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Don't Just Wish Someone A Good Holiday, Give Them One With Chili's.
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This is an unpretentious, divey little bar in Old City that I actually kinda like, despite it's mixed reviews. Why? Because when you're walking around the city and it's disgustingly humid and hot as freakin hell (like yesterday!), a bar that serves refreshingly ice cold, strong and cheap margaritas (in a variety of yummy flavors) is a sure winner in my book. Love their happy hour! The food looked pretty damn inexpensive too but in this heat, all I wanted was to drink, drink, drink.
Salud!!
I'm actually not sure why this place has so many rave reviews.
We have been to the Mexican Post on Cherry St. and thought it was average but then tried the one on Chestnut the last time we were in Philadelphia and found that we liked it better. So, a couple weeks ago while in Philly we decided to go to Mexican Post (on Chestnut) again.
At first our server was quick and friendly. Our food came promptly and we were enjoying it.
However, from where I was sitting I had a very clear view of the kitchen (as there is no door). I could see employees sitting on a food prep counter--and then not even wiping it down when they got down to pour salsa or set down plates.
I could also see that there was a giant bin on tortilla chips sitting UNCOVERED directly on the FLOOR! This grossed me out a bit as all I could think of were things like, "what if someone dropped something in there as they walked by?" Then, I actually saw our waiter refill our chip bowl from this bin which made me hesitant about eating them. But the worst was watching an employee pour himself a bowl of salsa or cheese (I couldn't tell which) sit down on the food prep table and proceed to use the big tub of chips on the floor as his own personal chip basket. He wasn't washing his hands in between bites, he was simply grabbing a chip or two, dipping it, then reaching back in for more. These being the same chips customers are being served! Gross! (I should note, I did speak to someone from Mexican Post about this who said that the issue was being resolved and won't happen again).
We then had to wait at least 20 minutes to get our bill. Finally, I had to go ask the employees sitting and standing around in the kitchen doorway for the bill.
Despite the decent food and alright prices...Needless to say we are quite disappointed and will NOT be returning to this restaurant. Maybe it's better at happy hour or if you don't eat there.
On a side note, it is pretty loud in there--they have a jukebox that doesn't seem to have been updated since the early 90s so expect loud music by 1990's one-hit-wonder bands.
I can safely say that after my experience at Mexican Post last night I will NEVER return. I ordered the veggie tamale without cheese, sour cream, or the chefs "special sauce"- the waiter repeated my order back to me, took my husbands order, and went into the kitchen. Our food came out rather quickly and incorrectly. My tamale was smothered in cheese, sauce, and sour cream so I sent it back. The waiter then came over and informed that my meal could not be prepared the way that I ordered it (which I know is a lie because I have had this before here), and asked me if I was allergic to cheese or something to which I replied "I don't eat any dairy food", he asked if I wanted to look over the menu again and said he would be back to retake my order. After 15 MINUTES of my husbands food getting cold I finally flagged down the waiter who informed me that he forgot about us and I ordered the veggie fajitas- no cheese or sour cream. I eventually got an apology from our waiter and was offered free fried ice cream- again I told him that I don't eat dairy.
I will say that this was not my first bad experience here, the food is nothing exceptional and the service has almost always been sub par. The only reason that I have continued to go here is because I live a block away and it's cheap and convenient- but NEVER again. I will travel a few blocks north to Cantina Dos Segundos where the food rocks and the service is exceptional.
I have always really enjoyed going to the Mexican post. While it may not be completely authentic, the food is delicious and priced well. I live in Olde City and this is usually one of my first recommendations for people to go to when they ask where they should eat. my only complaint is that the margaritas are not that good.
Ok, all I have to say is that they have bar food/appetizers for like 2 bucks each. I stuffed myself with wings, quesadillas, and god knows what else and it was less than $10. Also have pitchers of margs for about $10.50. If I lived there, I'd probably stuff myself at the bar quite often lol..
New to Philly, I went to the Mexican Post based on a glowing recommendation from someone showing me around town.
It was the biggest mistake in the brief history of my Philly food experience. I should have know better as there were many signs of a mediocre meal from the clientele to the salsa that literally tasted like a jar variety with some added cilantro.
I could go on about the frozen ingredients and horrible chile relleno. Instead, I will say that this is my first Yelp review despite having an account for over a year. Yes - the food at the Mexican was so bad, the experience so frustrating, that I was motivated to post a review warning potential visitors.
