El Palmar

The Mexican restaurants on Summer Avenue can be categorized into one of two categories, sticky floors or slick floors. El Palmer has slick floors.

As much as I love the food here, I just went to the one-​stall ladies restroom and there was PUKE everywhere… no one had cleaned it up and no telling how long it was there. I walked out of the bathroom and a server asked me if it was bad– UM, YES PUKE ALL OVER THE BATHROOM IS BAD. if he knew about it why was it not cleaned up??? Disgusted

So we decided to branch out from our standard mexican restaurant lunch spots so we hit this place on something of a whim. The service was really good and the price was certainly right (several dollar cheaper than most of our regular spots). I would totally go back but I can’t say it was the very best mexican I have ever had. The salsa was good, the chips were freshly made, but the cheese dip was just okay… in fact the consistency of the cheese dip was different and interesting but not enough flavor. We shared an order of fajitas, that were a bit dry as they were overcooked, and a chimichanga which was huge but again not enough flavor. Upside is we went and got some of the ice cream 3 doors down and that was delicioso!

I ate here with my husband, kids, and a 2 of my friends. My friends had eaten here before so I came with high expectations. First lets talk about the service, or lack there of. Drinks were never refilled for starters. We ordered our food and it was brought out in shifts. It took probably 5 – 7 mins maybe longer for everyone’s food to come out. My husband ordered the beef flauta plate but it came out as chicken. He had to actually get up and walk 2 tables away because the 3 waitresses that were standing at the cash register were completely ignoring us. Actually, anytime we needed something, we had to get up and walk to the waitresses that were literally 15 ft away. I ordered chicken enchiladas. The overall theme of my food was bland and tasteless. I was begging for some salt or anything to give my food flavor. The red sauce that covered it was tasteless. It didn’t even taste like tomatoes or chilies. I wanted it to taste like something, anything. I could only stomach 1 of the 2 enchiladas because I felt like if I was paying for it I should force some of it down. The rice was also bland and so were the refried beans. I was pretty disappointed. We just moved to Memphis from San Antonio TX and are familiar with great Mexican and Tex-​Mex food. Also my husband is Mexican so we other make Mexican food at home. He was not satisfied either. My oldest son got a taco salad and didn’t like it and my toddler got corn dogs. Neither of them ate their food. The total bill was 35 bucks and most of the food got thrown away. When I told the waitress I didn’t like the food the waitress just looked at me. The only things I enjoyed were the chips and salsa, my drink (horchata) and my kids drink which was listed on the menu as strawberry milkshake but it tasted like strawberry aqua frecas. Overall I was not impressed with the food or the service. I probably won’t be going back again.

The food is very good. The service, however, is not. I think it will be a take out kind of place for us in the future.

was in the area getting ice cream and stumbled across this gem to satisfy late evening craving. to my surprise they serve breakfast chilaquiles all day! thank you. what a tasty treat.

I’ve been meaning to come here for years, and I’m kicking myself for waiting. Wonderfully authentic in every way — food, décor, even the Mariachi band. Perhaps the best (and most reasonably priced) guacamole in Memphis. The pastor and goat tacos were better than those I’ve had in Monterrey, MEX, with great homemade (I’m assuming) corn tortillas. My son had the enchiladas and were the best he’s ever had. Even the authenticity of the rice and beans made them special. As others have alluded to, the prices are more than reasonable, and given the generous portions, make this place more affordable than any fast food place. Oh, and the staff was extremely pleasant and helpful. Move over Guad…

It’s hard to find agua de horchata made from scratch and this place has it. That alone makes me come here often. That being said, I also enjoy their tortas de jamon. Other stuff in their menu are ok, I don’t switch it up much. Sticking to the basics, like fajitas and tacos. The staff is nice and they keep the place clean.

Guacamole was tasty and fresh but the chicken fajitas was tasteless and some of the worst I’ve ever had. See good reviews from some of my friends but this was a disappointing visit to say the least.

We went back for breakfast… mistake! Huge plates full of food… nothing particularly tasty.

Very nice, authentic Mexican restaurant. 3 different salsas were brought out with chips. I enjoyed the verde one the best. There’s no children’s menu, but when our waitress saw that my daughter was nervous about how big the portion was, she said the kitchen could make a smaller, less expensive version of what she wanted. I enjoyed the fajita burrito asada which was HUGE and only $ 6 with rice & beans. I ate half and that was all she wrote. I love that this restaurant has pictures of all their entrees on the inside of the menu so that if your’re trepidatious about a dish, there’s a visualization to show you what to expect. The daughter and I both left happy and agreed a return visit is in order.

We just had lunch at El Palmar and we really enjoyed it. We have eaten at one Mexican restaurant or another at least once each week for the last twenty-​five years or so, and this is one of the best. It was extremely clean without that bleachy or Pinsol smell. It is air conditioned and was very pleasant even though it was 94 degrees outside. There was a TV but at first it was not on. When they did turn it on, it was not loud at all and very unobtrusive.
Our waitress from El Salvador was excellent. She was friendly and attentive without being overbearing. She was quick to respond to every request we made and made us feel very comfortable.
I had beef enchiladas wish salsa verde and my husband had beef flautas. Both were very good. The rice and beans were pretty average but the entrees were marvelous.
First, however we had two kinds of salsa and guacamole as appetizers. There was one chile-​based salsa that was very full-​flavored and had a nice consistency. The other salsa, however, was made with tomatoes, onions and lots of cilantro. It was awesome! I’d go back for that alone. The guacamole was the some of the best I’ve ever had north of the border and I’ve eaten it every where from California to Texas. It was freshly made with chunky vegetables and perfectly ripened avocados. What a treat! The chips were so-​so, but everything we put on them made up for that.
We ate off of the luncheon menu, but the portions were more than ample and I brought some home.
This was our first visit to El Palmar but definitely will not be our last.

