El Zarape

El Zarape The food is very good. The MOLE sauce is some of the best we've had in Georgia. The Verde sauce is also very good. The service was excellent, polite and fast. The atmosphere is casual mexican diner with booth and table seating. There is a small bar you can sit at. The restaurant also has several televisions. My only criticism is that the alcohol drinks are overpriced as well as a few menu items. A large quest dip is $17. To be honest, thats too much for what you get.

Update: We’ve eaten here many times over the last couple of years and they’ve been consistently good. Great experience at dinner tonight - very tasty Mexican food in a low key environment. We’ve been trying several Mexican restaurants in the area looking for basic, tasty food. I’m happy to report we may have found our place. The food had real spice, the serving sizes were excellent and the service was decent - all good stuff.

Exceded expectations. The food was tasty. They have chicken tamales on the menu which was unexpected and so delicious. Usually tamales are pork so my husband ordered the chicken tamales and raved about it. They had music the night we visited. A nice touch on a Friday night especially since it started just before 6pm. This place has parking which beats all the Canton Road establishments. We parked at City Hall to play it safe, We will definitely return to try other dishes.

Any time I'm near downtown Roswell, and have the time, I'll drop in at El Zarape! Unfortunately, I'm a creature of habit, so I pretty much stick to just a few dishes, most notably the "Burrito Supremo"! Service is always prompt, and the staff is attentive and friendly...ALWAYS! Which I will keep coming back!

This place has gone down hill fast! This used to be a great go to Mexican spot for decent food (not great but decent) and reasonable pricing. Recently the service and food quality have drastically decreased while the menu prices have skyrocketed.

Salty 🧂My lasting takeaway is the food had a heavy handed salt taste. Each of the three items I tasted all had the same over salty taste. The service was great. No complaints there. Everyone had a friendly demeanor. I like that in any place. Probably the best food feature was the chips and salsa. The salsa was fresh with a nice smoke quality. I try Mexican restaurants all over the city and really love the authentic cuisines that originate in the various regions in the country. Each has its own flavors. The problem with my experience at El Zarape had everything to do with the food being too salty. That something that kills a food experience.

The BEST damn beef soft tacos in the world! My favorite Mexican Restaurant i've been coming here for 20 years and will always stop by if in the area. Amazing tacos, with excellent seasoned beef combined with an excellent cheese blend and shredded lettuce. The salsa and cheese dip are always very complimentary.

Friendly and quick service! Free chips! Lots of daily and lunch specials! We have been passing this place for years but have never stepped foot inside. Finally, on a recent Tuesday evening, we gave it a try for the very first time, and they did not disappoint us! They offer a decent amount of both indoor and outdoor seating. We went for outdoor and they let us pick our own table. They don’t have fancy tables; in fact, our table was one of the common plastic foldable tables, but we didn’t mind the casual setup. They have (nearly) daily food and drink specials, and a lunch menu from Monday to Friday at $8.99 (soft drink included). Right after we sat down we were offered a good sized basket of chips with a small jar of salsa that was enough to pour into two ramekins. They offer a lot of menu options and many of them are priced very reasonably. We had to wonder, after seeing the portions of foods we received, with these price points, and giving out free chips, how much profit could they really make. Especially at this economically challenging time with everything being so expensive, they must not make much on the daily food specials, and rely on people ordering alcoholic drinks to recoup the profits. We could choose between chicken or beef (ground) for our items. To upgrade the meat would cost $3 for each item (e.g. to steak). We also ordered the jumbo house margarita which was one of the specials on Tue ($7.99). It was indeed a jumbo sized glass! And we felt the alcohol was pretty strong too! That special is definitely a good deal worth ordering. Our food was served on HOT plates! Even the server had to use hot plate silicone finger holders to hold onto the plates! Hot entrees on hot plates, this is definitely the way to go and we don’t see many Mexican restaurants following this practice. This was a big bonus for us! And indeed it kept our food remaining hot for a much longer time! As we finished our basket of chips, we politely asked if we could get more chips. Oh boy~ we didn’t expect the server would bring us another round of chips and salsa. They could have just given us half of that amount and we would have been super happy and satisfied. Now we felt like if we didn’t finish it, we would just be wasting a lot of food (we ended up packing them to-go). They could have totally charged us $3 or $5 for the refill and I think that would still be very reasonable! All in all, great dining experience, good food, great value, great outdoor seating. We will recommend this place and will definitely return!

