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El Mezcal

3.9 (77 reviews)
ModerateMexican
Closed 11:00 am - 9:00 pm

Order El Mezcal Takeout or Delivery

El Mezcal Photos

Business Info

EL MEZCAL ATMOSPHERE

What's the vibe?
Loud
Casual
Good for kids
Outdoor seating

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Recommended Reviews - El Mezcal

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The exterior is deceptive. No indication of the great food served inside.
Perry S.

We were passing through Wausau on our way to Door County and needed to stop for lunch. From the outside, El Mezcal looks like any other Mexican-for-gringos restaurant. But it was just off the highway, making it very convenient, so we stopped --and prepared ourselves for another round of what I call "Mexican hot dish". Were we pleasantly surprised. The service was fast and courteous. The dining area is tastefully decorated, with none of the garish "Mexican" doodads found in so many Mexican diners. The owners are from the state of Jalisco, one of our favorite places in Mexico, and home to one of the many great Mexican cuisines. Fortunately for everyone who eats at El Mezcal, the chef has faithfully captured the authentic taste of Jalisco's wonderful cuisine. The food was absolutely delicious. The salsa took us back to our time in Puerto Vallarta, and the chips were warm and fresh. The Camarones Diabla was fabulous. Typical of many authentic Mexican dishes-- regardless of the regional differences-- this spicy dish was layered with flavors and with just enough "heat" to make it sparkle on the palate. I only wish that more Mexican restaurateurs would honor the best of their country's heritage by bringing to the United States the delicious variety of unique and flavorful food they are fortunate to enjoy. Hats off to the owners of El Mezcal. ¡Muchas gracias!

Chimichanga!
Tim K.

A nice local Mexican restaurant helping to spice up the cuisine in Wausau! The flavors and dishes are more on the Tex-Mex side of things than authentic Mexican, but I'm not sure the average customer in the area would want that either. The food is nothing fancy, but tasty and filling. I went with the chimichanga on my most recent visit, wanting something simple and filling to recharge after a day at Granite Peak. It hit the spot and I was happy with the friendly service, keeping waters and the complimentary salsa filled for our thirsty and hungry group. Everyone finished the meal happy and full and ready to get back out there! Definitely a solid spot for lunch in Wausau and we're glad we found them!

Friends taking us to feast on some Mexican food!!!!
Dee R.

Hola! Senors y Senoritas! The décor, the ambience, the food! Muy Fantastico! So good, visited this place in Wisconsin, we are from Arizona, so we were not expecting a really good authentic Mexican food! It exceeded our expectations! Delicious! If ever in Wisconsin come here to feast on oh so tasty yumminess!

Carnitas? Pork too big, too dry, lacking fat, under seasoned. But my previous meals were all good.
Paul F H.

I've had lunch as El Mezcal several times and though the menu items are all the basic "Mexican restaurant" dishes we are used to in the midwest, everything was well prepared and tasted fine. Last night we stopped for dinner. Unfortunately El Mezcal came up way short on an important dish. For me there are two dishes on which I base my ratings of Mexican restaurants in Wisconsin -- tamales and carnitas. A while back I had El Mezcal's tamales for lunch. Though far from the best tamales I've ever eaten, they were OK. Evidence that they were made in house -- such as being served in a corn husk or banana leaf wrapper -- was lacking. Last night I ordered the carnitas dinner and was hugely disappointed. The large lumps of roast pork were lacking fat and seasoning. I prefer carnitas to be broken down into much smaller, almost bite-size pieces. Because the pieces of meat were so large and lacking fat they were also stringy and dry. Cut into smaller pieces and rolled up in a tortilla along with some pico de gallo, refries and guacamole was the only way I could eat the meat. Based on my previous meals I would have rated El Mezcal three stars, but after struggling through the carnitas I have to trim it down to two. When I got home I fumbled an armload of items that I was taking into the house and my to-go box of leftover carnitas spilled out on the floor of the garage. Normally I would have cursed and been upset to see tomorrow's lunch destroyed. Last night I just shrugged my shoulders and said, "C'est la vie."

Margarita time
Nancy L.

Nothing like meeting friends for a good beer served in a frosted mug, and a margarita! Then add chips with salsa before you even order your meal. And, what to order always is a problem with too many great choices. El Zarapa is my favorite go to with mixed meat. We also love their fajitas, chimichangas, or burritos. Very fun casual Mexican atmosphere with friendly servers.

Entrance
Carly M.

After a day of skiing, El Mezcal is a great place to warm up and slow down. The interior is large, colorful and showcases the titular beverage. I was famished and ordered the Special Dinner. It was a massive amount of food. The enchilada was great but the chili relleno was oily and did not have the crispy outside I expected. The mixed (chicken and steak) fajitas also arrived in a massive helping. The veggies were cooked well but there could have been more spice to the steak. And the chimichanga cheesecake! Wow, so good! Crispy and creamy with drizzling of chocolate and strawberry. Que bueno! Our server was friendly and waters were always filled. Even though it was busy, we never felt rushed to leave. I'd go back!

El Zarape
Matthew D.

