El Mariachi in Tonbridge and Malling

Having fancied a Mexican for awhile and not wanting to go to a 'franchise' we found El Mariachi after a quick search. We had an excellent experience! The atmosphere was spot on. The staff were helpful and polite throughout. I had the beef burrito, my wife had the chicken tacos and my toddler daughter had the loaded potato skins. The food was delicious and hearty with all plates being finished! We finished the evening off with the churros which you cannot go wrong with! We loved the whole experience and was real value for money. Cannot recommend El Mariachi enough, we'll be visiting again for sure. Give it a shot!

Our first time here tonight as we had heard good things. Cocktails were lovely, food was bang average but nothing wrong with it, all served very quickly. Young boy serving us however had a HUGE attitude problem, few rude sly comments and made us feel as if we were a hindrance, then gave my mother in law the most awful look as we were leaving. Unfortunately deciding factor that we won’t be returning

Lovely food, quite a varied menu, but not much choice for gluten-free and the plates could be better presented and filled more. Just enough filling for the 4 tacos I had, and kids menu on the light side too.

Fantastic food, amazing selection of cocktails and a wide range of sombreros to choose from!! Great atmosphere and lively clientele make this a great place to celebrate birthdays and special occasions of the more rambunctious kind. Highly recommend!

Such tasty food, very reasonably priced . The staff were absolutely brilliant and attentive. Great experience on a busy Friday evening, will certainly return.

Lovely meal, and very reasonably priced. 1 minor criticism was the condiments (ie sour cream etc) you get with the fajitas was on the stingy side and just about filled 2 tortillas, let alone the 4 you get with the meal. Also not sure I understood or quite enjoyed the blue dye and glitter round my glass of sangria. But food really tasty! Great service, very attentive and friendly young waitresses. Will definitely be back.

Fantastic Meal. Six of us went this evening, and the meal and at atmosphere of the place were great. The service was excellent. All meals arrived together and in good time. Food is excellent and the menu varied, including sea food. All in all, it was a wonderful evening, and we will definitely be back.

Nice party menu. Very good value. I love it when I get to wear my Mexican party hat. It makes me feel like a Bandito roaming the plains and hunting down the gringos

Booked here for a birthday meal. The food was fantastic, portions very generous and the service was excellent. The only downside was that you can't tip on cards and we had no cash on us so the servers didn't get a tip. Can't wait to go back again.

Great for meeting friends, laughing and enjoying good food. The team were able to adapt the menu for my food intolerances, without a fuss, which added to a great dinner out.

Simply perfect! Amazing food, wonderful and friendly staff,good choice of tequilas a must visit will continue to eat and drink from this fine well established restaurant

The costumer service was outstanding and the food was exactly what i was looking best Mexican 🇲🇽 restaurants I ever visit highly recommended 👍👍👍👍Definitely come back again and again with my family

No booking to an empty restaurant & given a time limit. I went with a friend that recommended this very restaurant. Out of courtesy both my friend & I chose a meal that wouldn't take too long. I was not all impressed by the flavour. There were flies around the place, so tried to look past that! Every 15 mins or so a new waitress would veer to take the plates in the space of 1 hr and urged for the next dish. Even before finishing one meal. I found of poor grace & put us off wanting to even order more. After complaining to the rude approach of disturbing a meal. The manager admitted that they wanted the table for someone else. So rushing us to eat and force the bill then shove us out in making us feel uncomfortable. I've never felt so disgusted with the atmosphere and attitude of a restaurant. Not recommended at all.

We visited this bustling restaurant on a Saturday evening. It is conveniently located in the centre of town and it was very busy, which led to a good atmosphere. The staff were attentive and helpful. The food was average in my opinion. The mushroom starter, was not great at all - deep fried to within an inch of its life, leading to rock hard breadcrumbs and tiny mushrooms inside. We ordered the sirloin steak main course and were left feeling disappointed - the steak was extremely thin and was really no more than a minute steak. We were asked how it should be cooked, and after ordering rare steaks, they arrived sizzling on a red hot skillet - of course this meant that the skinny piece of beef simply carried on cooking for the duration of the meal, resulting in a very tough, hugely overcooked offering. Not enjoyable at all, however the flavours of the sauces etc… were good. Looking back, I suspect we chose badly, and I am sure that the more traditional offerings such as Burritos or Enchiladas would have been delicious.