Went for lunch yesterday. Had a wonderful meal with excellent service. Plenty of free parking on site.

I think this place is so good! Each time I get my food, I forget to take a pic because I'm ready to dig in. BUT I have only had their lunch special enchilada. It comes with rice and beans and one enchilada with some type of red sauce. I usually get lettuce, tomatoes, and sour cream on the side which is a dollar each. The food automatically comes with chips and salsa as well. Everything has such good flavor. I looove rice and beans as well. The service is awesome! Both times I've had to go food and both people were very friendly. The restaurant seems very clean and neat on the inside too!

Service was friendly and very attentive. Margaritas were great and tajin was offered along with sugar or salt on the rim the el Zarape queso was awesome and I really liked the house salsa

What was for years our closest and favorite low key Mexican has ramped up their prices so much we simply cannot justify paying so much in a dive bar atmosphere. Staff are friendly enough and food is acceptable for the former lower prices but certainly not for what they charge today.

I ate there Wednesday, August 14th along with a friend. Not the first time I've been there. Food came out slow which is unusual. We both woke up early Friday morning with severe food poisoning. I won't go back. The place was busy was trivia players. I hope everyone did not get sick.

C Lara at the bar, welcomed and encouraged hospitality. Everyone was nice and prompt. Chips and salsa was great and drinks were made favorably

Located right near Canton street, this is a true hole in the wall Mexican joint. There are reasons you should come here, but it's not food related. Out of my 6 years of living in this area, this place hit my radar twice. Once, bc I was new and wanted to try it out and again, bc I was tipsy and we all decided on Mexican after filling up at Gate City Brewing. Certainly a dive type of feel, and really old building. There's not much atmosphere here. It's reminiscent of a 70s Mexican restaurant. If you're coming here on purpose, it's either bc you're drunk or you want to get drunk. And hey, that's where I give my kudos to this place. The service and chips & salsa are both great, food is meh. Good news is they have 32oz beers. Takes me back to my college days in the 'Boro and eating at "The Hat" aka El Sombrero and getting 32oz beers for $3. It's a little more here bc, hey, it's not college and you're in the f'in nice part of Roswell where people sling dolla bills. But, certainly get your "drank" on here. The other people here on the night we stumbled in were all drinking ... huge party in the back getting lit and dancing, two ladies doing "moms night out" with the big gulp margaritas and elderly seniors having a blast. I had corn tacos with rice and a guacamole salad for my meal. It was ok. Ordered a to-go taco meal for my son. It's nothing spectacular. But, seriously, give them a shot if you're wasted or wanting to drink. You won't be disappointed on that front. I'll probably stumble in here again for exactly what I said above.

This good ole neighborhood staple has taken a tumble in service area. What once was a great neighborhood place with fast, friendly, good service with fair pricing has taken a turn and not for the better. After multiple visits with lukewarm food (soup), extremely slow service at bigger tables (3different occasions had to track waiter down to see him in bar area with his face in his cell phone), and pretty dramatic price increases, we are sad to say that we will be looking for a new home for our "favorite Mexican restaurant ".

The food here is good, not amazing, but we had a craving for margaritas and they do make a good margarita! My husband had the chicken fajitas, it was odd they do not come out on a sizzling platter like you would get elsewhere, but they were good. I had the pollo funsido which is a grilled chicken breast with queso cheese and mushrooms, served alongside some vegetables and rice. The portions are generous, the service was good, although it was pretty quiet in the restaurant today. They do have a pretty extensive menu of all the things you would expect from your typical Mexican restaurant in America The food is actually reasonably priced, but the margaritas were nine dollars each and my husbands beer was another five dollars and my daughters virgin daiquiri was six dollars, so out of a total $70 bill, about half of it was our drinks, holy cow. I need to pay more attention to that next time! Again, their food is good and their service was good as well.

This place has bugs. We found multiple ants and fruit flies in our margaritas. I had to tell them multiple times and they acted like it was normal. We asked for it to be free and they wouldn't allow it. This place is awful.

