After the best laid plans to grab martinis at that new bar in Lowell went astray, my girls and I decide to do exactly what we have been warned against our entire lives-walk right into that bright yellow wooden building and order a drink. "You ain't from around here are ya?" Bear in mind I've pretty such spent my entire life less than a stones throw away from good ol' Oscar's, No matter. This is place is for the locals, and no matter what my local was, is, or will be, I will never be a local. No matter. Make no mistake of it, Pinatas the bar is dark, seedy, and dirty. The ghost of Gallagher played the bass in the band. (Yes, I know Gallagher is not dead. Dude still looked like a) a ghost and b) Gallagher) No matter. Gallagher may suck, ghosts may suck, the ghost of Gallagher plays some kick ass music. Pinatas offers a ton of fun music and my old preschool classmates make great dance partners, who knew? So I'm really sad that Pinatas gets such a bad rap, and was basically the candy coated cottage in the woods I was told to avoid, because it is actually a really fun place with really cheap margaritas! Pinatas the restaurant is an entirely different story. Brightly lit and decorated with, well, the entire pinata section of Iparty, it offers some of the best Mexican food I've ever had. As a child I was also warned against Mexican food, so good thing I'm a rebel. In conclusion, ghost of Gallagher, cheap margaritas, and excellent enchiladas all within stumbling distance from my the homestead, and I never knew.. Take a chance! read more

Oscar's Pinata looks like a house. It also looks like a dive and it kind of is. I mean, you can hear the karaoke singing coming from the bar. But they serve pretty good mexican food so there's that. The BF declared Oscar's the best mexican he's had in the area. He only gets fajitas but he's darned picky about them. After several visits, I will agree that what Oscar's does right, they do right. The salsa is very fresh and one of the best I've had. I have only diverged from the fish tacos once and my meal was OK (one of their combo meals) but nothing to write home about. The fish tacos come out slightly different each time but they are always tasty. I will say having had both fried and grilled that I prefer the grilled. The rice is one of the better rice's I've gotten in Mexican restaurants. It's flavorful and doesn't seem like it had been hanging around all day. Waitstaff can be a little iffy. Always super friendly but every time I have gone they seem like they're only giving half a mind to what they are doing. Pretty sure it's the kitchen's fault but often meals come out with a lag between them so one person (usually me) has to sit and watch their food cool down waiting for the second meal to come. On two visits Oscar's has run out of things. Once it was guacamole and the other time it was chips. Ummm, how does this happen? It would have been one thing had the waitress warned us of the shortage when we ordered the queso dip but she didn't tell us until she brought the dip with about 10 chips. Ummm, really? So overall, food is pretty good just don't have huge expectations about atmosphere and service and you'll be fine. read more

We decided to try oscar's after purchasing a groupon for half off. Walked in & was delightfully greeted by a swarm of flies. Eventually a greasy half clothed ogre spawned from the kitchen covered in grime. He looked at us, grunted, grabbed menus & threw them at a table. He then returned to his cave located in the far reaches of hell. Even before seeing lord of the flies we smelt deep fried poop seeped into the 1970's installed carpet & already knew we wouldn't be staying. ran out & returned the groupon, fully understanding why they needed to deal with groupon in the first place. read more

I'm not sure that we'll ever go back to this place! The food was OK. My partner got the Chimichanga and really liked it. I had the Enchiladas al Carbon and they were just ok. But the food was not the problem...the service, if that is what you want to call it, was AWFUL. We went around 3:30 and were the only people in the place, so you think the service would be attentive. Not. First, she seated us at a table, and we moved to another one near the window. She complained, in a half-kidding way, that we were going to make her work because she had to walk to our table which was further from the kitchen. She had a terrible attitude, was nearly rude, and completely unattentive. The cooks in the kitchen rang the "ready" bell three times to get her attention to serve our food. After that, she never came back to see if everything was alright or to refill our drinks. We ordered a Corona Light, which either they were out of or don't have, so we got a regular one and it came with a lime that was strangely dried out. We just moved to the area from Boston and were excited to find a Mexican restaurant so close. The coupon in the Val-Pak that someone else mentioned was a good deal, we saved $6. I would recommend Taco Bell over this place. read more