Our daughter had her 18th birthday celebration here with ten friends. The food was delicious and the cocktails were great. There is an extensive menu with good choices and options for vegetarians. The staff are so friendly and service was exceptional.

This is the happiest restaurant in Tonbridge! Staff are so smiley, happy and welcoming! They obviously enjoy their work. Food is great with lots of choice, nachos are the best I’ve ever had!! Lots of cocktails to chose from - I love the iced margaritas. We were served by Maddie - she was lovely and made our evening lots of fun. We will be back soon ❤️

Celebrated a friends 18th birthday here, the food and cocktails were delicious! Service was great and they even brought out a complementary shot for the birthday girl. Had a great time

Went as a large group for a birthday and the food was amazing. Large variety of drinks and cocktails, would definitely recommend!!!

lovely atmosphere!! lovely cocktails and brilliant selection of food on the menu and overall a lovely restaurant!:))

Lovely food and very kind staff! I had the vegetable burrito and it was great, very generous portion sizes. The piña coladas were yum too!

Differently wrapped tortilla only, No difference in taste between Burito or enchiladas. the stuff should go to Mexico to get some idea about mexican cousine!!!!! Dissapointed. Never again. not updated website menu, with misleading prices.

My partner and I thoroughly enjoyed our lunch at El Mariachi, just off Tonbridge high street, a short stroll from the train station. Our Mexican tapas dishes were perfectly paired with an extensive cocktail menu, boasting tempting names like Acapulco and Spicy Sailor. El Mariachi is a great place to sample a few cocktails...then a few more. For science.

Love Mexican food. This Litlle place is a gem. Off the high street. Fun friendly. Gorgeous food. Fantastic service. Will deff be going again. Thank you.

Great atmosphere, food and cocktails! A really fun restaurant with and amazing cocktail menu at great prices. Perfect for an evening with friends. Have been multiple times and it’s been great across the board. Looking forward to visiting again soon!

Ordered food for a treat for my boyfriend and I. Was more expensive than what we would normally spend on a takeaway but knew the food was meant to be more “restaurant” and less “greasy take away slop”. It did not disappoint. The food felt fresh and homemade and was so yummy. We had potato skins, bbq wings, burger and burrito and all of it was delicious. It’s rare for me to take the time to write a review but I enjoyed the food that much that I thought they deserved a shout out. Neither of us had a negative about the food. Highly recommend and will definitely order from them again next time we are looking for a treat “date night”, especially during lockdown. Only negative would be that we couldn’t afford to order from them very often.

We ate here on friday night whilst staying in the area and weren't disappointed. Started off with a jug of margarita and some nachos to share. Mains were the Chilli garlic ribs and the chicken and rib eye fajitas. All beautifully cooked and delicious. Sadly we didn't have room for dessert but did manage to squeeze in another cocktail to finish. If you want to tip the lovely staff you need cash as the card machine wont allow you to add one which was a shame.

We went there a few days ago, and it was lovely. The staff were very friendly and attentive, and the food was delicious. It’s a shame that we don’t live in the area as we’d become regulars.

We had lunch here for my daughter’s fifth birthday. We chose to share tapas rather than get our own meals so the children tried things they hadn’t had before. The food was good as was the service. The restaurant wasn’t busy although I believe they were heavily booked for the evening. All-in-all it was a fun place for a family meal and good value.

Great food with a lively atmosphere. Not many Mexican restaurants about , but this is a very good one local to Tunbridge Wells & Tonbridge

Great little restaurant with cool decor, large cocktail menu and wide range of Mexican inspired food let down by a long wait between courses. Start took 30 minutes to arrive and main an hour after that making it nearly 10:00 pm when we got our mains after sitting down at 8:30. Staff were apologetic but did not offer any complimentary drinks or discount. Not sure what the delay was because the food we ordered was quick to prepare. Understaffed in the kitchen probably. This needs to be sorted as it would stop us returning which is a shame.

I visited El Mariachi last night with my partner, this was our first time coming here and the main attraction for me was the choice of cocktails. The restaurant was max capacity as it was eat out to help out and staff were clearly very busy. This however did not stop them being very accommodating, service was not slow in the slightest and nothing was to much trouble. Food was amazing as well as the drinks, will definitely be returning soon!

