El Noa Noa Mexican Market

In town for work and craving some good Mexican food. This food was amazing and hit the spot. I would definitely recommend it!!!

I just moved from Las Vegas. This is the best mexican reatraunt ive found by far. Kinda like Robertos. Tacos and burritos are awesome

Having been raised bilingual in Dallas, and after spending the last 5 years in the most diverse zip code in TN, I know (and crave) some legitimate Mexican. SO here’s the down-​low:
The Market: Is pretty good. You can order 1 lb of meat with all the taco fixins (cilantro, onion, lime, corn tortillas, salsa) to go from the meat counter for $ 10, which is a great deal. They have some good, harder to find produce like cactus and avocado (all the area American groceries sell some nasty avocados). They also have some good mexican products like cheeses, sodas, and salsas. A very good selection of spices and jamaica flowers. Unfortunately, the tortilla machine is broken and they said it’s not likely to be fixed, so no fresh tortillas here. Also the prices are hit and miss, some are great, some are outrageous. Definitely the only mexican market in the area.
The restaurant: Authentic mexican taqueria, with some gringo items thrown on the menu too. You can get legitimate carne asada tacos, aguas frescas (horchata, jamaica, etc.), and tortas. Not the absolute best taqueria I have been to, I like my homemade carne asada better, but the only one I have been to in Knoxville, and definitely the best (again, only) in the area. If I am craving Mexican and want to stick in the area, I will go here without a doubt (sorry, El Sazon, your food is unrecognizeable). They don’t have a liquor license, the main drawback. Of course they are very affordable as taquerias tend to be. A fair warnng, if you are looking for a «Combo #2» fried and drowned in cheese sauce, this might not be the best place for you.

Pretty good! I was craving some legit Latin food, so I stopped by on my way back to Knoxville from Maryville. I ordered two tacos al pastor and one lengua taco — each one is $ 1.75 and I got out of there with a good amount of food for $ 5.72 + tip! The tacos were loaded with meat, and they came with six or seven mortars with salsas, cilantro, onions, limes, etc.
That said, the meat was very greasy, like they cooked it in advance and then fried it to heat it up — the was oily and they didn’t trim it properly; I had to add a lot of tomatillo salsa. The pastor pork was good but, again, greasier than your typical taco filling.
Not the best tacos, but a good deal for $ 1.75 — and the chips and salsa were excellent!
There’s a market attached to it, but don’t try for the produce unless you know your Spanish and produce because the signs were all mixed up.
EDIT — one more thing — they have free wifi.

Yes, this is a Mexican grocery store, but attached is the most amazing Mexican restaurant EVER! So much so that 99.9% of the clientele are Mexican-​Americans. I’m pretty sure my boyfriend and I are some of the few regular white customers, but I have no idea why because this place is awesome.
All you have to do is go in, sit down, and order some of the best guacamole you have ever had in your life and you will be hooked. The food is so delicious and tacos are a $ 1.50. They have a variety of meat choices– my favorite tends to be the pork and the Rose Beef seems to be a favorite. Also, their queso is to die for, and the Mexican crème (sour cream) is so worth the additional 75 cents you have to dish out.
I don’t know what else to say, but that this place is amazing and if you are ever driving down Alcoa Highway looking for good Mexican food, skip El Sazon and go here. They do not serve liquor so if your in the mood for margaritas save this place for your next visit, however they serve a pretty decent variety of Mexican and American beers, which are the cheapest you’ll get them, especially at happy hour. 4 – 7 Monday through Friday. This is a new thing. I’m pretty pumped about it.
I love this place so much, I almost hope you don’t go there because I want to keep it all to myself!