I agree with the earlier post, thanking others for previous reviews bringing attention to this taqueria. I have driven past this place too many times on the way to a more well known and very good taqueria further down summer.
I am a southern California boy who is very picky about «authentic Mexican food». Eating alone tonight I decided to try this place on a whim. I ordered to go and drove 5 minutes home.
As always when testing a new taqueria I ordered an asada burrito, asada taco and a pastor taco. The pastor was very good and the asada was average which means it was still pretty tasty. The tacos were only a buck sixty and the enormous burrito was five. My only complaint was the tacos had a single corn tortilla instead of the normal double, which would have helped being that these things were stuffed. There was no way I would keep all the meat in the taco which made for some tasty clean up.
The burrito was huge and almost had too much meat (sounds weird to say that). It fell apart on me and I had to grab a plate and fork. Good thing I was at home. All meat, minimal toppings.
Good mexican beer selection as well as the mexi sodas.
The place was very clean, and you could see part of the kitchen which also looked pretty clean. Also while I was there they were taking new menu pictures so I got to see a lot of the menu items on display. I was also the only gringo in the building which is a great sign if you are looking for good Mexican.
All in all this place was close to but not the best taqueria on summer, But I will return for that Mexican craving I get when I miss LBC

I gotta give credit to the rest of the Unilocalers, for doing reviews on El Palmar — because if not for them I wouldn’t have come across this place.
Food was Dee-​lish, off the chain, the bomb! I like authentic mexican over text-​mex, simply because tex-​mex is about some type of ketchup based salsa slathered, covered in cheddar cheese, upscale taco bell cuisine.
Basic restaurant, Univision is playing and people are chit-​chatting.
Menu is very expansive — burritos appeared huge, however I ordered the Cecina Encebollado — which was a shrimp stew, with tomato, potato, celerey, with cilantro, diced jalapeño peppers, onions, limes to garnish. I ordered two steak taco’s as well.
My wife had the steak fajaita dinner, white queso dip and she was very pleased.
My mother ordered two beef tacos, with mexican rice with sliced avacado.
They brought three different dips to the table and all three had some heat to them, but they were good
For the complete meal, 2 sweet teas and 3 bud light bottles, we spent right at $ 45.
The cool thing about the place, they had pictures of entrée’s — so if something looks good to you, try it, thats what I did with the Cecina Encebollado and I loved it. My grandmother is from the caribbean and she would make a dish called boiled fish and it put me of the frame of mind. Fresh, hearty, but not super heavy on your stomach.
All in all, I was very pleased.

This is about as authentic as it gets. Situated in an old strip center on Summer Avenue near Graham, this isn’t a place you’d typically discover by accident. But if you’re into the real deal Mexican dives, this is one you’ll want to visit.
What do I love here? Almost everything! Not kidding. The menu is really big and it always takes me forever to decide exactly what I want.
But of course, you always start with the chips and salsa. And right away you notice theirs is a bit different. Most places give you one type, but here you get three. There’s a chile sauce, a tomatilo and some other kind of chipotle flavored sauce. I have no idea what the official names of these are, but they are all good. And they are a bit thinner than your chunkier type salsas, so they give you spoons to sort of pour over your chip before you take a bite. Different, but delicious.
And I really enjoy their tacos, carne asada style, with corn tortillas and veggies. The portions are extremely generous and the prices are el cheapo.

Have you ever been sitting somewhere and you think, wait, I have been here or someplace similar? That will not happen to you if you have never been to El Palmar.
First of all, you cannot go to a place one time and think you understand the menu or begin to have an opinion about how things taste. It takes many visits and trying different dishes on the menu.
That being said. The first time I ate there I had the Chicken nachos piled high with chicken, sour cream, guacamole, lettuce and salsa. I also got a side of pork tacos. I thought that the meal was delicious. Another night I had a poblano pepper entrée, peppers stuffed with cheese and served with beans and rice. I thought that the dish was rated just above average. I have had take out tacos and burritos and have again come across thinking just above average. I give it as many stars as I did because it is authentic and I have not tried more items on the menu, it is also around the corner from my house. The night I had the poblano dish they had a full on mariachi band that roamed around the restaurant. Should you go, most definitely.

El Palmar serves the best real Mexican food I have found in Memphis. The menu is huge but everything I have had is good. We go here for lunch about once a month.
It is a no-​frills restaurant, but it’s cheap and is a welcome change from the garbage that most Memphis Mexican restaurants serve. (By garbage, I am talking about the kind of slop that the paint-​by-​number Tex Mex places serve.)

I went to this place on my search for the best guacamole in Memphis. The dining room is simple but the guacamole is the best I’ve had so far! We had some slight language issues — due to me not being able to remember how to say we’d like the guacamole out first but the food was good and the restaurant had an great customer mix for dinner. If you go by during lunch the parking lot can look busy. Overall, great food, good service, and good guacamole!