Emilianos Mexican Grill & Bar

I’m a regular here and I LOVE it! It is by far my favorite place for Mexican in the city. The staff knows me by name. They are all extremely friendly especially Bollo! The food is always delicious! Their margaritas are the best margaritas I’ve ever had! My favorite is the sangria margarita. Their deserts are awesome too! The atmosphere is friendly and always very clean. I don’t have a single bad thing to say!

All the staff here are really nice. Get to know regulars. Ok happy hour.
Good price on wine. I’ve drank more than my fair share at 4.00 a glass from 4 – 6. Must of cleared out a bottle more than once.
They have top shelf tequila that I down with sloshy happy hour eats. Chips and salsa are good starters. Dinners are really good. And great this time of year plates come to table sizzling hot.
Salads are favorite in summer on patio great place to park bike and watch gear.
Near to everything in South Side Works and close to GAP trail.
Recommend

I’ve eaten here several times now and while I want to like it because I like the location and I love Mexican food, I unfortunately think it’s just okay. I do think it is fairly standard for as far as Mexican restaurants in America go, but even for that I have had better. I recall having the fajita quesadilla which I swear had nacho cheese in it. The veggies fajitas are okay and I’ve gotten that a few times. The staff is always very friendly which is a plus. They do have a full bar and I recommend a margarita or mojito. I wouldn’t be opposed to coming back if someone wanted to, but I might choose somewhere else on my own.

Emiliano’s has never ever disappointed me! I have been here several times and never had a bad experience. The food has always been awesome here. My favorite drink is the coronarita and my wife’s favorite drink is the margarita which is the one of the best one you can find in Pittsburgh. If you are in the South Side area and craving Mexican food, this is the place for you!

I have to agree with a lot of the reviews — most of what Emilianos has to offer is unremarkable — however:
— The service is very fast and very friendly;
— The chips and salsa are free — and table-​side guac is at least fresh and cheaper than whatever godawful price avocados are selling for these days; and,
— If you remember that this is Tex-​Mex, not authentic Mexican food (go to Reyna’s in the Strip), then you will find a decent, inexpensive lunch or dinner.
I’m happy with my experiences at Emiliano’s and typically make it my go-​to option for lunch when I’m at the SouthSide Works.

One of the best places for Mexican food in Pittsburgh. Arroz con pollo is my favorite but today I got the chicken tacos. My husband loves the steak tacos and he is pretty picky about everything.

4 of us decided to stop here for lunch on Saturday. We ordered cocktails and it took about 20 minutes to get them. They were awful. We ordered guac and never got it. Finally, an hour later we got our food. Mine looked nothing like the picture. It was an egg on top of tortilla chips. We won’t be back.

This is a fun little restaurant, they really care about serving you a fresh food I really love the soup and he steak hummmmm yummy they have the right seasoning. I will stop by at this place and I’m once again in the city

I came here for lunch and was very happy with the menu. I liked the flavor of the salsa but I have had better chips. I ordered a small side of guacamole and it was good but too creamy. I am sure the table side order is much better and fresher. I then ordered the steak tacos. The portion was perfect! The meat was tender and bite size. I really liked the tomatillo salsa and the red was a little too hot for me. The refried beans were creamy and topped with cheese. I did not try the rice because I’m not a fan. The interior is colorful and inviting with lots of room for small or large parties. If I am back in town I will be coming here again!

Went with a friend for a late lunch because we were shopping in the area. Very convenient to a great shopping area (we were hitting up REI and Sur La Table).
Although the location is great, the food was mediocre. We both got the Enchiladas Supreme, which we read were good. Basically, you get two small enchiladas (one chicken, one beef), rice, and a «salad.» I put salad in quotation marks because it was basically iceberg lettuce with a little tomato salsa and some shredded cheese sprinkled on top. They could definitely work on making that more of a side dish and not an afterthought. The rice was good though, and there are free chips with salsa, which I thought was the best tasting part of the meal. The lunch was about $ 10, including tax and tip, so not a bad deal. Since they had good (and free) chips and salsa, I’m giving this place three stars, but probably will not be going back.

Emiliano’s was authentic Mexican food to me when I was 16 and didn’t know any better. Now, 9 years & a lot of tacos, quesadillas & fajitas later– I can tell you that this place is pretty mediocre. Sure, it’s not terrible– but it’s not going to blow you away. On my most recent trip, my family and I all order a margarita to start. It was good– but nothing different or special. The presentation wasn’t anything different & I had no desire to order another. The chips & salsa were good– Probably my favorite item of the evening. I ordered the steak fajitas for dinner. The chicken & steak fajitas were both $ 14, so I figured I would go for the steak. They were good– but not great. Nothing memorable. If I want Mexican, this is the absolute last place in Southside that I am going to visit– there are more authentic & less commercial places on East Carson & their prices are a lot better as well.

