Open late. Fresh food. Great flavors. Nice Mexican soda and beer selection. Attentive staff. Great prices.

Happy hour tacos are $1 and ends at 6pm! And don't let the price weird you out, the quality is great. Nothing mind-blowing, but great. I've tried almost all of their tacos (aside from shrimp/fish) and the only one I'd pass on is the grilled steak. Nothing wrong with it, just that the others are tastier. My house ordered 13 tacos to go for pick up and they were ready in 10 minutes. Definitely stop by! read more

This is probably the best pure Mexican food anywhere near here. The food truck is phenomenal and now you can have that Tacos Esmeralda charm at dinner time! It's great. The burritos are insanely big and tasty and the tacos are still probably among the best you'll ever eat. Come here and don't be disappointed! read more

Esmeralda Grill - Taco platter! Yum. - Mexican Near Me - Cary, North Carolina

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Servicio lento jamás volveria. Pedí un bebida y tardaron mil años y llevármela y para volverme a refiliar estuvo aún más lento pedí un caldo y no tenía cuchara tuve que pararme a pedir una y para el colmo me dicen que espere porque no tenían limpias sus cucharas read more

Really good food at a good price! I ordered the molcajete they offer, it consists of 4 meats served on the sides of the molcajete and a spicy jalapeño salsa, with a slice of melted cheese, in the center of the molcajete. The molcajete is served with a plate of rice, beans, and a salad. The meats served are chicken, shrimp, beef, and pork. This dish is very appealing and tastes amazing. I asked if it was possible to substitute the beef with chicken, and the pork with shrimp, since I do not really like beef or pork. They said that it was fine and they could do that, which really pleased me. I got my food in 15 minutes or less, and the very friendly waitress checked on us periodically during our meal to make sure everything was okay. The shrimp and chicken were super savory, delicious, and very well seasoned. The shrimp appeared to have a flawless grilled texture that made it taste amazing! The side dish of rice, beans and salad complemented the chicken and shrimp. The salsa in the molcajete was delicious and spicy, and the melted cheese on top of it, made it taste even better when mixed together. I will definitely come back again, and I recommend it to anyone who wants to try good Mexican food. read more

Sooooo, let's talk about this. I felt like I was eating a meal an abuela had cooked for the family. I had a lunch special for $4.99, that included rice, beans, chicken, salad, and tortilla. It was tasty and favorable. Being the Gringa that I am, I wasn't sure how to incorporate the tortillas, but other than that a delicious non Americanize meal. read more

Esmeralda Grill - Mexican Near Me - Cary, North Carolina

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I had the pleasure of eating lunch at Esmeralda Grill ! If you have visited Tace Esmeralda, Taco truck on Church St in Morrisville or driven by it then you are in for a special treat! They now have this lovely restaurant with a HUGE menu!!!! and boy is it GOOD! SHEESH! I had the chicken, shrimp, beef sizzling fajita with rice and beans for only 12 BUCKS! Just look at the picture I took... This is authentic mexican food.. not mexiamerica.. not big box mexican restaraunt.. not open up a can of refried beans and throw some assembly line food on a plate with no passion like you see all the other mexican chains in the area. I recommend that you visit Esmeralda Grill as soon as possible before the word gets out because I gaurantee it will be a HUGE SUCCESS.. just look at the food truck.. you have to get there early if you want lunch. Great Service Great Food Great Location FREE Chips, salsa and guacamole while you wait! read more

Esmeralda Grill - Sizzlin Fajitas! - Mexican Near Me - Cary, North Carolina

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The staff and owners are wonderful and very customer focused. The food is always big portions, and prices are very reasonable. This is our new favorite place - good quality food at a fair price served with a smile. read more

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Located in a strip mall outside of downtown Cary. This hole in the wall in the real deal ans a great find. It is a post church family favorite outing. Great authentic Mexican food. Family friendly atmosphere and prices. read more

This place is the restaurant version of the food truck Taco's Esmeralda. It was just opened last week. When we visited the food truck, the owner gave us the card for this place. We promised to try it and we did this weekend. First, it keeps the food truck price! Amazing, isn't it? Very cheap! But it does not serve the chips and salsa as other Mexican restaurants. For the price, I am very happy without any chip. Second, the food is less greasy than the food truck version, but still authentic and delicious. In fact, I'm very happy that it's less greasy! The tacos still come with the green hot sauce and grilled onions. Yummy! I ordered a taco platter ($7.95) of beef tripe taco, lengua (beef tongue) taco and asada taco. All of them were very delicious! I couldn't believe I fished all the tacos. Though I was very hungry, I couldn't finish the rice and beans, because it's just a lot! The rice was very soft! Compared to the food truck: while it keeps the food truck price, it (1) opens for LUNCH AND DINNER EVERYDAY, (2) receives credit card, (3) is dine-in, and (4) has much more options! I hope this place would become as popular as their food truck. We will come back to try their other food. I noticed someone ordered a big bow of red soup and all kind of stuff inside. Very curious! It's open from 10 am to 10 pm, Sunday to Thursday. 10 am to 11 pm Friday and Saturday. read more

