Top Shelf Mexican Restaurant

This was a child hood staple and has always been a place my family has went to, not just immediate but extended as well. Over the years this place has just kept going down hill. I use to rave about this place how it had the best Mexican food around but now I won’t even tell any one if I eat there. Very sad indeed, I hope some one comes along and restores this place to its former glory.

Good service, but some of the food was unpleasantly salty.

I’ve been coming here for over 30 years. It has changed over the years. Sometimes I think the food is great and sometimes not so much. I do like their bar upstairs. They have my favorite beer, lots of wide screen TVs and are willing to change up the channels so I can watch car racing.
The food is usually good, servings are large, and the salsa is tasty. Nice place to hang out in after a long work week.

Two trips to Top Shelf and two disappointments. Had the beef chimichanga for lunch. Not as good as Manuels, but slightly better than Macayos or Garcias. Manuels’ chips are lighter and less greasy and the salsa more flavorful than what they offer at Top Shelf. The service was slow and like other reviewers, I noted that the cleanliness level could be improved.
Parking is easy, but the parking lot for this strip shopping center at Southern and Dobson is tough to get out of during rush hour.
Overall, if given a choice, I would skip Top Shelf and head toward Manuels about a mile west on Southern Ave.

I brought my two sons here for a Sunday lunch and we all agreed to never go back. Nothing stood out as terrible, but it just wasn’t great food.

My husband and I were meeting some old friends of his here. When we walked upstairs we sat down, but we noticed everything was falling apart, so we moved to a different table and ordered our food. Needless to say, the food was dry! I ordered fajitas and the beef was so dry it was hard to chew. I was disappointed especially for how much they charged.

I have been going to Top Shelf for almost 30 years. I grew up eating their shredded beef burritos at the Scottsdale and Shea location which has since closed. I don’t live in Mesa, but any time I have a chance and am in the neighborhood, I stop by the Southern and Dobson location. The shredded beef has not changed and is probably some of the best shredded beef you will find in AZ. Their margaritas are tasty and their chips and salsa are amazing. This is a great place for a tasty Mexican food dinner.

I lost all interest in going here after a big cockroach crawled across our table a little before the nachos were delivered. And yes, we still ate after seeing that. I left traumatized.

This place has been here for a long time. So i have visted more than once. We came here last night for dinner, and it was really good. You can get your food to go, or eat here at the restaurant. I did not give it 5 stars, just because it is a little dirty looking and you totally use a spruse up. Other than that, we were sat right away to a comfortable booth. My girlfriend got coffee which was nice and fresh, and i got Ice tea which they refilled for us several times… Our food was really good, We both got fish tacos that came with a lot of rice and beans. Chips and salsa were good as well. There was so much food we had to take some to go. The price is very good as well. No complaints here.

I am a fan of Top Shelf Mexican Food because of the chips and salsa, and for their rendition of my all-​time favorite food: a bean burro, enchilada style. The taste is awesome to me. The waiter, Nate/​Nathan was very friendly. He had the orders memorized for some of the patrons. The burro is $ 4.95 with enchilada sauce (I like the red sauce). The drinks, root beer, etc., are $ 2.50, and they have free refills. My total was $ 8.12 for these two items. I would eat there five days a week if my budget allowed it.

Top Shelf has been in business since the 70’s. How does a restaurant stay in business that long — especially with this economy? GOOD FOOD! Top Shelf has had consistently good mexican food for the last 30+ years and we always enjoy going there. The Top Chimi with guacamole and sour cream is always good. And the basics — taco, enchilada, rice and beans are as good as anyone in the valley. You get a big bowl of chips with a large bowl of very tasty salsa when you are seated. Also, you must try the cheese crisp. We always say it is the best out of all the mexican places we have tried. AND, we always get service with a smile when we go.

Is this place a joke? The food is disgusting at its finest!
the first time I went here, I had the chicken taco salad… which was joke número uno. I figured it might have just been one of those off days that everyone is allowed to have. So I gave it a go a second time… I had the burrito fundido, ummmm yea… joke numero dos.
Never again will I come back. I’ve had better before elsewhere. DISGUSTING!

Years ago I ate here at least once a week and it was great. So, I decided to stop by and pick-​up a to go order. I got the 3 taco dinner and was really disappointed. The tacos were so-​so at best and there was maybe a tablespoon of rice with the meal. The dinner was $ 14 and not worth $ 4. The most disappointing thing was the pico de gallo which was obviously very old and smelled like vinegar. I hate it when an old favorite goes bad and no one seems to care. I truly doubt if I will ever go there again.
And so endeth the lesson.