On the few times I have been here, I was dragged, begrudgingly, with friends. And the few times I had been here, I saw the same faces from the visits before. The bar area is super small and it gets packed quick. The floor is sticky with stale beer and my flip flop stuck to it at one point. They ran out of beer and the owner had to run to the liquor store across the street to buy more. I think the next day I broke into a rash from being in this place. Its pretty dungy and gross. Although, I will say, no bar fights broke up, which is surprising to me for such a dump. read more

This place is pretty darn good. I like their burritos better than other places, and my kids LOVE the fajitas. They have a special sauce on their fajitas that makes them better than most. The only thing that isn't very good is the margaritas...at least the frozen strawberry ones. The other opportunity for improvement is that the is sometimes slow, but it's not even the wait staff's fault...sometimes they just have too few waiters/waitresses. There was one time that my waitress was tending the bar and tables at the same time. read more

- food 2/10 - environment 2/10 - service -5/10 (horrible...they lady kept going in the back and won't return for 10-15 minutes at a stretch) read more

The food was actually really good. The salsa was good and the nachos we ordered were tasty. Problem was that the entire front of the restaurant smelled like a bathroom. Straight urinal cakes. We didn't get meals - we only ordered an appetizer because it stank so badly. Fix the smell and you've got a nice little place!!! read more

I've been a loyal customer to Oscar's for a long time and it's always been great! The food is awesome, staff is friendly and dollar tacos ln tuesdays is a must. read more

Recently revisited Oscar's since before the first COVID surge in the spring . Although the service, food and drink was very good, there is STILL an awful sewage smell. read more

It was one of the worst experiences of my life. Waitress was unattentive and on her cell phone the whole time. Messed up our order TWICE and while we were sitting waiting for the check, she sees another waitress and asks if she wants to go out for a smoke. The food was hardly Mexican. Microwaved quesidilla's are easier and cheaper for me to make myself. After the experience she tells us to come back for karaoke. Not happening. Extremely disappointed. Listen to yelp! read more

Right when you sit down, they bring chips and salsa! If a Mexican restaurant doesn't have good salsa, I'm not sure who will. They served us tomato sauce for pizza with our chips. It tasted exactly like raw tomato sauce from the Dollar Store. It was free so fine np! I mentioned it to the waiter and she just said yeah this is normal. We ordered Mozzarella Sticks. these were served in a giant plate scattered all over and these were frozen Mozzarella Sticks tasted horrible. Surprisingly Mozzarella Sticks came with a good sauce which I used for chips. We ordered Fish tacos. These were dry without any sauce. We ordered Giner Ale, it tasted flat and the glass was filled up to the top with ice. We asked for a refill and the waiter forgot about it until the end of the meal. This was our first and the last time. This restaurant needs help. read more

Thank you Oscars Pinatas for another fun time! the food and drinks were amazing we will be back soon! From the Younique sisters

Very good, sloppy, Mexican food. The place is a bit of a dive, but you already knew that that's where you find the best Mexican food, right? The service is attentive enough, nothing outstanding. I would have to say the best part is the coupons they send out. Buy-one-get-one-free for this place just can't be beat. Too bad it's so far away from where we live, now. We still make the trip once in a long while, though. read more

I went to Oscar's Pinata tonight for dinner simply because I was in the mood for Mexican and it was the closest one to my hotel. The restaurant looks more like a house from the outside and is decorated like a typical Mexican restaurant inside. I was eating alone so I went to the bar, so I'd atleast have the bartender to talk to. I got an order of Nachos to start and a Burrito for my entree. I can't say they were the best I've ever had, but they both were good and the portions were large. On top of that the bartender was friendly and the price was very reasonable. Good food, good portions, good prices and a good staff sounds like 4-stars to me. read more

