June 2026: yup ate here again! Located just off Clinton & across from stone middle school which is now a great brew house. open 7 days per week from 11 am until at least 2100 Everything I have tried has been outstanding. Parking is a problem as the mall area is very small. The prices are super reasonable? U see many locals from Mexico dining here. So good Sundays is music day read more

El Azteca Mexican Restaurant - Our lovely waitress brings food. (I ate all my meal prior to taking pictures. ) June 2026 - Mexican Near Me - Huntsville, Alabama

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El Azteca... Where the local Latin Americans go to enjoy the flavors of home. This is the genuine article, at least, as genuine as it can be with USFDA rules and regulations. Parking is a beast, and when you first walk in things are a bit compacted, but they have much more seating capacity than you probably give them credit for. I walked in on a Sunday during lunch and they were packed. It was a pendulum of people getting in the door and through the checkout line. I wound up standing in the checkout line near the kitchen by the waitress order pick up area. I saw some absolutely wonderful looking food there before a hostess scooped us up and seated us at a table. The menu was several pages long, first language was Spanish but it had English immediately after. Their salsa is almost perfect. Not too hot and not too sweet. Almost too much cilantro, but no aftertaste. It was good, and their chips were fresh and warm. I ordered Steak Ranchero (or Ranchero Steak) and my wife had Carne Asada. Hers was excellent and tender, thin but plenty of meat! Mine was thicker, plenty, and covered with a red sauce. It was. A little spicy, but the flavor was unique and fantastic! The record beams were great. Even the rice...it was different. The rice was flavorful in a unique and great way. I don't normally clear my plate for this cuisine, but I could have today had there not been so much food there. No dessert report today, but this place is the real deal. It is clean, service is fast and courteous, food was fast and great, and the price was very reasonable by today's expensive standards. We'll be back! I almost took one star away for the haphazard parking, but was overwhelmed by everything else. Easy five star for me. read more

UPDATE: 2/8/2023: ALAS NIRVANA FOUND! My visit yesterday was outstanding and I think they have busted the nut on being the go to Mexican restaurant here in Huntsville, AL IMHO. I had the Bistec Azteca and it was the BOMBA! This place has transformed into an 'ALL GO AND NO SHOW" Mexican restaurant. Very good service and the food has just gotten a whole lot better. You should really disregard the exterior, clientele and location, go in, and have a wonderful experience. SHOUT OUT to all the other non-IP's (Indigenous Personnel) who have crossed over to the culinary dark side. read more

the food was PHENOMENAL and the service was kind and quick. you have to try the choripollo with green salsa!

Amazing food and service. We go on Sundays and they have music! I had Carnitas, nice tender high quality pork, rice and beans too! This is my favorite Mexican restaurant in Huntsville or Madison. read more

This is best Mexican restaurant I've discovered in huntsville. I highly recommend going here for clado! They have the best crab legs and shrimp. Also if you like to drink, this place is the best for margaritas. read more

El Azteca Mexican Restaurant - Caldo - Mexican Near Me - Huntsville, Alabama

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This was possibly the best and most authentic Mexican cuisine I have had in the entirety of North Alabama. The customer service was fantastic, and the ambiance of the restaurant is perfectly designed. The chips, salsa, and queso were all incredible, as well as the chicken, steak, and rice. I would give more stars if I was able to. read more

My husband was raised by an Hispanic woman and grew up eating authentic Mexican cuisine. El Azteca is our favorite for local Mexican. read more

El Azteca Mexican Restaurant - Spicy head on shrimp! - Mexican Near Me - Huntsville, Alabama

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The food was the best Mexican food I have had in a while. The service was also wonderful.

What a treat to find on a busy yet rainy Saturday night definitely will look forward to my next taste!

I enjoy trying places that are new and different. El Azteca is one of those places, so I will do my best to describe it from my senses. This is not a restaurant trying to Americanize. From the waitstaff, to the decor, to something as beautiful as the pico de gallo served here, it is different from what you will find elsewhere. I had the three chicken enchiladas, with the vegetable rice, and beans. The first bite of the enchiladas you notice the acidity of the verde sauce, the tartness of the sour creme, and the texture of the seasoned chicken. On the next bite you will notice the mozzarella cheese on top, and upon the third the peppers (not spicy, but the more bland peppers - I personally would love a spicy pepper hidden inside, thankfully they include sauces on the side of the table so you can adjust spiciness to your preference). The puffy yellow rice is seasoned with peas, carrots, and corn, which pairs well with the enchiladas. The beans are the traditional Mexican beans with a hint of mozzarella. Now for dessert, that is a review for another place but by the same owner. There is a Mexican ice cream shop next door with all kinds of flavors to enjoy. The wait staff speak some english but more Spanish so bring google translate for specifics, definitely ask for the pico de gallo and the guac. read more

