This used to be our favorite Mexican restaurant in town, but apparently the flavor packed its bags and left. On a Friday evening there was only one other table there, which should have been our first clue. The food took so long to come out I thought they might be growing the ingredients out back. The chips tasted like they came straight from a family-size bag at the grocery store, and the chimichanga had all the excitement of a tax form. The lettuce tasted like it was reminiscing about fresher days. My husband ordered a soda and was handed a bottle, apparently unlimited refills are now considered a luxury item. We went for my husband's birthday dinner and left wishing we'd celebrated at a gas station taqueria instead. I understand rising costs due to the economy, but you can tell this place is nowhere what it use to be, from a year ago. Quality has gone downhill. The only reason this review gets two stars is because the server was friendly. Won't be back, too many other options to choose from in the area. Hasta la vista baby. read more

Viva La Fiesta is such a fun, vibrant spot with an expansive menu that makes you want to try a little bit of everything. It's clear the restaurant is thriving under the new management that took over in November. They are doing a fantastic job! One of the standout items was the in-house homemade chorizo, which is easily the best I've ever had. The street tacos were absolutely to die for. The cabeza especially took me by surprise in the best way. The meat was rich, tender, and incredibly flavorful. They even brought me an extra spicy salsa upon request, which was delicious and clearly made with care. And of course, the margaritas went down smooth and easy. The perfect pairing with such great food. Between the lively atmosphere, thoughtful service, and standout dishes, Viva La Fiesta is definitely a place I will be coming back to. read more

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The restaurant offers a clean environment with friendly staff. Complimentary chips and salsa are provided, and both are excellent--the chips arrive warm, and the salsa is outstanding. As someone not particularly familiar with Mexican cuisine, I was surprised by how cheesy the birria was. If you enjoy cheese, you'll be thrilled, but even as someone who doesn't typically consume much cheese, I still found them quite good. read more

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More than anything, I'm giving this place 5 stars because of their really cool interior and friendly service. Playful murals spanned the walks, and the furniture was just as colorful. But, the food was really good, too! I had fish tacos with rice, and the S.O. had a carne asada street taco. Chips and salsa were complimentary. I also had a margarita flight, which was also colorful, fun, and tasty. They tasted like pre-made mixes, but good mixes; I was able to choose from something like 10 flavors. I look forward to coming back with a group of friends! read more

Viva la Fiesta - Margarita Flight - Mexican Near Me - Edwardsville, Illinois

I'm never disappointed when I dine here. Very good consistency in both quantity and quality of food. Servers are very nice too. Taco Tuesday is special! read more

Viva la Fiesta - Carne asada, carnitas, and Al pastor street tacos. - Mexican Near Me - Edwardsville, Illinois

This is our favorite restaurant. The food is always delicious (my favorites rotate among quesabiria tacos and the fancy chunky guacamole and a quesadilla) and hot and fast. Best. Margaritas. Ever! The ambiance is perfect! Beautiful art on the walls, each table and chair is painted with a unique mural. I adore the staff, who treat us like friends and are always pleasant and helpful. I wish I can eat here every night! read more

We ordered Viva la Fiesta using Uber Eats and were surprised the quality held up. Ordering delivery you're always accepting a risk and we'd never been to this restaurant in person either but it worked out. Great variety on the menu and our meals were packed with flavor. Solid cheese dip but the regular salsa actually was incredible on its own. Will have to check out in person next time to get the full experience. read more

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Excellent. Not fancy, I have not had a bad or mediocre meal yet. This is my go to place when people come from out of town

Giving a five star in spite of the small child in the booth behind me. I ordered queso, a house margarita and Enchilada Supremas. The service was as great and influenced my second margarita purchase. Not the best decision but it was so good and I could get back to my hotel with limited driving on any roads. The queso was yummy and the enchiladas were filling. The chicken enchilada was a little cold but not enough to deter me from going again. Decor was cute, restaurant was clean and everyone was nice. A must stop near SIUE read more

Viva la Fiesta - Enchiladas Supremas - Mexican Near Me - Edwardsville, Illinois

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This place used to be Catarina's until it closed two weeks ago. Then somebody named Raphael bought it and it opened on 11/25/2019. (This was what the workers were telling me...) I regretfully didn't write a review for Catarina's, because I would've given it a higher rating than its predecessor. I seem to be on a roll reviewing all local Mexican places the same (3 stars), because well, I get the same experience and taste no matter where! I'm not saying the food isn't good or great; there's just nothing that stands out when having the typical Mexican restaurant experience. None of these places "dare" to be different, like nothing makes one better than the other. In other words, I'll get the same experience at, say, La Fonda or El Maguey. But the food was filling and the service here was great, and the decor (most of it was from Catarina's) was cute (skeletons, anyone?). read more

