Well I'm only doing two stars because it wasn't terrible. The server was great however, when I put out my food was soggy and made incorrectly. My plate was taken away. My bill was discount and I was given my bill to go ahead and pay. No conversation no fixing my food no Manager just simply here's your bill. I ordered a steak chimichanga, which is deep fried and talked with cheese sauce. What I got was a flour tortilla wrap around steak and peppers with cheese sauce on top so it was extremely soft and soggy. read more

El Tapatio - Willow - Taquitos Mexicanos Lunch - Mexican Near Me - Cookeville, Tennessee

Giving this place five stars based solely on the food and service, both of which were outstanding. It was our first visit, and despite a full parking lot we were seated quickly. Our server was excellent - great timing, solid menu suggestions, and never let our drinks run dry. the food was cooked perfectly and tasted fantastic. Easily some of the best Mexican food we've had in a long time. The standout dish for us was the Fajitas Hawaianas, flavorful, well-portioned, and prepared exactly right. The only downside was that the booth seating was pretty worn and not very comfortable, but that didn't take a way from the overall experience. Great atmosphere, great food, and great service. We'd absolutely come back. read more

Overall, very decent experience. Nothing too special about the restaurant other than it was a little bit overpriced it seemed. Also, once I got my food I've never got checked on until I needed a box in my check. I never got a refill even though I asked. read more

Visited this place for a rehearsal dinner event. Staff was pretty good and food came out quick. They have this amazing tasting queso cheese dip that was very rich and creamy. I ordered the taco salad with steak, shrimp, and chicken and it was delicious. Their jaimaica juice was fresh and didn't taste too sugary. My friend ordered their green verde chicken with beans and rice and it was tasty. Downside it was too salty for my taste. Overall a good dining experience. read more

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Not the best and not the worst Mexican food I have had in my lifetime. It was flavorful and hot but just was not what I was craving. The chips and cheese dip were excellent and the service was second to none. read more

El Tapatio - Willow - a plate of food on a table - Mexican Near Me - Cookeville, Tennessee

The good bad and the ugly. So let me tell you, I had extremely high hopes for a decent Mexican restaurant in town. For Appetizer, we order the Guacomole Ranchero. It was half an avocado chunked up with some dried up cilantro, onion, and tomatoes. I tried to make it better by adding a bit of lime and salsa to it, mashing it up to at least rehydrate that crusty cilantro. We also ordered the Chiles Toreados, which was to have jalapeno, poblanos, and onions, not one onion in sight. Dinner: Steak Tapaquenio was dry and absolutely tasteless. My husband ate a few bites and left the rest. This was served with an enchilada that my husband swears had straight up Campbells Tomato Soup as a sauce on it also came with a dinner salad the dinner salad was a bowl of iceberg with one slice of tomato, one slice of green bell pepper and one ring of red onion served with a bag of Ken's ranch dressing and a side of some sort of shredded white cheese. Camerones Coctele was pure regular American cocktail sauce. No broth, no pico, no lime, no hot sauce. The avocado was served on the bottom of the coctele HALVED. I literally had to cut it up in the cup to be able to eat it. I added the juice of 5 limes and 1 lemon slices to make it simply paletteable. This was the only thing that we finished 100%. Enchilada Suizas. There is not one thing good about these. The chicken filing was served cold, dry with zero flavor. The tortillas that they were wrapped in, I think, very well may have been uncooked. I'm not sure what sauce was used, but I can assure not 1 single chile, onion or tomatillo was used to make the sauce that was slathered all over these. It had a weird chemical taste. Needless to say, I left 2 of the 3 enchiladas uneaten without requesting a take-home box. $60.00 for dinner completely wasted. Lesson learned we will NOT EVER go back. ICE TEA was fresh brewed, soda from a fountain, chips and salsa were decent. Just not decent enough for us to return. read more

I hated the burrito I got. My guacamole was very tasteless as well. I wouldn't give it another chance.

