Azteka

Worst Mexican food I have ever had. Very expensive and very small portions Burrito Al Carbon was mostly beans and rice (filler) with pineapple and a little meat. It was served with a teaspoon of guacamole and a teaspoon of sour cream The Pico de Gallo was a small cup of diced tomatoes and onion but no hot pepper. I would no go there again!

I appreciate a Mexican place in Rio that can cater to a gluten-​free vegetarian. I have gotten the veggie tacos on corn tortillas (it is a mixture of eggplant, zucchini and onions) and also the pineapple tacos, which are both really good! The guacamole is hit or miss depending on the season. As for the hot sauce, I recommend the medium. The spiciest one was a little hot for me (and I usually like hot!) For me, the hottest sauce here is just hot, not flavorful while the medium one has a kick and is yummy.
The service is really great. The owner is actually from Mexico, which is probably why the food actually tastes like Mexican food! I had a great conversation with him. Really nice guy.
It is a small little place but it is cozy. I want to go back for a happy hour and try one of their margaritas.
Did I forget to mention that they deliver?! Because they do! And they are usually really fast about it.

Adoro comida mexicana e Azteka é um mexicano legítimo. Geralmente faço pedido em casa e a entrega é rápida, sempre mandam salsas complementares. Recomendo.

Finally found an authentic Mexican place. Tried several in Rio both in Leblon and Ipanema. This one is hands down the best. Ingredients and flavors awesome and the service is always prompt. They’re margaritas are also legit. Perfect to pair with authentic Tex mex. Two thumbs up.

Absolutely amazing Mexican food especially if you in IPANEMA or COPACABANA … we had the vegetarian burrito with eggplant and zucchini … Even if you don’t like eggplant, don’t bother … You will not even come to know the taste of it … It’s blended very well ! We also ordered the bean and cheese quesadilla and again really really good … The guacomole was super fresh and just the right taste … Extremely recommended !!

My favorite Mexican food in Rio (with La Calaca in a close second). I only mark this place down one star because service is always slow and they seem to consistently be understaffed. That said, the place is small and only seats 20 people max, so there isn’t much room for any more staff members to move around if they had them.
As far as the food goes, it has been delicious every time, whether I ordered delivery or ate at the restaurant. The nachos Azteka are what you would expect from a Mexican restaurant in the US: covered in beans, cheese, guacamole, and some other goodies. I typically opt for a burrito or quesadilla, and today then even had a monthly special of chicken with Mole sauce, which could be added to a burrito, tacos, or quesadillas.
The drinks are solid as well, and even though I hated the horchata caipirinha, I at least appreciate the idea of mixing some new flavors together. There isn’t a huge beer selection, but you can count on Bohemia, Sol, and Corona.
If you are in the mood for Mexican food and in Leblon, Ipanema, or even Copacabana, give Azteka a shot. Even if you don’t feel like making the trip, see if they deliver to your area, because the food has always made it in restaurant-​like appearance for us.

Oh Azteka! I had a friend come here a few weeks ago and said she waited 3 hours for her order and they still messed it up. I thought it might be due to the Carnaval madness but even as that has settled down, the service here seems subpar. Since we knew better than wait outside for a server to seat us, we took a empty table and seated our selves. After unsuccessful attempts at flagging down the waiter, we helped ourselves to the menus. Maybe someone called in sick and they ended up short staffed? With only one waiter and one cook it looked like they were struggling to keep up with the orders.
The waiter was polite and took our order. We helped her out by accepting a horchata that was accidentally ordered but no one was taking it. My Azteka nachos came out fairly quickly after our drinks (just bottled beer and canned mate tea). It seemed to have been sitting under a heating lamp for a while and the melted cheese had cooled and crusted.
I noticed a couple people who waited outside for quite a while to get the waitress’ attention. One lady just asked her a question and another family was waiting just to get seated at a table. So the waiting here can get ridiculous.
The special of the month had three organic chicken options with mole sauce (burrito, taco and main plate). we tried the burrito which took much longer than the nachos, but worth the wait because you could tell it was just prepared fresh and was served with a helping of guacamole and sour cream.
Limited options to Mexican food in Zona Sul: this place, Que Quieres and La Calaca. Luckily they all have take out, so if you can’t stand the service you can at least get it delivered.

Fantastic Mexican food. When I visit Rio, I eat here probably every other day. Hot Sauces are really good, flavors of spot on. The husband of the owner is the chef and he’s 100% mexican from Acapulco. A gem thats been around for 4 years, a must have if visiting.
Fantástica comida mexicana. Quando eu visitar o Rio, eu comer aqui, provavelmente, todos os dias. Molhos quentes são realmente bom, sabores do local. O marido do proprietário é o chef e ele é 100% mexicana de Acapulco. A isso é jóia sido em torno de 4 anos, um deve ter se visitar.