Pretty good place. Separate bar area upstairs with lots of TV’s for sports. Nice size portions. A little pricey, but big portions.

Ok, so let me start this by saying that I love the Top Shelf on 35^th ave and greenway and when I lived in Seattle, anytime I visited I would go there first. I always got the same thing… chicken fajita burrito fundido. Heart attack on a plate… but so worth it.
So forward to now, I live in Mesa. When my friends suggested going to top shelf I was excited. We went and I ended up getting just the regular burrito fundido due to the 5 dollar price difference at lunch time between that and the fajita version. So it may be my fault for not getting what I know I like, but it just didn’t measure up. I didn’t think it tasted nearly as good as what I have gotten at the phoenix location for years. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t anything to write home about either. So I was disappointed. The chips and salsa was still good and the food still blew Macayos and Manuels out of the water, so I’ll give it that. Next time I guess I’ll have to drive an hour to get the real stuff.

Thursday Karoke night.
I got a taco salad.
Served in a fried shell.
Laid back cool staff.
I liked it. Relatively big proportion and tasty, fresh ingredients.
I would suggest adding your own toppings to enhance the flavor because it might be a tad bland for the average Jane/​Joe.

Decent food, big portions. Their specialty seems to be chimichangas based on the large selection of them on the menu to choose from. They also have a great enchilada style chicken burrito that is very large, with your choice of red or green sauce. I had mine with red sauce, which had a nice slightly smokey, deep flavor.

I know a lot of people have less than stellar things to say about Top Shelf… but they have the best salsa around! I started taking my sister and her roommate there, and they literally eat bowls of the stuff! It is so fresh tasting, with just enough heat to keep you coming back for more!
I also love their Green Chile Beef, it is some of the best around. The meat is so tender and there is a good amount of heat going on with it as well. For those watching their waistlines, they even have a Lite & Healthy Menu with nutrition facts… how many Mexican restaurants offer that?
While I have never seen the place packed by any means… the food is always consistently good… so you people are missing out!

I read about Top Shelf here on Unilocal!,so I decided to give it a try in lieu of my weekly brunch with a friend. We went early, around 5pm and requested to sit outside since it was such a nice evening. (NOTE: Sitting outside = inhaling smoke from all the smokers coming outside, so be forewarned.) We enjoyed the chips and salsa they brought out before our meal, and they were quick to refill the chips when we went through them. I ordered the fish tacos, which came in three and in flour tortillas with a side of jalapenos and pico de gallo and rice and beans. They were good and greasy and really filling. My friend ordered the pollo grande, which was so big, he couldn’t finish it. He said they were good, but they were just meh.
The cons: the prices were a little high for a Mexican restaurant, and the ambience was sort of bleh, but…
The pros: the food is decent enough, the employees are friendly, and it does the job of fulfilling your Mexican food craving. It’s just not anywhere I’m rushing to get back to.
PS: If you go in a group, know that they’re cool about splitting a bill.

For 3 years I have lived less than a mile from Top Shelf, and for more than half that time I would drive by and scoff … What kind of name is Top Shelf? Sounds like a strip club, not a Mexican joint.
Well, I wish I wouldn’t have been so prejudice. This place is awesome. My mouth waters every time I think about it. I only eat 2 things here, the chips and salsa and the Carne fundido. Its all I need. Oh, add a pitcher of margaritas and I am in hog heaven.
First the chips & salsa — this is one of the rare places that brings you 2 bowls of salsa. One mild and chunky. One purée of the HOT stuff. Mix n match and you have a nice treat before the big meal. They also have bottled hot sauce on the table. The possibilities are endless!
Next, the fundido — I LOVE fundido. Top Shelf has THE BEST I have ever had. Its rich, creamy, tangy, smoky and delish. For the gringos out there, this is a chimichanga smothered in a spicy cream cheese sauce. This is not health food, but being happy is healthy, so its all equal in the end. Live a little and try it. They have pollo fundido too…
Top it off with some margaritas. Real, salty, tangy margaritas. And guess what!!! They actually put tequila in them! Thats more than I can say about the majority of the cheap Mexican places around the valley.
Anyway — go to Top Shelf. It’s awesome. Who cares about what they have on the wall (the have a sweet tropical mural!). You go to a restaurant to eat, not judge their interior decorating style. Have a margarita and forget that materialistic stuff~~