El Mercado - Austin

Renowned for its authentic Tex-Mex cuisine, this restaurant has become the local benchmark for excellent Tex-Mex food in Austin. The food is top-notch, and the service is equally impressive, with attentive staff who monitor your meal without missing a detail. We'll definitely be returning soon!

I visited the restaurant for brunch and had a wonderful experience. The service was exceptional, the food was tasty, and the drinks were both enjoyable and reasonably priced.

We absolutely adore this restaurant! Be sure to request Yvonne as your server; while everyone here is fantastic, we've really come to know and love her from our frequent visits! Every dish is delicious, from the queso to the enchiladas, and the drinks are always on point. We've never had a bad meal here. One of the little details we enjoy is the music; they play a great mix of blues, soul, and classic pop/rock. We'll be chatting, and suddenly we'll all pause our conversation to join in singing along, lol!

Best tex-mex I've ever had. 10,000% recommend the migos brunch meal! The atmosphere is very nice and colorful. It's not too hot or cold and the service is great! The wait was a little long, but from what I heard from relatives to go often, it's usually much shorter. Overall, I had a great experience, and I left with a full stomach. Now I'm gonna go into a food coma

Despite the medium scores I still love El Mercado. I really miss their stuffed fried chicken avocado and they had the best Chicken Fried Chicken plate in town years ago. Moved out of Allendale and the menu shrunk. But it's still good. Back then El Mercado was the best. I believe they won lots of Chronicle awards so it wasn't just me. Anyway, I go a couple of times a year just to see if old favorites or something new appears. It's definitely among the best in the vicinity.