Guzman Y Gomez Fortitude Valley

GYG is a GYG is a GYG is a GYG.
Having said this, I’m here so often on a Sunday morning to being my margarita binge at 10 am till eve, that they now know my name which is always fun (or a bad sign, depending on how you look at it…)
By any rate, very friendly staff, consistently good food and delish margaritas.
All though, I will say, one super chilly morning, the margarita machine froze the margaritas too much and we had to pop open the lid and scoop some out, so beware of that I guess?

I love Guzman. I frequent a few of their locations around Brisbane, and I’m a huge fan of their burrito bowls.
Cheap, fresh, always friendly and clean. I love stopping in for a Mexican lunch fix that I can rely on.
My only gripe is my two closest locations (the Valley and Carindale) are so far away from my workplace!

Pretty good as far as fast food goes. I like the simplicity of the menu and the food is definitely better tasting (and probably better for you — more vegetables, less salt) than maccas or Hungry Jacks. This location at Emporium also has some great outdoor seating and you can totally pretend you’re actually eating at one of the fancier places in the complex. I feel bad for the people whose apartments overlook the concourse area but hey, maybe they just really like to party. Every night.

The food is fresh! It’s good food for the area. Not authentic Mexican food, but it was good! I think the price is decent and the service was quick. The dining area was clean. Overall good!

Feel like a little bit of Mexico. Get welcomed with a friendly hola and dive in with some really solid frozen drinks or negro mordello with some steak nachos. The burritos are good as well.

Like the swag of Mexichains popping up all over, the formula is simple. You choose your vehicle (taco, burrito, bowl, nachos) and you choose your filling (vegetarian bean mix, shredded chicken or beef, beef or pork chunks and the more unusual option of barramundi). There are points of difference such as no green salad except of course, on the salads and, not a skerrick of sour cream to be seen anywhere. The Quesadillas are also different, looking suspiciously like soft tacos with the addition of cheese that have been given a go in the sandwich press.
So then, it’s down to the taste, quality and portion size. It’s all good. It’s fast, fresh and filling. The black beans are particularly good as they are discernible beans rather than just a gloopy mess, which can often be the case. My Soft Tacos were double wrapped with two small white corn tortillas for each taco, cupping my choices of grilled Chicken Guerrero and shredded, spicy Pork Chipotle. Vegetarian options come with free Guacamole to ensure equity in pricing. A mild Tomato Pico De Gallo Salsa is served on all items so you can amp up the heat with the serve yourself jalapenos and Tabasco sauces including the Habanero heart stopper.
Takeaway is popular at lunch but there is also an attractive open air eating area, with bench seating and long, shared tables, where your meal is delivered. If the climate is right, it’s a very nice way to spend your lunch break, sipping a Jarritos or a Mexican beer and smugly watching the queue form.

Nice food and questionable prices! Adding guacamole should be free… it’s not Mexican without guacamole!
I go to this place if Mad Mex isn’t open or is too far. GYG is definitely a close second!

I love this place… the food is fresh, healthy, tastes great, drinks aren’t like any other fast-​food, authentic Mexicans behind the counter, great décor… Love it!
I love this place… the food is fresh, healthy, tastes great, drinks aren’t like any other fast-​food, authentic Mexicans behind the counter, great décor… Love it!

Try the veggie burrito. Smokey, grilled veggie goodness WITH guacamole! And then smother it in chipotle tabasco!
This is not blow– you away Mexican food. But, all in all — not a bad entrant into quick take-​away /​Mexican scene. Nice to see this franchise operation proliferating around town. You got your basics here — burritos, tacos, quesadillas. All made as you order (not pre-​made, sitting around). And they have always catered to my requests for customisation. I genrally stick to the burrito selections, but hubby regularly goes for the loaded nachos, which are tasty and a good option when you don’t feel like filling up on the all the rice inside the wrapped parcels. Note: you can get a burrito sans the tortilla, too. (This option is surprisingly large!) Flavours are fine and consistent each time.
GYG also serve a tasty frozen margarita, which tempts you with it slushy wonder from counter as you order. I have not found margaritas to be a cocktail well understood in this country, so it’s a joy to order a margarita & have it actually taste like a margarita.
Service is prompt & efficient from staff who greet you in Spanish — HOLA!!. If you are eating-​in, you get something akin to fast-​food table service.
The only reason it doesn’t get more stars has to do with this particular location and parking difficulty. Please don’t get me wrong, I loooooooovvvee the Emporium precinct as much as the next hipster /​foodie /​gal about town, but admit it… You know parking here can be a bit of painful pot-​luck. In saying that, I have found arrival time of 2pm to be good for snagging a spot if late-​lunch suits your schedule.

Whether you’re only stopping by for lunch or are looking for a place to grab a quick bite for dinner, this chain Mexican restaurant is a faithful option.
Warning: parking can be hard to get during the dinner rush.

