Food is authentic Mexican. No chain restaurant. This is family owned. The flavor is what you get in Mexico besides the English beer choices

It is a Smyrna Legend!!! I cannot live without Cozumel!!! It's the best Mexican food in the city!!!

Do. Not. Like. Let's start with the restaurant: typical Mexican place. Somewhat clean and relatively accessible by the K-Mart. The service? Meh. They are friendly to their regular patrons, but tend to overlook those who haven't been many times. Not rude, just not particularly invested. The food, on the other hand is what is especially BLAND. -Let's begin with the salsa. It tastes like ketchup. Plain and simple. Gross, gross, gross. No spice, no flavor, no cilantro, no love. Just ketchup. -The cheese dip was almost as offensive. Yes, it's cheese, but it was bland, tasteless, and very chunky, even when it was hot. Cheese dip isn't supposed to be chunky. Yuck. -The entrees were equally "meh"... None of their food tasted like authentic Mexican fare. It tasted boring, unseasoned, and cheap. -The Margaritas were even lacking. I can make better at home, and that isn't what you want for an EXpensive $5 drink. Ultimately: There are much better options locally for good Mexican. read more

OK...here is the deal... A few Sundays ago we wanted Mexican, but wanted it to go. We call Cozumel and order a double mixed fajita with shredded cheese, extra salsa and mild dip. To those not in the know - the mild dip is their burrito sauce. Here is what you do. You dip a chip in the burrito sauce then sprinkle it with the shredded cheese - you are welcome! We have been coming here since before they expanded into an adjacent store that went out of business. When they first opened in the early 90's it was just the section you walk into. My youngest was barely 2 and my oldest was almost 5. We would just order a single fajita and the whole family would eat that. We used to go to Gatlinburg at least once and sometimes twice a year. We would always come here Sunday after church a week or so before our trip and plan our itinerary on one of their paper placemats. For quite a while they were the only Tex_Mex in town. Soon after Smyrna passed liquor by the drink they started popping up everywhere. Sadly we gravitated away and tried "new" things. Well, we rediscovered Cozumel again after being first enamored and then disappointed by the others. We had fajitas that night. I did a reheat in a skillet the next night. My wife had it for lunch 3 days - I had it 2 days. Sad to say - a week later we discarded the rest and seriously - I think we threw away a couple of more meals! No...not because it was not good - there was just so much! Basically, we had 7 meals (9 if you count the leftovers we tossed) for less than $30 - you do the math. Granted - the food was best the first day, but was not bad the other days - especially the next day when I reheated in the skillet. We always get the pico and quac on the side. Granted quac browns quickly so use it ASAP, but everything else was fine. They have been the most consistent of all the others we have tried. We were there a couple of nights ago dining in and ordered a single mixed fajita. It was MORE than adequate for two people. I even had a loaded "soft taco" for the next day. Smyrna's original Tex-Mex - still Smyrna's best! read more

Still my favorite place! Taco Sald is giant! full of sour cream, queso, tomatoes, good portion of chicken, with a giant taco shell around it! I love it because I've eaten so much I'm gonna pass out. And I am satisfied! Service was exellent !!! I saw a guy get his face slammed into ice cream for his birthday! Awesome! read more

Cozumel Mexican Restaurant - Now that's a taco salad for $5.25 - Mexican Near Me - Smyrna, Tennessee

If you enjoy Mexican food, then this is the place to go. Prices are good, food is great and service is good too.

so i did get my food to go and got it very fast but it was literally cold and hard i haven't ate here in a few years but i won't come back. literally it seems like it was just sitting out. read more

I've been coming here from day one. Over 20 yrs! I travel the world and heave eaten in many Mexican food restaurants like this one and variations of this style of Mexican food. Hands down this has to be the most consistent experience I've ever had in restaurants like this. The food is always hot and fresh. The salsa had been consistently great!! Consistently the same flavour and texture from day one. Jesus and his staff are very attentive and helpful in their services. In over 20 years of eating here I can honestly say I've never had a bad meal. Thank you Jesus, Maria(the best server ever),your family, and your wonderful staff for all of the great food and memories over the years!! Cheers! read more

Have been eating here for over 20 years, albeit with several years between visits. However, if I am in middle Tennessee on business, will try hard to stop in. The place is not fancy. It reminds me of a locals restaurant in almost any Mexican town. The food is good and reasonable priced. Be careful, the portions are huge. I normally order two tacos and walk out full. If you are in Rutherford County, strongly recommend you stop in. Located in an aging strip mall on the "main drag" passing through Smyrna. If for no other reason, we should patronize local establishments that offer quality and value. read more