This is a nice restaurant with some good food. The drinks are priced very well and made just as good. I'm always up for enchiladas and these were great as well. My wife had some seafood taco's which she thought were well worth it. We will gladly frequent this restaurant. One other time we came here was on a night with a live band. We were going out with a few friends to have some drinks so we decided to go here. The live band was extremely loud. It was overwhelmingly loud, and made us leave due to how we couldn't even socialize. So I will likely avoid the bar area if they have a band playing. read more

I don't like to judge a book by its cover and I had heard great things from the locals about Oscar's Pinata. That being said, I truly wished the food (and service!) had lived up to the hype. To begin with, the service was ridiculously slow. This was hard to comprehend as we were 1 of 3 tables in the entire place for the lunch hour. I had to get up at one point to track down the server and ask for a drink refill. (It had been 20 minutes and she hadn't been on the floor.) As for the food: it was just OK. The enchiladas were decent and the chef was kind enough to substitute the carnitas in place of chicken for me. However, I've had better salsa out of a jar and they had run out of guacamole. It's a Mexican restaurant. Unacceptable. Additional comments: sticky tables and cold rice. Won't be a repeat customer. read more

Making decisions when you're hungry can be a bad turn right into Oscar's Pinata... This is what i call MexiCANT. As hungry as my friends and I all were we actually couldn't stop laughing.. then we couldn't believe we really were suppose to pay for this garbage. The service was crappy too, and the waitress must of heard that we disliked the food and saw that we didn't eat most of it but didn't care. We left no tip, they're lucky we paid. They are highly overpriced with poor quality food. The sampler appetizer is a joke. It was me 3 other people, fortunately one of our friends is vegetarian, buth their was still only 2 pieces per item. The ground beef is pale and creepy. It didn't taste right. I barely got any avocado on the "supreme" meal I ordered. I never have had such a bad meal before. My boyfriend eats many exotic foods but this shit made him throw up right outside. I told my dad about this disaster later and he told me I should of talked to him first. He went there 15 years ago on a date and they tried that food and screwed without paying... That's a big statement. People who eat here must not have taste buds or be drunk as hell. read more

Home made authentic Mexican dishes. The BEST place for Mexican food North of Boston

Good place for margaritas, tacos and karaoke if you're into that! Staff is friendly and attentive!

I went to Oscars for the first, and last time this past weekend. I have always tried to live by "if you don't have anything good to day, don't say anything at all". But with Oscars, I have to make an exception to that rule. This was by far one of the worst restaurant's I have ever been to. The first thing that grabs your attention is the biker crowd hanging around the back door. Then you walk into the front door and the next thing that gets your attention is just how filthy the place is. If you are going to have carpet in a restaurant, it has to be cleaned once, twice a week and vacuumed daily. The carpet was absolutely black with grease/food/beverage stains. Sitting down at the table you notice that no matter what surface you touch, the table, your chair, the condiments, they all have a greasy dirty felling about them. I worked in many the restaurant and one thing I learned is if a restaurant's front-end isn't clean, you certainly don't want to see what is going on in the kitchen. On to the service. The hostess was nice. Ok, so I had one good thing to say about the visit. Our waitress... Well let me just say if you hate your job that much, quit. We had just sat down, hadn't even opened the menu and she walks up and asks us what we want. We told her we needed another minute and ordered drinks. She came back with the drinks right away, we still hadn't decided what we wanted, she sighed and left with a frown on her face. She didn't come back for a half hour. Meanwhile, all of the other tables waitstaff appeared very friendly, coming back to check on their tables. As for the food, it was mediocre. It came to the table not very warm and was rather bland for Mexican. The chicken in my burrito had the consistency of a joke rubber chicken. None of the food, including the stale tortilla chips seemed fresh. The noise from the bar, and we were there early in the day was very loud. Then they turn up the crappy speakers in the dining room to try to drown it out. You could also smell the cigarette smoke coming in through the open back door drifting into the dining room. I for one would never go back there or tell anyone of the place. Except maybe Chef Ramsey! read more

