As usual with Mexican restaurants , I ordered the hotter salsa and chicken fajitas, my favorite Mexican dish. It was great and the portion was more than I could eat. The hot salsa was hot enough as well. El Jinete is clean, well maintained and service was top notch. read more

FINALLY a place in Athens with nice patio dining and a cool place to hang out and watch sports on nice TVs. I was impressed from the moment I walked through the door. The food is full of flavor and authentic with an expansive variety of dishes on the menu. The service was top notch and our server Ruben even catered to our little ones which was a nice change compared to other places that give the eye roll when they see kids coming. Mexi Wing and Montereys definitely have a run for their money! read more

To be transparent, note that I'm a California transplant to TN and am particularly critical of Mexican food in this part of the country. One can find good, authentic Mexican food in this state, but it is fairly rare in the collective experience of those who relocate here from California where authentic Mexican food is abundant. If you're looking for real cheese - and not the "cheese product" as the US FDA would label it (like Velveeta), look someplace other than El Jinete. Clearly, many Tennesseans are content with the common white cheesy drool that oozes out of enchiladas and is melted atop other items, but just Google 'Velveeta' to see the content of this almost non-dairy concoction. The chips here were fair, the salsa was industrial in taste, the cheese enchilada was made of the aforementioned science class goo, and the rice was fair - lacking spiciness. I do believe they use a real cheese in the Chile relleno/ poblano, but it was not very good as the sauce was marginal. The frozen margarita was good and affordable and the service was average. I would not recommend El Jinete solely based on the bland mediocrity of their inauthentic dishes. read more

The waitress forgot about us. The Grilled chicken quesadilla shell was burnt and flavorless. The taco I ordered with ground beef came with only refried beans. I thought they would make me another one but they just brought me a plate of ground beef. Was really disappointed in the whole experience. read more

This is probably my favorite restaurant of all. Service is awesome & food is great. If you're wanting good mexican food this is the place to go. read more

We have visited at least 4 times this past year (2022). I love shredded beef in a Mexican dish. It was wonderful the first time I tried it. Our second visit, the order was wrong but was corrected which meant my husband was finished with his meal first and I felt rushed to finish mine. 3rd visit was take out and it was wrong. 4 th visit order was wrong. Both 3 & 4 visits I asked for shredded beef and was served shredded chicken. Beef and chicken do not sound alike! ‍ read more

My husband I had to look at some work in Athens and wanted to get something to eat before heading back to Farragut. The interior is nicely decorated and the outdoor covered patio is really nice. Our server greeted us soon after we sat down and our drinks arrived shortly thereafter. I ordered the Chile Rellenos - 2 poblanos stuffed with cheese served with rice and beans. The plate came out and it was really watery on the side with the peppers. The rice and beans are really good. My husband had tacos 1 carnitas, 1 steak, and one pastor and came with beans. The steak was good, carnitas were just a bit on the dry side, and the pastor was decent. Overall a good experience. read more

El Jinete - Tacos & beans - Mexican Near Me - Athens, Tennessee

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Servers and mgr. have a tendency to seat people in a back room or a corner across from the bar. I guess we looked like undesirables to them. The food was good. I just don't like the way they treat customers. Our money spends just like anyone elses. read more

Best mexican food hands down in Athens. Shrimp tacos are my go to when we eat here. I love the Cole slaw they serve with their tacos as well. Delicious fresh guacamole and the staff is just as wonderful. read more

I stopped here to try it out and I wasn't disappointed! If you want authentic Mexican food then come in and try

Great service from Angel! Food was fresh and hot. Very attentive to my hyper, needy friend. Thanks again Angel!

Raw beef in the tacos, big pink meat balls that smell so strong of tuna, every time I get tacos they are raw and bloody

Was very good for the quick stop I made. Ordered a Fajita Salad on the fly. Service was quick and friendly. Will go back when I have time to relax and enjoy my meal. read more

Good food, but pretty standard Mexican cuisine. Pollo Poblano and Pollo Mexicano were good, but not great. Very clean and well run restaurant, with great decor and layout. read more

El Jinete - Mexican Near Me - Athens, Tennessee

My favorite Mexican restaurant in Athens!!! They have authentic food with amazing flavor - every single time. Never disappointed. They have poblano peppers served typical Central Mexico style and they are my go to for authentic Mexican. Their fajitas are amazing. Full flavor and tender meat with fresh veggies! The mixed fajitas are my favorite - and if you're feeling dangerous order the molcajete! Simply amazing. Glad to see a non chain restaurant doing it right. read more

Excellent experience at this restaurant. Very lively packed atmosphere when we were there. Best Nachos Supreme we've ever had. We will go back often. read more

Normally I would recommend this restaurant but tonight was not good and the drinks were not calibrated properly. My three tacos they literally laid the tortillas out and threw the toppings all over them. Making it impossible to eat as tacos. There was no soap in the bathrooms and the table was broken it wobbled really badly. Another person in my party had nacho supreme and it literally had six nachos. We had to ask for items multiple times. read more

I ordered online for a pick up order. The lady on the phone felt the need to tell me "hurry up bruh" as I was trying to finish up my order. At the end she just ended the call, not asking for my name and not telling me how much time till the order will be ready. read more

I've been hitting up El Jinete since its inception as El Charro. Not sure what the reason was for the sudden name change, but thank the lord the food didn't change! I have tried to eat just about everything, and it would take me three days to review them all. Bottom line is that this place has the best Mexican food in Athens. The Tomatillo sauce is to die for, and for something a little special: ask them for grill a fresh jalapeño for you. I can't get enough. read more

We went Aug 20, 2017. My granddaughter had the taco salad with grilled chicken. I had the burrito Verde both were very good. Service was also good. Looked clean & has an outside covered patio. Will go again. read more

El Jinete - Burrito Verde - Mexican Near Me - Athens, Tennessee

Great Mexican restaurant that is new to Athens. I am familiar with them from Knoxville but it's great to see them expanding. They have done a great job with renovating the building in Athens and have a nice outdoor seating area. The bar is nice with plenty of unique options. I'm not a big fan of the salsa, however the food was great and service was prompt. The chimichanga was a bit small but very rich and well put together along with the sides. Left feeling very full. Great new addition to Athens. read more

This is probably the best Mexican restaurant between Chattanooga and Knoxville. My family and I enjoy this restaurant.

