very authentic Mexican food, cooked on premises NOT precooked microwaved like some other "Mexican" restaurants. Qwners and staff very frendly. Great Place! read more

The food is terrific and so is the service. Food is fresh and delicious. The owner, Alicia, is always focused on making her customers feel welcome and serving them a wonderful meal. Love this place!!! read more

My son and I had a great dinner tonight at Zapatas! We were greeted warmly and seated immediately when we arrived. The chips and salsa were awesome and the cheese dip was even better. My son enjoyed his steak tacos and my steak chimichanga was fantastic. Glad we tried out this great local place while we were in town for a soccer tournament-yum! read more

Zapata Mexican Restaurant - Awesome steak chimichanga!! - Mexican Near Me - Tupelo, Mississippi

Excellent Hidden Gem in the vast Tupelo Mexican food scene. The Tomatillo Sauce there is the best in Tupelo!

Excellent food; great local restaurant. I try to eat at locally- owned restaurants when I travel, and this restaurant did not disappoint. I was early for dinner but felt that they would get busy as time progressed. I had a strawberry blended margarita and combo meal of burrito and soft taco. Very filling. Chips and salsa excellent as well. read more

Stopped here after driving several hours to return home from vacation. Verdict is good but not great. Positives were the salsa and cheese dip. I had the enchiladas tapiatas wife had chicken nachos. The enchiladas cheese filling resembled more of a mozzarella texture and taste than the usual "Mexican" cheese I have grown accustomed to. Overall good service and decent food. Not worth a special trip but fills you up if you are hungry. read more

I love Zapata, the atmosphere is soothing and the owner is awesome, I try to eat there at least once a week.

Stopped here while on a trek across the country. Not quite sure how we found this place, but I'm glad we did. When you first walk in you initially think you made a mistake. The restaurant is older and could use some updating. The waiter greeted us quickly though, so we gave it a shot. We all ordered tacos, Carne Asada and chicken. The food was actually pretty good. The staff was friendly and responded with our request for spicier salsa. Though old, the restaurant was clean. Overall, I would come again if for some crazy reason I ever ended up in Mississippi again. read more

Zapata Mexican Restaurant - nachos and salsa - Mexican Near Me - Tupelo, Mississippi

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Some of the food I ate here was okay and some of it was pretty weird. One of the weirder parts was the salsa which had an unpleasant metallic taste. Also I was eating here and there was only one other customer in the place but then the hostess disappeared for like 15 minutes and other customers were showing up and standing around the front waiting to be seated and then just left. It wasn't my favorite restaurant I guess, is what I'm trying to say. Like if the apocalypse happened and there were only three restaurants left on the entire planet and this was one of them there's a fairly good chance it would be my third favorite restaurant and it would definitely not be my first favorite restaurant unless the other two restaurants were Shoney's and The Dumpster Behind the Fernley I-80 Dennys. read more

We are new in town and open to trying every restaurant in Tupelo. We love Mexican food as I was raised in So Cal on the real deal. We went with open mind. There is no decors to speak of, no Mexican ambiance per say, it's very small. There were only 2servers and they were very friendly. But we came for the food. The chips are adequate and the Salsa is NOT. I ordered one of my favorite Mexican plates, Tacos Carne Asada. I don't know what cut of beef it was but it was NOT steak, it had so much fat and gristle I could only eat about 50% of it. They were terrible. My husband ordered what he often does at Mexican restaurants, Chimichanga. He lived in Spain many years and knows Latin food. He said it was nothing like any other Chimichanga he had ever had, and it was bad. So we tried it, were disappointed, and we will never return. read more

The wife and I both had taco salads. I had the beef she had the chicken. Let me tell you. One of the best taco salads I've ever had. The salsa here is out of this world. For a little hole in the wall place the food was excellent. Highly recommend! read more

Best in town! I love that the beef enchiladas are not over sauced and the flavor is great! The carne asada has a great char! The staff is so sweet and friendly made me feel like i was at my tias house. Highly recommend! read more

Oh my gosh! Absolutely horrible - the food was tasteless and stale. The place was dirty and messy, the hostess was gossiping with the cook while we ate. Very unprofessional! My husband and I have food poisoning because of what we ate here. Never again! read more

At the top end of standard dixie-mex. The food is well-spiced with good flavors. The chile relleno and tamale were the best I have had outside of a high-end southwestern cuisine restaurant. The masa in the tamal tasted fresh. The salsa is nice and chunky (tho mostly tomato chunks) with slowly building heat. The rice actually has flavor unlike that at any other dixie-mex place. Objectively this is a 3 star, but it is definitely a Mississippi 4 star. Definitely recommended. read more

The margaritas were good but unfortunately that's about it. The food was bland and unexceptional, the service was barely adequate - I had to ask for water 4 times. We're just passing through so obviously we won't be back. read more

Great salsa, good menu selection, and family service. My wife and I feel it's the best Mexican restaurant in town...others seem bland. Small, no frills dining area but the food makes up for that! read more

The good was very good, be the service was great, and the prices are easy on the wallet. Just wish it was not 3 hours from home.

