Willy’s Mexicana Grill

I want to rate it higher but it needs a serious cleaning. We’ve been going to this Willy’s regularly for a long time.
Consistently friendly staff over that time. Food is good, for Willy’s.
We’ve often almost sat down in a booth and found it just filthy. This is a pretty common occurrence. We typically move to the next clean one. But good grief, get the cleaning process down.
You think of the cleanliness thing perhaps a little less as kids get older, but when they’re small, the dirtiness here is enough to get on your nerves.

I’ve been eating here about once a week for like a decade. It is my go-​to spot for when making dinner is not going to happen. I get the veggie salad, which is really enough for two people but somehow I always manage to eat the entire thing. Sometimes there is some turnover in the staff and the food can be a bit inconsistent (sometimes my salad is soggy from beans and pico that were not drained) but otherwise I would not change a thing.

This Mexican restaurant has very good food. The atmosphere is good but small. The price of the food is a little high but the quality of the food will balance that out. I give this restaurant a three star.

This Willy’s is located in North Decatur Center at the corner of N Decatur Rd. and Clairmont Rd. North Decatur Center is a busy strip mall with several small businesses including a FedEx Office store. During peak times, parking here can get tight.
Like Chipotle and Moe’s, Willy’s serves San Francisco Mission-​style burritos. The burritos are large and stuffed with a variety of ingredients including rice and beans. Also like Chipotle, Willy’s uses fresh ingredients — meats are marinated and vegetables are chopped in-​house. Unlike Chipotle, I’m not sure if Willy’s uses naturally-​raised meats.
Burritos cost about $ 7 – 8 each are are filling and satisfying. My favorite burrito is the cilantro-​garlic steak burrito which comes with sirloin steak that has been marinated in a cilantro-​garlic sauce. It’s a combination of two terrific flavors. I have my burritos wrapped in flour tortillas (wheat also available) and stuffed with everything: rice, black beans (pinto also available), pico de gallo, shredded cheese, and guacamole. Guac is an extra dollar, but worth it. In my experience, the guac consistently tastes fresh. I also like to ask for extra chopped jalapeño and cilantro.
Other meat options include adobe chicken (adobe sauce made from ancho/​poblano chilis and chipotle peppers), Sinaloa chicken (made from orange juice and roasted garlic), and chipotle pork. Burrito bowls are available for the health/​carb-​conscious. You can get tacos with the exact same meat options. They run about $ 6 – 7 for two.
The quesadillas aren’t bad. They come in two different sizes. For a meal, go with the grande (about $ 7 – 8). The quesadillas are made with whole wheat tortillas and ooze with savory, melted jack cheese. I like the steak on my quesadillas too, but the Sinaloa chicken (only other quesadilla I’ve tried so far) is OK too.
Things I like about Willy’s over the other guys are the free chips and salsa bar. The chips are hot, fresh, and oily. The salsa bar has four different kinds of salsa: chipotle salsa, tomatillo sauce (bright green sauce, great for steak), habanero salsa (spicy, but not as spicy as it sounds), and chili d’arbol (a little spicy and aromatic). Try them all and find the one you like best.
Service is fine.
Overall, this Willy’s is A-​OK.

Corporate reached out and took responsibility for the mysterious bone in the bowl.

Taken very good care of/​great service by «Crisly» who made me an excellent large burrito with a terrific attitude. Fresh, delicious, filling. I’m a big eater and it happily satisfied me!

Willy’s never lets me down. I could be having a crappy day and then a burrito from Willy’s can make my cares seem like nothing. I’ve been going so long I can remember when a steak burrito set me back $ 5.26 with tax. Now it’s a bit more but the quality and taste are still the same.
I despise cilantro but love the cilantro-​steak, go figure. I always get it. Tasty. I don’t use the salsas but they get high marks from my Willy’s dining partner. Chips are crispy and salty. Staff smile a lot.
It says a lot when there’s a steady stream of customers at off-​peak times, and other eateries in the same shopping center come and go. My favorite [home-​grown] spot for burritos in Atlanta!