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I am a Taco connoisseur. El Azteca has the BEST tacos in Huntsville. No questions asked. To make it even better. They are cheap! $1.20!!! I can't get over how good this places is. I have to eat here once a week or I get cranky! read more

El Azteca Mexican Restaurant - Chorizo, Lengua, Campechanos, rice and beans!! - Mexican Near Me - Huntsville, Alabama

On the bright side, the food is affordable. The salsa had the consistency of a can of crushed or pureed tomatoes, and about that much flavor. I otdered the Pollo Campeche, the menu said mushrooms, I got none. What I did get was a plate with ultra thin strips of chicken, a watery queso over "california blend" veggies and A LOT of salt. The waitress seemed nice, but the first time she came to ask me how the food was happened to be at the end of the meal. Still had to wait around six minutes for the check after my plate was removed. This was at lunch and there were, at most five tables seated and three waitresses working at the time. All in all, a less than desirable experience. read more

Excellent lunch spot! Very authentic, large portions and fair prices. Music can be a little loud, but the food is worth it.

This is a fantastic Mexican restaurant!!! I knew it was going to be good as soon as I saw how many Mexicans were in the parking lot and eating inside! The food was great, the chips and salsa and guacamole dip was the best I've had anywhere (and I've eaten at Mexican restaurants all over the country). I had fajitas which were great as well, I will be back! [In my opinion the people who left bad reviews are mostly due to the waitresses not speaking much English & the restaurant being in a rougher neck of the woods] (You can take out the menu and point to what you want if your waitress can't speak much English). It's not as fancy as other restaurants are but it's great. I'd give it a 4 stars for that reason but I gave it 5 to offset the meritless bad reviews. read more

Authentic Mexican food. I had a coupon that brought me to this restaurant. I was very pleased. The menu is in Spanish and English and written to make your mouth water. I had a fried shrimp with a yellow rice, guacamole salad and fries. Everything was delicious and I especially liked the guacamole dip. It has a bite to it. Even the fries had a good seasoning to them and were tasty without adding catsup. I had enough food to enjoy the leftovers for lunch the next day. read more

When you walk into a Mexican Restaurant & its busy with mostly Hispanic customers, you just know it's got to be good. And they didn't disappoint. The chicken fajitas salad - awesome! read more

The food is outstanding, much more authentic than many of the Mexican places in town. Service doesn't wow but is acceptable. I'm excited because they serve a Tamarindo drink which is my favorite with Mexican food. I went at lunch time and the place was filled with workers getting lunch. Menu is in Spanish, so if you don't know basic food terms in Spanish you may struggle to order but I didn't mind that at all personally. read more

This restaurant is as close to authentic as I can find in Huntsville!! We are from California and know good Mexican food when we see it! The carne asada street tacos are bomb. Enchilada's, rice and beans are yummy and the kids love 'em. I would recommend this place! Everything we have eaten has been delicious. read more

Truly authentic Mexican/Latin food. I had the Plato de Azteca and it did not disappoint. Everything from the carne asada to the asado de camarones. Simply put I will be visiting this place more then once for my stay here in Huntsville. read more

El Azteca Mexican Restaurant - Plato de Azteca, includes grilled shrimp, carne asada, grilled veggies, rice, beans and a side of avocado with 4 corn tortillas. - Mexican Near Me - Huntsville, Alabama

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From the exterior you may be skeptical about this place, but give it a chance and try it! The inside is much more appealing than the outside. You will be pleasantly surprised with the food! Its much more authentic Mexican which I personally love! They use a lot of spice and heat in their food compared to generic "Mexican" restaurants. I would recommend the tacos. I've gotten steak, chicken, and lengua. These tacos are small, but very filling. Normally I will go with a friend and we get 2-3 tacos each with guacamole and it is a perfect amount of food!! Only thing to be aware of is that normally there is only 1 person waiting tables so it might be a little bit of a wait. If perfect service is important to you then you may not like this part, but the people are very nice! Overall, its very flavorful, inexpensive, and festive. You should try it if you like authentic Mexican food! Enjoy :) read more