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We are pretty easy to please when it comes to Mexican food, but this had 3 out of the 4 of us saying "really bad." Takeout during Covid is special for us because it is a treat to eat something different and to not have to do dishes. This food made me wish we had just eaten in. read more

Carne Asada tacos! AMAZING! This is my new go to spot. I can't wait to try other menu items. read more

Esmeralda Grill - Mexican Near Me - Cary, North Carolina

I used to like this place,last week I order two pupusas and they weren't cook correctly they were more like a gordita than a pupusa. I don't recommend this dish. Also I order a beef soup and it was flavorless they didn't had the vegetables that come with it. I waited 30 minutes before I received my food. I will not come back to this establishment. read more

I've been here twice now and both times food tasted good and fresh. Not my favorite Mexican restaurant but still pretty good. Menu isn't as extensive as others. Lunch meal is a great deal though. Three tacos for $4.99. I tried the barbacoa, the steak, and the chicken. I liked the steak the best and my wife like the barbacoa the best. read more

Esmeralda Grill - Three taco lunch special barbacoa, steak, and chicken - Mexican Near Me - Cary, North Carolina

Great place to get some authentic Mexican food. They have the rare meats that make my little heart happy (tripa, lengua, barbacoa). You have to go with the handmade tortillas! Sooo fresh and delicious! They are not in Ubereats or DoorDash which is a bummer but I love them enough to go out during the pandemic. That is the highest compliment! read more

Delicious authentic Mexican food at a good price! The service is great too! Highly recommend their queso and tacos!

Going in my 4th time this week. Super cheap and tasty will keep going back. Thay entire plaza has really good food and might be overlooked

How do I put this.... I FUCKING LOVE LOVE THIS RESTAURANT!!!!!!!! The staff and owners are very friendly, professional and super attentive. The food is so delicious!! It's definitely not the same bland food you find in other Mexican restaurants, everything is seasoned perfectly! My favorite plate is the TRio Perfecto; which is rice and beans with pork, chicken (I always substitute the chicken for eggs) and carne asada along with a guac, pico and sour cream. It's fucking delicious! Excuse my language I'm from New York (nationality Honduran/Puertorican) that's how we are lol. On Tuesdays they also have dollar tacos (they're a little smaller than the regular ones, but come on they're a dollar!!) and they're delicious!! It's my favorite Mexican restaurant!! It's a must go! And they're not even expensive i read more

Amazing! Authentic! Festive! Warm! Friendly! Our group met here,tonight .Everyone was pleased with their meal. Every dish that I saw come out of the kitchen looked very appetizing! I ordered the marinated pork corn tacos with cilantro. I highly recommend it! The pork was delicious! My husband ordered the fish,and it was gigantic! It will be the whole fish! They also have space for parties. I really would like to have my birthday party here! I think that I would have a good time! read more

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The best Mexican food in Cary. I was looking for authentic enchiladas and I found them. Ive been going back ever since. The staff is nice. Go there. read more

Visited again 2 days ago. Different group of servers and staff. Service was much better.

This place makes delicious food, much of it with tasty, hand-made corn tortillas. We got addicted to their food on Uber Eats and decided to take our family in today. The portion sizes were enormous on every single dish--even our 20 year old son couldn't finish a burrito--it was huge. We love the aguachile, guacamole, and the tacos and fajitas are awesome. Prices are extremely reasonable; you can't go wrong here because everything is delicious and the service is excellent. We'll be back over and over with friends and family. read more

My wife and I went for lunch today after receiving a Yelp email that featured them. My wife and I are big Mexican food fans so we were excited by their rating. The atmosphere is pretty typical, nothing remarkable but nothing disappointing either. We got a good glimpse of the portion sizes as we passed other diners. They open with chips and salsa. The chips were great. Thick and crunchy. The salsa was pretty ordinary but good enough. I got a torta and my wife got a lunch combo with enchiladas and a sope. I really liked the torta but my wife thought hers was a bit ordinary (too much sour cream and not enough heat). The service was good, the prices reasonable and as noted above, the portions were quite large. We'll definitely try them again. I want to give the tacos a shot. read more

Great little, local Mexican restaurant. It feels quite authentic and had good food! The only thing I was a little disappointed with was the cheese dip they serve rather than serving queso. It tasted ok, but I definitely prefer actual queso over their cheese dip. The chimichanga I was was delicious along with the rice and beans. The homemade tortilla chips were amazing! I went here because of the Yelp reviews, and I was not disappointed! read more

Service could have been better, it was a little warm in there and i had to ask for a refill twice for my son and husband and a refill of the chips. There were 5 of us and not many people. My youngest sons food came out and i had to ask for silverware and as we waited for our food my son has to wait for his silverware to eat. The waitress forgot and as o looked for her she noticed me and then brought it along with the rest of the food. The food was ok. Im not use to eating refried black beans va pinto beans. Maybe they were just having a bad day i dont know but i dont know that i would try it again. read more

Great food, great experience picking up during this pandemic, and they looked to be responsibly handling dine-in guests. Very nice staff. Extremely pleased with this gem. They packaged everything nicely for takeout and everything was tasty and very reasonably priced. read more