My friend and I went here for a quick bite and we're ecstatic about our experience. We were welcomed immediately and sat down right when we got there. The second we sat down we received chips and salsa and got our waiter to get our drinks less then 15 seconds later. The food came out less then 5 minutes later and the food was phenomenal. I would highly recommend this restaurant again and will be back! read more

Tried this place a couple of times. Could never seem to get even halfway decent service, seemed more like an employee party with all thier friends. The shirtless and obviously very intoxicated guy on the patio was a real nice touch as well. Perfect for a family to explain why the restaurant allows this to happen with paying customers around. There are a ton of great Mexican places here in Athens, this place is most certainly not one of them. read more

Always great food. The best service around. Even when they are busy, the waiters and waitresses take very good care of you with prompt refills. Highly recommend read more

Amazing food, HUGE portions, less than desirable service, kinda pricey. We had a question about a dish and he answered it as he walked away, leaving our other questions unanswered. He brought us drinks, but no refills. He took forever to deliver the check, and forever to tender our transaction. Overall if you have plenty of time, patience (at least with that waiter), and dont mind spending a little bit more for bigger portions then this place is great! I'd give it another try if i got a different waiter! read more

Found this on way from Knoxville to Chattanooga. Awesome Food, good prices, friendly people

Fish taco here are awesome, their Margaritas are fantastic (no mixes here, it's the real deal) and the chips and salsa are addictive. Don't ask me about anything else because I travel far and wide for the fish taco and can't bring myself to try anything else. Friends and family finish their plates and rave but I'm not giving up those tacos. Think I'll go today. ;) read more

El Jinete - Mexican Near Me - Athens, Tennessee

Newly renamed- El Jinnette. I really tried to like this place because its 1 mile from my house. The problem is that everything I try is always under-cooked and bland. Everything is fresh and the servers are always very nice so I wanted to try again hoping they had a new cook . Tonight we tried fajita taco salad and the shrimp was cold, the bell pepper and onion practically raw. Too bad because a little seasoning and longer on the grill would make this a nice 4 star Mexican restaurant instead of 2 stars. read more

Great food and service! Stopped here on our way home. I had one of the grilled shrimp plates and hubby had the Chile Verde. Both were excellent!! Fast and attentive service. We highly recommend this place if you are in the mood for Mexican. Wish it was in our home town!! read more

Stopped in to try it out today and so far it's been the best one we've tried in Tennessee (we are from Texas). It is very clean, people are very friendly and you get a lot of food for your money. We had fajitas for one and it will feed 3. The only complaint I have was their salsa wasn't that great and the cheese dip was like water (it had a good flavor just VERY thin). We will eat here again. Y'all should come on out and try it for yourselves. read more

El Jinete - This is after we had eaten 4. - Mexican Near Me - Athens, Tennessee

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Great restaurant. Always clean and always great service. Haven't made a bad decision ordering here yet. Get the tomatio sauce for eating chips and thank Jones Beene when you see him for turning me onto it. read more

El Jinete - Tomatio Sauce - Mexican Near Me - Athens, Tennessee

Hands down the best Mexican in Athens! Super friendly staff, the perfect portions for a hungry man and cheese dip so good I could literally eat it everyday. read more

My wife and I ate there 2 days ago. The food and the atmosphere was great. The wait staff were very friendly and helpful. This is a place you have to check out. Try the ceviche it is so good. It is an appetizer if shrimp, tomatoes and citrus juices that go very good together. read more

Very impressed. Waiter was friendly, provided great fast service, and spoke perfect English, even correcting my pronunciation of the dish I ordered - paradillada (or something close to that). It was a meat-fest of chicken, steak, shrimp, chorizo and a beef short rib, served on a sizzling platter. Huge. Plenty for two. Or even three. Some of the best refried beans I've ever had. Excellent flavor. read more

This place is an average Mexican restaurant that is far from authentic compared to Don Armando in Athens. I think the name has been changed to El Jinette or something else. I have had a few dishes like their shrimp cerviche and steak tacos that were entrees I could have probably made myself if I wasn't too lazy to cook as well as clean up after myself. Is their salsa even salsa or is it spaghetti sauce?! I got really sick the second time I ordered the shrimp cerviche and promised myself to never go here again. I gave this place a 3 star because the service is always great and the margaritas aren't too bad. read more

Traveling through town and stopped for lunch. The food was excellent!!! The staff was so friendly and the atmosphere was the same you would find in any large city (I'm from California). Highly recommend! read more

This is a very good place to eat. I eat here twice a week ar least. The food is great. The service is top notch and the menu is awesome. Prices are good too. Try it you will like it! read more

My wife and I are new to the area and we stopped by for lunch. We both had the Burrito Real. The staff was friendly, the restaurant was clean, and the food was very good. What else can you ask for. We will be back. read more

Good restaurant. Prices are decent and good food. Service a bit untenative. I will eat here often. Recent name change but still the same people. read more