Went here to try some of their tacos as we heard they had good street tacos...when we got there they had plenty of people there. Chips and salsa were good but had to wait 5 minutes before the waitress came around again to get refills. Then I noticed that our waitress along with some of the other waitresses were hanging out in or at a booth near the register. Talking, eating, texting, counting tips while the restaurant continued to fill up. Most Mexican restaurants are fairly quick with getting food to the table. Ours took about 20 minutes and we were not impressed when it finally did arrive. After we finished we waited about 5 more minutes as our waitress was relaxing in a booth, eating and counting her tip money....needless to say we will not be going back. Food was ok service was dreadful read more

Do yourself a favor and give this place a try ..especially if you like it spicy. Guacamole is spicier than other places. Salsa is spicier than other places, too. I'm not a fan of food that makes my face feel like it's on fire, but even I can handle this level of spice. Children may end up eating the tortilla chips plain ..or learn to like it spicy! My favorite, however, are their street-style tacos ...meat, cilantro and onion. Yum! Portions are extremely generous and the waitstaff is friendly and attentive. Parking is ample and if you utilize 6th Ave, it's MUCH easier than trying to park at the neighboring burrito joint. read more

Extremely bland food. It didn't even taste like it had salt and pepper. Both mine, and my boyfriend's entree. Even the salsa was bland. I will say the cheese dip tasted very good. Our server wasn't exactly rude, however she did act like us being there was an inconvenience. In the middle of our bland meal, they mopped the dining room with heavily bleached mop water which ruined our bland meal even more, causing us to leave. We will not be returning, and will go a few buildings over to Bandito Burrito next time, which is consistently good. We regret trying something new today. Also the employees standing around in the dining room texting is unprofessional in my opinion. read more

I went in with my family for an early dinner. Food was great. As others previously mentioned, service was not the best. But the topper, was the check. My sister paid and came to the car wondering why the ticket was so high. Confused I went back in with her, we politely asked if we could see the prices and the waitress was dismissive. When I did the math it definitely did not add up. She got rude 'breaking down the cost' and I stopped her and said let's do the math together. This is where she was quick to apologize and say I'm so sorry, I didn't clear the calculator completely. SO when you go to pay, just be wary of your check :) read more

The food was inedible and the service practically nonexistent. I did get to order and got a plate of food. That was about it. Wait staff seem to be trying to ignore your existence as much as possible. I will definitely not be back. read more

Server was courteous, food is decent for the price. Cashier was rude and unreasonable. Will not be going back. Instead of resolving the problem with our certificate, the cashier ignored us and came back to us when she had taken care of everything else. This traditionally has been a budget conscious but decent place to go but there are too many other places in town to justify coming back here. read more

This restaurant is on Clinton Ave, just SW of the Governors Drive Bandito Burrito. You likely won't see it unless you're looking for it. Think of it as a more authentic Mexican restaurant than Bandito Burrito. It looks nicer inside than outside. The menu is in Spanish only. My wife and I were a little early, arriving a little before 5 pm on a Thursday. We seated ourselves, and ordered a mixed fajita. It had very good beef and chicken, which we expected. It also had some very excellent shrimp. About 5 pm the dinner hostess / waitress came in, and took over the dining room service. She [Maria?] is a pretty and personable señorita, and was a highlight of our visit. She speaks English fluently, as well as Spanish. The food quality was very good to excellent. However, the authentic Mexican recipe was a little too spicy hot for our gringo tastes. Too much chili powder and pepper seeds. They did not have Sprite, so my wife ordered a Mexican lemon-lime soda, which she liked. I had a Coke. A TV was on, with a Spanish-language program turned up a little too loud. My colorful Mexican chair had a nail head sticking up on the side, which caught my pants leg a couple of times, but it didn't tear all the way thru the cloth. Next time I would swap chairs. The health department rating was only 86. I don't think I'd care to be back on this side street after dark. However, some day when you're feeling adventurous, bring a buddy and come eat during the daytime. A visit here feels kind of like a short trip to Mexico. read more

I love this place. Im Mexican and am very picky about Mexican food, that said I can guarantee you that you wont find anywhere in town such good traditional Mexican food like the one that El Azteca offers. So far everything I have tried taste wonderful. I suggest people to try their head, lengua and chorizo tacos, Cuban sub, fish fillet, soups, quesadillas and Augua de Jamica (Hibiscus Tea Water). Just Wonderful!! Enjoy read more

Ate there yesterday. Clean and bright and wait staff responsive. Quesadilla fajita was excellent, beans not runny, Spanish rice fluffy and not oily, and vegetables fresh and not overdone. And big servings. Hadda take some home for later. A good experience with good food. read more

three consecutive health inspection scores of below 84....health violations too numerous to list !!