I ordered DoorDash here because I can't leave work for lunch. My Hawaiian pollo, with tip+delivery-discount was almost $35 - just the entree with added shrimp and a side of guacamole. When it arrived, no chips and salsa. I saw on the order menu for DoorDash that to get those was $3 extra. Since expecting to receive them, I didn't want to have two orders when one order would be sufficient. When I called the restaurant, I asked if there were supposed to be chips and salsa as I wondered if the delivery driver had enjoyed those. I was told only sit down customers get chips and salsa complimentary with their order. Hmmm, doing the math I spent $35 to eat and no small bag of chips or small styrofoam container of salsa. Cheap b*****ds. I invite every reader of this review to dine in and order a soft drink while enjoying endless chips and salsa. Then go eat somewhere else; of course, please pay for your soft drink and tip your server. read more

No... please stop! It isn't very good food and definitely isn't Mexican food... and it's mostly not the restaurant's fault. They are just providing what sells. read more

Very good, fast mexican. Service was great and food was good. I got the chicken nachos and they were very flavorful. Boyfriend got the chicken chimichanga and he enjoyed it. Would come back. read more

This is one of the most welcoming places. I would recomend this place to everyone near here. The food is really good too.

This is the most amazing place to eat. Great food. I've never ordered anything from here that I didn't like and I've been eating here for over five years. Queso is always hot and delicious read more

El Tapatio - Willow - Chicken cheese rice green onions - Mexican Near Me - Cookeville, Tennessee

We were in the area after visiting Burgess Falls & were starving from the hike. We were trying to decide between this place & Cinco Amigos down the street. This place looked a little better on the outside & there were more cars in the parking lot. We walked in & the female host seated us. She wasn't very friendly but it didn't bother me. Our server was very friendly and attentive. We looked over the menu & decided on the shrimp chimichanga for $8.99 & Phillip picked the fajita that comes with chicken, steak & shrimp for $12.99. We also ordered a hot tamale ($2.99) to split because the menu states they are "homemade" or I guess "restaurant made" in this case. The chips & salsa were good. I liked the chips because they were the thicker kind of tortilla chip. The salsa had a great, fresh flavor with a heat at the end. I would like it a little chunkier & thicker, it was runny. It didn't take but 10ish minutes for our food to arrive. The shrimp chimichanga comes with Pico de gallo, sour cream & guacamole on top. It's served along side rice & beans. The rice had a garlic powder taste which I'm not sure about. The beans were the usual Mexican restaurant beans. The guacamole had really no flavor. I put some salt on it but it wasn't the best I've had before. Onto the shrimp chimichanga. It was loaded with shrimp which I enjoyed, the flavor of the cooked veggies inside was just okay. I would like a more grilled taste from the contents of the chimichanga. The hot tamale was pretty good. I liked the sauce on it & the size was great for the $2.99 price. I'd actually would've liked to just eat two of those for lunch. I tried some of the steak, chicken and shrimp in the fajita. The steak was very dry, as was the chicken. For $12.99 it was really disappointing. If you pay with a card they'll bring over one of the Squared iPads & swipe it in front of you. You'll then pick between 15% 20% 25% gratuity. It's a little awkward picking that as the server stands over watching. Overall I enjoyed the tamales & the salsa & chips. The main entrees were a bit lacking, especially the fajitas in my opinion. read more

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This was pretty good Tennessee Mexican. Nothing special but the food was good and the prices were really fair which I always like. I had the nachos grande and they were very tasty. I would get this again if I went back. read more

Best italian food ive ever freaking had... My enchalada had ravioli sauce on it trait out the can! gave me soooo much ground beef my plate was filled with just ground beef, didnt even have salt on it. beans were colder that j cole. only good thing was the chips pretty sure they werent even home made tho. waiter barley talked us. gave me a taco instead of a tacito. when i got my tacito it was a fried torilla with ground beef in it.. very disapointed in this place. NO TIP!!!! BOOM ROASTED L BOZO read more

Passing through town and stopped for a dinner. Fast, fresh and the portions were awesome. Service was excellent! Price was good and gladly tipped the waiter extra. read more

I love this place! My wife loves this place! Everyone we bring to El Tap loves it. My favorite place to eat in TN! read more

For some reason I like this location better then the one on Jackson, two miles away. The servers are really nice, and they always get your food out quickly, even when their packed. My favorite thing on the menu is the fajita nachos, I could eat them everyday. The taste will make you say Ole! read more