The best Mexican restaurant and food I have had by far! The best service and very friendly staff Alesia. My family thanks you for your kind heart and welcoming arms. We will always remember you. Can't wait to visit y'all again. read more

Food was amazing! Our server was great and super friendly. Menu items are reasonably priced and loaded with a lot of flavor.

This was the WORST food I've ever ate. The pork burrito had NO flavor. Very disappointed! It was fatty too. I couldn't eat it. My husband got fajitas. He liked his. read more

We were out of towners looking for some tacos and happened across this little hole in the wall gem! Our server was great! Every time she asked my husband if he needed a drink, she'd say my friend! This lady was so amazing - I too wanted to be her friend! Miss lady, I will be coming back! When I do, we are friends! Great tacos, authentic guacamole, service on point. Gotta check it out! read more

The food is excellent. The atmosphere is very comfortable. The server was extremely nice , and accommodating. My daughter had beef fajitas, and I was taking onions from her. The server came over and stated I will get you your own onions. We were very please, and when we are in town will definitely come back. PS We have been three times to this restaurant in two days. We have eaten several different plates of food, and everything we have eaten is delicious. I forgot to add in the last one, the food is also very reasonably priced. read more

I came here because a friend from Texas recommended it to me. He said it tastes like the food he ate back home. The food here is different from the other Mexican restaurants in town. I get the fajitas where ever I go. They are seasoned different from the other places, but it is really good. It is a nice change! It is not decorated on the high end. It reminds me of eating at a place in Mexico. I'm not stereotyping, so don't take me the wrong way. The place is not a dump, just authentic. I think I will be back. read more

This restaurant is a family affair and it's my home away from home! Always friendly. I get hugs from Lupita when she is there. Alain and Alicia are also great. The food is consistently good. (Carnitas are awesome!) Their margaritas are suitably strong and tasty. If you like more heat in your salsa, ask for the off menu Tomatillo salsa. It's so good and well spiced. If you want your food with extra this or that, or without something, it's not a problem! Love, love, love this little place! read more

We love this place. We got the homey authentic feeling about it. Nothing fancy, but thats what we like it! Down to earth atmosphere with fantastic food! Our most fave and must have is their guacamole! Its the best yet, no kidding, we travel to mexico quite often, and i like zappata's guac just slightly better! Good job and keep up the good work! read more

This is my absolute favorite Mexican restaurant in tupelo. The service is great, the food is awesomely good with large portions and they margaritas are the best! read more

Great place for Mexican. My companion and I had combination plates. I had a vegetarian and she has beef. Both were well prepared and tasty. The chips were ample and a huge bowl of salsa was on the table. The wait staff was very attentive and refills of our drinks were frequent and plentiful. Try this place sometime when you are in the Tupelo area. read more

The atmosphere was extremely friendly. Best waitress I've had by far. The lighting is good and the fajita Texans is amazing!! The margaritas are a bit strong but really good and the Pima colitas are the best.. Very very satisfied with my dining choice. read more

Great atmosphere and food in a cozy and friendly setting. Their dishes come in choices of beef or chicken, pulled or fried and you can tell the chicken REALLY IS CHICKEN! (My pet-peeve is chicken that doesn't LOOK like chicken)! The tea is perfectly sweetened too. My favorite dish is the pulled-chicken taco salad and their white cheese dip. Love Zapata's and eat here often! read more

Came for the drinks, and left verrrrry happy. I have passed this restaurant nearly every day for months before giving it a try. While the ambiance is nothing special, the food and margaritas have blown away the local competition. For my meal, I had fish tacos, Zapata dip, and a small sample of chicken texicanas. The fish tacos (3) were individually wrapped, made with grilled tilapia, and very flavorful. My only complaint was that the fish was chopped into cubes, rather than placing a piece of fish in each taco. The Zapata dip was basic white queso with ground beef, pico de gallo, and onions. My friends and I gobbled it up before I could blink. But I'm saving the best part of my review for last. . .I ordered a pitcher of margaritas and it was the perfect combination of sweet and "twang"! YUMM-O and big enough for three people to have several servings. While this was my first visit, it definitely will not be my last. read more

Amazing!!! Ordered the tacos de passilla. The steak is very tender with bits of char that add so much flavor. The flour tortillas are soft and the perfect contrast of textures. The salsa served with chips is fine. Refreshing up front then a tiny bit of heat a little later. The salsa served with my meal was fantastic!!! Nice heat but not so much you can't taste the food. Next time I will ask for that to go with the chips. Will definitely stop in next time I am passing through tupelo. Would love to try breakfast but they are only open for lunch and dinner. read more

Dropped in because of the other reviews, only two. But it was enough. Found the food to be really Good with great service