Great evening, very good attentive service and the food was great. Good vibe. Recommend you try it if you haven’t already!!!

We visited tonight as a family. The service was sooooooooo slow. Also the vegetarian enchiladas was more Indian than Mexican. It was filled with peas and cucumber!!! Absolutely awful! Nothing Mexican Bout it

Home for me was 30 mins from the Mexican border when I lived in California,this was very good starters main and drinks ,highly recommend visiting lovely manager ,will definitely revisit again

We visited to celebrate a family birthday for six, our first meal out since lockdown was eased. It was a Thursday and we were one of two occupied tables there. The tables were a suitable distance apart. It was clean, with sanitiser on hand. The waitress wore a visor. It was certainly a bit different but we felt comfortable in there.The food and service were excellent. Despite the fact there were only two occupied tables, the atmosphere was good. We were even able to enjoy a birthday cake with lit candles at the end of the evening. We will visit again. Recommended.

Visiting the region. Really great food, lovely people, excellent value. Definitely recommend. Important restaurants like this survive post covod. Best of luck.

Thanks to Covid-19 they only do take aways now , but the quality of the food has certainly not changed a bit ! My wife used to call El Mariachi her 2nd favourite restaurant in Tonbridge, but last week officially announced it is now her number one. Never argue with the wife !! ;-)Thanks El Mariachi ! You guys are awesome and we'll be back many, many times more !!

we went this place after a recommendation from one of friends and i am so glad we went there. the food was amazing and they have very good range of cocktails. i cant wait to go there again. i would 100% recommend this place

We visited Al Mariachi for dinner at around 5.45 pm & we were the only customers for the whole of our meal, so there was a distinct lack of atmosphere. We were advised that it does get busier later in the evening.As would be expected as the sole customers, service was efficient & there was no significant wait for food or drinks. The cocktails were very good & our ribs were tender & hot. However, it was a little disappointing that nothing was provided to wash or wipe our fingers, as these get very sticky eating ribs and a single napkin is hardly sufficient. Prices were about what we would expect.

Really blown away by the friendly service and superb foood Will be visiting again very soon Would strongly recommend it

Popped into this restaurant on the off chance on way back from Lakeside. So glad we did, food was lovely and fresh and the cocktail choice is amazing. Price of food and drinks very reasonable. Staff are very friendly and attentive. Just wish we lived closer so we could visit more often.

We took my 16 year old for her birthday dinner, there were 5 of us in total. Great fun restaurant. My daughter loved it! Service was great, cocktails were fun, staff were great. They were more than happy that we took a birthday cake in, brought it out with candles, played happy birthday to her, the entire restaurant sang 'Happy Birthday' no need to dress up, its very low key. Would recommend to book as the restaurant was full.

I visited this restaurant with friends and we were delighted with everything! We had a variety of tapas between us and they were all delicious! Favourites were the prawn and avocado tostada, the pulled pork and apple nuggets and the nachos. Everything was very fresh and tasty. The mojito cocktails were excellent as was the house rosé. We were always greeted with a smile and courtesy. Highly recommended!

Spent last night at El Mariachi for a family birthday gathering. The atmosphere was great and the staff and service were friendly and attentive. I enjoyed the chicken filled tacos. All the food was vibrant and cooked to perfection.

Love this little Mexican, the food has always been excellent and the chilli con carne is the closest I have had to real Texan chilli in the UK. Very fun setting, perfect for parties. The only very small criticism is the cocktails aren't brilliant but there's plenty of options. Worth a trip

George and Sudip absolutely nailed it. Put up with a big group of us and didn’t stop smiling. Payrises all round.

My 26th birthday was wonderfully celebrated with my family, friends and the awesome staff at El mariachi, George, corona, unish and sudip were charming, helpful and funny! Will definitely be back soon 😊

Amazing meal! Great atmosphere! George was a blooming AMAZING waiter and handled our large group like a pro! All the love to this place! Well done guys! Sudeep does a fab job with this place!