Its hit or miss. Sometimes good, other times so salty you can hardly eat it. We ate there often before Roswell turned into yuppy land. It was a hole in the wall byt the food was fresh. Yiu could sit, have a beer and wait for your to go order. Not anymore...

I'm a regular at El Zarape. This place is the go-to for excellent service and food. Try the quesadilla plate or the chili relleno plate. Both excellent! Everything on their menu that I've had has been outstanding. I've been coming here for years and the service and the people there are always fabulous. Great margaritas too! Salt or no sal?. Get sugar in the rim! Enjoy some live music with their house duo standing band. Great neighborhood joint!

We had a feast!! Thanks guys! All the food was great! We had chimichanga, quesadilla, chips, cheese, beans and salsa! It was all great. We got it delivered because as I type this the COVID 19 pandemic is happening. They dropped it off and had gloves on to make sure everything was perfect and safe. The dinner was fantastic and we will be ordering again soon! Pro Tip: for some reason door dash does not list their cheese dip but you can orders bean dip and put in the notes you want cheese dip instead.

Great food , service & ambiance we've been coming here for years now it's our very favorite Mexican restaurant!!!

Ate there a week ago. On recommendation from a friend I got the Tialpeno soup. All I can say is simply outstanding. Went at lunch and had great service. If you go please try the soup.

Delicious food that had a very good flavor. The service was very good . And it had a cute atmosphere with all the paintings and decorations.

Best overall authentic Mexican food in Roswell. Never a wait and food is always so good! Our go to Mexican place

Let me tell you something. When you're drunk.. this the spot. That's it. That's the review. Also.. they're open late on weekends I believe.

This establishment.... Now let me to you about this place. I brought my longtime girlfriend (now ex) of 4 years to this place for our anniversary & NEVER and i mean NEVER, have I experienced food so poorly cooked and served. If you're thinking about ordering the street tacos let save you the trouble and DONT. This place is worse than the Moes on Kennesaw Campus. And DO NOT get me started on the drinks. My ex-girlfriend found not 1 but TWO insects IN HER MARGARITA. They should call this place "El MIDape" for the poor quality of food and drinks. Server was kind enough to send it back but wow. Can I just say wow. Don't be sorry, be better El MIDape.

So we came up here for Cinco de Mayo after the "shelter in place" ended in Georgia from this accursed pandemic. We have lived in Roswell forever, and had somehow never made it to El Zarape. Mistake! This place rules. Is it the world's most gourmet Mexican food? Nope. Is it solid? Absolutely. Great drinks, and actually the vibe is perfect if you're not high maintenance. I saw a review that said it reminded them of a 1970s Mexican restaurant - isn't that what you want?! It's amazing. Hole in the wall Mexican is exactly what I'm about, and these guys just have it down pat. We ordered pitchers of beer - not priced bad at all, and they came out quick. We got some hard shell tacos - they were good, and just what you'd expect in hard shell tacos. I love hard shell tacos, and they didn't disappoint. Any review you read bitching about the food didn't order the pork carnitas. They were AMAZING. Crispy pork chunks perfectly cooked, tortillas, a full plate of rice, beans, tomato, guacamole. Just killer. We will be back for sure!

My friend and I eat here way too much now. It's the best Mexican food we could find in this area.

Ran by here on a night the kids and wife were gone. It was great to watch some football and eat a hot meal in relative peace and quiet. It was a Saturday night and the place was mostly empty. I sat at the bar, which I realize most don't do at a Mexican restaurant, but it gave me a TV to myself so easy decision. The bartender recommended the pineapple chicken dish (can't recall the name) and it was amazing. If it's not on the menu ask for it, lots of veggies, rice, grilled pineapple, and cheese. I normally stick to combo dinners at Mexican places but wanted to go more protein/veggie with a sprint triathlon the following morning. Everything went well together and on the right night I could have eaten the whole thing. That combined with the normal gorging of chips and salsa and I was very satisfied at the end. Next I'd like to come back on a busier night or maybe with the family to get the full experience, but this place was great!

