Akilah A.

If you're looking for the best fried red snapper you've ever tasted, look no further! This is our go to location for fresh, fried fish. They make it to order and it can come in three ways - plain, garlic or spicy. It's full of flavor! The only problem is wishing it came with more of the side of rice. We add on another serving. We also enjoy the ceviche as an appetizer. When we use to dine-in, the service was great. For to go orders, it is well packaged and still warm when I arrive home, approximately 10 minutes away.

Claudia A.

Took me a while to find this place on Yelp, I guess the named changed to Las Islitas. I had a blast here last night with my family. They have a very large and bar plus a state where they must do live music on weekends. They offer a wide array of alcoholic drinks. My dad got a beer and I got a cantarrito. It's a drink served in a clay pot with tequila,orange juice, freshly grapefruit juice (or soda), lime juice, salt. They do start you off with tostadas and chopped mixed ceviche (raw fish and shrimp cooked in lime juice and spices). It's a little bowl but you have plenty to get an idea of what to expect in terms of the flavors of the restaurant. Once you consume that they'll keep bringing tostadas to go with your meal (these are baked tortillas that you can break into chips with your meal). We got oysters on the half shell and they were great. We also tried the ceviche on a tostada which is raw seafood (shrimp) cooked in lime and spices. My sister loved the shrimp ceviche but I thought it was too spicy. My sister got a cocktel de camaron y pulpo which is a shrimp and octopus cocktail served in a large chalice with tomato juice and lime juice. She thought it was made just right. Tasted very fresh. My dad got the caldo 7 mares which is a seafood soup with everything but the kitchen sink: fish, octopus, crawfish, shrimp, crab legs, muscles, and scallops. He ate every last bite. I got the paella which is a seafood stew cooked with rice along with all the seafood choices you could ask for: shrimp, crab legs, muscles, clams, scallops, octopus, and fish. It was just the way I like it, not soupy but rather well seasoned chunky rice. Overall we liked every plate we ordered. FYI, service is very very slow. If you can get past this, you like this place. Good drinks and food. Staff is very friendly too, just slow.

Tiffani W.

"It's national Paella day, lets go get paella" Thats how our visit to Las Islitas started. Easy to locate, plenty of parking, lots of seating. WHAT AN EXTENSIVE MENU!!! I really had to stay focused on the mission....PAELLA! So first a sangria to help me focus! It was perfect, not too sweet, not too tart. Then I was able to order the paella. Soooo glad I did. It was LOADED....I mean loaded with seafood and the cluster of crab legs placed on top was a welcome bonus. I ordered the small and it was such a large portion, 2 people could easily split. My friend got the pineapple entree with the seafood on it. I didn't try it but he said the sauce was a little too much for the dish. We put this on our must go back list. I already know what I want to try!!!

Najah H.

We love seafood and always scout out places to get fresh, tasty shrimp, oysters, crab, etc. Mariscos has an interesting exterior with a cartoon lobster and a huge banner for chicken. It's in a quiet shopping Plaza behind the Wells Fargo Bank. You'll miss it if you're driving too fast! When we arrived the live mariachi band was playing. It was like we (Black Americans) had intruded on a private party! I think the staff was surprised to see non-Hispanic patrons. I'm from NYC so eating at Latino places is common. Money is green last time I checked!! Either way we were seated - after they found an English speaking server. Sort of odd - it's 2016 in Smyrna, Georgia but I digress. I started with the oysters that had fresh shrimp on top (see pic). Just delicious! Mom and I had a drink, then entrees that hit the mark. I'll be back for ceviche and some hot dishes. Just hope they're more welcoming to all.

Jeff C.

This is another of those "How did I not know this was here and how good it is?" Moment. Admittedly, the Buford Highway area can be considered the most interesting and diverse concentration of authentic ethnic eats. When you find something this different and authentic OBW(tm) (Off Buford Highway) it's fairly noteworthy. Atlanta and in particular OTP are rife with decent basic family Mexican restaurants. In some ways those restaurants are a bit like the army of allegedly different Chinese take out/delivery places. The menu's are all basically the same and the food is all the same. Sure some have a work or grill guy or gal that's a little better at this, or a little worse at that. In the Mexican world the refried beans all look and taste the same. The rice is all the same, everything comes with a server holding your plate with an Iron Workers teflon mit because somehow screaming, ridiculously hot plates is an indicator of authentic (read: non-gringo) Mexican food. Long live the enchilada and the Texas margarita. Nothing wrong with this, by the way, but it's chalked up by many to be "real" Mexican. It ain't. It's about as real Mexican as Domino's is real Italian Pizza. Las Islitas is located on the northeast corner of S. Cobb Drive and Concord Road SE in Smyrna in a nondescript mini-strip mall. It's incredibly easy to miss this space, so look carefully. The parking lot is tight and at busy times it can be difficult... but preservers. You will be rewarded. You enter the restaurant to high ceilings, a little bright and definitely clean but with that vibe of an ethnic restaurant. There is a 10-12 seat bar in the back, but didn't check that out this time as we could get right to a table. There is a stage at the far end that they use for a wide range of live entertainment - Mexican Karaoke the night we were there. Sounds horrible, I know, but it actually wasn't bad at all. The most important thing here is the food (duh!). It's a seafood focused menu... Mariscos if you will. While the seafood/shellfish choices are confined to those things I suspect they can reliably get via purveyors in Atlanta, what they feature is impeccably fresh and well prepared. Start with a Mexican version of a Shrimp Cocktail... or, Cocktel. A combination of seafood (shrimp, octopus, clams, crab, etc.) mixed with fresh avocado, celery and other ingredients. Think a mix between gazpacho, Bloody Mary and fresh, clean seafood flavors. Yeah, a bit hard to imagine, but trust me. It's good. Rul good. A large is way more than enough to split between 2-4 people depending on if it's an entree or component of a multi-item feast. But try it. It's good. Molchajeteada is declared as the house specialty, but you've got to dig into the multi page menu to find it. A molchajete is a stone mortar and pestle historically used in Mexico to make salsas, grind spices, etc. In this dish, they head the molchajete up to a nuclear hot temperature. Unlike the gringo Mexican places above, in this case hot is important. They stuff it with some beef, nopales, marinated chicken, avocado, hang some well seasoned and perfectly cooked 16/20 count shrimp, grilled onions and all slathered with a bubbling sauce that carmelizes on the molchajete. This is a ton of food - best shared with another and is a bit messy... but all fresh, freshly cooked and terrifically presented. Now, a few words of advice. This isn't one of those gringo Mexican places that we all have been to on Friday night. Las Islitas caters to the Latino community primarily and as such their staff is often a bit more limited in their English. So bring your google translate, or do a little homework in advance and you'll have a great time. The menu is in Spanish with English translations. The staff was efficient and extremely friendly and while not at the price point of the Friday night places, for the quality and fresh preparation, a fair price. Looking for a more interesting Friday night Mexican food experience - try this. Order ceviche (was super fresh and really flavorful), get a margarita and try some well prepared food that will shake up your rice and beans routine.

Maylin S.

Visited from out of town and was taken there by a friend. Family restaurant, lively atmosphere; music, full bar. Very extensive menu! Great food, service.. great for parties and gatherings as well as a date night. I ate grilled shrimp platter came with rice and salad. It's like bbq shrimp delish. My friend had the fried snapper.. that looked and tasted amazing!!

wowed by ivan,customer service was just brilliant!!!!! massive amount of sublime food i love this restaurant they have my heart for life!!!! extra fresh food & super clean restaurant!!! from roqet-nova massive respect godspeed1 please stop by every one!!!!!