Old Mexico Taco Buffet

So the owner asks if I’ve ever been there. No
Asks if I’ve had real Mexican food before. I say yes, thinking Dona Marias in Vegas a couple of holes in the wall in California. Maybe even Tres Carnales.
He shakes his head.
Tells me I’ve never had Mexican food unless I’ve sat with a Mexican Family in there home and shared a meal. Well I haven’t done that.
It’s buffet, which I now realize the absolute best way to make tacos.
Tortilla Soup (with instructions on the wall) is amazing, probably could’ve had a few bowls and went away happy.
The selection of taco fixings/​toppings is perfect. Chicken or ground pork. Salsas, veggies, salads, beans. All super fresh and home made.
Don’t expect any cheese, there is none. You will never miss it.
I’ll never eat at another restaurant in Red Deer again.
This is the first restaurant that I have ever felt compelled to review on here.
Sooo good.

Fantastic atmosphere, fantastic price, fantastic service, and even fantastic-​er food! Hot tacos and beer. Simply superb!

Came to Red Deer spur of the moment and came here based on the reviews. Good decision! Very good, authentic food. I have a lot of food sensitivities and I felt fine afterwards.
Tortilla soup was amazing. Guacamole was awesome. Everything was awesome. And the owner was very nice and fun. Definitely will be back.

A Mexican friend of mine once told me about a Taco restaurant in Red Deer. This was because I had just been to a new Mexican restaurant in Edmonton and it was over $ 100 for two adults and two children. He was astounded and he’s been talking about opening his own Taco Buffet place ever since. Whether or not that happens, he also mentioned Old Mexico Taco Buffet for comparison. Well… today I was heading to Red Deer for the day and I asked him where it was. I was so glad I did. This place is awesome.
First of all, Wil, the owner/​manager, is one of the most friendly people you will ever meet. He runs the front all by himself and is constantly moving to the till, the back, and table to table cleaning and chatting with his customers. He treats everyone as if they are old friends just hanging out.
The buffet is fairly simple, but it had plenty of options. I sampled everything, so I’ll just list it here and offer ratings on everything. I don’t know if the items change day to day.
Tortilla soup broth — Brilliant. The best thing I had here. If this was just a tortilla soup restaurant, I’d still come. ⁵⁄₅ Add tortilla chips and hot salsa ⁸⁄₅
Fried corn tortilla — Perfect for the soup. Not enough of a connoisseur to tell if they were made fresh, but tasty and perfectly salted. ⁴⁄₅
Fresh tortilla shells — Pretty basic flour shells. I would have loved the option of corn. ³⁄₅
Chicken tinga — Classic puebla dish and just the thing for making your own tacos. Missing chipotle or any heat. A family restaurant, so I can add my own, but it’s never as good cooking it in. ⁴⁄₅
Pork calabaza — I had a hard time finding any calabaza in this dish. It was primarily lightly spiced shredded pork. ³⁄₅
Plain beans — Gooey and liquidy pinto beans. I found these very bland. ¹⁄₅
Mexican rice — Called mexican rice here, but I’d say this is arroz rojo. A favorite dish for my sister in-​law to make. This was a pretty classic version although, light on the spice. 3/​/​5
Boiled potatoes (patatas bravas) — No… not my thing. ²⁄₅
Zucchini calabazas — There’s the calabazas that I was looking for and the zucchini was perfectly cooked. I came back for seconds of this. Probably my second favorite dish of the buffet. ⁵⁄₅
Mushrooms — Old fashioned mushrooms! I don’t think button mushrooms when I think of Mexico. Still, they were sauted nicely and tasty. ³⁄₅
Extras (hot salsa, guacamole, sour cream, pico de gallo, homemade jalapeño and jalapeño carrots, onion and cilantro) — The onion in the onion and cilantro was not cooked and was not a good type of onion to eat raw. This was okay mixed with a lot of other things. I would have liked the cilantro and onions separate. Everything else here was great. The homemade jalapeño’s were amazing. ⁵⁄₅
Ice cream — Along with the buffet, there was 4 different types of ice cream. Vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, and mango. The only thing I didn’t try.
Lemonade — Finally, each table is give a huge amount of lemonade. ⁴⁄₅
The décor is plain, kind of rustic; there’s music playing; plus on the tv, there was Mexican rodeo. This gave an interesting ambiance. Obviously this is not why you would go, but it’s okay.
All this for $ 15pp.