My girl Tess asked me to post this on her behalf. I came for the karaoke and stayed for the enchiladas (only the best I've had... like, ever). The place is clean, lively, friendly. The food is amazing. If your whole day sucked, come here and get happy. Oscar leads by example, being and hiring good people. This is where good hearts come for good food and a good time. 7 days a week karaoke, and the people who come are woke. I freakin love this place. Now I know where to go when the salsa level in my bloodstream gets dangerously low. ; ) read more

Bad service, we got there and had to look for someone to sit us down. After awhile with still no drinks so we left. It was hot with no air flow in there. read more

I am always up for Mexican, and considering my coworkers went for cheap Chinese today it was the perfect opportunity for me to tell them what a great place they missed. Well that plan backfired on me. I will start off with the somewhat good food. I ordered the steak burrito, California style, which I guess to them means without sauce on top. Traditionally the "California Burrito" is rumored to have started in San Diego where they started to add fries to a Carne Asada burrito. The steak was seasoned well, there was a lot of it, and it seemed as though it was finished on a flat top grill because it had a nice char to it. It was served with refried beans and rice which were pretty standard. The drinks were strong and big like others have mentioned, but the problem is they only have cuervo tequila and triple sec. If you don't mind well liquor they are tasty. The service was extremely slow and considering I was the only person in the bar and there were only two tables I thought that the server did a pretty disappointing job. She never cleared my dirty plate, and was generally never around. The interior is very dirty and the bar stunk like a fraternity basement. If you are looking for good Mexican there are other places in the area that are better. Try Casa Blanca instead. read more

I've only been in the restaurant half of this place...and have never ventured into the bar. From the looks of the people heading into the bar (I know it's Tewksbury but sweatpants on a Friday night - really?), it looks....interesting...... The drinks are large and strong which in my book equals very good. The food is good as well. I've sampled the fajitas, tacos, mexi chicken parm, and all are tasty. My husband loves the seafood burrito, can't stop talking about it, every time he has it. The quality of the service is iffy. We usually pray for the "good waitress" before going in. There is one young waitress who is terrific and attentive and there is another who will take your drink order and then not come back until 20 minutes later (with no drinks) to take your dinner order. Overall it's good cheap eats and drinks. read more

I had to check out this place after reading the two reviews by other Yelper's. A+ for authenticity and a diverse menu. Was not to impressed with the service but our meals were great. I had a combo plate with 1 enchilada and renaldo(sp) which has a pablano pepper stuffed with chicken and cheese YUM. It came with rice and pinto beans. I also had a kick ass margarita. The 2 of us ate for $30. Not bad considering. The bar section looked kinda scary. Oh also they had a Mexican guy playing live guitar and singing up and down the rows of tables. Nice but loud. 11-9-06 UPDATE: Went back for takeout and hada terrible experience. Hostess had me go to a dark room in the back off the kitchen to take my order. I could not read the menu as it was so dark. I had to step into the bathroom to see it. Speaking of the bathroom, how in the world can anybody in a wheelchair reach the paper towels? It is like 5 ft off the floor, above the sink. OK so she told me my takeout wold be like 15 minutes, to go into the bar and wait. The BAR is SCARY!! Yikes!! Loud awful music , its dark, with some scary looking characters lurking about. As soon as I order a drink, out comes my takeout (4 minutes) now I have to stay and be tortured. In the end....my chicken enchiladas was virtually tasteless. read more

The food is amazing. I haven't had such good Mexican food since I moved up here from the DC area. I gave three stars because the service is super slow. They also made up that they don't do the groupon for to go orders even though it says nowhere on the groupon dining in only. read more

