El Metate - Knoxville's Mexican Restaurant

Disappointing, use to be our favorite place for Mexican food but something has definitely changed since our last visit. My favorite dish, nachos carne asada, was the same price but the portion was smaller. My husband ordered 2 a la crate burritos ( they mistakenly brought and charged us for 3 ). The were the usual size as he had always gotten; however, after they were delivered to the table, a different waitress came over to deliver a message. She wanted to let us know that the burritos they brought were not the size of the normal a la carte burritos and that cook had made a mistake, but they were gonna “leave it like that”. We paid 2.75 for a coke and another 2.75 for a refill. When we went to pay the bill the waitress couldn’t get my card to run, she was so rough with it I thought she was going to brake it. After few attempts she smugly turned to me and said, “You don’t have another card?” Sadly, that’ll be our last trip there.

Very delicious and warm food. The service was of great quality and always around if needed. There are no issues with bad habits and a very clean establishment. A good environment for the family and some entertainment to boot. My only hangup was how eerily quiet and low. I guess we would say the "ambiance" just wasn't quite striking enough for my tastes. However, don't let this discourage you from trying to eat here! Parking: Wasn't packed when we ate out. Kid-friendliness: Kids menu

El Metate has been our go to if we want Mexican Food in our area. We tried other Mexican places but this one stood out. Service 5star. Complimentary chips and salsa have been consistently fresh and taste very good. I typically order shrimp and rice, either with queso or just sauteed with chipotle. I also like their beans. My husband loves the vegetarian bowl. The California Burrito is delicious, huge and lots of meat; either you split it or not to eat it if you have a hard time digesting meat. Shrimp Ceviche is refreshingly tasty. Although am not particularly fond of their beef dish (i think it was steak fajita). The margarita is not watered down, so it’s good to try. Nice to seat at the patio when not too hot or cold.