Catalina Restaurante Y Taqueria

Fun place to hang out with the locals for some Mexican food and lively entertainment on a Sunday afternoon. The line was long all the way to the front doors but the food was tasty, plenty, and worth the wait. Good value and you will be entertained watching the crowd or the lively musical numbers. It’s a dining experience in SE Atlanta!!!

He’d a great lunch while waiting on a package to clear customs at the airport less than a mile away. Tucked into the back of a grocery store that reminds me of being in Mexico. Had a delicious and beyond reasonable lunch. No debate try this place if you are near it.

Very good food and fair prices. I would highly recommend the Chimichangas. Good for groups.

My now ex boss chose this place for his luncheon. I thought the location (industrial hood) was horrible. The parking sucks when it’s lunch time people actually blocked us in and the service was horrible! Too few waitresses for a busy place. When you walk in there is a little store with authentic Mexican items for sale, then you enter the cafeteria style restaurant. The portions are huge But I did not like the food At all! I will definitely not return here.

I’ve been searching for a authentic Mexican restaurant in Atlanta for a while and I finally found it here. The food is good, salsas are spicy and portions are big. There are some misses but overall a good place to get your fix.
The Staff is eager to take your order but have to be flagged down for service or drink refills after you get your food. Also the tables tend to stay dirty long after the customers have left.
The food as I said is good but there’s something that throws me off about the refried beans. There is a complimentary bean and ham stew they give you which is delicious. However I feel like they blend the leftovers to make the refried beans.
The rice is well seasoned and flavorful. The Chile rellenos are very good and close to mom’s. The chicken mole is an interesting take on the one I’m familiar with but without the chocolate it’s just not mole to me.
All in all a good place to comfort withdrawals from real Mexican food. I’ll definitely be coming back.

I FINALLY FOUND A GREAT MEXICAN RESTAURANT! Forget those trendy Mexican restaurants downtown or any part of town. Try this place! Best time is Sunday if you’re patient because it gets crowded. There is a lady who sings live and is AWESOME! Plus, you can even do a little bit of grocery shopping when you’re done. Oh! And they serve Mexican Coke!

UoPretty good. I’m not from the Atlanta area but went off the rest of reviews. I’m staying at a hotel near by. Others are right, don’t judge the book by the cover. Not in the best area, and disguised as a a kwiki mart.
I got the beef tongue taco and breaded steak. Very yummy. The rice and beans were great! And the salsa, guac, and soup they give when u sit was surprisingly good and spicy :)
If in the area, would stop for lunch.

Don’t let the outside appearance fool you, the food is excellent and authentic. When dining in, you get hotdog soup complimentary along with chips and three kinds of salsa. The service can be hit or miss but the food always on point. I usually get the tacos, shrimp is my favorite. They come with two corn tortillas served with cilantro and onions, the shrimp are large, tender and fresh. The tacos also come with grilled veggies. There is a grocery market in front with international items for sale. Will definitely be back’

Took about 5 minutes before I could even get someone to come and wait on me. Even when they came, I had to ask for a menu as they were ready to take down my order. The food was great though and very authentic.

This place is as authentic as it will get in Atlanta I guess. The portions are humongous, always very tasty. Don’t let the outside appearance or the grocery store at the front fool you — this place is amazing. You just might wanna learn some Spanish before coming here, communication might proof difficult otherwise.

I lived in Atlanta for 3 years and, being born and raised in Los Angeles, this was the closest spot I was able to find that reminded me of all of the amazing Mexican spots there.
Yes, the hot dog soup was a little weird, but whatever.
It’s gross looking, like it should be. But the food is awesome and I loved it so!

If your up for some down home good Mexican food, this is the best spot I’ve found in ATL. When you go into an ethnic restaurant, if only Mexican or Spanish people are in there and they are happy, then that’s a good sign. As others state, nothing fancy as far as the facility and it is in the back of the market but it is clean, friendly and has great food.
I had the Fajitas for one with Chick, beef, chorizo, shrimp, vegetables and root. I left half of it because there was so much but the flavor was amazing. BTW, very cold Negra Modela as well.
This will be my go to place when heading to or from the airport!

I think the Catalina is listed twice… Just to make sure, here is another review.
Where can you leave stuffed for $ 3.00??? The Catalina (aka Mercado), thats where. You need some banda music? They have that. You need Mexican Soap operas? Yep, they have that too.
Authentic Mexican food at a great price. Not only that, but they GIVE you hot dog soup with every meal. Thats right INCLUDED!
Eat here.