We were so happily surprised by Azteka! The food was delicious — the margaritas divine — the service top notch! We are planning a return shortly.

Very good mexican food (for rio standards) but service bad. It is my second time here and again only one person serving 12 tables. There are tables sitting for 10min and they could not even order yet. The ambience is ok… Not the most charming but some tables outside, and nice interior interior design inside.

Great great Mexican place. Usually Mexican food is a hit or a miss but this place has a really great vibe. Close to the beach. Amazing vegetarian options as well. The hot sauce here is to die for.
Try to pineapple onion burrito or the nachos.

Achei muito caro para o que oferece. Pedi um almoço executivo e me arrependi. Não tinha muito gosto de comida mexicana e paguei caro demais.

Te quiero mucho Azteka.
Bueno, en honor a la verdad, es un chanchullo probablemente lo que voy a decir, porque no tengo punto de referencia, pero es la mejor comida mexicana que probé, sin haber ido a México.
La cosa es simple, sin margen de referencia, esta será la vara con la que mediré próximos platos de este tipo.
En Rio me topé con varios lugares de cocina mexicana, ya había probado los burritos de «Qué quieres?» (locura y pasión), y ahora la sugunda parada fue acá.
La opción es bastante más cara que cualquier fast food, pero vale la pena, lo supera ampliamente. En mi caso pedí un menú ejecutivo, un poco más barato que en la carta, e incuía frijoles negros, arroz, ensalada de tomate y lechuga y carne con chile. Todo delicioso y fresco. Se notaba recién preparado, salado y condimentado (no que lo sacaban de un tupperware), y la cocina abierta confirmaba las sospechas, todo lo iba preparando el cheff sin que hubiera partes del plato marcadas.
De postre probamos las paletas mexicanas, de Maracujá (sin cremaI), y de choclo (cremosa y con mucha canela), excelentes también.

Espaço pequeno e bonito. Serviço bom. Comida BOA! Margaritas e Nachos bOas!
Preço ok, pois estamos em Ipanema!

Nice to get some Mexican food in Brazil, but I much prefer Sí Señor, which is also in Ipanema (my review:
).
I had a vegetarian burrito, which was tasty but some flavor was a bit off. I came with a group of Brazilians and Americans and we were generally satisfied. We shared nachos, which turned out to be chips and guacamole — no cheese. They have good drinks as well.
I give 4 stars because they make quality, tasty food and drinks, but I would not return here over Sí Señor.

Great fresh Mexican food! The flavors were amazing and the food was definitely fresh. The hot sauce is also delicious! Highly recommend if you are looking to find a change from the abundance of Brazilian and Italian food in Rio!

The food wasn’t good, but then again it wasn’t bad; it had no taste. It’s a shame too as the atmosphere is really cool and the service was fine, but once again my quesadilla didn’t taste. Don’t go here, make your taste buds happy and try anything else

Um dos único lugares de comida mexicana no Rio de Janeiro com opção de molho de pimenta forte como eu gosto. Pedi um burrito e gostei muito. O guacamole também era muito bom. Aprovado!

O interessante desse local é que muitos ingredientes são orgânicos, há opções veganas e vegetarianas. O restaurante é pequeno, há como escolher a intensidade do molho picante. Comemos burritos, mas achei que a opção que eu escolhi não foi a mais saborosa. No geral, estavam bons. Como preciso evitar a pimenta, senti falta de um sabor a mais e adicionei guacamole ao burrito, e ficou um pouco mais saboroso. A casa também oferece umas opções diferentes de bebida. Pedia a Água da Jamaica, que é um chá gelado de hibisco. Gostoso, mas bem doce.

I’m rating this based on other Mexican places in Rio. If it was being compared to Mexican in the U.S. or Mexico, it would get 2 stars.
The meat isn’t very good, the add-​ons are expensive, and the margaritas are OK. However, the hot sauce is excellent.
Burritos come loaded with rice and beans, which is a pet peeve of mine (anyone who’s had authentic Mexican knows they do not put rice and beans in their burritos — they’re just cheap fillers). The pork tacos with pineapple are pretty good, but I wouldn’t go here specifically for them.
In short, stop by if you’ve got a craving for Mexican but don’t get your hopes too high.