I will never eat here again. I love Mexican food this place was horrible. The salsa is like sweet tomato sauce no Salsa taste at all yuck and I ordered a burrito and the ground beef was so salty I had to drink a ton of water I was so thirsty the rice was so dry it was almost crunchy. The staff all act like there moving in slow motion and have issues if u ask them a question about the menu. I wouldn't even give it one star on yelp if I didn't have to. Hope I don't get sick from there food and hope no one else does either read more

I am giving this place a two because the service and wait staff was so good. We tried this place because so many had given it good reviews. Now I question everything on Yelp. I don't usually write reviews but want others to be aware. The food tasted about as flavorful As cardboard. Salsa- sweet and no spice or flavor at all. Just bland and very Americanized. If you are looking for food that is Americanized with little to no spice this is for you. Have at it, I will search out other places like the little joint in Jamestown that had some kick and was at least trying to be authentic. read more

Good food, fast service, friendly staff. Came here for lunch today (6 of us) and everyone was very pleased with our orders.

Great food great service good prices went for a quick valentines snack and even receieved a phone the place was very clean and very cozy environment! read more

This was not a good experience for me as I had to add some salt to the not so fresh salsa and chips, cheese dip was under seasoned and my chicken fajitas with refried beans instead of rice was also bland, service was good and she was very polite but the food was just bland nothing good and nothing bad just not something I would come back for at all. read more

El Tap is one of my favorite restaurants in town! They are FAST and reasonably priced. They always remember my order & the staff is super friendly. Best Mexican food in town. read more

Unfortunately this restaurant has declined in past years. I recently moved back to the area and we had dinner here several nights ago. It really wasn't very good. The salsa is very sweet and tastes similar to marinara sauce, my chicken was very dry and in general this is just sub par Mexican food, unfortunate. read more

El tap used to be the best mexican restaurant in Cookeville in my opinion but it has really went down hill! Ordered some food tonight and it was not good at all. Chimichanga was dry and cold and rice was very dry. Their prices continue to go up too which is a huge negative. read more

Service was good. That's all I can say. Orderd the Pollo Chorizo. The chicken was over cooked it was so dry you could not eat it so I put it with the lettuce. The chorizo was so salty I would have dehydrated at the table. Awful dish! Menus were dirty. #pleaseclean read more

Ate here last week and as usual, had an awesome meal. I always get the Chori Pollo, which is grilled chicken cooked with chorizo with some cheese melted on top, served with rice, lettuce, tomato, sour cream, and tortillas on the side. We always get queso dip when we go here and it's soooo good. I personally also love their salsa; I don't care for it too spicy and it's gently spiced and sweet tomato flavor goes perfectly with their light and crispy tortilla chips. I also recommend the beef fajita quesadilla, the steak milanesa (which is a lightly breaded steak), or the Speedy Gonzales off the lunch menu which comes with chile rellenos, taco (soft or cruncy), salad with guacamole, and rice. You can get it for supper for a dollar more. read more

I have been a die hard El Tap fan since moving to Cookeville 15 years ago. My husband and I have tried all the other Mexican restaurants and still love El Tap. For the last 2-3 months we've noticed a significant decline in service and food quality. We even mix it up and go to the different locations and the result is the same. Slow service, incorrect order and forgetting altogether to deliver part of our order. I hate to say it but I think we may be through with El Tap after our most recent visit. read more

I feel like I just ate the disappointing school lunch cheese sandwich of Mexican food. My tacos were soggy and bland, the enchiladas were a boring shredded chicken wrap and the burrito was an uncooked tortilla filled with unseasoned beef and covered in plain tomato sauce. Not even salt and hot sauce could redeem this disaster. read more

The best Mexican restaurant I've ever been to. I love their cheese burrito, beef burrito, and burrito tapatio. Wonderful cheese dip and salsa. My husband enjoys their chili Colorado. They have great margaritas. Great atmosphere. Been here many times. read more