Thanks Sudeep ! We enjoyed it here yet again! My wife and I had a lovely dinner for her birthday. As a family we love this place. We'll be back many more times !

been hearing good things about this place so decided to give it a try - booked online which was hassle free - was running late so called and they were fine and not a problem for them - all the staff were friendly and very attentive - the menu is just what you would want a good mix of the more traditional Mexican with a little tex/mex thrown in - starters arrived in good time can't go wrong with nachos and calamari both were lovely - the mains went for chicken fajitas and the Mexican paella - reminder to all - if you don't like to much heat then ask them to tone the spice and heat down - phew! - you can always throw back some lovely cocktails to douse the flames! - in all a nice meal and not too expensive and on our doorstep so will be going back for sure!

Husband and I had a lovey meal- authentic Mexican food! Refreshing cocktails and great service! We will definitely be returning 🇲🇽

This was our first visit to the El Mariachi restaurant in Tonbridge. Really friendly and helpful staff, we all had a great evening. The food was incredible with a very good selection on the menu, also the cocktail menu was fantastic and definitely worth trying a few. We will definitely be back again. Thanks to everyone at the restaurant that night.

Our second - and last! - visit to the cosy Mexican restaurant. What a difference 2 years makes! Our party of 6 arrived at 19:00 when the restaurant wasn't even remotely busy. Drinks orders were taken within 5 minutes. Drinks were served after 15 minutes. Starters and mains were ordered together - on reflection, thankfully! Our starters arrived 45 minutes after being ordered. Our mains arrived 90 minutes arrived 90 minutes after being ordered. Food was very average. The highlight for me was the potato skins! My 'blue' steak was rare, at best. Service was chaotic. Our second bottle of wine arrived 25 minutes after ordering and had to be 'prompted'. The place was rammed so it is likely to do well. However, they must get to grips with their chaotic service otherwise many of those visits will be, like us, one-offs under the 'new' management.

Visited here for the first time. Had a good selection of cocktails and the food was yummy. We will be back!!

I took my mum here today for lunch, and was very pleased. This isn't a place you'll come across unless you know it's there nestling, as it does, down one of Tonbridge's side streets, but it is definitely worth hunting out. The food was very tasty, and the host welcoming.

Honestly my favourite restaurant, the manager is so lovely and welcoming, the food is amazing and they cater to all of your needs! Also the cocktails are to die for, wouldn’t go anywhere else for girls night drinks! Will definitely be going back very soon, five star

Came back from LA last week where we sampled a couple of highly rated Tex Mex restaurants (they say their Mexican food there is the best in the US, but then they probably would). Good, but the food in this place in Tonbridge was simply a lot better - tastier, better seasoned and spiced and all in much more enjoyable. The chilli is almost certainly the best I have ever had. Even my daughters' pulled pork burger (which I finished off) was excellent, full of flavour.

This has to be my most favourite places to dine, the manager is lovely the decor is amazing and food is delicious and the cocktails are out of this world. You have to go a try this place you will not be disappointed! Good for girly nights, first dates and even work Christmas parties. Literally can not wait to go back.

I go here fairly regularly and always great food and service. Lots of lovely options on the extensive cocktail menu too. Definitely recommend!

Atmospheric excellence, felt like the Mexico I knew as a child. My family and I came in for Stunning food, cocktails... and was NOT disappointed! Chorros for desert was the cherry on the cake. 5 stars!

Amazing unique cocktails under ‘Mariache specials’, the Raven was my favourite and my boyfriend loved the Apple Crumble, 100% would recommend. Food is spot on, big portions for the price perfect for two very hungry people. The desserts were incredible, loved the churros and the chimichanga is so special as fried ice cream is something I never thought I would try but is a must!!

We have been to this place few times now and the service and food are always exceptional. The cocktails were so amazing and chicken fajita was to die for. So far my favourite restaurant. Cant wait to go back again. Highly recommend.

We had a great meal at this Mexican restaurant the other evening with friends, The food and service was excellent!! Would definitely go back and recommend.

Went here last night our second visit and was not disappointed. The food was good and with the great service it made for a great evening. Everybody said how much they enjoyed the food and could not disagree with them . Looking forward to our next visit.

I celebrated my 41st birthday with my wife and 2 kids (2 and 4 years old) at El Mariachi yesterday. We were pleasantly surprised ! Some reviews on TA had some pretty bad things to say, even though the overall rating is good. So we weren't quite sure what to expect.

This whole experience was three beans short of a three bean salad. Service was odd to say the least - I ordered the pork balls not those big guy!!! Food was microwaved swill straight out of a soviet prison, drinks were admittedly fantastic. Don't bring your wife unless you the taste of another man's sour cream. Greg Wallace would be turning in his grave. Overall a palpable fiasco, only redeemed by the double mint my wife received upon payment.