The atmosphere and food is great! Amazing lemonade included with the buffet. The food was great authentic Mexican food and the owner/​staff were very helpful and definitely added to the charm of this place.
I wish it was closer to home but anytime we are in Red Deer it will be one of our must stop places!

The food was authentic Mexican food, (trust me I lived on the border of Mexico & shopped there while growing up) So when say 5****** stars the food is so worth it, you have to try it to experience the very best anywhere. The service is 2^nd to none, the owner is so very hospitable — you will feel you are dining with old friends. So if you are anywhere in Alberta or visiting for the first time, stop into Old Mexico and give them a try!

Love that everything is made fresh each day! Gres place for a family to eat. Friendly service.

It’s not a complicated restaurant. Ten dishes including tortilla soup. But everything is authentic and fresh. The owner is a great guy working hard to make a living in downtown Red Deer. It’s not heavy on ambience but I love the food!

Something different and unique. I wasn’t a huge fan of the corn tortillas but everything else was very good. I’d go back but probably not with my son… too many strange flavours for him.

Had a great lunch there with my brother from out of town, he travels a lot and said that might be the best Mexican food he has ever had.

We were just passing through and decided to spend the night in Red Deer. We read about this little restaurant and almost gave it a pass due to the location that’s slightly out of the way from our hotel. However, we’re glad we made the effort to find it! Don’t be put off by the strip mall store front! The charming owner made us instantly welcome and even demonstrated the perfect composition of toppings on his excellent tortilla soup. The buffet is simple with two different types of meat (the chicken tinga was my favourite), sautéed mushrooms, fresh corn, Mexican rice and potatoes, and lots of yummy toppings that you can stuff into the fresh, warm tortillas. The buffet includes a jug of lemonade and a variety of ice cream flavours for dessert. We would highly recommend this simple little restaurant for a glimpse into a warm, Mexican kitchen!

It’s like taco night at your home, but a thousand times better. Based on the name, I didn’t expect much, but I was pleasantly surprised. Tortillas are made seconds before you eat them. The fillings tend to lend themselves well to a buffet as the flavour tends to improve with more time to simmer. The chicken tinga was fantastic, and so was the longaniza (essentially a spicier chorizo). For vegetarians, they had beans, corn, and mushrooms for fillings.
They also make their salsas and guacamole in house and all were fresh and perfectly spiced.
As a native Californian, I know my tacos and I was impressed. Score one for Red Deer. And you should also enjoy the free ice cream and sorbet after the meal.

Absolutely gross and lacking flavour… My girlfriend and I both got really sick after eating there… Who knows how long that stuff sits out for as they don’t get a lot of service! We were there for an hour and a half during peak lunch hour and not one thing was changed out! Only good thing was the complimentary lemonade!

Loved the no menu concept. Corn tortillas are prepared in small batches for freshness. Toppings are well prepared and very tasty. Lemonade they put on the table is a great touch as well. Definitely worth a return visit.

A small group of us stopped here while passing through Red Deer and were totally surprised of how cute and quaint this place was. It’s a small buffet (ALL Gluten Free!) and was delicious. The owner takes obvious pride in his little business and was very helpful in serving us and chatting a little too. Will definitely go back!

Excellent authentique Mexican and yummy! Excellent price and quaint little place. Delicious tortilla soup along with home style all you can eat tacos. And don’t forget the ice cream! When back in Red Deer we will definitely come here again.

A friend of mine noticed this restaurant last week while he was in Red Deer for an interview and texted me to tell me I should check it out and report back. I happen to be in Red Deer on business this week so I wen there Tuesday evening. The place was not busy, so I was a bit skeptical, and it’s not really fancy.
I walked in and was greeted by the super friendly «waiter» I believe he was the owner’s son (maybe). He asked if I’d been there before, I said no, so he explaind the entire buffet to me, how it worked, that it was all-​you-​can eat, and it includes ice cream and lemonade (mmm!). There was a good selection, and fresh warm corn tortillas. There were several types of meat and meat/​potato concoctions, some really good corn, and some rice that was so-​so (the rice was the only thing I wasn’t really big on, it could have been less mushy and more flavorful.)
The toppings bar was also awesome with FRESH ingredients, Pico, lettuce, this lovely marinated jalapeño and veggie mixture, guacamole, sour cream, cheese, etc.
Overall it was a great expreience. I was dining alone, and the owner (I assume) came over and chatted with me a bit.
I didn’t get any pop or anything like that I just drank the lemonade that was provided to me, the meal in total was about 15.75 I beleive which was well worth it. The food tasted good and was obviously fresh. And the staff was awesome and friendly.