El Cartel in Edinburgh, City of

Really nice mexican street food - an interesting short but varied menu, well flavoured and spiced. A special mention for the absolutely delicious berenjena tacos, and the jalapeno and coriander buck soft drink (which is fabulous and has a proper chilli kick). This aging goth loved the decor - make sure to check out the corridor to the bathrooms! Excellent, thoughtful and efficient service.

Absolutely smashed it. Loved the food, and the service was great. Had a fun banter with some folks and enjoyed our drinks, starters and mains. Would be happy to come back.

...but some of the flavors were just a bit off. The chicken and duck "carnitas" were both good. The tuna was a bit strange in that the tuna piece was a solid piece (see photos) versus being diced up ceviche style. The pork was just bad (how do you ruin pork?).

Awesome experience! Incredible service from Carmina!

It is an enjoyable place to visit and eat. Only drawback they don't serve coffee

Probably the best tacos I’ve ever had! All the food was great and so was the service. Cannot recommend this place highly enough if in Edinburgh.

The guacamole and corn on the cob were excellent and very flavourful but the enchiladas and tacos fell flat for me. We tried both vegetarian options, one was bland and the other extremely wet and hard to eat. Both would have been better with a different taco shell - the texture wasn’t very nice and it completely disintegrated when eating the taco. I notice however that the meat options are more highly reviewed so it may just be the veggie dishes that suffer from this if the recipes are different. As mentioned, the other dishes were very good.

Genuinely the blandest Mexican food imaginable 😂 couldn’t have had less flavour. And the staff was playing this terrible rap music the whole time? My god this place used to be decent and it is *gone*.

The worst Mexican food I have ever had!! Very bland. Pathetic tacos and wings. Would never visit again!

They canceled my appointment without any explanation right before the meal. How disrespectful!

Food was very bland no seasoning or flavour, severe lack of staff we had to keep flagging the one waitress to serve us, drinks order forgotten, then taco order not put through to chef. Tacos tasted awful when they were eventually served. Three bombers on menu came as two, when questioned told chef had made them bigger today so only 2??? Don’t make them bigger and keep to 3 as on menu or were they trying to rip off ‘Fringe’ tourists! The Roxbrough branch of El Cartel used to be good and closed down and Teviot is not up to it poor management and poor chefs - is a shame

Food is pretty bland and flavourless. Frozen cocktail was too icy to drink with meal and then eventually when I could drink, it was sour and off tasting. Save your money.

Some people recommend this place and it didn’t not reached my expectations. I’m from Mexico and th tacos are not very authentic! The pork tacos were so dry and is not real cochinita pibil, the carne asada tacos were ok but not great. The tortillas are handmade and real corn tortilla but they break very easy.mon top of that the service was not good. The only tacos we enjoyed was the tuna taco . They don’t have real salsas only bottled salsa and is not spicy.. if you are a “Mexican” restaurant you need spicy and real salsa. so disappointed ☹️ I’m not going back..

We left a lot of our food which never happens. Cod taco had a weird texture, didn't like the aubergine, corn on cob smothered in sauce but somehow didn't taste of anything, and guacamole was edible but, again, completely bland & served with plantain which was rubbery. Drinks were expensive and very small. There was a queue for a table so thought that was a good sign but don't let that fool you, food is tasteless. Definitely wouldn't return or recommend. Only positive was the man at the door who kept us informed of waiting times.

Pretty average. The tortillas are very heavy on the stomach and lacking in flavour. The toppings are good. Don't think I'll be returning anytime soon.

Nice meal, delicious fries. Unfortunately we could not stay longer due to the rule that children under 18 are not allowed in a cafe, so after dinner we were asked to leave. But that wasn't the cafe's fault, otherwise they would get a fine.

Visited during the fringe so it was really busy. Our food was nice with some good flavours, some were ok, other dishes were good. The food came out quite quickly and the staff seemed quite rushed. This place seems to have mixed reviews but the food was nice. The price point is a little high but hey, it’s Edinburgh in the fringe I wouldn’t return but had a nice meal

The food was beautifully served, but sometimes a bit too spicy for us. Perhaps sauce on the side or a mention of spiciness would sometimes have been pleasant. We first had to wait outside until there was room (about 15) minutes, but there were already 8 places available and they still let us wait for a spot.