Ordered two tacos (Sinaloa chicken, sinaloa tofu), and the Willy nachos with steak but none of the cheesy sauce; which came out to a total of about 15 bucks. Both tacos came with free tortilla chips, and there is a self-​serve salsa bar so you can take your pick of tomatillo, chipotle, or habanero.
Great set up! Except for the actual quality of the food. Something was seriously wrong with the taste and texture of the pico de gallo that ended up on our tacos and nachos… The tomatoes were flavorless and really mushy, almost as if they had been frozen and then thawed or otherwise reconstituted. I didnt get the sense that it was very fresh, at any rate. The tofu flavor really put me off, too – I have never really eaten a tofu dish that I didn’t like, until now. The marinade worked much better with the chicken than the tofu.
We are not coming back. Chipotle is right around the corner.

I had to come check this place out because my daughter said it was better then Chipotle. I can’t agree with here there, but my meal was enjoyable. It was a tasty stray for my normal meals. Like Arnold said, «I’ll be back.’

In my opinion, Willy’s is better than Moe’s or Chipotle. All of their food is delicious. Willy’s is amazing!

I’ve had Willy’s cravings for the past 10+ years, so it must be consistently good or I’ve been pregnant for a really long time.
Whether I’m craving a burrito or not, I’m always glad I stopped by. I think all their meats and tofu are delicious, and I especially love all the salsa bar options.
My favorite burritos consists of a meat or tofu with pinto beans, cheese, cucumbers, olives, cilantro, jalapeños (fresh and pickled), ½ corn and ½ tomato salsa, and a squeeze of lime. You can imagine this burrito gets fat, but nothing the burr-​istas can’t handle.
I love scooping out the insides with their complimentary nacho chips and topping them with tomatillo sauce and spicy salsa. Yumm.
Cheese dip and guacamole are decent, but I don’t get them usually because the burrito is enough good.
Hope they continue to satisfy my cravings for another 10+ years.

This places is consistently good. I like to get a bowl and cover it with the habenero sauce.
Not a big fan, though, of having to pay extra for the corn salsa and guacamole. I do wish that it was included in the price of a bowl.

It is hard to give Willy’s, Moe’s or Chipotle anything more than three stars because, well, it is what it is — solid, DIY, southwest/​mexican food. I have started to give Willy’s a chance after eating at Moe’s for so long and there is no question the meats are better. I like this particular location because I can grab something to read at the bookshop next door or a copy of the Loaf and just sit down and eat. I also love the salsas at Willy’s.

After trying so many different Mexican restaurants in the area and being disappointed, Willy’s was a relief. It was not AWESOME, but I really like the ability to customize my burrito with many different additions at no additional charge.
We got the Adobe Chicken Burrito. I added jalapeño, cheese, cilantro, and also took a trip to their salsa bar to take home some extra salsa.
The quality of the meat and ingredients was good. What we did not like was how they folded the burrito. All of the rice was on one side, the beans were in the middle, and the meat was on the end… instead of a little of each in every bite. If they could fold it the other way, it would taste much better and yield more satisfaction from customers, I’m sure.

A solid entry in the taco parade.
What really works at Willy’s is the ability to control every ingredient that gets on the tacos by guiding the tacoristas through the build. I love that. I really like that I can build a burrito in a bowl like it is one of those «salads» from the salad bar at Ryan’s. It just becomes a big meal of flavor clumps. Big meal, six bucks, yay.
Somehow, the place seems to be better quality than Moe’s and way better than the Mexi-​chain restaurants. The tacos aren’t as good as Taqueria del Sol but, well, I’m building them instead of the Eddie. I like/​hate that they give me free chips. I can’t help but mow them down when they are SO not worth the calories. They’re not bad chips but I don’t really need any more corn chips, well, for the rest of my life.
This location feels friendly and the screened in patio is a nice touch. I don’t find the staff particularly interesting or offensive. The parking can be a problem in this small lot.
I wanna really like it more than I do but it just doesn’t grab me. On the other hand, it is right in my path so it is a solid inexpensive meal on the way home.