Viva la Fiesta - Burrito loco - Mexican Near Me - Edwardsville, Illinois

A lovely little place in an unassuming shopping plaza. We stopped for dinner because we were using the nearby Tesla Supercharger and happened upon Viva La Fiesta. Charming decor, fast service, good food, and yummy margaritas. read more

Sunday afternoon, I put in an order for delivery via DoorDash. Fajitas Borrachas, Double, pork, steak, shrimp, cheese, pineapple, and more. I added a side of cheese dip. Good-sized portions, two meals worth. Corn tortillas for gluten-free Therese H. Thanks! Great first experience! read more

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Great atmosphere in here! Lots of color, good music, and smiling and friendly faces. The salsa could have used a bit more flavor and the food I had (street tacos) was good, just lacking that little extra to truly make it pop. The burritos that the others ordered were massive, so I probably just ordered the wrong thing! At any rate, they accommodated our large group very well and our food was served in rapid fashion. Would certainly come back here. read more

My food was cold when I revived it and very low quality. This is my quesadilla and the amount of vegan cheese I received that I PAID EXTRA FOR read more

My daughter and I had a great meal here. The atmosphere was very colorful and the booth was comfortable. We split a flight of margaritas which was very tasty. Our waitress was really nice and her recommendations were right on. We will definitely eat there again. read more

went here with my wife last night sad to say the Margarita was the only good part food was very bland taste like we were eating leftovers from the day before the chips were burnt tasted as if they kept frying the same ones over & over we will not be coming bck here unfortunately rate 2/10 read more

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If I could give them more than 5 stars I would. After a nightmare experience with Ubereats, the owner comped my meal AND delivered it herself. Thank you for the awesome service and amazing food! read more

Viva la Fiesta - Fajitas Borrachas - Mexican Near Me - Edwardsville, Illinois

I have just recently found this place! I just tried it a couple weeks ago and really like it. They are very authentic, which might freak some people out. I love their salsa and street tacos. They have daily specials, including taco tuesday! I would definitely say "try this one out!" read more

Really good food all around. Ground beef has a great flavor. I had the fiesta tacos , fried tortillas with ground beef, bean, potato mixture. So good!! Chips and salsa were plentiful and delicious and the menu is very extensive. Will definitely be going back read more

Love this place. My favorite dish is the Chicken on the Beach. So good!!! I usually order via door dash.

First visit. The chips and salsa were better than most strip-mall-type Mexican restaurants. Server was very nice but was slow getting to the table and food was also pretty slow, considering we were one of five parties in the whole restaurant. What can I say except it was just ok? Absolutely average to slightly below average. The food and beverage were all lacking any real flavor. I had the spinach enchiladas and they were edible but unseasoned. It was worth a shot but that's probably not on our return list. read more

If you like Taco Bell tacos this is the place for you. 2 stars because the Rita's were good. Too many choices nearby to recommend

Go to for really good Mexican food! Been many times and tonight is going great. Live music, margaritas, fajitas and corona... wait staff does an amazing job!!! read more

We only started coming here in the last couple of weeks but love it. My son wants to come back every night and we haven't found anything we don't like. read more

very very good salsa, however my waitress did not bring me more after my request. i was with a group and obviously we gobbled it all down very quickly and she didn't think to bring some more. she also never came back to check on us. lovely restaurant but bad service. I I am now editing my review, i wish i could take it back. i forgot she ended up coming back and now i feel terrible for writing this shameful review. i am ashamed of myself and my actions. i would like to apologize to the whole viva la fiesta and yelp community. read more

The carne asada street tacos were delicious. Hit it for taco Tuesday. Definitely recommend the street tacos.