I love this place. My coworkers and I hit up this place for lunch a minimum of once a week and sit in the bar arae (so I cannot speak tpo the restaurant part). The food is really quality for a good price and the Margaritas are strong and tasty. I will say I was wary at first because the appearance from the outside leaves a lot to be desired but the food, drinks and some of the most friendly bartenders make this place a must go to. The bar room is the place to sit (the door to it is on the side) and if you go at lunch and it is locked, just give a knock, they did forget to unlock it once (of course they gave us a free app on the house as an apology so how can you complain). I guarentee that once you try it you will want to rate it high as well! read more

None of my experiences here have been 'smooth' or without problems. The seafood dishes (and, on most nights, the salsa) are probably the 'best' reasons to come here. (Consider these 'safe' items to order.) I can't say much positive about the food, decor, or service otherwise -- they're not 'failures,' per se, merely the worst of the four or five Tex-Mex options littering the Merrimack Valley. Your time would be better spent driving up to La Carreta, westward to Ixtapa, or into town for Tu y Yo. read more

Ordered via door dash. They forgot one of our items, we called and they delivered us our missing items!! Food was tasty, hot, good! Kids loved the quesadilla! My wife is a nacho enthusiast, and she says these are the best ones around. Nice job! read more

Love the nachos, salsa is fresh and burritos are favorite of my kids. Staff is nice- Oscar comes by to greet customers. Could use some real wine on the menu and not boxed stuff. read more

This place is weird. I don't know if I'd love it....or really hate it. This is on the bar alone My friend's parents brought us here one night for what they explained as "hysterical karaoke." We went, we had some beers...in an overly cramped, dirty establishment....we had some laughs..and we left. There place is swarming with local yokals. I mean, toothless joe who lives in a van down by the river, locals. It's full of all sorts!!! Everyone in a small town has a bar like this... I know my town has a few! I think half of these people may sleep under the tables at night...but I can't be sure. Highlight of the night....a older woman of obvious standards of class, being escorted, or as I like to say..."dragged out." Because she couldn't stand AND wouldn't stop crying about her good for nothin ex in the bathroom. Ahhhhhhhhh this is how the rich live. Garson, another bottle of Dom!! read more

The last couple of times I've eaten here the service has been sub-par. Long waits with half of the tables empty makes no sense, and having to track down the server to ASK for water refills is a pet peeve of mine. Bad word of mouth will kill any business. The food remains very good for the price and the drinks are large and strong. read more

Loveeee this place. I can't give it 5 stars, only because it's a little dirty and the pinatas that decorate the place look like they're from 1973. But if I could, I would give the food 300 stars. The dishes are huge and very reasonably priced. I'm a big fan of their combination plates because I am horribly indecisive and want one of everything when I'm here. The enchiladas are sooo good and wayy filling. The chiles rellenos are some of the best I've had. Also, def. get a big margarita when you're here...it will make your experience so much better! They always have coupons in those little coupon packs and they also have one on their website. If you want authentic Mexican food in large quantities and don't mind that it's not fine dining, definitely go to Oscar's. You'll leave extremely satisfied! read more

This place is clearly not one of the classiest joints around, but that doesn't mean it isn't a great place to go. At first glance Oscars is worn down, dark, and set up in a weird way, but once you get past that you'll see that the food is good and great times can be had in the bar area. I can't speak for all of the food because I've only had the tacos, the chips and salsa, and the fried ice cream, but all of those were very good. I especially like how they offer ground beef. Other Mexican restaurants have shredded only. Man do I hate shredded (although Oscars also has shredded if that's your thing). The salsa is really good (not too hot at all) and the fried ice cream is awesome. The service is decent. Nothing to write home about but nothing to complain about either. Where this place shines is the bar area on a karaoke night. I've only been there on a karaoke night (Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays) so I can't vouch for the other nights, but man the karaoke nights are good. I've been to other karaoke bars and they just lack the atmosphere that Oscars has. The whole place really gets behind you when you get up there. It's great watching everyone sing along to the hits once the drinks kick in too. There are a lot of regulars who do a great job singing but they all accept newbies with open arms. My friends and I have had some of our most memorable nights in there singing our asses off. The drinks aren't too expensive either. Average prices and cheap drafts and margaritas. Overall I would say go for fun on a karaoke night and if you're hungry go early for a quick bite, that's what we do. This place gets a much worse rep than it deserves and Oscar is a really good guy. He always thanks us for coming out. Go check it out and sing until you lose your voice. read more