This is more a note to myself, so I don't keep making the same mistake. To me, the gap between processed cheese ("cheez") and real cheese might as well be an ocean. There are times when cheez is OK - a slice of American cheese on a burger or cheesesteak, ... (actually, no other examples come to mind, but I'm willing to say they might exist). However, cheese enchiladas must never be stuffed with cheez. Nachos (real Mexican or Tex Mex ones. rather than goop you can buy at a ballpark) should have melted cheese on them, rather than being drizzled with cheez dip. Chiles rellenos should never be stuffed with quez. Same with queso fundido - if you say it's queso then a nice Mexican cheese like Queso Chihuahua or Queso Oaxaca should be used. So, when I got my chiles rellenos floating in goopy cheez that stuck to my teeth, or cheese enchiladas that I had to give to my dog, it makes me never want to eat at this restaurant again. This review would be a single star but for the ceviche which my son said was good (though tostadas or chips should be included in any ceviche take-out order) and their salsa is very nice. If memory serves, their pork in chile quajillo sauce is quite nice (probably because there's no cheez involved). I'll have to see if it still is.

Never order the talelapeno soup. The chicken was over cooked and hard as leather. very little rice and avacado. mainly a watery broth. I have been frequenting this restaurant for 23 years and the food is THE worst ever. Fire the cook. I couldn't finish the soup and complained and was billed anyways. Frankly, I don't feel well after eating there. The health department should check that kitchen.

The carnitas here slap! as well as the house hot sauces. Delicious tamales too! We will definitely be coming back

I lost my wallet here which had $100 in it...the wallet was returned but one of the staff pocketed the money....needless to say I hope the karma train steamrolls this place

I decided to try this place even though I'd heard mixed reviews. We won't be going back. The service just wasn't good at all. The workers were all sitting around, 3 families total, about 6/7 workers and it took an extended amount of time. We were charged for things we shouldn't have been. It wasn't a good experience and we won't be going back.

What a great authentic Mexican restaurant. The food is delicious, the staff are friendly and accommodating. Great ambience inside and outside. Highly recommend El Zarape.

The best tacos of my life, and I've been coming here for over 25 years. I used to think it was the cheese or the lettuce but it's all in the beef. They must make the ground beef with tomatoes because it's got that extra flavor and juiciness. Paired with the chicken soup and rice and beans, it's sure to please. Anytime I am near I detour to this place, today I traveled an extra hour on my already hour commute to work! Didn't even have time for pics, trust it's the flavors. You're welcome.

Our regular "Mexican spot" was closed today due to a water issue so we decided to try this place. It was VERY average (drinks too). So many other better restaurants for Mexican. Service ok..... just overall sub-par experience.

My friend had the idea to try out this place since we both wanted Mexican. She and I are very pleased. The food is great, the service was fairly quick and the atmosphere outside is awesome!

Always delicious. Always. The service is sometimes a bit slow, but the food is always great. The queso with jalapeños is the best I've ever had and the fajita taco salad is stuffed full--not just all lettuce. Prices are great, there's usually no problem finding a parking spot. No complaints.

I really like their carnitas. They also have good Mole sauce. I usually get Togo food and bring it home. But occasionally we eat in the restaurant and the service is usually fast and the food is served hot and fresh. My family typically gets enchiladas, tacos, fajitas and carnitas. We have 2 GF DF members and they don't have Ny issues eating here (hold the cheese on the beans)

I get that places are understaffed and it can be a busier shift. But if you don't have the staff, DONT KEEP SEATING PEOPLE! go on a wait and let patrons know that food will take a long time. Allowing guests to come in and be seated only to wait over an hour for their food is not ok. Asking for a manager who never came by the table. The server/host had to handle things. This is problem that can be solve by being PRO active not reactive. Food was ok, not bad but nothing to brag about either

So El Zarape is just down the street from my work so we go here often. Like once a week, or every two weeks. The food is AMAZING and the servers are always friendly. The margaritas are perfect for after work. There are only really two issues. First, they're kind of expensive for what they are. Be aware if you ask for anything at all extra, you will regret it when you see the price. A little sour cream on the side? You could get a large container at the grocery store for far less. A side of rice? $5. The little sneaky charges like that. But the lunch specials are a great price and they have daily specials that are amazing. The Monday taco special is especially a good deal. The only other thing is that if I order for my office, there's always at least one person who either didn't get their food or something was wrong with the order. If you have more than one person ordering cheese dips (they're amazing) you need to specify you need extra chips. They'll straight up try to hand you 3 orders of cheese dips for your office and one small bag of chips.