Very busy, very basic. We decided to come to El Mezcal with a party of 16 to celebrate a birthday. The staff were great and did a nice job overall, for their efforts they get a higher ranking. Before you read why I only give three stars, I do want to point out that they are trying to cater to the customer that lives here, not adventure seeking or world traveling foodies. However, they do not have a full bar here and cannot change any ingredients to any drinks (because they are mostly pre made). The top shelf margarita was only okay. The chips and salsa were a bit of a disappointed, the salsa had nothing in it and it looked like ketchup. When dinner arrived it looked good, but almost everyone at the table agreed that there was NO flavor. It was food, edible and probably very good by the standards of the good people of Wausau. If you are looking for decent food at an affordable price where all you taste is tortilla and cheese this is for you. If you want authentic or robust Mexican food I suggest you look elsewhere.

Enchilada

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2 months ago

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9 months ago

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2 years ago

I love this place. Their California burrito is really delicious and their margaritas taste yummy! Good fast service.

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6 years ago

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3 years ago

Best steak burrito I've had in a VERY long time and great service! Will definitely be back next time I'm in this neck of the woods.

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3 years ago

Food was good and service was outstanding atmosphere was excellent, friendly staff and reasonable prices

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9 years ago

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7 years ago

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3 years ago

Consistent food with great service. Large portions, and a free shot of crappy tequila

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3 years ago

The worst Taco I ever had. It tasted like boiled chicken on a raw tortilla. Zero flavor, Zero effort.

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8 years ago

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5 years ago

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5 years ago

Always a great meal . They are very consistent with quality. Fast friendly service. The fajitas are best in town .

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14 years ago

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Ask the Community - El Mezcal

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Jalapenos Mexican Restaurante & Bar

Jalapenos Mexican Restaurante & Bar

3.7
(70 reviews)
2.5 mi
$$

I walked in on a Wednesday evening, close to 9 PM. On the upside, they were only one of a very few…read moresit-down type restaurants in the downtown area still serving food. On the downside, while it appeared dead in the establishment, some of the staff had their family and/or friends with them at the front desk. One of them had her 2 toddlers left to run all over the dining area barefoot, in diapers, screeching so loudly that I couldn't stand it even for 2 minutes and I abruptly left. I've never seen that kind of an unprofessional behavior by staff in a restaurant and it calls into question just how clean the establishment is for the public.

Highlights/Lowlights…read more 1) Friendly Service 2) Budget Friendly 3) Mehhhh Food We stopped in to Jalapeños for lunch in late December. We didn't have or need a reservation and were seated right away. There were maybe 5 other tables occupied and a few people seated at the bar. We were promptly brought free chips and salsa. Our server was friendly and took our order rather quickly. I got a margarita to drink. Sadly it wasn't great. I could definitely tell it was just rail tequila and pre-made margarita mix. We waited for quite awhile for our appetizer (the chorizo queso dip) and eventually when our entrees arrived realized that it was forgotten. Our server was kind and brought the appetizer out after we reminded her about it. Our food was very average. I had a tamale which was pretty dry and a very average taco. My husband said his tacos were very mehhhh as well. The best thing was honestly the chorizo queso dip which we did eventually get!

Photos
Inside
Inside
Free chips and salsa!
Free chips and salsa!
Jalapeño's

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Jalapeño's
Chico's Restaurant

Chico's Restaurant

2.7
(23 reviews)
7.2 mi
$$

My husband, MIL and I went here to eat recently. We have never been here before and figured we…read morewould try it out. That was a huge mistake on our part. For three people it was $105 for terrible food. My ground beef chimichanga was so greasy it was running all over the plate. It wasn't fresh at all and tasted old and nasty. The mexican rice was a joke. It had an overwhelming taste of tomato paste and a weird seasoning blend. It was not a true mexican rice. I ate very little of my food and threw in the garbage when I got home. The two burgers were supposed to be cooked medium they were burnt black. The only highlight was the french fries and drinks. The rest was complete garbage and would have been better off buying frozen chimichangas and cooking them. That would have been at least edible. We will never come back and feel ripped off with the slop they serve.

Chicos has been and always will be a 5 star stop, growing up around the area, I've had family come…read morehere for decades and it really hasn't changed one bit! Heidi really takes honor in serving some kickass food here. Things to know: - it's a supper club type vibe, the food takes awhile specifically if you order Mexican... but that's because it's made fresh - you can bring kids but there isn't much here to entertain them. - the drinks are amazing, anything from a whiskey sweet old fashioned to a blended raspberry margarita will be just what you ask for, perfect - Chimichangas are their go to menu item, but don't shy away from their amazing steaks or their fish fry(no one believes me when I say their fish fry is amazing, you have to try it!) There's nothing really that bad to say about Chicos, from the bartenders like Chris, to the amazing servers like Joe and Lori will take care of you.

Photos
Cheesey potato rounds
Cheesey potato rounds
Beef burrito!
Beef burrito!
One of the homemade specials on Tuesdays

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One of the homemade specials on Tuesdays

El Mezcal - mexican - Updated July 2026

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