The food is great here. Plus they offer a $50 gift certificate for $25 on fox2 now. They give good portions and the margaritas don't disappoint. Check them out! read more

Our new favorite place! Great service and atmosphere and the owners are wonderful. The pork dishes are fantastic. Try the Pork Verde and the Pork Carnitas. The Chili Poblano is another favorite and the guacamole is made the right way, chunky and fresh. read more

It was fine. Everybody has different i opinions about Mexican restaurants. I didn't think the chicken or the steak was very flavorful though. read more

Really good vegan/vegetarian options. Try the vegan tacos. Definitely best Mexican food in town now.... Owners are very nice so give this place a try. read more

Had lunch at Viva la Fiesta today. We happened to drive by and noticed it for the first time. OUTSTANDING! I had the daily special of Fiesta Burrito with chicken.....Best burrito I've ever had! Fresh ingredients, flavorful chicken, perfectly grilled tortilla. The chips and salsa were delicious...homade chips and deliciously chilled fresh salsa. My son had his favorite of chicken quesadilla and really loved it. I was surprised to learn they have been at that location since Thanksgiving 2019. Really good quality Mexican food and attentive service. I will be back for sure. read more

We came in for bottomless mimosas, or so we thought, but that was not the case. Apparently it's restaurant policy that you are only allowed a certain amount of alcoholic drinks as I had maybe 6 drinks. I feel as if this is an extremely flawed system since I could come here and order a 100 oz. margarita tower. I'm not sure, but something seems off to me. Don't come here for their "bottomless" mimosas. A literal joke. We were informed of this before our last mimosa. read more

Another New Mexican restaurant in town. If one closes; another opens. They all seem to have similar food - Tex Mex - but this place has a much larger menu and selection. I ordered the Tamale Deluxe - which is a cross between tamales piled onto nachos. It was good. Chips and salsa were average at best. The service was very good with patient and friendly servers. However (and it's a big however), I'm not crazy about the restaurant theme and decor. This place will probably be packed on Halloween and the actual 2 day holiday which closely follows on Nov. 1 and 2- known in Mexico as Día de Muertos. Staring at a very large mural of two skeletons dressed in traditional Mexican clothing, along with a huge skeleton hand holding a cocktail painted on the wall besides the bar - just not a warm and cozy feeling. Might be fun for others who are into that sort of thing - but I prefer something a little more subdued. 5 stars for service, 3.5 stars for the food, 1 star of ambiance. read more

First time here, and the service was impeccable. It's clean and bright. I ordered a jumbo frozen marg and burrito Jalisco. Both were awesome. The salsa was really good, too. My husband loved his food. We look forward to a return. read more

The food was great, staff was very friendly, and the margaritas were delicious. Go just for the flight of margaritas and pick 4 flavors! Yum! read more

Viva la Fiesta - Flight of margaritas - Mexican Near Me - Edwardsville, Illinois

Worst vegan food I've ever had! Went expecting Catrina's, but found they had closed. Still gave it a shot as they stated they had vegan cheese. Had to pay $3 for super basic chips and salsa and then got a terrible vegan quesadilla with non melted cheese, less than a handful of beans and some peppers and large slices of onions. Literally could make something 10x better at home with minimal effort. Not worth the trip or the money. Would recommend Catrina's 10/10, someone please tell me where I can find their food. read more

We were in for the night from out of town, due to traffic we didn't get into edwardsville until later than anticipated. I searched for nearby restaurants online and wow this is the best random restaurant pick we've ever came across. Loved the decor of the place, but much more importantly the food was amazing. Seriously amazing. I had the pollo fiesta and the chicken was cooked and flavored wonderfully. The onions peppers and mushrooms on top were sautéed to perfection. My partner got beef and chicken enchiladas and the steak in the beef ones was melt in your mouth tender and flavorful. Next time we are even close to the area, we plan to go out of our way to go here. What a wonderful surprise. read more

Best Mexican in the area by far. The chimichanga was the best I have ever tasted. Fiesta tacos are great as well. Service was very speedy, we had our food in no time. But who visits a Mexican restaurant and doesn't get a margarita? They are not too sweet and sour and not too strong, they are perfect. I absolutely recommend to anyone who enjoys a great atmosphere, great food, and drinks. read more

More like 3.5 stars. I think they simply renamed the old Catrina's and changed the menu a little. Same Tex-Max staples. Nothing exciting or overly authentic (except perhaps the weekend Menudo), but decent enough. read more

This place is brand new. We came expecting the old restaurant, which we loved, and didn't realize until we sat down and looked at the menu that it was different. We were going to leave but started talking to one of the owners who seemed very genuine and showed us some of her favorites items. We stayed and were so happy that we did! There is a lot on the menu and most of it is the stuff you'll find anywhere because that is what Americans want. However, there are some gems on the menu that you won't find at other places and they really shine. I can't wait to try some of the special soups they make on weekends. Been back twice now and the experience has been wonderful regarding staff and food. read more