Staff looked like they didn’t want to be there, ( except one girl, sadly not our server), food was good,except…. tacos, were disgusting, we sent it back, one of the two, queried why it wasn’t taken off the bill, to be told…. Well you ate half! Poor service, won’t be back!

An excellent eatery at which I partook of good Mexican grub between shows in the Edinburgh Fringe

Was really excited to try this place as the reviews are mostly good and always looks busy when walking past. Found the food pretty bland. The steak in the quesadillas carnes was quite dry. Ordered a variety of tacos as well, the only one we liked were the duck tacos. The meat & pineapple garnish were better than the other ones. The staff were lovely and attentive. However, been to better in Edinburgh for Mexican food.

We visited during the fringe and couldn’t book a table but despite a long queue only waited about 20 mins for a table. I love el cartel because the portions are small so you can order a few different things. The food was delicious as always and the service excellent.

The truth is, the food was average, it lacked more flavor. The service was rushed, they forgot to place our order, and in the end they were kind of upset when I asked to remove the customer service charge. (Which really was for the reasons mentioned). If you know Hispanic food you know that that didn't taste good.

Waited in the cold for 20 minutes to be told we don’t have a table despite letting in 10 people just before us. Offered us nothing terrible customer service

Kept us waiting 30 minutes outside in the cold to then tell us we couldn’t have a table. They could have told us before we started waiting

Food looked great we got in the queue having just got to the front we’re told to go away no table for us. Don’t know why we couldn’t have been told that before waiting 20 minutes in the cold outside. Would seem all organisation and customer service goes out the window at the fringe. Real shame that a nice restaurant is let down by poor management🥲

We queued up outside for 20 minutes in the cold to see everyone else in the queue before us get in as we got to the front we’re told sorry no more tables. No offer to book us in another time or anything just sorry you had to wait in the cold and rain. Terrible customer service. Shame really

Delicious, fresh, different & friendly too. Great refuge.

I miss this place so much, came here in April, looking forward to going again in September. Amazing food!!

I was expecting brilliant things from this place after recommendations! Sadly the food was all under seasoned and fairly tasteless. Love ribs and there's probably been more meat on a vegetarians chopping board. Colourful and bright food and service was great. Staff were bang on!

The vibes were great and so was the food and drinks. Staff were very friendly and also added to the great vibe. Ate the ribs and they were really good. Only kinda bad thing was that the toilet seat on the men’s toilet was broken but it was okay, still usable. Definitely recommend eating here !

Very nice food, we had the baby back ribs and the fish and duck tortilla tacos, corn, slaw and fries and a nice Mexican beer. Good prices and service, would definitely go back when in the city.

Sorry, not to my liking. Apart from the starter (a guacamole dish) I was unimpressed. But that's just my taste. Nice restaurant inside, service was good.

Had a great meal here the other night. Staff were really friendly and even gave my friend a shot of tequila for quitting her job! Potatoes were amazing, chicken wings were the best I’ve found in Edinburgh, get the dry rub! Cocktails were great, and the duck taco is the best on the menu!

Great experience but me and my gf both found the food under salted which is rare. Also the chopped mint and paper straws didn't work well on the mojito.

My husband and I went in for lunch. We go to El Cartel quite regularly but hadn't been in a couple of months. We were both disappointed with the tacos which seemed to have gone downhill. The pork taco in particular was so disappointing when it used to be my favourite. Mushy tasteless pulled pork with a few pickles on top. Nothing like what they used to be. We won't be back unfortunately.

Amazing tacos, especially the ones with tuna and duck and carne asada. I would return every time I’m in Edinburgh. Very nice service, good drinks.

Lovely food, two (afraid to say) totally disinterested servers on Monday 15th who were on their phones. Struggled to get bill, service. Maybe caught them on a bad day - food lovely though

Amazing. We thought a few two plates of tacos and the guacamole would be enough. Loved the pork so much ordered it again so we didn’t fight over it!!!! So good- so good

Amazing tacos - very fresh tasting - the tuna one was delicious but we tried a variety and they were all good. The drinks were fab i had a jalapeño / coriander soft drink that was great. The waitress was really nice too. My son recommended it as he's been several times. We'll definitely go back.