I come here all the time. Their a dass tacos and their empanadas are my favorite. You definitely have to try the appetizer cheese dip. It's so amazing and I go there just to get the cheese dip sometimes. The also have great aguas frescas. The tamarind is amazing. It's my favorite casual dining spot. The staff is lovely and the food is great. It's a must see when in cary! read more

I lived in CA for a long time and have eaten homemade Mexican food many times. For people claiming it's like eating homemade they haven't had good homemade before. With that said they are one of the best Mexican restaurants in the area which isn't saying much because the others are pretty bad. Just an FYI, they do not make the happy hour tacos. I personally haven't tried them because their tacos are already cheap and probably a lot better. I get the Carne asada tacos on a regular basis. The other tacos were decent. I haven't tried the other dishes so I can't speak to them. read more

Highly Recommended! Let me first start off by saying that authentic Mexican food is usually not my first choice when I decide to select a location to eat, but I had heard very good things about this location and wanted to give it a try - without a doubt, it did not disappoint! The Carne Asada meal that was prepared form me was by far the best I have tasted! The combination of the steak, rice, beans, and handmade tortillas made the meal worth the price - did I mention that I was given so much that I could not finish it all! I have definitely put this location into my favorites for future visits! read more

Esmeralda Grill - Mexican Near Me - Cary, North Carolina

Authentic, quick, and delicious Mexican food. Came with my boyfriend and his family for a late dinner on a Saturday! Despite that, still great service! The decor is lacking, but the food is ENTIRELY worth it. It's located in an unsuspecting strip mall. I ordered a cheese empanada and a chorizo taco. They were SO delicious - I wish I could eat them all the time. My boyfriend got their molcajete which is literally a hot bowl with steak, chicken, shrimp, pork and cactus which spicy guacamole in the middle. I can't wait to come back here! read more

What a great discovery! As West Coast transplants we've found it increasingly challenging to find really good authentic Mexican food in the Cary/Raleigh area of NC. I'm happy to report we can now add Esmeralda Grill to our small list of exceptional dining experiences. Located near downtown Cary in a strip mall, this restaurant offers comfortable surroundings, friendly and attentive wait staff and above all else truly delicious authentic Mexican dishes at remarkably affordable prices. We are so happy we gave Esmeralda Grill a try and will continue to frequent on a regular basis. If you must have a margarita you won't find it here, a small selection of beers along with soft drinks is more than enough to complement any meal. read more

Camarones a la diabla is really good! It comes with black beans and rice. The shrimps are good size and seasoning well. read more

Esmeralda Grill - Camarones a la diabla - Mexican Near Me - Cary, North Carolina

Loved the food - no fuss, superb serving sizes, and delicious food! We ordered the El Trio Perfecto and the Al-Pastor Torta - so good! read more

Esmeralda Grill - El Trio Perfecto - Deliciousness! - Mexican Near Me - Cary, North Carolina

I love trying restaurants in strip malls. I think you find the best gems that way. Esmeralda Grill was no exception at dinner last night. I ordered a combo with a choice of two items. When the plate came out, I was shocked at how much food I got for just $8. I couldn't even eat it all! The empanada was especially delicious and fresh. My husband's meal was also huge and had deliciously flavored pork, chicken, and steak. The only thing I didn't enjoy as much were the chips and salsa, but that's because I prefer thinner chips and chunkier salsa. Regardless, if I was in the area again, I would eat here. read more

Great rib soup fix when you ordered It comes with tortillas habanero on the side and cilantro also on the side. Thank, great food for those days you need to be pamper. Waiting time can be long so call ahead of time. read more

My favorite go-to restaurant for authentic Mexican food. I honestly cannot find an enchilada anywhere in the area that's even close to as good as Esmeralda's! Love the food, the value, and the atmosphere. read more

Absolutely disgusting and inedible. We ordered a burrito, enchiladas, and butterfly shrimp and got 2 inedible wet heaps, a fatty ham steak, and inedible disgusting cold onion and shrimp dish. Horrible. read more

As a recent Cary transplant from Austin, Tx, I was nearly despairing at the lack of salsa with my eggs at the office cafeteria. We found this place on yelp and decided to give it a shot and were not disappointed. We couldn't believe the portion sizes for the price! The salsa is good, but has very little heat, to warn those of you who need their salsa on fire. I had a torta, which was delish, so can't speak to their tortillas, but not many Mexican places will have cheek, tongue, and tripe on the menu like Esmeralda unless they're the real deal. We will be back. read more

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Ever listen to someone tell a really in-depth story that just doesn't make sense and at the end you shrug your shoulders and say, "guess you had to be there." Well that's how I feel after reading all of these reviews and then eating here. I'm a gringo as they say and I make better chips and salsa, and enchiladas than they do here. The food wasn't very flavorful and it came out lukewarm. Mexican food is accessible, i.e. make it yourself or travel to California. Better yet - Mexico! read more

Excellent carnitas, wife had chili Riano it too was excellent, good salsa, service was good. I will diffidently eat their again.