, as their restroom is at floor level.)
I don’t know from authentic Mexican food, but if the music is any indication, neither do they. If you’ve ever seen Buena Vista Social Club, you’ll recognize «Chan Chan», a classic Cuban blues song. I did. Hell, if you’ve ever seen an ad for Buena Vista Social Club, you’ll recognize it. And the rest of the music — mostly descargas, but with a smattering of many styles — is mostly Cuban. Definitely made me crave some Cuban coffee and guava pastries, but seemed wildly out of place at a Mexican or Tex-​Mex restaurant. I don’t want to hear son guajiro, I want to hear norteño music or something else Mexican.
The lunch prices are decent, our server kept our drinks filled, and the food doesn’t suck. But there’s nothing that would make me want to come here again.

Not sure I would call anything in this place «gourmet» but it is pretty good. My husband is on a mission to eat at every Mexican place in Atlanta, so we had lunch at MCG. I liked the chips and salsa and they even have hot salsa for him, so we were off to a good start. Service was a bit sporadic, but they were busy. Just wish we would have got our drinks before our food arrived. I had the steak tacos. You get three plus rice and beans, so it was a lot of food. Husband had Chile Colorado, one of his faves and said it was pretty good.
Not sure I would go out of my way to eat here but since it is pretty close to my house, I am pretty sure we will be back. Oh yea, the fajitas looked pretty good, too.

I am convinced Herman the waiter is evil. Hilarious, but evil. That said, I can’t totally blame him for the multiple margarita pitchers and tequila shots I consumed last night, since I’m pretty sure I don’t remember him pouring any of them down my throat. Mexico City Gourmet’s staff payed our birthday group a lot of attention last night to make sure it was a lot of fun, which it was. The food was pretty good too — good chips and salsa, good queso, and I really liked my chicken enchiladas. Thanks, guys!

If I could give this place zero stars, that would be more than they deserve.
I can’t see any reason for the positive reviews, other than perhaps they sent some of their own employees online to write shill reviews, as it seems they’ve done on other review sites. Trust me, if you really like this place, you’re doing yourself a greater insult than anyone else could ever pin on you.
I laughed out loud when I read the phrase «slightly upscale» in another review. I don’t think you could even fool a blind person into believing that.
Since this is a college area, I guess people’s standards aren’t that high when it comes to sit-​down dining, but there are better choices locally. Heck, I’d rather go to Willy’s than ever go to Mexico City Gourmet again. There are a LOT of things I’d rather do. OK, let me just go ahead and commit to say that I will NEVER go there again. We gave the place 2 chances and it was just abysmal. But I guess if this place ropes in buffoons and keeps them out of my way, fine.
The atmosphere /​décor is horrid, the service horrible, and the food is just not good. How they survive at all is a mystery to me. As a matter of fact, it makes me ANGRY to think that people will read the positive reviews here and give the place a try. Please avoid this dump and save your money.
Seriously.

Do you take pleasure in the exquisite flavoring and preparation in Chili’s fajitas?
If so, then stop reading now. This review is not for you.
I had some fajita withdrawal symptoms when I moved to Atlanta. I had some bad, bland experiences at chains (I can’t talk about it). Probably my fault for ordering them at Applebee’s.
One night we go into Mexico City Gourmet for a switch-​up from the usual Los Loros (they’re on the same street). I remember the place having a typical décor. There is a guitarist playing in the corner, so that’s a perk.
I hadn’t learned from past experiences, apparently, because I ordered the beef fajitas.
Good. Lord. They are everything I had wished they could be. And more. Heavy on the salt and pepper.
I actually raved to the server at meal’s end. «I have not had it like this since Texas.» His reply: «Yeah, we actually have several fajita regulars who are Texan.»
Well there ya go. I guarantee there are no «fajita regulars» at Chili’s.

DYING IS ALWAYS A CHOICE but not the one the brothers wanted. The low-​level Mexican mafia slugs wouldn’t understand that this was just a ‘misunderstanding’. With three of them blocking the exit and the two brothers trapped in an alleyway, things were not going as planned.
‘Give us an hour, 1 hour and we’ll make it right’, the older brother says, trying not to come off like he’s begging for their lives, while throwing in a tinge of street-​market hustler to convince of them his new plan. An hour later, fleeing faster than they could, they were safely on their way to Atlanta — their mother in tow, cursing them in rushed spanish and asking forgiveness from the Lord for having birthed such rotten sons.
Or so goes a story about the founders of Mexico City Gourmet.
Maybe being on the run and hiding is the reason there isn’t much talk about MCG. At one end of the same strip mall which houses the often acclaimed Mediterranean Grill, and the popular easy Saigon Café, MCG gets little to no press. Different from many ‘mexican’ restaurants, the Brothers Rodriguez and their mother set up something special.
The food is good here and it does something that many other attempts of the genre cannot — it serves the regular Americanized Mexican dishes while also having a core menu you could feasibly find in urban Mexico City — slightly upscale mexican dishes that aren’t burritos, or chimichangas, or anything that Taco Bell has bastardized.
Real food with roots from the different regional cuisines of Mexico. Much in the same way Zocalo in Decatur Square deliciously serves up southern Mexican cuisine and stuff closer to central America, Mexico City Gourmet offers plates that wouldn’t always be cooked at home, ones that wouldn’t appear in a family dinner — actual Mexican ‘restaurant’ food — we often forget, but there is a difference.
Menus are often misleading because they can never convey the greatness of a perfectly prepared dish. The freshness, the biting spice, and the excitement. A simple fajita plate comes out, and is immediately set ablaze, flames flying high while a sole guitarists sings in the background. The menu cannot convey the possibility of what they have at MCG. It’s different from the remote cantina feel of Mi Barrio, and the food has an expertise that traditional family recipes can’t deliver.
On this Friday night the restaurant slowly fills as dinner begins. I keep saying it, but it’s different here. The tables aren’t full of hip twenty or thirty-​somethings looking to quell an urge for some tacos. Families — and mostly ones with two or three toddlers in tow — fill the seats and everyone is having a great time.
A lone guitarists plays tejano music, singing and strumming with precision to a bouncy drum machine beat. It fills the restaurant and the energy permeates everything — the tables, the walls, and me. This isn’t the hype and frantic busy-​nesss of other south of the border locations that pipe in mariachi music in an attempt for authenticity.
MCG is a secret but every family with a toddler in Decatur knows to come here. Anyone trying to get away from the ‘scene’ and the ‘it spot’ competition would do well to come here when in need of a mexican food fix.
I’m not sure if the Rodriguez brothers and their mother knew that this was the future they were heading towards on that night. Serving dishes so familiar, yet prepared with professionalism and skill — stuff that isn’t always prepared at home, even in Mexico.
Plates far superior than anything you’d find at El Azteca or any number of more well known spots, but enough traditional flair to keep them from being listed on any of those ‘best of’ list where chefs become known for creating items that are ‘innovative’ or a part of a ‘new breed’.
Mexico City Gourmet serves slightly upscale, yet still traditional fare and on any given day, I’ll choose MCG over many other options.