You've been warned - stay away from the Mexican Post.
Oh, no, I got slightly drunk in Olde City and got a Mexican craving again. Oh, no, I ended up at Mexican Post again and ordered the horrible chile relleno again. Think snot, instead of cheese. Think cardboard, instead of light, crispy breading.
Truth be told, Mexican Post is a slightly hipper Chi Chi's. We ALL remember Chi Chi's before they all closed down after that salmonella incident in Pittsburgh. As a child, Chi Chi's introduced me to the pleasure of chips and salsa. Good times.
Back to the Mexican Post. It is what it is. Order a taco, burrito, enchilda combo but don't expect anything more that standard tex mex blah. I can't imagine going here and not drinking, but some people do. Go figure.
Chips and salsa and Negro Modelas, upbeat music and atmosphere. C'mon, you sought out tex mex in Olde City. You got what you deserved!
This is the place ... i meet my friends here.. i take my daughters here and last at night it's a great place to get mexican food. The drinks are good too.
Considering that most of the patrons are not from Mexican decent, the food is passable. However, if you are looking for authentic cuisine, this is NOT the place you want to be. The food is great if you are bar hopping around 1:am in the morning and need a quick bite to eat. I suggest the Beef Chimichongas as a bar meal (who doesn't like a nice tasty chimy??). Authenticity? Nope! It will never be real Mexican food, but I doubt anyone that is around that area really care, so dig in!
UGH the food at this restaurant was awful. We ordered two dishes that had ground beef that seemed to be of VERY LOW GRADE and simply put, resembled dog food. It was watery and I really couldn't even distinguish the bits of meat in the burrito. The sides (rice and refried beans) were edible at best and I would guess were straight from a can.
I was also suspicious of how quickly our food came--at first I was pleasantly surprised but after thinking about it I realized it came out a little too quickly--like less than 5 minutes for two dishes, the burrito and also flautas. Microwaving food at a restaurant is in such poor taste.
Basically, I was totally disappointed with the food and would never eat here again. Terrible.
"Inoffensive Mexican food" is the perfect way to describe it.
It's fine in a pinch, inexpensive and generous portions. Salsa is a bit salty. Nothing is very spicy. But still, not terrible. It might even be worthy of 3 stars if you're drunk.
We were at the other Mexican Post and the manager gave each of us (3 of us) $5 free coupons to use at this place. We came over right after because we were hungry. The server wasn't very nice about checking on how we could use these coupons. He wouldn't let us use all 3...he let us use two after he asked the manager and said that was even stretching it.
The food ended up being pretty good, but the margaritas were so expensive and did not have any alcohol in them pretty much.'
I wouldn't go back.
Mexican Post is one of those restaurants I really like, but never seem to get to very often. The first time I went, I had trouble finding it because the front of the place looks like a house; there's not much signage or anything. I kind of expected it to be expensive, too, because of the location, but everything is pretty reasonably priced. Service has always been good, nothing special, but the job got done. I really like the decor of the place and the fact that there are plenty of seats (no waiting!).
Edit: wtf happened with the weirdo link in my review? It's cursed!
I think this place is pretty gross. I think everything comes out of a can, yet it isn't priced that way. And it smells kind of weird inside. I was really disappointed, because I love Mexican food and this place is super convenient for me, but alas, I'll have to look elsewhere. Frankly, Taco Hell would be better.
I think the thing I like the most about Mexican Post is that they don't try to fool themselves or their customers into thinking that they're anything other than a slightly divey, decently priced restaurant (much like Jonathan G. has pointed out). If you want a burrito and some good margaritas, then this is the place to go. I like the Post because it's an oasis of non-pretense in Old City - don't come here to see and be seen. My biggest gripe is that just about every time I've been there the service has been painfully slow, but you might not mind that if you're in good company and aren't in a hurry.
Don't fall down the stairs when you're heading to the bathroom (sadly, I have seen this happen on more than one occasion - especially after mucho margaritas!).
Look, people, I don't see what the problem is here. Are you coming here looking for a 5-star authentic Mexican meal? It's just a hole in the wall Ameri-Mex joint that has average food and great margaritas and doesn't put a huge dent in your wallet.
What else do you want?
The whole point of a place like this is to do one thing really well, and let everything else fall into place. That's essentially what they do here. Their margaritas are cheap and tasty, and if you want something resembling Mexican-American food, you can get that too.