This place looks like a dive from the outside, but the food is awesome. We have been coming here for well over 10 years and we have never had a bad meal. The food is very authentic, not like you would get at a chain restaurant like On the Border. We have ordered almost everything from the menu, but I always go back to the basics like tacos, tostada, burritos and enchiladas. You can't beat real authentic food like that. Whenever you go, Oscar is always working. Sometimes he is out front waiting on tables, other times he is in back cooking. The other good news is they have just increased the number of draft beers they have to 12, even though I still always have the Dos Equis on draft. read more

I can't believe I'm only giving this place 2 stars. It's not for the food. The food is delicious and really well priced. But the service is beyond horrible. It is so slow. This used to be a favorite of mine - and I'd eat here frequently. But I just don't have the time to wait for really bad service from people who obviously don't like their jobs. If you don't mind waiting and bad service - the food is great and the drinks are large. read more

Best Mexican around!! The restaurant has received a much needed facelift , reopened as of today 10/31/17! If you enjoy authentic Mexican, you need to stop in and give it a try! The fajitas are awesome, as well as the enchiladas! I know I haven't had any negatives, I've been going to this place for 20 years! The margarita are fantastic as well!! You won't be disappointed! read more

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First off, it's really dark inside. The lighting is this dim, dingy basement glow, and it doesn't cast well on a place that already looks pretty dirty. The pinatas they have up are kind of creepy. Oh you get to listen to soft Mexican music on the stereo along with the cover band playing next door. Now that's some kind of ambiance! As if that weren't enough, they had no chips and salsa. No chips and salsa? What?! The menu promises it! The very fact that it's a Mexican place promises it! But no. We're seated by the back exit where it was freeeeeezing, and then our waiter comes over and explains in a very thick accent that they have no chips and salsa because they're "very busy." He even rolled his eyes back for effect. Huh? What? Does that mean you can't order nachos? No you can still get the nachos...they're just really busy...and can't put chips in a basket and salsa in a bowl...yeah...anyway... Being a very hungry person, I was not pleased to hear this news. I was expecting immediate sustenance! So, Jalapeno poppers it was. And for deep fried little morsels, they were good, but the plating was totally half assed. Just a pathetic looking pile of wilted, shredded iceberg in the corner. The good thing is you get really big, really strong margaritas....that is if you're willing to shell out $10 a drink. Our empty maragarita glasses stayed that way even after the waiter served us our entrees and saw them. We had to flag him down to get our next round, which I hate doing. Luckily the food is affordable, the menu is diverse and it wasn't half bad. I got the chicken flautas and I really liked that they used a mix of dark and white meat, but I've had a better meal in a cleaner, brighter place that actually takes the time to get those chips and salsa over to my table. read more

I really enjoy the food from Oscar's, but the atmosphere detracts from the experience, sometimes in a bigger way than others. When we first went to Oscar's the first few times, the food really impressed us. Lately, we had some iffy service with things taking a really long time, forgotten or mixed up orders, etc, but that hasn't been too bad. If you go in expecting a not-so-hot atmosphere but yummy food, you won't be disappointed at all. There's a bar in the back which gets a little loud sometimes, and while the food is good, I wouldn't say it's the best I've ever had. The rice has a reheated consistency much of the time, and the wait staff is really hit or miss. We did try the cheesecake chimichanga one time and it was delicious! So it may be worth going to just to give that a try. read more