This is the infamous «dollar tacos» restaurant that people keep talking about. Let me give you a short, but sweet rundown of this restaurant.
It’s located by the train tracks off the road. Parking is fairly limited, but you’ll be able to get a spot. The restaurant is in the back of a Mexican grocery/​convenience store. You arrive and be seated at a cafeteria-​style enclave, where a prompt Mexican waitress greets you to take your order. She probably speaks little English.
The menu is extensive; but come on — people come here for the tacos. So I will get tacos: actually, I got one of each normal taco (Asada, Jamon, Barbacoa, Carnitas, Chorizo, Al Pastor) to try them all out plus some other tacos such as cabeza, tripe, etc.
I’ve found most of the tacos to be misses, with some that were decent. Honestly, most of these tacos had one or more of the following problems:
* Too greasy
* Way too salty
* Too bland
* Too dry
That being said, my favorite is by far the Chicharron taco, with the nice balance of savory, meaty pork and salty crispy pork skin. Excellent.
Pros:
* Some tacos are decent (Chicharron, asada)
* For the price, the value is excellent (you can get full on $ 4)
* Fast, no bull-​shit service
Cons:
* Most tacos are seasoned incorrectly
* Concerns about food cleanliness by some people
* Hot dog soup (tu sabes…)

While this isn’t a 5 star restaurant in normal definition, this place is great & deserves 5 stars.
It’s more like a cafeteria & none if the employees speak much English. Just sit down at a table & they’ll bring you a menu.
I’ve been in here a few times now & it’s as authentic as a stand in Tijuana, I love it. Not really a fan of tex mex, which is all I can usually find here in ATL. Spending most of the last decade in the southwest, I want real, authentic & delicious Mexican!
With my tacos, I always get a basket of chips, 3 different salsas & a little ham hock type soup. No matter what you order, the chips, salsa & soup come with it. The salsas are pretty spicy, but awesome! 2 tacos, all that & a large bottle of Mexican coke– about $ 10!
They accept credit cards, but you have to cash out up front in the grocery store then, so make sure to have a little cash on you to tip your server since no way to do it on the card!

Authentic Mexican food at a great price. 1.49 $ tacos is such a great price. They put a lot of meat on each taco, so you won’t leave hungry. Make sure your close your menus or they won’t approach you to take the order.
Try them all; they’re all good.
Service can be a little slow at times but the food comes out very fast.

Truly authentic Mexican food in the Atlanta area. Plus, the prices are amazing. For about $ 5 — 7 you can get a drink (medio litro de coca cola) and some tacos/​tamales/​rice/​beans… whatever you want!
You get chips and salsa with your meal as well. The ambiance is low-​key which I kind of like. The kitchen is open and they cook everything fresh that day.
I will be frequenting this place more often.
BONUS: If your name is Martin, they have a burrito named after you.

FINALLY!!! I lived in San Antonio for about 5 years and have been craving that authentic flavor since moving to ATL last fall. The place nails it! LOVE it. Be forewarned, this is not your fancy gringo faux mex place. The Fajitas are legit and the Molcajetes are fantastic if you are super hungry.
Now… I just need to find some decent Queso Flameado and Ceviche.

I went there today eager to experience food everyone has been talking about. I walk in go to the front all smiles. Problem is no one smiled back. No worries my purpose was to order and eat. Well 3 waitresses are standing in front of me, i’m a pretty laid back type of gal, so normally I give people time and it was a little busy. But after waiting 6 minutes and being completely ignored I’m like «this can’t be life… oh wait… it is :\.
So I ask the waitress right smack dab in front of the whole time if I can order. I ask her… see where I’m going with this? She gives me this look like… and then she said oh your ready to order? I“m thinking I’ve burrowed my eye into your face for the past two minutes to get you to acknowledge me and not avoid my face, of course I“m not ready I just like being rude and staring :).
.Instead of being «rude» (I blame it on my strict paren… nevermindI again give the benefit of a doubt and tell her I would like to order the Chimichanga I asked if it would come with rice and beans and I was told yes. Okay fast forward 10 mins… TADA! my food is ready and all nicely wrapped with saran wrap. Woohoo! party time for my mouth. I say thank you and head to the front to pay.
All the while on my drive home back to Stockbridge I’m envisioning the feast I’m about to embark on… I even think I made a little song about it… but I digress. I get inside and rush to my couch to tear some sh*t up! When I open unwrapped it I saw a two I don’t even want to call it Chimichanga because it was just dough wrapped around chicken, LITERALLY… nothing but chicken no cheese inside. ugh I don’t want to go on… oh and a bed of lettuce. no sour cream, no tomato. no rice and bean nothing but a big sucker stamp on top… I literally as sat there for minute waiting for Ashton Kutcher to come bitch slap awake.
So I’d say for my time and travel and $ 10.15 I spent on my mouth watering nothing… One can say I personally drove somewhere to get f#&ked…However, I will look at this as lesson learned and leave me personal experience… Glad I was able to give someone a good Christmas. xoxo

Catalina is an Authentic (far as I know) latin themed grocery store that, while very small (because the actual La Catalina restaurant is in the rear), has a nice selection for quick shopping. They’re open super early, which is great, and often they’ll have a cup of fruit on sale for cheap as a snack. They have a selection of meats, vegetables and fruits as well as Mexican coke in a bottle with sugar and not corn syrup… that’s worth the admission right there.
It’s pretty accessible in the morning but beware, by lunch time the parking lot can get really full because of the restaurant in the back.