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Best Mexican Restaurants in Nashville: Tacos, Tamales, Tequila, Margaritas & More in Music City

Whether you’re celebrating Cinco de Mayo, partaking in Taco Tuesday, or hoping to get happy during Happy Hour, the best Mexican restaurants in Nashville can spice up your life, and then some. Music City boasts a sizeable “South of the Border” selection of sit-down restaurants, full-flavored food trucks, and hole-in-wall hideaways. And we’ve got a little something for everyone. Looking for the best street tacos or tamales? Check. Feel like pounding a few margs with your better half or sipping shooting tequila with the troupe? Check. Want to take the kids out without breaking the bank? Check.

Now check out the Best Mexican Restaurants in Nashville. Or, peruse our list of the Best Farmers Markets in Nashville (you’ll find tasty tacos and tamales there, too).


Best Mex in Nash

  • Saint Añejo: Tequila
  • Taqueria San Luis: Street Tacos
  • Tacos Y Mariscos El Amigo: Tamales
  • El Fuego: Cheap Margs
  • Taqueria Express #4: Quesadillas
  • Taqueria San Martin: Burritos
  • Redheaded Stranger: Queso 1
  • Rosepepper Cantina: Queso 2
  • Pueblo Real: Mighty Margs
  • Cinco de Mayo: Outsider Office
  • Los Arcos: Entertainment

Saint Añejo

From a $5 shot of el Jimador to an $83 sipper of Clase Azul, Saint Añejo has a primo selection of more than 100 bottles of tequila and mezcal. They’ve also got a couple of top-notch bartenders who will help you sort through your agave queries. While you’re ordering your tequila flight (half off on Tequila Tuesday), add the house-made guacamole to your tab. Best guac in town.


Taqueria San Luis

  • Location: 369 Harding Place, Nashville

How do you spot the best street tacos in Nashville? Easy. There are multiple barrel smokers in front of it. And they smoke all day. The only social media Taqueria San Luis utilizes is its mile-long smoke trail bellowing down Harding Place. Go up to the literal hole in the wall (window in the brick building) and order a pollo taco, carne asada taco, and al pastor taco. If you’re feeling adventurous, get the lengua (tongue) taco.


Tacos Y Mariscos El Amigo

  • Location: 3901 Nolensville Pike, Nashville

Don’t let the exterior of Tacos Y Mariscos El Amigo fool you. Yes, it’s a converted gas station. Yes, you will be converted after eating there. There’s a massive menu, but head straight for the corn-husk-wrapped chicken tamales, choice of rojo or verde sauce. Or both. We always get both.


El Fuego Restaurante

$4 margaritas. We repeat, $4 margaritas—made from scratch with fresh-squeezed lime juice. Enjoy the simple pleasures in life without breaking your bank. Technically, El Fuego is an Ecuadorian-inspired eatery, but it still falls on our best Mexican restaurants in Nashville list because of founder Jose Merchan’s lime-squeezing dedication to the Latin libation.


Taqueria Express #4

  • Location: 361 Harding Place, Nashville

Not all Taqueria Express food trucks are created equally. But #4 is tried and true, and we vouch for it. For $5, snag the Chicken Quesadilla meal with rice and beans. But don’t sleep on the chorizo or barbacoa sopes. Grab both for less than $5. Cash only, during our last visit.


Taqueria San Martin

  • Location: 4199 Nolensville Pike, Nashville

Write this down: Chicharrón Burrito in Tomatillo Sauce. It’s the best burrito in Nashville, full of crispy pork rinds and slathered in green sauce. GPS the address, or you’ll drive right past the covert mobile locale.


Redheaded Stranger

If you’re easily offended with unnecessary vulgarity or you only eat Mexican food for the chips, skip down our f***ing list to the next one. For everyone else, order the queso at Redheaded Stranger. It comes with three house-made tortillas. It also make a special mention on the menu: “No f***ing chips.” Respect. Enjoy the atmosphere while you devour the Totchos (tater-tot nachos).


Rosepepper Cantina & Mexican Grill

Got a chip on your shoulders when it comes to queso? Rosepepper is your place. The queso with chorizo is served with house-made flour chips. And their jalapeño-infused El Fuego margarita is one of the best in town, but you’ve got to upgrade it with fresh-squeezed lime juice for an extra $1.50.


Pueblo Real

  • Website
  • Location: 1340 West Main St., Franklin

We’ll keep this real simple for you: order the Burrito Colorado and a 32 oz. Top Shelf Gold Margarita. Don’t even think about getting the 16 oz., but go ahead and call an Uber. Getting a great margarita usually involves personally knowing the bartender, but not at Pueblo Real. Consistently tasty—and, more importantly, strong—every time.


Cinco de Mayo

  • Website
  • Location: 4944 Thoroughbred Lane, Brentwood

The quintessential Mexican restaurant: good food that comes out of the kitchen quickly. So why does Cinco make our list? Easy. Outsider has spent thousands and thousands of dollars there over the course of the last two years. This perfect lunch spot is right down the street from our office. If you see a crew crushing chips, cold ones, and chimichangas at lunch—and you overhear them talking about SEO—it’s us. Say hello.


Los Arcos Mexican Grill & Seafoood

Family friendly, lots of seating, live music, karaoke, and good food. The Tacos Gobernador and the Coctel de Camarón are consistent winners. They don’t skimp on shrimp. Crack a few cervezas while you enjoy the tunes. Modelo Especial on tap is our go-to thirst quencher.