I come here once every few months and i can honestly say i have never been disappointed and i always leave happy.
This is Tex-​Mex, they have nothing that is authentic Mexican food, so if that what your are looking for you wont find it here go to Reyna’s in the Strip. That being said as far as cheaper tex mex food, i am a fan.
The service is usually good, nice enough atmosphere, especially in the summer when u can sit outside. Great drink specials around happy hour
I almost always get the fajita and it is really good (not that it is that hard to do) but they don’t mess it up. Things are reasonably priced and and it comes out pretty quick.
Guac is meh, stick with the free chips and salsa or get the queso

Emilianos doesn’t always have a good rep which I don’t get. Living/​working in the area and loving Mexican food I’ve been going here for years. The food and service is consistent and delicious. One star deducted because sometimes the lunch can be downright slow. I love their veggie burritos, fajitas, chicken chimichangas, chicken soup, guac… did I mention the sangria? If you’re not an alcohol drink their cheese sauce is pretty drinkable too. Cheers!

Fantastic all around. We sat on the outdoor patio and enjoyed every minute.
Great food selection. Great service. Great food presentation and taste. Great service. And fair pricing to boot.
Highly recommended.

Best part was the cheese dip and the iced tea. Food is definitely tex-​mex and needed some seasoning. Regular guac is seriously lacking — we didn’t do the table side. Beans were lacking in flavor.
We went on a Sunday night and definitely got Sunday night service — very slow!

A nice way to start a quick (18 hour) visit to Pittsburgh, with what was probably the best queso fundido (with chorizo) we’ve ever had, prepared tableside. I had the California burrito, which was grilled before serving, a nice touch! Friendly staff, good drinks, check it out if you’re on the South Side!

I find this is a chili’s with a different name. Don’t get me wrong it’s good Tex Mex but not true Mexican. The food is good and hits the spot but it’s nothing special. That being said I enjoyed my Fajita Texana. That was loaded with onions and meat. My mojito was also good. The price is fair and the food is good. The best thing about the place is that they have outdoor seating and the sun shines on that side of the street until sunset, so on a nice day it’s worth just going to sit outside with chips and a beer. Worth a try if your hungry and walking around south side and not in the mood for bar food.

Great Mexican restaurant in Pittsburgh! First of all, you get free chips and salsa at lunch and dinner, which is a huge bonus and the chips are fresh/​hot with a unique and flavorful salsa (unlimited refills).
I usually ordered the steak fajitas — the meat was grilled to perfection and very tender and the fajitas exactly how they should be with the right amount of seasoning, served piping hot and in a timely fashion.
Occasionally, the service could have been a little faster and the guacamole is slightly bland but overall this was my go-​to spot for a good, sit down Mexican meal in Pittsburgh.

Every time I walk by this place, I see a huge crowd waiting to be seated. Out of curiosity once day I decided to give this place a try. I do love Mexican food. Emiliano’s is pretty spacious inside and the service was great! They told us a 30 minute wait, but we were seated within 10 minutes.
I started off with the Trio dip, which came with guacamole, white cheese sauce and pico de gallo. The chips were warm and crispy and the dips were fresh. For my main entrée, I ordered the Chimichanga with beef, which came with a side of rice and lettuce/​pico. I wasn’t very impressed with the chimichanga or the side of rice. It was pretty much pieces of beef inside a burrito that was tossed into the deep fryer. The meat was really dry and kind of lacking in flavors and spices. The side of rice was too mushy.
Overall, I thought the food at Emiliano’s was okay. I feel like I have had better Mexican food. Nothing I tasted here really captivated my taste buds. Prices are reasonable. I do have one major complaint though: SLIPPERY BATHROOM!

One star solely for the margarita. Service gets 0 stars, food gets 0 stars.
UGH, what a frustrating experience! We came here with a craving for margaritas and nachos. Ended up ordering a strawberry margarita pitcher, which was delicious. The nachos were almost inedible. The chicken on them did not taste fresh and they used a cheese sauce reminiscent of Taco Bell’s, but at least Taco Bell’s is good… This one just tasted off. There was also shredded cheese that wasn’t even melted! Very gross.
Service was incredibly poor. We ordered food, so maybe we should get plates and silverware? Nope! Didn’t get any of that. I tried getting the waitress’s attention to ask for it, but she was notttt available. Meanwhile, I took some napkins from the bar. When I finally did get to ask for these basic dining necessities she never brought us anything… So then I asked some random guy answering phones and he brought out 4 plates. BUT WHAT ABOUT THE SILVERWARE. Had to ask him AGAIN. And by then a fly landed on the nachos so there’s that.