Nothing special, their facility is dirty, service is just a little better than one would expect. The food is lacking any flare or flavor. The fajita nachos with shrimp are a joke. Small shrimp swimming in a cheesy puddle of grease with some half burnt vegetables. How do they stay open? I'm not sure considering that Mexican restaurants are everywhere much like the cock roaches that I imagine inhabit their kitchen, and many are far superior. So simply put, the price doesn't justify the quality, the serving size doesn't justify the price, and the cleanliness doesn't justify the state not shutting this toilet down. It's not just me either. It seems to be the theme of the many yelp reviews. Save yourself the aggravation and go elsewhere when in the area. read more

Cozumel's leaves much to be desired visually. Scratched up old tables, wobbly chairs, loud music. It's just not very welcoming or appealing upon entrance. The friendly wait staff and delicious food more than make up for that, though. The food is always fresh and hot and hits the spot. I recommend the burritos deluxe myself, but really, you can't go wrong no matter what you select. They seat you quickly and I've never had to wait in line to pay. To-go orders are well packaged and they don't skimp on food just because you are taking it with you. read more

This place used to be amazing. I spent most of my teenage years eating here every Sunday after church. I have gone back recently and the quality of food has become disappointing. The serve is horrible. I ordered a grilled chicken chimichanga no onions like I always did when unused to visit. When my food arrived there were grilled onions all inside. I let me server know and he told me that they do not take special requests and I had to eat it like it was prepared. I asked for a manager, explained I just didn't want the onions and he told me the same thing. My friend who came with me ordered off the vegetarian menu and was brought a BEEF tostado. She too said something and they told her no special requests. This used to be the number 1 place to eat in Smyrna hands down. Now, not so much. I now will only visit the Mexican Place off Hazelwood next to Essex Bargain Hunt. read more

The Waffle House of Mexican Restaurants. If you enjoy carrying the smell of the restaurant with you for the rest of the day, rude slow service, and meats that consist of tiny "pieces" of unidentified shapes, then you'll love cozumel. Otherwise, visit any of the other mexican restaurants in town and save yourself the aggravation of having to go straight home and change so you don't smell like hot grease for the rest of the day. And their idea of seasoning is cover it in black pepper and cheese. read more

I used to eat at Cozumel fairly often because they had a terrific chimichanga, but no one ever wanted to go with me because they weren't as enthused about their dishes. So, it had been a while since I had been and I went on my own. What a mistake. When I walked in there was no one up front, but that's not unusual. I stood there waiting for several minutes while mindlessly watching one of the servers messing around with his phone at the utensil rolling table. Imagine my surprise when after a lengthy wait, he gets up and seats me! Annoyance. My server came to my table immediately and did a great job. I started with the guacamole, which I'm fairly picky about, but knew I had had it here before and it was fine. Well, not this time. It was an avocado puree with some kind of unidentifiable spices in it. It tasted like something you get out of the freezer case at the grocery store. I asked the server about it and he looked at it as if for the first time. He seemed fairly appalled and said he would take it off my bill. Later he came back and said he found out it was frozen. What Mexican restaurant serves that? When my entree arrived the beans and rice were just kind of meh, nothing special. But, the chimi was my biggest disappointment. A chimichanga is basically a burrito that is folded shut on both ends and deep fried. What I received was sealed on neither end, so it wasn't even a burrito. As far as frying, the very edges of the tortilla were a little crispy, so it seemed like they filled it and then threw it in a pan for a minute to melt the cheese. After all of this I'm surprised I didn't give up, but I stayed for dessert and was actually glad I did. I ordered the fried cream cheese, thinking it was fried cheese cake. It was nice, but the hunk of cream cheese was a bit too thick and like a brick, but the plate was festive and lots of fun. (I posted a pic.) All in all. this is not the restaurant it used to be and I can't imagine any circumstance that would send me back. read more

Cozumel Mexican Restaurant - Fried Cream Cheese - Mexican Near Me - Smyrna, Tennessee

Ordered 3 beef enchiladas and queso. Got 1 beef, 1 chicken, and 1 cheese. Cheese on enchilada was not even melted. This was supposed to be my birthday lunch and it was awful! DO NOT GO HERE! read more

Yes Cozumel is a hole in the wall, dirty, smelly restaurant with some pretty awful service... but the food is decent. Fresh chips and salsa are good and the prices are very low. If you want an average, quick Mexican meal, Cozumel is just fine. Just don't expect too much! read more

I eat here a couple times a month. Quick service and good food.

