When the craving for delicious Mexican food strikes, look for a local gem. A weekday family meal, date night, a special birthday, or takeout after a long day, Abuelo’s has something for every occasion.
The best Mexican restaurants offer authentic flavors, freshly prepared dishes, a warm and welcoming atmosphere, special dietary needs accommodation, and true menu variety.
Abuelo’s Mexican Restaurant brings all these qualities together. Our Texas-born restaurant pairs made-from-scratch cooking with traditional Tex-Mex favorites in a festive, family-friendly Mexican restaurant. With locations stretching from Peoria, Arizona, to Fort Worth, TX, Abuelo’s covers the map with zesty Mexican food.
How To Tell if a Mexican Restaurant is Authentic
Entering the ranks of “authentic” Mexican food doesn’t boil down to any single recipe. Mexico’s cuisine spans many regional traditions from Gulf Coast seafood in Veracruz to the Tex-Mex cooking style of the Texas borderlands and the citrus-marinated meats of the Yucatán. Tex-Mex food is a tradition that was born from Tejano cooking in our home state of Texas. Traditional Tex-Mex items include fajitas, chile con queso, and hearty combination platters. At authentic Mexican restaurants, you can find hand-mashed avocado, real chiles, and homemade tortillas. Specialty salsas, sauces, and flavors with deep local traditions add another layer of authenticity.
At Abuelo’s, we make our salsas, sauces, tortillas, and sides from scratch, and we hand-roll our enchiladas. Our menu pairs Tex-Mex classics with dishes inspired by coastal and interior Mexico, like fish in a Veracruz-style sauce and Yucatán-style barbecue shrimp. Diners from Peoria, AZ to Lakeland, FL enjoy the chips and house salsas. Watch our chefs in action as they prepare authentic Mexican food from scratch.
What Are the Best Mexican Dishes to Try at a Restaurant Near You?
Some of the most popular dishes at our restaurants across locations are fajitas, enchiladas, empanadas, chile rellenos, tamales, queso, and hand-mashed guacamole. We love to see what the locals order across our many locations. Here are the most popular items:
- Fajitas. Fire-grilled steak, chicken, or shrimp served sizzling-hot along with vegetables and flour or corn tortillas made fresh in-house. Our community in Lakeland, Florida, enjoys the steak fajitas.
- The Grande. Beef, chicken, and cheese enchiladas with a chile relleno, a tamale, and a crispy taco. It’s a frequent pick in Lubbock, Texas, and in Peoria, Arizona.
- House specialties. Our signature Pork Abrigada and bacon-wrapped stuffed shrimp are known as local must-haves in Amarillo, Texas.
- Mexican desserts. Flan and tres leches cake earn praise from our locals in Midland, TX.
For a Mexican food aficionado looking to branch out from tacos, a good place to start is a chile relleno, a roasted chile pepper stuffed with cheeses, fried, then topped with made-from-scratch sauce. Seafood fans can try grilled fish with a Veracruz or Guerrero sauce. For the adventurous table, a fajita combo lets everyone sample several proteins at once. You can explore Abuelo’s Mexican food menu online; availability varies by location.
Where Can You Find a Great Mexican Restaurant for Groups and Families?
Mexican food is festive, convivial, and made for sharing, which makes it a natural choice for family dinners, group events, celebrations, and special moments. At Abuelo’s, we meet the needs of large groups with our varied menu that has options for kids and different diets, plus comfortable seating and fun spaces.
Abuelo’s Just for Niños menu serves guests 12 and younger with cheese enchiladas, quesadillas, tacos, tamales, and grilled chicken, each with rice and beans or fries. We are happy to provide high chairs, and kid-friendly service is our specialty.
For a party of six or more, it never hurts to make reservations ahead of time. Every Abuelo’s location offers online reservations and waitlist sign-up. For birthdays, rehearsal dinners, office parties, and more, we have private party rooms available in Peoria, AZ, Rogers, AR, Lakeland, FL, and in seven of our Texas locations. If you are hosting your event elsewhere, Abuelo’s Mexican Food Catering brings fajita and enchilada buffets to you.
Is Mexican food suitable for people who are vegetarian or gluten-sensitive? Yes, and Abuelo’s publishes a menu for each! Our vegetarian menu includes favorites like vegetable fajitas, avocado enchiladas, a cheese and grilled-vegetable chile relleno plate, and a baked vegetable quesadilla. Abuelo’s tortillas contain no animal products. Our gluten-sensitive menu includes soft corn tacos, tamales, a ribeye, and shrimp or vegetable fajitas wrapped in corn tortillas or romaine. It is a gluten-sensitive menu, not a gluten-free guarantee, since products containing gluten are prepared in the same kitchen. Guests with celiac disease or food allergies should mention them to their server or manager and talk about ingredients and preparation before ordering.