Food was great, cocktails were lovely. Service was ok although we were at the back and do feel we were forgotten about a couple of times but overall was great food and drinks.

So the issue is that all the soft-shell tacos all ended up tasting the same, they're basically a different main ingredient, chicken, beef etc. and then they have the same sauce and garnish on them. The drinks however are amazing! Gluten free are options available! Staff are really lovely I gave 3star for atmosphere as the Deliveroo app kept going off and no one silenced it.

One of the few places I planned on going out my way to get some food whilst in Edinburgh! Walked in at 21:30 just at last orders couldn’t get a table but I asked for a take out which was granted! I absolutely love “authentic” tacos but I was quite disappointed in these! Unsure if it was just due to being in at last orders but I’d probably never go back. Service was friendly and order was quite quick.

Very flavourless food, small portions and not cheap. If you want tasty Mexican then try any of the other Mexican restaurants in Edinburgh. All are better than El Cartel. When I provided feedback to the member of staff he said he didn’t agree. Strange response to a customers comments. We won’t be going back.

Excellent little Mexican restaurant with a great line in tasty tacos. The food is excellent and the range and quality of the tacos is varied and very well made. Lots of texture and flavours in each with a good range of spice as well. The small selection of specials is great as well, and the brisket quesadilla when we were there was excellent. Nice margaritas too! Service was prompt, friendly and unfussy. All in all well worth a visit when in town.

Love their tacos and frozen margaritas 🍹

Pretty good, unfortunately the soft tacos were underdone and flavourless. The chicken, duck and steak fillings were good. The pork was bland.

Absolutely fantastic!!! Really tasty and the flavours were so interesting and nicely combined.

Really good Mexican food, and a nice and fun waitress

Had a great meal at El Cartel, quality was top notch, we got so much food (I was VERY full) and alcohol and our bill was reasonable. Would recommend!

Amazing food! We ordered basically the entire menu between the four of us and nothing disappointed. The duck tacos were amazing 😋

I ordered a meal via Deliveroo. I'll start by saying that I'm not huge fan of Mexican food, even in the USA where it tends to be much nicer than it is here. But I wanted to try something new, and El Cartel's menu had several interesting-sounding items which weren't what every other Mexican restaurant in Edinburgh is offering. I'm vegetarian, and I absolutely loathe butternut squash, which many restaurants throw into all their vegetarian dishes and makes me want to scream. No butternut squash here, I'm glad to say. I had the bombers (a bit salty but completely non-greasy), the quacamole (not quite as good as what I make myself, but tasty and not too much cumin, and the plantain chips which accompanied it were unsalted and beautifully crisp), the sweetcorn (a bit bland, but not greasy and not full of cloying white cheese, as is often the case), the berenjena (wonderful: beautifully authentic tacos tasting deliciously of corn, with a filling of aubergine, which I thought was outstanding), the nopales (which my friend ate without offering me a taste), the frijoles (very slightly too salty, but very tasty with a rich, deep flavour), the totopos y salsa (wonderfully crunchy and satisfying, not greasy, and not too salty: so much tastier than the horrible heartstoppingly salty and rather greasy nachos you get everywhere), and the very tasty, very fresh coleslaw. Portions were generous, and it may sound trivial, but everything was packaged really carefully and thoughtfully in paper or compostable containers, so that the tacos remained intact and weren't sloshed all over the place. This is important to me: I want my meal to look good, and this takeaway meal did. I'm still not a major fan of Mexican food, but I enjoyed the freshness and variety of my meal. I like to graze hen I eat, and this was a very grazable meal.

We love the food in this place and the frozen margs are great , however … we have been in probably 6+ times now at the teviot location and without fail the service is a disaster every time! Our food order wasn’t posted and we ended up waiting 35 mins for two tacos in an empty restaurant, our drinks come out when our food is done, the server is MIA and we can’t pay or they’re missing ingredients for the menu. The staff are always very friendly and we really like it hence us coming back , but seriously staff training and management need massively upgraded. It seems like it’s everyone’s first day and they never seem to keep to compensate or apologise for the various mishaps . Pls sort it out !

I ordered chicken taco and papas fritas. Food was served within 10 minutes, and it was amazingly delicious. Top quality Mexican restaurant in Edinburgh.

Food was really good. Highly recommend getting a Tommy's margarita.

