El Mariachi

One of the best Mexican restaurants in Indianapolis. The shrimp tacos remind me of the food of Southern California. Really great.

This restaurant has moved down the block from where it used to be. I never visited the previous location so I cant comment on how it was before. The new location is nothing fancy but the food and service where great. We ordered carnitas, a huarache and a torta. They were all delicious. The torta was huge and very flavorful. The carnitas had very tender pork and the huarache had a great crispy shell. This is some of the better Mexican food I’ve had here in Indy.

Best Mexican food ever! If you are looking for authentic food this is the place to go! Try the tacos and the Asia de horchata.

Rice and beans that we gave our oldest son was the best thing we ordered, and it was mediocre at best. My other son ordered chicken nuggets and fries and it was gross. Our authentic orders were not good, very bland.

Clean. Delicious. Authentic.
There are three Mexican restaurants at the same intersection and I am so glad we chose this one.
The décor is worn but did not spoil our visit because it was clean. We sat at the bar and ordered carry-​out, but I looked over the part of the restaurant I could see from there. The worn décor (old vinyl, dinged tables, stickers and papers on windows) is completely forgivable when I saw that the kitchen was in excellent condition.
I could see EVERYTHING and I was impressed with the cleanliness of the kitchen, the staff and the equipment. When they pulled prepped food out of the fridge it looked delicious and freshly prepared. All of the kitchen staff wore proper hairnets, aprons, etc. and followed sanitary codes such as no make-​up on staff and proper hand-​washing technique.
Things I did not like: I was disappointed to note that that they melted their yellow cheese in the microwave and that they did not make their own tortillas. They do make something using a press (I saw them do it, but I didn’t order it. It looked like thick like flatbread) but stuff that needs to be crispy and/​or thin (taco shells, etc.) they use premade tortillas (the brand I personally prefer) and fry them in-​house (if fried). I cannot speak as to whether or not the chips came from a bag or not. I did not order or see any.
With lousy décor, premade tortillas and, worst of all a microwave in the kitchen why would I give them 5 stars? Because the food is SO GOOD. If you like highly seasoned food such as Tex-​Mex you are going to be disappointed. If you like Authentic Mexican food with subtle flavors that allow each ingredient to be celebrated on its own, then you will love this place.
I ordered the Chicken & Onion Enchilada with Salsa Verde and it was incredible! Oh the sauce! The chicken filling was wonderful too. sooooooo goooooood…
PROS:
–clean
–sanitary
–delicious
CONS:
–Worn décor needs steady updates before it scares away the customers (at some point it doesn’t matter how good the food is.)
–Uses microwaves (the absolute worst!)

Meh. Salsa was bland, chips were out of a bag, and the burrito was incredibly flavorless.

Well, I have tried many types of Mexican restaurants, but this is one that can have the tittle of «Authentic» I have eaten most of their simple but delicious menu and now I come for the dish of the day whenever I can.
Definitely worth it!!!

Best Mexican we’ve found in Indy since we’ve moved from chi-​town. we will return for sure