Is A Mexican Restaurant a Good Choice for a Date Night?
For a romantic dinner or special occasion, the setting matters as much as the menu. Date nights call for an enticing dining room, attentive service, entrées that define the moment, and a strong cocktail list. We also serve delicious mocktails featuring exotic fruit flavors like dragon fruit and desert pear.
Every Abuelo’s is designed to feel like an open-air Mexican courtyard, blending a spirit of time-honored tradition with modern Mexican décor. Imagine a spacious room that feels like dining in a garden in Mexico, complete with murals and artwork. If you are looking for a memorable night out, Abuelo’s has showstopping specialty items such as their Los Mejores de la Casa, a beef tenderloin medallion with bacon-wrapped, jalapeño-stuffed shrimp and Pescado Parrilla, sea bass, mahi, or tilapia with a Guerrero or Veracruz sauce.
Pair dinner with the hand-shaken El Jefe or a Raspberry Hibiscus Margarita, and share a flan for dessert. Weekends can get busy, so check your local Abuelo’s page for reservations and waitlist options before you go.
Can You Order Abuelo’s Mexican Food for Delivery or Pickup?
Online ordering makes it easy to get restaurant-quality Mexican food at home or the office, and some dishes travel better than others. Sauced dishes hold up best. Menu items like enchiladas, burritos, tamales, and chile rellenos stay moist in transit, and rice and beans reheat well.
Abuelo’s offers pickup, curbside, and delivery through our website’s online ordering. Choose your restaurant to see its menu, pickup times, and whether delivery reaches your address since options vary by location. If you are feeding a larger group, Abuelo’s Mexican Catering covers office lunches and parties.
How Can You Find Authentic Mexican Food Near You?
In Lubbock, where Abuelo’s has its home base, the restaurant is at 82nd Street and Quaker Avenue, south of Loop 289, with outdoor seating and a party room. In Hurst, the restaurant sits on Airport Freeway just west of Precinct Line Road, an easy stop for Mid-Cities locals and DFW travelers alike. Up in the Texas Panhandle, the Amarillo restaurant on SW 45th Avenue has a party room that hosts a large group of guests, with a stage, a dance floor, and audio-visual equipment for special celebrations.
Out west, the Peoria, AZ location near Arrowhead Fountains Center features indoor atrium dining. Our Lakeland, FL restaurant is in Lakeside Village and offers several dining areas.
Abuelo’s also serves Abilene, Arlington, Fort Worth, Midland, and Tyler, Texas, along with Rogers, Arkansas and Wichita, Kansas. Each location page lists hours, directions, the local menu, and reservation links. Find an Abuelo’s Mexican restaurant near you.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I find the best Mexican food near me?
We recommend searching for the occasion or dish you want, not just “Mexican food.” Then compare nearby restaurants on menu selection, whether they cook from scratch, recent reviews, atmosphere, and ordering options. You can count on Abuelo’s for delicious, authentic Mexican cuisine if you’re in Texas, Florida, Arizona, Arkansas, or Kansas. Use our Abuelo’s restaurant locator to find the nearest location.
What should I look for in an authentic Mexican restaurant?
Authenticity comes from regional preparations, house-made staples, and an insistence on freshness. Look for house-made tortillas, salsas, and sauces, fresh ingredients like hand-mashed avocado and real chiles, and traditional cooking methods. Abuelo’s makes our tortillas, salsas, and sauces from scratch and we blend Tex-Mex classics with coastal and interior Mexican dishes.
Where can I find a Mexican restaurant for a family dinner or large group?
We’re proud to offer a broad menu with many shareable dishes and spaces with big, cozy seating. Abuelo’s offers a kids’ menu for ages 12 and under, online reservations, and private party rooms at ten locations. Call ahead or check reservation availability.
Can Mexican restaurants accommodate vegetarian and gluten-sensitive diets?
Yes. Many Mexican restaurants offer both, since corn tortillas, beans, rice, and vegetables are staples of all Mexican cooking. Abuelo’s publishes dedicated vegetarian and gluten-sensitive menus.
What makes a Mexican restaurant a good choice for date night?
An inviting atmosphere, unique ambiance, friendly service, excellent food, and well-made cocktails. Abuelo’s restaurants are designed to feel like a romantic Mexican courtyard, and our house specialties and handcrafted margaritas suit a special evening.
Can I order Mexican food for delivery near me?
Yes, a versatile, authentic Mexican restaurant can offer a great experience for those who eat onsite as well as those who order online for pickup and delivery. Abuelo’s takes orders online for pickup, curbside, and delivery; choose your nearest location to see our menu and whether delivery reaches you. Order Abuelo’s online.