As the title says it’s not your typical Mexican food place which is a good thing. Came here on our first day in Edinburgh. I’m not a fan of the typical Mexican food that you get in the US but when I saw this unique menu I instantly wanted to go. The menu is more like tapas style which is great as I love to share. We got the bombers, croquettas, duck carnitas tacos, and Baja cod tacos (loved the added pomegranate in the tacos!!) All tacos come in pairs and are soft shell. Food came quite quickly as well and the waitress was super attentive. They had a large range of tequilas and mezcals but we did not get a drink. Highly recommended

Great place. Service was very friendly and efficient. Margheritas were amazing 🤩 as were nachos, fish and chicken tacos. Delicious 😋. Quite noisy as busy but adds to the atmosphere.

Friendly staff. The tacos are very delicious. It's a really good value for money. The atmosphere is well designed.

Fantastic tasty and fresh Mexican food.

Really lovely Mexican food. The tacos were delish!

This place is a bit strange. I love tacos - and am pretty experienced eating them including in Mexico and California - but these were provided to the table, with no plates, just on these taco stands which leaked all over the table. There were two puddles of liquid forming all over the table. So weird - maybe some people are OK with that, we're lucky we had a big table for 2, otherwise it would've dripped all over us. We had to use 3 napkins to stop the spread. The tacos themselves were OK (we had the fish and pollo ones), but were tasteless and very greasy. I also had the chicken wings which came lukewarm, with a tasty but strangely chunky sauce (with big pieces of spring onion) - and so was difficult to eat without knife and fork. Was also super greasy - I couldn't finish 6 of them. The margarita was good but £10. I won't be back (Bodega on Leith Walk has far nicer tacos and the cocktails were excellent)

We had small plates to share, which were really tasty and good portions! The elote, bombers, and especially croquettes were really delicious! Pork taco was great and the cod was nice but didn’t taste of much. Got some frozen margs which were great. Staff were friendly and helpful and the place is really cosy and has a nice atmosphere

My favourite restaurant when visiting Edinburgh. Great food, great and accomodating staff that aim to make your experience the best it can be and an amazing night all around. I would highly recommend it.

Absolutely amazing food. I'd eat here even if the price doubled.

We were greeted like old friends! What an amazing atmosphere!!! The food and cocktails was super tasty and the cocktails were well balanced and perfectly refreshing!

Brilliant night, food was delicious as were cocktails. Staff were so friendly and extremely helpful

Food was good not great. Drinks were really nice. Service wasn’t the best but the atmosphere was good in the restaurant.

I’ve visited El Cartel many times and have never had a bad meal! This recent visit was the same with great service and really delicious food! The Baja cod tacos were fantastic as was the guacamole with plantain chips - a fantastic lunch or dinner spot for Mexican-style street food!

First time here on Sunday, and wow! Everything was amazing. The service was rapid, the atmosphere was lovely as were the staff and the food ....oh my! Easily the best tacos I've ever had , the pork and chicken specifically were tremendous.

First visit here as we were going to see Hamilton and wanted to eat somewhere close by. Food was really good (loved the Tacos), portion sizes were big, the service was friendly and it wasn't overpriced (5 courses and a bottle of wine came in just under £60). Would definitely go back.

Had seen great reviews for the food here, but it was underwhelming. The plantain guacamole was delicious but the nachos and tacos were disappointing.

Nice food, lovely frozen margaritas. Good service. Soft taco shells were too thick for my liking.

Nice selection of food and the spicy drinks were particularly good. Edit 2024 - why have a scannable QR code which takes you to a page which makes you download a pdf instead of just showing you the menu - incredibly annoying. Sadly the food quality had also declined since our last visit.

Great place, nice staff good food

Lovely staff, but the vegetarian options were disgusting.

Food and atmosphere were great. However, my friends all chose to go there due to the website saying there was a 5£ frozen marg special Monday - Wednesday. When we asked about it, they said the frozen marg machine was broken. When we asked if they would honor the 5£ special, then, with a regular marg, they said it would not be possible. We asked a second time, since we had come specifically for that, but they said no. It was disappointing and cast a shadow over our experience.

Maybe it was a once off but the food wasn’t as good as previous visit. Lacked flavour, lacked heat. Really need to improve . So many good restaurants in the area. Would avoid now

Fantastic food and fantastic service. Great cocktails too!