Is their food great? No. But it's not horrendous, either. It's decent enough that when you put it into your mouth you go, "yeah, that'll get the job done." And, honestly, that's all they are trying to do.
It's not like anything here is expensive, either. It's pretty much dirt cheap, so how can you argue with that? You can't. So shut the hell up and stop giving this place one star you overly picky bastards.
Tasty and cheap average Mexican fare. You'll leave with a full tummy and a happy wallet. A pretty decent-sized menu and while the food may not exactly be top notch amazing, its certainly fine when you're looking for a spontaneous Mexican fix in Old City.
Service is good although the venue itself can get rather cramped.
While I'm perfectly happy with grub, my favorite thing at Mexican Post are is the red sangria. While not the best sangria I've ever tasted, its pretty good & like everything else here, won't break the bank. My boyfriend loves their margaritas.
A good place for happy hour and that's only if you're drinking margaritas which are good, hence the 2 stars. The food however was truly awful. It's worse than cafeteria food. My vegetarian dish was lukewarm (not sizzling like it's supposed to be) and had some unidentifiable ingredients. What a waste. Good thing the drinks dulled my taste buds though. Ugh, never again.
Ordinary, at best. Although it's not made in an assembly line (not that I know of!), the food is comparable to Qdoba. I like Qdoba, but if I'm going to sit down in a restaurant and order a $10 entree, I expect a little more. The Chile Relleno was a little blah and very, very heavy. The side of rice and beans was taco bell quality. The margarita was weak. Everything was just a little under par, including the service.
This place has pretty average Mexican food and outstanding margaritas. It really feels like a chain restaurant when you walk in. I've had chicken chimichangas and chicken fajitas there and both were so so. The chimichangas was decent, but the fajitas were lacking spice and flavor.
The beverages there on the other hand are outstanding. The past two times I've gone I've drank the Rico Suave margaritas. They are outstanding.
Service has gone both ways. I've gotten really good and some non attentive service there. So that's kind of a crap shoot.
Be careful on the way out, the front door is motion sensored and its really hard to trigger on your way out. The past two times, I've needed the hostess to come trigger the motion sensor so we could leave... Weird...
Go for drinks and sit at the bar... If your desperate for some Mexican food, I think you can do better elsewhere.
I remember the first time my boyfriend brought me here. I was like "" here's goes another bar dinner. When we went it was like early dinner and there was no one in the place so we had it all to ourselves. I thought that was a sign that the food sucked. Boy was I wrong. The food and the service was wonderful. Now I go here aleast once or twice a month
I do not believe one should expect to find authentic Mexican food in Philadelphia. After all I wouldn't expect to find an authentic cheesesteak in Mexico, (or even New York for that matter). I appreciate The Mexican Post's food for all that it is: cheap, above average and belly filling. My typical order involves three soft tacos and an enchilada, which runs me about 10 bucks. Add a couple pitchers of Margaritas to that and you've got yourself a great beginning to a weekend. But don't get me wrong, "The Post" is just as great to visit on a Tuesday "don't feel like making dinner night" as it is on a "let's get tanked" Friday.
The one downfall to the Mexican Post is its lack of space, as on weekends it typically becomes crowded and wait times can be considerable. I would recommend the Mexican Post for anybody looking for a fun time in a great part of the city. The Mexican Post is what it is: an American Mexican restaurant. If you're looking for authentic Mexican, head to La Lupe in South Philly, if you're looking for a good time go The Post.
Mexican Post is the best place to go for cheap, but good bar food and ok-margaritas. Between 4-6PM on weekdays, $0.25 wings and $1 quesadillas, tacos, and pizza (don't get the pizza, its not really a pizza). Food is surprisingly good for bar food and their $5 a glass margaritas are decent too (get the mango blended). Our bartender (can't remember his name) is the same guy who is always there when we go and he's awesome. Always gives us a little extra when we order drinks - now thats service!
I enjoyed this place. I'm not a huge fan of Mexican food, but everything I had was very tasty, and the menu selection is pretty good as well. If you get there at the right time, you'll have no trouble finding a seat - but it does seem to fill up quickly by 7 or 8pm. The service was fine...I'm not one to complain anyway, but I can't see where the negative reviews are coming from. I did have to laugh when I saw one saying "This is a great place to eat before heading to Camden". Lovely Scenic Camden?? LOL...I cant understand why someone already in the great city of Philadelphia would purposely go to the toilet of a town called Camden. Well, that's another review for another time. Anyway, I won't rank this place as good as Johnny Manana's, but it's still pretty darn good!