The wait staff was nice and the food came out quickly. The prices were excellent. However, the beans and rice were bland and the beans were a puree vs having any thickness to it. The enchilada just didn't have a lot of flavor. The highlight of the meal was the queso sauce for chips. read more

Generally speaking, I do not think of Mexican restaurants as exquisite cuisine. just relatively fast and decent food. However, on a trip from Nashville to Maryland, my wife and I stopped at Exit 286 on I-40 and traveling north, we came to El Tapatio. The Carnita's! OMG! forget the knife. Didn't even use the tortillas wrapped in foil. Deliscio! The dozen or so Mexican style restaurants that we have visited in Nashville have a new standard to reach! Family atmosphere. Great service. Only down side = 76 miles from our home. read more

I love the location of this restaurant, which is right down the road from the mall-esque layout of other stores, perfect for a place to eat after buying an interesting book to read. Service is friendly and always good on filling one's drink. The food is, depending on the day, well cooked and delicious. Because my service is always good and the food is for the most part well made, I give this a 5 star due to it being a favorite go to location of mine. Enjoy! read more

There is just nothing quite like great Mexican food. Unfortunately at this building they call a restaurant you are not getting that. The chips stale and tasteless the salsa very very bad. The cheese dip not good at all. Also the restaurant smells like dirty feet. The worst thing is that the food is very expensive. Combine all that into one and you will get this restaurant. I simply just don't like anything anything there. If you want good Mexican go to El Magueyal. If you want bad come here. read more

We love El Tap! We prefer the location on Willow over the one on Jefferson as the staff seems a little friendlier there. Love the hot chips and salsa and love the fast drink replacements! They wont let you run out of tea! read more

I got cheese dip a tiny thing of salsa and rice and beans. The dip was do thick I couldn't eat it and the salsa was absolutely TERRIBLE! It tasted like chili it was disgusting and left a lingering taste in my mouth that I couldn't get out for hours. The rice was ok but the beans were the most bland beans I had ever had. The worst part was that just a side of rice and beans and a tiny bit of salsa and cheese dip was 14 dollars and I didn't even get an actual meal! Thank goodness cause that would have been another 10 bucks and without a drink. I would not recommend going there. There are many other goos mexican restaurants in town I would strongly suggest going somewhere else. Cheaper prices and better food. I honestly don't know why people like this place so much it should have been out of business a long time ago. read more

Ordered Arroz Con Camarones with steak "From The Grill". Basically a bed of Mexican rice with shrimp, steak, and their amazing cheese sauce. This sounds basic but it is awesome. read more

I believe El Tapatio is the place to go if you would like to enjoy an authentic Mexican cuisine and atmosphere. The fast and friendly service along with a budget friendly menu make it a fully submersive culturally based restaurant. I will take my family there for years to come and hope they continue the tradition of bringing their families too. Anytime someone asks me where to go eat or what's a good place to eat I always suggest El Tapatio. It has become a staple in the community and has outlasted several other restaurants who have tried to make it in the same location. They have two locations in Cookeville which make it convenient for whichever side of town you are on, that you know you can always stop in and grab a quick and fantastic meal with an affordable bill. They also offer delivery and discounts that can be found on the annual smart card, that the surrounding schools sale. I would recommend this place to anyone or would even offer to take them there to enjoy the atmosphere and the great food. read more

Got stuck in Cookeville, bike trouble. I needed a good margarita and some Mexican cuisine, and the motel clerk recommended "El Tap." He showed me a picture of a scrumptious-looking CA-style taco on their promo, deep-fried and loaded. But when I got there, they said they used a Taco Bell type of shell with ground beef! So I took a chance on beef enchiladas. Turns out they don't know how to make enchiladas! They weren't swimming in ANYTHING, let alone enchilada sauce. They took strip beef, wrapped it in a corn tortilla, and set it, bare, on the plate. AND, there was no detectible tequila in the margarita. The beans and rice were about what you probably would get in your school cafeteria. The place was busy, though. The Spanish-speaking crew looked very pleased. Apparently, making low quality Mex in TN is one of the best scams going -- people are so easy to please. If they only knew what GOOD Mexican tastes like... Good people of Cookeville, I invite you to descend en masse on Nolensville Rd in Nashville! :-) read more