It's not "real" mexican food, but it's the next best thing. Since I moved away, I still miss the queso.

Cozumel's food tastes good and the prices are very reasonable. I have eaten here for years and have never had a problem with getting sick or bad service. I must state that I only get either beef&bean nachos, steak fajitas or the beef tacos w/rice and beans plate. That's all I eat in general at any Mexican restaurant. So I cannot comment if the other menu items are subpar. I stick to what I know I will like. read more

DELICIOUS! I made a yelp account just to review my favorite place! I love coming here for the Chimichanga because it has everything I love in nice generous portions! The Dr. Pepper is amazing here and so are the warm chips and salsa. We did wait awhile to get seated but it was on a Sunday around 1pm which was busy so it's understandable. Otherwise, I get seated pretty quickly and the service is great! They are fast and always checking up on us. If you get carry out, they even package you some chips and salsa to go with it! I always leave happy, full, and satisfied! read more

Went to lunch with my son today. As usual, the food was good. The service was awful. Our server was very personable, but very slow and good at disappearing. We ended up grabbing our own to-go boxes off of a cart, because she was no where to be found. Had to flag her down for the check, and the place was not even busy. Then, the front window sign says 2 for 1 margaritas every day from 1-5 (or 6pm. Not sure, but we were there at 2pm.) Ordered one plate for around $12, and mine was $8. Two 40oz margaritas for $15 each, 2 for 1, right? Nope. When I got the bill for $75 (!!!!!!!) I asked for an explanation! Our server said that it's the 12 oz margaritas that are 2 for 1. Even then, the math does not add up. We will NOT eat there again. read more

Horrible, disgusting, gross....just a few adjectives to describe my experience here. My husband and I shared the special dinner which was a chalupa (but actually a bean tostada), enchilada, taco, tamale, and chile rellano with beans and rice. We were prepared to tell the server that we wanted shredded beef in the taco and chicken in the enchilada, but we were not given the option....everything was covered in ground beef and fake cheese! The chile rellano wasn't even breaded, it was a pepper topped with ground beef and cheese. The beef was not flavored and the cheese was swimming in oil. The tamale masa was moist, but there was maybe a half teaspoon of meat in the tamale. The enchilada had barely any sauce on it. Most edible items were the rice and beans. I had a few bites of each item, except we did not touch the tostada (which they called a chalupa). The chips and salsa were the first sign that we were in trouble...straight up out of the jar pace picante. No problems with the service, but my husband, who was facing the kitchen, noticed them microwaving a lot of stuff. We will not return. read more

I have eaten at pretty much all the Mexican restaurants in Middle Tennessee and none compare to the food and price at this restaurant. Their portions are much larger than all the others and their prices are less. You will find the service much, much better than other Mexican Restaurants, especially those in Murfreesboro. It's worth the extra drive. Strip mall location doesn't give it a glamorous setting but the food is worth it. This restaurant has stood the test and has been at this same location since 1992 under the same ownership. If you're looking for great Mexican food this is the Mexican Restaurant to go to. read more

we used to eat here a lot, but it's been awhile since we were there....until my daughter and I went for lunch today . we were only the 3rd table in there during the lunch rush hour. as long as it took to get our food I can understand people on their lunch break would not have time to eat . even waited a good while to get our check so we could leave. we finally just went to the register as asked for our check. The food was good , service was poor. the resturant was fairly clean, lots of light bulbs out....just didn't look taken care of. think it will be a long time before we try it again read more

This place is horrible would give zero stars I'm not sure what has happened but it's definitely not what it used to be first never got seated stood there got walked passed many times til I finally asked why we weren't being seated just ignored especially considering others were getting sitted immediately after walking in then they threw a fit and even my waiter kept saying she was arguing with the kitchen staff because they didn't want to make hard shell tacos and I said numerous times just give me the meat and shell I'll make it myself since it was such a issue even though they are a Mexican restaurant not sure why it was such a big deal then the waiter didn't give napkins silverware I had to go find it on my own waited forever for our food considering we only had 2 child chicken nuggets and fries and 2 hard tacos not sure why it took forever like our drinks that took forever too this all around was probably worst restaurant experience me and my family have ever had from the moment we walked in and considering all we had already been through I was thinking at least the food will be good oh I was wrong it was horrible too and to top it off it was $40 a child's drink cost more then the adults which is crazy if this is how Cozumel is being run nowadays y'all just need to go ahead and close shop cause this was ridiculous I use to like this place but never again and I will be letting my friends family and company I work for nobody who's paying should ever get this kinda of service or food read more