Food is overrated. Table turn over ratio is high. Not a place to enjoy yourself if your are looking for Mexican food or any food. However drinks will make you happy. Sit at the bar if you can find a spot.
I go back once every 1-2 years to sample a few pitchers of margaritas.
I lived in Mexico City for a while, and I came to expect a lot from Mexican restaurants. The Mexican Post, however, isn't really a Mexican restaurant. All of its dinners are loose American versions of the classic dishes they claim to be. The chiles rellenos (my super-gringo server called them 'chileez relenoz') tasted like more of highfalutin jalapeno popper dish, and while the tacos were okay, they lacked in the most important category: the tortilla.
But I don't think the Mexican Post is trying to be a Mexican restaurant, either. It's biggest draw seems to be the pre-club crowd, which gets its momentum from the pricy margaritas and more reasonably priced beers on tap. The Post is conveniently in the heart of Old City, and I suppose, if you don't care too much about the quality of your tortillas, it makes a good place to fill up and ship out on a Saturday night. Again, the food isn't bad; it's just, err, more of a T.G.I. Friday's take on Mexican cuisine.
The Mexican food here is pretty good, but it seems to be a place that is more about the bar scene.
Ultimately chips and salsa until your meal comes out. I ordered a simple burrito with extra guacamole and it was nothing to complain about. If you come here just needing a quick Mexican food fix with no frills or extra "wows" then you should be good.
This place is all about expectations. If you expect an authentic mexican meal, you will be let down. If you want a place that will get you silly drunk while allowing you to stuff your face with pretty decent tacos and nachos before you go somewhere else, then you have struck gold. Happy hour is the best time to be here, especially if you can grab a seat at the bar (service issues vanish when you do). Great place to go before you head over to the The Khyber, or if you are seeing a show over in Camden and plan on taking the ferry.
Go here for the drinks and not the food. I think there was something in my burrito that tasted oddly like spaghetti sauce. Nonetheless, the margaritas were pretty choice.
i went here wanting a margarita and a steak fajita. cue the disappointment. the margarita was nothing memorable. the fajita however... the steak was so beyond chewy, i couldn't even bite through it. now, i am one of those people who would rather go home hungry than complain, but in this case i had to make an exception. our server seemed genuinely annoyed that i was even talking to her at all and then proceeded to tell me that since i had eaten some of it they wouldn't take it off my check. what? the only reason i ate more than one bite was because a) i was hoping it was just one bad piece and not the whole dish and b) the server was no where to be found for a while... but that's just bad customer service. i'm hoping my experience was a rare isolated one, but i haven't been back since to find out.
Great Margaritas in a Dive Bar = Priceless. I've eaten apps plenty of times but never actually went there to eat.
Sorry, folks, but I need to warn you about this place. Maybe it has a great bar scene (though I saw no evidence of it when I was here), but it certainly doesn't make it as a restaurant, and we've tried it more than once over the years. The extensive Mexican menu is too much for the kitchen, which produces food that is poor in quality, uneven in execution, and poorly seasoned. Even the chips and salsa aren't worth it. Fair warning.
If you're expecting high end Mexican food, go here: http://www.yelp.com/bi...
If you're expecting great margaritas, good prices and basic (yet pretty good) Mexican food, the Post is the way to go.
Very good lunch spot that is pretty kid friendly.
The margaritas are blackout-tastic. I went to the new location at 16th & Cherry, and the place was blowin up! Next time I'll try the food.
I'm still on the hunt for the perfect fajita... They were rather dry and bland here, but I did adore my chicken medallion dish with cream sauce.
i just went here for lunch today, really great food. no lunch menu though, so few things under $9. we were all very pleased, until our bill came- 5 of us racked up $70! we were so confused, until we realized we had spent $15 on sodas!!! dont be so cheap mexican post! our waitress was so impersonable that when we asked for take home cups for our expensive sodas, she told us we could take our cups for all she cared. so we did.
i actually went to the 16th and cherry location, which recently opened. i'm a huge fan of mexican but the food here was just depressing. i was incredibly hungry and they had so many options but the food was just bland. I didnt try the margaritas but it has potential for a good place to get drinks but i don't think i'll be headed back here.
Neighborhood: Northern Liberties
Category: Mexican
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