What to Especta from El Azteca
Korey Elliott
Downtown Athens has been in desperate need of a Mexican restaurant (sorry Fuzzy’s and Taqueria Tsunami, you don’t qualify) and I was so excited over the summer when I heard that one was coming to the downtown area. El Azteca opened their doors soon before students started rolling in from summer break at the start of the Fall 2020 semester for UGA. Since their opening, I’ve visited this location four times, each time a rollercoaster of its own.
El Azteca has two other locations in Buckhead and Sandy Springs. According to waitstaff, the new Athens location was gifted to the owner’s son as a graduation present. The Atlanta locations have been around for years, having a great reputation and plenty of success in their area, so that’s what you might expect from the Athens location sitting at the end of Clayton Street.
Let’s start on a positive note: the food is good, really good. It’s even possibly my favorite Mexican food in Athens, a contender with the charming little hole-in-the-wall, Tlaloc. When going with friends, we start off with their queso that pairs perfectly with the fresh salsa and chips. Their chile relleno is my favorite in Athens, with the perfect amount of kick in the pepper being balanced out with the gooey cheese stuffing and batter fried exterior. I find that their enchiladas are not too heavy/greasy and I’ve enjoyed each of the three different sauces that are offered to go on top. A Mexican restaurant is only as good as its margarita and El Azteca’s lime concoction passes the test. Portions are large, drinks are good, and prices are cheap. I have nothing to complain about when it comes to the food.
The atmosphere is what you’d expect from any typical Mexican restaurant, but with a little bit of Athens flair added to the walls. The El Azteca logo is painted on the wall on top of a baby blue pop of color, along with a silhouette of the state and popular Athens street names. The star of the place is the bar that stretches almost half the length of the entire restaurant with enough room to seat all of your friends at once.
The biggest downfall for El Azteca is the service, which I consider to be just as important as the food. I’ve waited up to 15 minutes before even being acknowledged by anyone on staff. Workers would intentionally avoid the front of the restaurant where my group and others were waiting to be seated. You have to be willing to put some initiative into being seated.
The restaurant is severely understaffed adding more stress to the already struggling servers. Would you believe me if I said the last time I was dining at El Azteca I watched a server write “f*** you, I quit” on a piece of paper, hold it up to the security camera where the owner watches them suffer, and walk out mid-shift with every table packed leaving only 2 servers left? According to waitstaff, the young owner seems to have neglected his graduation gift, leaving management and staff to do the best with what they have.
It’s sad to see a restaurant with so much potential not taking advantage of it. I hope to see the restaurant work through their service issues and not let their great food and location go to waste. Overall I give the restaurant 3 of 5 stars, the biggest downfall being the service or lack thereof.