Awesome food, served really fast and the service is always excellent.
This has become one of my favourite places to eat.

We actually only popped in here because I was having a really crap day, and we were meeting the bro-​in-​law for dinner, but we had 45 minutes to kill.
A bucket of coronas later, and all was good (between the 3 of us)!
I was rather tempted to eat here, rather than Wagamama, and I wish we had. The place was rockin’, and it took me back to Mexico. Just looking at the menu made my mouth water, and nothing beats sitting in a cantina, sipping coronas, and eating tacos and burritos.

When this place first opened in late 2010 I was lured in by their ‘free burritos’ promotion. They were good enough to check them out again but not mind blowing. Successive visits have proven a little lackluster, with it becoming clear to me that whether I order the chicken, beef or pork filling in my burrito, soft taco or quesadilla it invariably tastes pretty much the same. You can test this by getting their three tacos each with a ‘different’ filling and comparing for yourself, if you’re so inclined.
I do like the ambiance and the buzz here: it is always busy and they play authentic Latin music. I also like the serve yourself chilli bar, which has various kinds of hot sauce as well as sliced jalapenos which you can measure out into little plastic bowls (if you’re feeling deviously thrifty you could stash some away in your bag and take them home, not that I’d recommend it ;).
The service is as efficient as Speedy Gonzalez himself, and most of the staff are authentically Latin American. You can get a range of imported beers, but seeing as they come in cans I think the $ 7 price-​tag is a little extravagant.

i first discovered Guzman Y Gomez in Sydney’s wonderful Newtown circa 2005. From then on, every trip to Sydney (and thus Newtown) involved lunch at GyG. When I saw the Opening Soon: Guzman Y Gomez sign emblazoned across the frontage at Emporium that had once been Depot, I could almost taste the margaritas.
Guzman Y Gomez is based on the idea of the traditional Mexican taqueria– a quick fast-​food style stall selling small meals like tacos and burritos. This idea took off in a big way with the opening of Tuckeria (also in the Valley), and since then it’s gone pretty wild. Tuckeria, Guzman Y Gomez, Mad Mex, and Agave (all in the Valley) all do a roaring trade in Mexican snacks.
Of this crop of new Mex joints, Guzman Y Gomez is my favourite for ambience. It’s in an open-​sided, undercover area so you’re basically sitting outside but won’t get rained on. There are big tables with bench seats so you if you want to have a casual get together with a big group, it’s perfect. The casual set-​up is great for grabbing a quick snack or hanging out with friends for a few beers and margaritas. I love the self-​serve condiment stations and always make sure I get my money’s worth of jalapenos and red and green Tabasco.
The food is tasty, the prices are cheap, service is quick, and once you have that margarita in hand, all you’ll need is a sombrero.

Being an avid Mexican food fan I was very impressed by Guzman Y Gomez and believe me they had some big shoes to fill. I particularly like the layout of the place because its no fuss, easy and works well. Ordering at the counter like a take away is good for when you go out in a group because that way every one can order what they want and there is no confusion with the food or the bill at the end of the night.
The thing that stands out however for me is the food, the kitchen can be seen when ordering which makes it difficult to choose because its all being cooked on a massive BBQ at the back so the smell that comes off is amazing. You can also see chicken, beef and pork being flame grilled which in my opinion is how Mexican meats should be prepared. A particular favorite of mine is the Burrito, unlike allot of Mexican places you can choose the spice level that suits you and that’s perfect for a burrito because they can get a bit too hot at times.
Tacos are popular as well and at only 3 dollars its easy to see why. The burrito is about 10 dollars but it is big and filled to brim which you can notice as soon as you feel the weight of it when you pick it up. They also have Mexican beer and good old ice cold margaritas which is the perfect way to wash down Mexican food.

If you aren’t used to a little bit of mexican tucker, this is probably a great place to start. Unlike most places, the ingredients are prepared daily on-​site and made fresh to order, literally. You can customise whatever you want and although I’m not an expert on Mexican food, I know it’s fresh and I’m not going to get sick.
I was surprised when I read on the menu they had options for vegetarians as well! I had some soft shelled chicken tacos and my husband had the beef guerrero… sauces are all at the counter when you order and they serve alcohol! Most things on the menu are around the $ 10 mark and it’s pretty restaurant grade food for a casual outdoorsy seemingly fast food place.
The environment is pretty cool and chilled out as well with some Mexican music… it’s always refreshing seeing Mexican people behind the counter as well (let’s face it, it would have a different feel if there was someone other than making your supposedly authentic Mexican food). In my opinion, GYG does live up to what it says it will deliver and you can’t help but be satisfied with your experience. I also secretly love it when places play music when you eat… my husband and I thoroughly enjoyed having our mexican eating experience at GYG.