We have been here a handful of times now and have had a lovely meal every time. The owner is very passionate about the food and makes sure that as a customer you are happy with everything and have enjoyed your experience. We’ve not tried them but we’ve been told he also makes a mean cocktail! Would definitely recommend a visit here.

I went in here with my two kids expecting it to be a nice 'authentic' Mexican restaurant. The atmosphere was nice and I had a good margharita but that's about where it stopped unfortunately. I had ribs and wings with "house coleslaw" - frozen chips, catering coleslaw and a bought in BBQ sauce - certainly not homemade feel at all. The "dinosaur burger" that one of my children had was bland and boring and the other had kids ribs - good portion size but again the same frozen chips and bought-in BBQ sauce. All in all disappointing. To round it off - no churros on the dessert menu.

Brilliant night at this little gem of a restaurant. Friendly team , great value good food and a wide selection of tasty cocktails. Whats not to like.

Very authentic restaurant , with a good atmosphere. Good selection of dishes at reasonable prices. Staff and owner all lovely.

First visit tonight and was so surprised how tasty the food aswel as the service here was, definitely returning. Reasonable prices aswel and helpful fast working staff

Upon arrival the restaurant was empty but we have it the benefit of the doubt. Starter was fine, we ordered from the tapas menu and the quality of food was well below expected. Jalapeño poppers tasted like what you would get from a kebab shop, prawns taco was bland and tasted like we’d bought it from Iceland. When we complained about our food not being up to scratch, the waitress was not able to deal with the complaint, simply saying “there’s no manager in tonight, I can’t do anything”. As a restaurant worker myself, there should always be someone on shift to deal with these situations. Will not be coming back

Very enjoyable meal. Excellent service. Staff asked us several times if everything was ok. Varied menu for both food and drink. A little gem in Tonbridge.

We had a really fun evening here last week, great food and a really happy atmosphere. Thank you for a lovely time.

Visited on Saturday night at 7pm. We waited for our friends to arrived but they didn’t seem to realise this and kept asking us to order. I think they got it in the end. It felt like we were being rushed and when I mentioned this the service was calmed down. We all had starters and my prawn and avocado tostada was lovely. My main course was the chicken burrito which was very tasty. Do not go here if you want a romantic meal as they cranked the music up as there were a couple of large parties in. It didn’t bother us as we were joining in but I might have felt differently if it was just myself and my partner. Cocktails were delicious. Fun evening!

Well first the fire alarm went off because they delivered a sizzling dish to a table,, 5 minutes of ear piercing noise.

Friendly staff and atmosphere. Service was ok, but it was a busy night so can't say too much on that. Starters were amazing, however, that's where the praise stops.

Visited last night (Friday 26/10/18) for dinner with my bestie - fantastic food, friendly staff, great atmosphere, delicious cocktails- what more could you want on a Friday night or any night! Will definitely be visiting here again and very soon.

Combined with the friendly welcome and very reasonable prices, abundant and flavoursome food and attentive service made our visit extremely enjoyable. Sometimes it seems difficult for Mexican cuisine to rise above the mediocre but this place will surprise you; hidden away from the High Street in modest premises it is well worth a visit.

Came here Saturday 29th sept for a bday meal, food was out of this world very tasty with the right amount of spice, they also were able to help with allergies with no hassle at all and nothing was to much trouble, the staff were attendant but not to much which I like, very friendly and all happy to help. The cocktails, there are plenty to choose from have to say we had quite a few, all delious and not laydened down with ice so could taste the alcohol as well. Will definitely be come back and can't wait

My partner and I visited El Mariachi on Saturday evening and thoroughly enjoyed our experience at the restaurant! Our meals (Mexican Paella & Pulled Pork Fajitas) were both perfect and I was pleased to be able to tone down the spice of my meal so I could still have the paella. Cocktails were also delicious and the service was great from both the waiters/waitresses and the bar men. Will definitely be back!

Booked on a Sunday evening to celebrate our wedding anniversary. The service was just right - attentive but not overbearing. Cocktails were great, starters delicious and the fajitas were sizzling and gorgeous. Being a Sunday the restaurant was quite quiet, but we had a great evening.

