The food was all genuine Mexican food. It is not blah at all. It's very good. The vibe in here is very good and the music and comfortable seats and everything is great. The best part to me though is the service. It was seriously perfect. All the servers seemed to be Mexican people and they were so wonderful and helpful and nice.

Food and service was excellent. I had my normal fajitas and they were very good. Service was soso but didn't take away from the rest of our experience

I've eaten at this restaurant since I was 10 and I'll be 34 this year. Never been disappointed. Sometimes there's a bit of a language barrier but the food NEVER DISAPPOINTS. The deep fried cheesecake is 100% the BOMB.

My family of four stopped here on our way home from the beach. My four year old daughter LOVES chips and dip, and my two year old daughter could practically drink the cheese dip. We were seated immediately by a polite young server wearing a mask. Less than 2 minutes later we were given chips and dip with our drink orders being taken. My husband ordered chicken and rice with cheese on top, and the girls and I shared a chicken quesadilla with mushrooms, onions, and rice. Our food was delicious, service was friendly and fast (Anyone with young children knows the importance of this), and we will definitely be returning!

Service was very nice and quick. Food was hot and tasty. I ordered the frozen Mango margarita to go along with it. I will come back.

Being from San Diego (very close to the MX border) I wasn't expecting much from this area. Although this doesn't compare to authentic Mexican food in SD, this place was better than I expected! All servers have been attentive and service has been quick. We've ordered chicken, steak and veggie fajitas, and the quesadilla supreme so far on our visits. Red salsa is a little bland and not very spicy, but you can request a green one that's much hotter and has a great flavor to it! The margs are great for the price and beers are very cheap too.

When you're on the road from New Orleans to Birmingham and you hit Meridian, MS at lunchtime, options seem bleak. After 20minutes on yelp, our goal had lowered from "something interesting to eat" to "can we please find a drink". When we pulled up to El Norte's strip mall storefront, the sign that said "cantina" convinced us to go inside. If a beer and "at least it's not a buffet" was the best we could do, then so be it. Well, turns out we made a good choice. El Norte's interior features typical flair of a Mexican restaurant: banners with the Mexican flag and wooden tables and booths. We were greeted and sat, with our server immediately bringing complementary chips and salsa and taking our drink orders. The beers were cool and refreshing and served with frosted mugs, a nice touch. The frozen margarita (which comes in three sizes) was whipped by the drink machine to a frothy consistency (good) and was a bright radioactive green (bad). It proved to be more than a tad too sweet. We ordered queso and guacamole with our chips, as we were famished from the long journey. The queso was the tasty white cheese variety, though a little runny. The guacamole was competent and fresh. The restaurant was about half full at lunch and our entrees came out fairly quickly. Chicken fajitas, steak fajitas, quesadilla supreme, and a taco salad. Our server addressed several special side requests adroitly, and while one companion claimed his side of cheese didn't arrive, we were all quite sure he didn't order it. Regardless, it was quickly brought to the table. All of the entrees were competently prepared and fresh. The fajitas arrived on sizzling skillets that stayed hot through the meal. While I don't think anyone is going annoint Meridian, MS as the new little Mexico, we really enjoyed everything we had. Cold beers, fresh food, and friendly service, and we weren't at a buffet or fast food! There was a brief delay to get our check and pay - almost as if they didn't want our money, but that was quickly sorted out. All in all a good meal for a very reasonable price. You could do much worse than stopping at El Norte if you're passing through Meridian.