I have been to most of the Willy’s locations in and around Atlanta over the past several years and this one is one of my favorites. Whenever my kids come to visit they always ask to go to Willy’s for two reasons: 1) East Hampton, New York does not have any San Francisco style burrito chains (that I or they know of) and 2) Willy’s was their favorite place to eat in Atlanta before they moved to New York.
My daughter loves the kids burrito with chicken (non-​spicy), black beans, rice, cheese, and sour cream (costs extra). My son loves the kids burrito with pinto beans, chicken (non-​spicy) and cheese. My son also loves the green sauce as an accompaniment to his burrito and chips; whereas my daughter prefers a side of sour cream (cost extra) to dip her chips. Willy’s is perhaps one of a handful (if not the only one) of restaurants I can take my kids and be sure that they will eat their food. They are picky /​finicky eaters.
I like the burritos, quesadillas, and salads. I think their salsa bar is ten times better than Moe’s and most chain burrito places do not even have a salsa bar at all. I will state for the record that my kids absolute favorite Wily’s location, is the one on Howell Mill Rd. The reason for this is because lots of families bring their kids there on Friday evenings and on Saturday afternoons, so it has a very kid friendly /​kid-​centric vibe — especially on the patio deck area of the restaurant. On Friday nights a guitarist plays songs for tips on the aformentmentioned patio /​deck.
But lately I usally stick with the N. Decatur location (near Emory) or the Moreland Ave location (past L5P in the Sembler complex). Parking at both of the aforementioned locations can be somewhat dicey.

Good and quick service Mexican restaurant. Recently went here and had a delicious spicy chicken taco while friends ordered burritos and thorougly enjoyed it. The best part about Willy’s is the cheese dip. A trip to Willy’s is not complete without the cheese dip. It tastes good on the taco and on the free chips that come with your meal. Love to get a quick Mexican fix from this spot and will likely return soon.

I’ve never really understood the appeal of Willy’s. Some of my friends swear by it, boasting about the great flavor, fresh veggies, etc, but, I dunno, maybe my taste buds are shot because the flavor just doesn’t burst out at me, or maybe they’re going for the subtle flavor?
With that mindset going in, I decided to try the Sinaloa tofu burrito bowl. I don’t eat tofu often, but they didn’t do a bad job with it, and, would you look at that, there was a little flavor in there! The bowl could be had for right at 6 bucks or so but their grilled peppers and onions blend is an extra dollar, although chips are free, although the dipping sauces are fairly tame.
I do like the vibe of this location, especially in the evening, in the quasi-​outdoor eating area, but during lunch, this whol shared lot, which is packed with multiple stores, can run out of parking spaces.

The Background:
A local chain restaurant that has good sized portions at cheap prices. This location is nicer than others given its proximity to Emory. This is a perfect restaurant for the college student in a rush.
The Positives:
The food is pretty tasty and you get a lot of it for the amount you pay. I am also a fan of their salsa bar which is a nice addition. The chips are also pretty nice, they’re thinner so they don’t taste as greasy as other restaurants.
The Negatives:
It’s not the highest quality food, but for the price and quantity, its definitely a good deal.

The steak here is really good, and so is the garlic chicken (forgot what the flavor was called.) Out of all the chains in this area for mexican, Willy’s definitely has the best steak. It’s flavored with a bit of garlic, and very juicy.
A burrito will fill you up for sure, and usually two tacos is also sufficient to satisfy your appetite. The quesidillas are also pretty good, and a grande one should be more than enough for one person. It’s not the best burrito ever, but for the price and if you are tight on time, it’s a solid play.