Such good Mexican food, was able to change the fajitas so that they were less spicy due to not being a great lover of spice. Staff were friendly and accommodating. Love the decoration and Mexican music as it really gets you into the Mexican spirit and you’re able to ask for sombreros which I feel adds to the Mexican atmosphere.

Went in last night had some food, service was great and the food was also. Very happy with my experience.

We are Tonbridge residents and only fairly recently came to dine here. The first time was to celebrate a 'first job' for a new graduate just before the Beast from the East struck! We were bowled over by the quality of food, the welcome and the atmosphere. We kept coming back, never disappointed. Most recent visit was a wet and dreary Bank Holiday Sunday to celebrate a 50+ birthday where the birthday girl was first day up after being ill in bed. As ever, El Mariachi did not disappoint, my eldest son loved it for his first time there and we feasted, I had a couple of cocktails and management gave me a lovely birthday shot complete with a lit candle. A perfect lunch, a lovely restaurant with really delicious food. The owner is a joy and so accommodating and helpful. A jewel in Tonbridge's Dining Crown. Do go, you'll love it!

Meals seem smaller and priced higher. Cocktails don’t have as much ouch as they used too....

The food is always tasty and great value for money, the sizzling fajitas are greatly theatrical and the background music creates a great atmosphere, especially if you get a photo wearing the fabulous hats! Great cocktails and the new menu is full of delicious things to try. Staff were friendly and always happy to help! Overall a great night out, whether its a family event, date night or drinks with friends!

I came here with my friends, we have heard so many good things about this restaurant, and it didn’t let us down one bit! We had an great evening, the sweet potato nachos were brilliant to start with, the burrito was so yummy, everyone of us had something different and we all loved it all. The cocktails were also amazing and the service was great to! Definitely be coming here again!

Absolutely brilliant! Came In for a friends birthday and the atmosphere was perfect! Lovely and upbeat with nice, friendly staff! The food was lovely with everything from starter - desserts being on point. Not to mention the fabulous range of cocktails they serve! Couldn't get enough, I highly recommend!

I’ve been here so many times and can’t get enough! The staff are nice and friendly, the atmosphere is great and the food is amazing especially for the price

Amazing 3 course meal with great, relaxed atmosphere. Classic nachos are the best starter!!!! A good variety of non-alcoholic cocktails too. Extensivs menu, so there’ll definitely be something you love

Stopped by for a drink and a snack. A fun Mexican themed ambience where guests are given Mexican hats to wear with nice happy Mexican music playing.

We went here as a group of three for dinner and cocktails having had it recommended. The food wasn't nice at all; the paella was so hot that I couldn't eat it (and I like spicy food) and they re-made it without so much spice, it had no taste at all.

Had lunch with my daughters and grandson, I actually can’t praise it enough, we had sweet potato nacho’s for a starter between us which was a nice generous size between 4 of us and tastes delicious, then had a main course, it was a burrito with rice and salad wow it was so tasty, best Mexican I’ve ever had and I’d go as far as saying best lunch out I’ve ever had and believe me I’ve eaten out so much lol highly recommend this restaurant which I never knew existed

We thought we’d try El Mariachi because of the glowing reviews on here, but unfortunately it just didn’t live up to expectations. The margaritas were salty and the sangria weak. Food was poor, seemed like microwave stuff. If you want authentic Mexican (or any sort of decent meal) then go elsewhere! The Portuguese nearby is much better as is Gurkha Planet!

Me and my other half were given a voucher for here for Christmas - as El Mariachi do not sell vouchers, it was just a signed receipt up to £50 signed by the owner.

We really enjoy eating here. If you have a diary allergy bring your own 'vegan' cheese and they happily add it to your food. I really do enjoy coming back here again and again. Most enjoyable and would recommend it.

Love this place, never had a bad meal or a bad experience here. Staff are amazing, food always fresh and good, great for any occasion. Give it a try, you will not be disappointed. Love it

Had a great evening here. The staff were brilliant, very attentive and had a good sense of humour. There is an extensive cocktail menu and they were made well. The food was plentiful and tasty. Not a place for a quiet romantic evening though!

Servizio ottimo e cibo buonissimo. Ogni tipo di piatto è squisito. Lo consiglierei a chiunque. Ed è veramente economico!!!