I love this place! The service is great even with a large group. Several of us come here for lunch regularly and it is always delicious. I always get the Trio Tamales and it is the best. This is the best Mexican in town, tied with Señor Taco in my opinion! read more

El Metate - Delicious tamales! - Mexican Near Me - Knoxville, Tennessee

Food is fantastic ,the service & staff are great, the whole place is immaculate & you can't beat the prices. I love this place! read more

El Metate - Burrito Fajita with steak & chicken mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm - Mexican Near Me - Knoxville, Tennessee

Went there for drinks, appetizers, and to watch a ballgame. The food was OK and the service was prompt but not the friendliest team of servers. It has the potential to be a good place but the staff needs to be a bit more engaging and invested in the customer experience. read more

My favorite Mexican restaurant in town. Monterrey, el Rey, Don Gallo, cancun, and all the other Mexican places around town DONT COMPARE. I eat this place about twice a week. I love it!! I always get the quesadilla relleno! Yum! The staff is always really friendly as well, they know me as a regular so they're always really nice. Would recommend 110%! read more

We went here last night and it was probably the worst Mexican food I have ever had. The queso appeared as if it had been mixed with water to make it appear as if you had been given plenty. It was so thin that it just ran off of all of the food. The chicken was tasteless and the rice had a chemical like taste to it. Also the prices are outrageous for what you get. Standard combos at other places are 7 to 8 dollars and here are 10. Would definitely consider other options if wanting Mexican food. Won't be back. read more

Best Mexican in Halls. The people are always friendly and the food is hot and fresh.

Stopped in for dinner. Place was super busy but we were seated really quickly. The food was hot and delicious. The staff is friendly and the restaurant is very clean. Will be back for sure. read more

Looking for a new Mexican to call home, we headed to Halls to check out El Metate. Service was excellent, from the hostess to the attentive server. The food was good, but for the life of me, I can't remember what we ate. What I'm saying is nothing made it stand out enough to remember. read more

I moved here from SC where we have TONS of Mexicans. Going to a Mexican place back home is a weekly event. That being said sadly I hadn't had much of a Mexican experience since moving. It's mostly American versions of Mexican. El Metate reminded me of SC. So far, best Mexican place in Knox. read more

We had been meaning to go here for a while but just never seemed to go for some reason or another. Well we finally made a point to go last Sunday. We wanted to try a new Mexican place. I guess we came in with kinda high expectations but it didn't take long for those expectations to be lowered. It started with the salsa and chips. The chips were decent. I prefer mine thinner but they were good. The salsa, on the other hand, was subpar. Hardly any flavor at all. Just kinda bland. My daughter also got a cheese dip and it was ok. It was pretty runny but decent. I ordered #13 on the menu. It was a cheese enchilada, a beef burrito, and a chile. When it came, it didn't look very appealing. The red sauce had a tomato paste look about it and all around the chile, the sauce was almost like water. It made everything real soggy. I ate about half of mine and that was about all I could handle. My daughter got the pollo loco. It wasn't cut up in strips like most are but she said it had a good flavor. I think my wife got the chicken enchilada. I asked her how it was and she said it was "ok". So basically everything was kinda "ok" and some of it was not so "ok". Maybe it was just a off day or maybe I should have ordered the fajitas. Will I go there again? Hmmmm, maybe but I'll be trying a couple of the other new restaurants that have opened up. read more

El Metate - Mexican Near Me - Knoxville, Tennessee

If you don't know this place is there you might miss it. It is located in the Walmart shopping plaza but once you find it you will remember it is there. The service is good and the food is even better. The portions are huge and we love to get the Fajitas for 2 (there are 3 us) because even after we all eat there is some left for lunch the next day. The chips and salsa are a great way to start the meal. The food and service is fast so if you are hungry you don't end up waiting long. We visit here often and are always happy with the food. read more

I enjoyed my meal, it was hot, good quality and decently priced. I would recommend everyone give it a try.

I love this place. The husband and I are regulars. The food is always hot and delicious, and the service is spot on. I either get the carne asada or the steak fajitas, and he gets the Chicken Chimichangas. Their rice does not have any of the icky dried vegetables in it, and their cheese dip is awesome. The tables always have plenty of room to sit, and they have a patio for when the weather warms up. I have never had a bad experience here, and I have been about 5 or so times in the past few months. The only thing that could use improvement is their salsa. It is sweet and chunky, like they use fire roasted tomatoes. If it was smoother, it would be perfect, but the husband likes it the way it is, so it is all a matter of preference. They are also consistently clean, with two or three 99 health scores in a row. You just can't get that at many Mexican places! I will praise El Metate all day long. If you live in the area, you need to go. Great service, great food, clean restaurant. read more

This has become our go to Mexican joint after boating on Norris Lake. Never had a bad experience or bad meal here. My friends split the fajitas for two and it's a ton of food for around twenty bucks. I like the fish tacos and verde chicken enchiladas. They're pretty kid friendly too. Very reasonable prices for the portions and quality, like it better than the other Mexican places in town, although if you want Tex-Mex, might have to give the nod to Chuy's. Never ordered any drinks here, so can't comment on that, but they do have a moonshine margarita I've had my eye own. read more

Love the friendly fast service and the pastor tacos are delicious! Reminds me of home (California). It's hard to find Pastor around here..so thank you! read more