Basic Mexican food. Prices are extremely overpriced for the food you get. Definitely Roswell prices.

great service! my family and i always love coming here for the delicious food. definitely recommend

This place is quick and hits the spot. Visited here with my manager last week and had very low expectations. I was pleasantly surprised when our chips were crispy, salsa tasted great and my entree was served nice and hot. I ordered the steak quesadilla, lunch special. If you order the platter, you would get rice and beans with your entree. The steak was seasoned evenly and well. I'm not a fan of "salty meat" and was glad their steak in the quesadillas were seasoned just right. We had lunch here just before the lunch rush so we were seated promptly and was in and out within an hour. I look forward to returning to this spot for future lunch visits when craving quick, tasty Mexican.

They have great specials everyday of the week. The service has been excellent each time we have been & the menu has a lot of selection. Definitely recommend this restaurant.

I got theTexas fajita Presidente style I believe it's called. It comes with Bacon in it, well something happened where it was not cooked in with the food and was brought out as a side for us to add in. I broke the bacon up and mixed it in the food, of course it takes away from the overall experience doing it that way. If the bacon was cooked in with everything they was it should have been , it would have been much much better experience. That mistake and the only reason why I did not give this 5 stars. The fajita quality and serving size was outstanding and the best I've ever had. I'll be back

Had a good variety of food, came on a Thursday night and was pretty quiet. I ordered the vegetable fajitas and margarita. The vegetable fajitas were good came with guac, and the standard rice, beans, verges and with 4 corn tortilla wraps. Overall it was good. The margarita was to strong, my friend and I could barely finish because it was extra. I thought the atmosphere was pretty typical bar seating, booths, decorations. Our bartender was good, but it seemed like the staff was always in the back and didn't come to check on us until after we finished our meal.

I ate there a few years ago and was totally grossed out when I found a fingernail in the salsa. I told the management and they didn't care.

I have been coming to this place for over a year and can say it's by far the best Mexican restaurant I've ever been to! The staff is great, Aly is usually my server and she is always very friendly and quick. If you're in Roswell, come to this place!

We tried this place merely because of the location, but we loved it! The server was very nice and attentive. I ordered the chicken fajita nachos, and I must say they're pretty high on my list of favorite nachos. The cheese was queso instead of shredded, which is always a plus. The restaurant itself was very clean and neat. Overall I was very pleased with this restaurant and the service. I will definitely be back!

Just a block from downtown Roswell, El Zarape offers a nice option for Mexican food before going out for drinks downtown. The food was good and our service was timely, although we were one of 4 tables in the restaurant because of the time we arrived. I would definitely come back and recommend it if asked for a Mexican restaurant in Roswell. I had the chicken burrito combination plate and while the main entree was good the beans and rice on the side were just okay. The chips and salsa carried a level of heat that was spicy but not overpowering. 3/5.

Well, this place kind of surprised me to be honest. Out of all the times I've been in downtown Roswell i would have never thought to go here, and thank god I did. Decided to meet some friends that are leaving town and they picked this place, hence why being surprised about it, arrived around 730pm on a Saturday and it was somewhat packed. We quickly got seated and decided to order some appetizers. Got some Guacamole (the regular kind, vs the right now Guac, just ask the server) and some beers. Didn't know what to order, so while conversing with the waitress she recommended the burrito and fajitas. Going along with what she said, decided to get the Chicken + Steak fajitas, and damn Im glad I paid attention. The sizzling plate arrives, I let it cool down for a couple of seconds, and immediately get a taste of the chicken. Man it was delicious I tell you, not overcooked, very well seasoned, and on point, same goes for the steak. Overall, we will keep checking this place out next time we are in the area, such a good place, kind of sad that it took me this long to eat there. Check it out people!

Ordered the Zunami and it was absolutely amazing!!! Also ordered a steak taco which was solid and had GREAT pico but the zunami was the star. Will for sure be back!

Ordered delivery chicken fajitas presidente style (normal fajitas but with bacon, queso and mushrooms added). Big portion and incredible flavor. I will definitely order them again

We come here 2-3 times a month. Why? The food is perfect. The place is spotless. The waitstaff always friendly. Portion are almost too big! If you want some well prepared Mexican food. Come to El Zarpe!