Azteka has a nice location in Ipanema, and the food was not so bad. However, the portions are very small for their prices — more like appetizers. Plate of nachos with guac/​pico was basically plain tortilla chips with a tiny bowl of pico (no salsa or sauce with this). And vegetarian quesadillas comes with a sauce (medium hot is reallyyy hot, so watch that). While the flavor was good, I didn’t expect an appetizer-​sized entrée. It’s a small restaurant and the ac or wifi don’t work. Overall, I would not recommend if you are looking for good ambience and/​or good value!

Great Mexican food… Better than most places in New York!
Guerrero burrito (pineapple, onion, lettuce, guacamole) — simply delicious. Just the right amount of pineapple to give an exquisite mix of flavors without being too sweet.
Lemonade — the perfect Brazilian tang!
The hot sauce is hot. Even for us Indians :)

Surprisingly good Mexican fare. Consistent and tasty. The hot sauce is really hot so beware. Great place for a quick snack on the go and for meals.

Eu tinha altas expectativas para este lugar, juro que eu tinha! Tinha ouvido boas recomendações e lendo o menu eu fiquei muito animada. Drinks com água de horchata e jamaica, tacos, quesadillas e até mole (que eu particularmente não gosto, mas é super tradicional) estavam por lá.
Pedi uma porção de nachos combinado e uma quesadilla de frango.
Já fiquei decepcionada porque os nachos na verdade é uma porção de totopos (tortillas fritas) com um potinho de guacamole, um de feijão e outro de pico de gallo.
A respeito destes potinhos:
Feijão: parecia que estava comendo feijoada. Nada haver com o feijão tradicional mexicano.
Pico de gallo: Parecia um vinagrete.
A quesadilla tinha muito recheio, então era difícil comer sem fazer uma bagunça.
A água de horchata tinha um monte de canela em cima, e uma consistência um tanto quanto curiosa.
Enfim, a comida não era ruim mas definitivamente não era mexicana.
Outro ponto que não é exatamente positivo é o banheiro, que estava um tanto quanto mal cuidado.
O lugar tem muito potencial, mas por enquanto são só três estrelas.

Fantastic Mexican Food in the Heart of Rio!
This casual Mexican eatery was a unexpected surprise on our recent trip!
We ordered a Mexican salad and a Burrito Al Pastor. This was not your typical Chipotle fare. The salad had a chicken that seemed braised in a lime sauce along with avocados, lettuce, and chopped tomatoes. There was also a great lime dressing.
The burrito was also very tasty. Grilled pork and bits of grilled pineapple along with organic black beans and brown rice. There was also a yummy orange sauce that tasted like a creamy tomato which was served alongside.
Wish they would open one of these stateside!

The Al Pastor Quesadilla and The Don Miguel Torta are amazing. The food here is outstanding. The horchata is a nice option if you want to skip Margaritas or Caipirinhas. Try also the Pudim, a brazilian version of the Crème Caramel.

Azteka got me through my stay in Rio.
Let’s be clear about this: Rio has shitty food. I’m talking WAY worse than Applebee’s, maybe even worse than McDonald’s; more like what your little brother would cook up if given thirty minutes and five ingredients.
That said, Azteka’s spin on Mexican food was something I remembered fondly long after I left the City of God. While unlike anything I’ve eaten in the US, the food here was really, really good. I dare say the «Doña Alma” – a pressed sandwich with beans, cheese, pickled jalapenos, grilled pineapple, lettuce and onions – is straight-​up the best torta I’ve ever had.

Não resisto a um mexicano. Basta passar pela porta de um restaurante desses que já fico tentada em conhecer o ambiente e as iguarias do local. Fazia um tempo que eu passava em frente ao Azteka com aquela curiosidade, mas faltava tempo.
O Azteka é um bistrô com ambiente acolhedor. Não tem uma decoração propriamente temática, mas é bem agradável. O atendimento é rápido, sem enrolação e a cervejota é geladíssima. Em todos os restaurantes que tenha nachos eu faço questão de experimentar. Os Nachos com frijoles puercos (feijão, chouriço, queijo) é bem saboroso, embora um pouquinho salgado. Os tacos do Azteka são diferentes dos que eu estou acostumada pois as tortillas são macias e não crocantes. O taco de guisado de carne bovina não faz feio, mas também não está entre os melhores que já experimentei. Atenção para a opção do molho! Leve, médio ou picante. Como sou chegada a uma comidinha apimentada, fiquei no picante que é MUITO picante. O médio é meio termo mas já pega legal! O burrito Al Pastor (pernil suíno com abacaxi) é gostosinho, mas também não está entre os melhores que já degustei.
Não sei se é da cultura mexicana, mas o Azteka não é muito chegado em pratos e talheres. Os pedidos são servidos em cestinhas e é oferecido um guardanapo. Ou seja, por mais que se tenha habilidade, é impossível não fazer uma baguncinha na mesa.