Amazing food and service, Jeezy was very professional and made our experience unforgettable!!🫶

Went with friend for something to eat before gig, food was nice, service OK. At no point were we told that they did not take cash payments, good job one of us had a card with us. We were told only take cash tips, also when we asked for the bill and the waitress brought said bill she hovered for us to pay, no time to check, was a bit off putting. We checked on way out tonsee if any signs for card only payment but nothing. Yes most people have card, but on this occasion one of our party only had cash.

Not much to say but it was awful . Waiters all friendly but the food was such a let down ! It was tapas style which is fine but there was no flavour to the food apart from the tacos and not in a good way ! The wraps that they came on were absolutely vile and had a strange taste . We did tell the waitress who said she would pass it on to the chef . The meal came to £55 and we had 5 tapas dishes and 1 soft drink and a Diet Coke. We left very hungry and felt very ripped off at £55 . never again .

I’ve been here twice now when visiting Edinburgh. I came back the second time for the street corn! It’s the best street corn I’ve ever had and one of the most delicious things I’ve ever had in general. The rest of the food is also really really tasty. My favourites are the cod tacos. The spicy margaritas are addictive. It’s got a jalapeño and coriander syrup in it, I don’t even like coriander but there’s something about these cocktails that are just divine. They also catered really well to my sister in law who eats halal. The service is fabulous and I’ll definitely be back next time I’m in Edinburgh!

Food was excellent and brought very quickly. Spicy Marguerita was very good.

The food is delicious but we booked a table, weren’t told upon booking it was a 90 min slot, and were asked to leave before we had finished eating as they needed the table for someone else. Service wasn’t fast so a 90 min slot was definitely unreasonable!

Small but cozy restaurant, rustic and street food in style. Make sure you get a table away from the door on cold days. Food was great, although a little disappointed there were no desert options, which would have finished the meal nicely.

Can’t fault - great food, really friendly staff. Went for an easy dinner and was mega impressed, good tunes / atmosphere

Great place to eat and not out of this world for price. Cocktails are worth checking out too.

Really poor Mexican food. Not nice fresh or tasty. Over salted mushed together meat in an over cooked taco. Rude male waiting staff who was at the door when we arrived slightly early. Basically told us to go away. When we came back on time for our table not one person acknowledged us for ten minutes. Food is very very poor for “Mexican” food. I honestly cannot see where the good reviews come from!!??

Tacos were great and people were really nice

Everything about our visit was great! The food was delicious, the recommendations from the servers were spot on and the atmosphere was fun. We visited for lunch so I’d like to go back and try this place in the evening. I’m not a huge tequila fan, but it was nice to try some as part of the experience. The drinks were on the expensive side but probably typical prices of any restaurant in Edinburgh. I’d definitely recommend El Cartel!

The food and drinks here were phenomenal. Tacos, in particular, were so fresh and mouth watering. The La Passionada cocktail was genuinely one of the nicest cocktails I've ever had and I'd go back just to get another one.

Awful experience! Staff were rude and the food was cold. They automatically add service when actually they do not deserve it. All our meat tacos were cold and just no flavour. Very disappointed unfortunately

Spent NYE dinner here with friends from outside the city and everyone was raving about the food, drink and atmosphere 🙌

healthy, delicious, fairly authentic Mexican cuisine taste (my guess), with upbeat background music to start our afternoons (opens at 12:00 noon, as of 2024 Jan)

We managed to get a table without booking as we decided to dine there on the spur of the moment. And what a fortuitous find it was. Amazing cocktails (the spicy margarita is lush) and fantastic tapas style small dishes to share. Of the 12 or so items we had, every one was great, I'd happily have several helpings of any one of them. The service was excellent and the place had a great vibe. Highly recommend.

Food wasn't as good as previous visits

We had three types of tacos and the bombas and everything was 10/10. Would come back in a heartbeat.

We love this place quick and delicious

I am from California. I know what good Mexican food is supposed to taste like. Who knew that I would find such wonderful Mexican food in Edinburgh? Alas, I found El Cartel on the last day of my trip or I would have gone back multiple times.

Excellent service, excellent food, superb tequila! Usually very busy but absolutely worth the wait