With so many Mexican restaurants in the area this one rises to the top. Consistantly good food and lots on the menu.

i was really hoping this place was going to be good because it's close, clean, and the employees are friendly, but it isn't even passable for Mexican food. I was very excited to see the Tacos Del Pastor; however, when I tried them I immediately put them into the nearest trash can. The meat was covered in BBQ style sauce and canned pineapples. It wasn't even kind of good. All of the food was bland and flavorless, this is Mexican food for crying out loud, it should at least have a little chili. Ultimate example of white washed Mexican food. Yuk. read more

This place used to be my favorite and over the last few years it has become a place I go if I had to. Example today our small group met there the waiter brought out something I didn't order then when it was sent back they scooped what was on the first order into a burrito shell and covered it in cheese sauce telling me it's the same thing so they scooped it into one shell. So that massive amounts of beans and rice and very little chicken with lettuce and tomato tasted awful when I took a bite I was like this is no where near what I ordered they still billed me even though I sent it back the manager said to my husband that's the right order. We will never go back there NOR will we recommend it to anyone shame because they really were our go to place. read more

Good Mexican food! The salsa could of used a little more heat - kinda had more of a ketchup(y) flavor. Large menu - lots of options. Chicken tacos I had were very good! Will most defiantly be back to try some other meals! read more

This was the first time trying this restaurant and I will not be back. We didn't even get to try the food! My wife and I were waiting to be seated and we watched the server take all of the plates from the table. The person trying to seat us picked up the rest of the dishes and trash from the table and motioned for us to sit. I kindly asked him to wipe the table down and he said it had already been done. We infirmary him again that we had just watched and it hadn't been. He walked off and another person wakes up asking if we had been waiting longer. When we said yes he tried sitting us at the same table. We the. Told that staff that the table had been wiped down and again they swore it had been done. Exasperated with us the man scowled and huffed as if we were being silly about wanting a clean table. We never got to try their food and probably won't at this point. A clean restaurant is important. read more

First visit-not our last. Gauc dip was awesome. Danny Is great-ask for him-so helpful.

My family eats at El Metate all the time and we love it. The staff is friendly and the salsa is so good. I would recommend sharing chicken fajitas between two people, the chuletas or the fajita taco salad. Definitely give this place a try if you're looking for your new favorite Mexican restaurant. read more

A favorite of the locals. Mexican tacos are great as well as fajitas and Tamales. Yummy soup. Oh and the best guacamole dip. Friendly management and servers. They'll take good care of you. Close to Walmart and other shopping. read more

It has a nice ambience and a polite and friendly staff. However the food was the worst. The flavor was really off. I have eaten Mexican all over the country and even in the Caribbean, and am not even picky, but the chicken taco salad was full of black pepper which I don't like and the 'cheese sauce' in the salad tasted bad and was an almost flavorless cream water. I have never had a salsa I didn't like but when we got there I even commented to my wife on how the salsa tasted weird. She orders huevos rancheros cause she likes the runny eggs, and the eggs were very overcooked. The guac was good read more

The service is horrible! The servers are obviously miserable and do nothing to hide it from customers, I won't be back.

The tacos were delicious and there was some nice spicy kick to their beef. But the enchiladas were plain and the salsa was disappointing. The beer was cold and the service was good. read more

This is my go to Mexican restaurant. Good food, friendly staff and quick service. Their patio is great when weather permits. Try the California burrito! read more

Always consistent and good. Reasonably priced and good food. Friendly staff and attentive waiters/waitresses.

Amazing!! If you're in the area you have to check it out. The atmosphere and food will only surprise you. I highly recommend it to all of my friends. read more

Wanted to check in again - we love this place, food is great, service good & friendly and the margarita's are outstanding.

My family of 4 went there tonight to eat and it was outstanding. All 4 of us were super impressed. They have really good margaritas that aren't skimping on the tequila! I ordered the chimichanga suprema. It was awesome. Everyone else got burrito verde, tacos, nachos, and some other combination, but let me tell you every bit of it was delicious. I'm so happy finally there's somewhere good to eat in Halls. read more

I visited the restaurant once. Food was average, staff was not helpful. Was greeted by strange odor when I entered, was not appealing for appetite. read more

Always great food and friendly staff. The quesadillas, burritos, and chimichangas or awesome. My favorite is the tacos Mexican style!

I love alevery menu item I have tried. I just wish the salsa was more like monterreys.

Took my mom to eat at El Metate 2 days ago. Mom found a clear skinny piece of plastic with several branches to it in her food. It scared both of us because mom could have easily choked on it. We brought it to the attention of our server, Danny. He was very flippant about it, said he didn't have any plastic on him, and went back to what he was doing. I went to pay for our meal (clear plastic & all). I mentioned to Mom that I would post a review on Yelp. Immediately Danny said he would give her a discount. I thought he would at least take off her entree ($10.49) if nothing else. He discounted it by $5.00. I asked why not the amount of the entree? Danny said he wasn't authorized to discount the entree, that I could come back later & talk to the manager. I told him I wasn't going to drive back to the restaurant. On top of all of that, he was angry because I wouldn't leave him a tip. He said, "I shouldn't have given you the discount." Unbelievable! I gave this restaurant 2 stars because the food was decent enough. The customer service was a '0'. To be fair, I haven't talked with the owner or manager to see how they would have resolved this issue. read more