Restaurant Review: Zapata’s Mexican Restaurant in Collinsville, Illinois

It was a real pleasure eating at Zapata’s Mexican Restaurant in Collinsville, Illinois. The restaurant serves up casual Mexican dishes in a cozy atmosphere. There are several good things I enjoyed about Zapata’s Mexican Restaurant.

My wife and I had the opportunity to eat at Zapata’s for lunch one day. When we walked in the door you can’t help but notice the nice quiet atmosphere. There was no screaming mariachi band or loud music blaring through the speakers. The hostess was very friendly and immediately took us to our table and handed us our menus. Our table was clean and had a full compliment of silverware inside a large cloth napkin at each setting.

I decided on having the taco plate for $5.99 and my wife chose the beef fajitas for $9.99. Our waitress explained that the fajitas were a house specialty and were supposed to be very good. As soon as we placed our order we were brought our drinks along with a basket of nacho chips and salsa. The chips were crisp and fresh like we like them, and the salsa was very good. It was hot, but certainly not overpowering.

Looking around the restaurant you notice many Mexican artifacts hanging on the walls as well as many Mexican paintings. It provided for a nice atmosphere. Everything was clean and we did not notice leftover food sitting on empty tables or trash on the floors.

When the waitress brought out our food, which only took 16 minutes, you could hear the beef fajitas still frying in the pan! The steam and aroma coming up out of the skillet was pleasant indeed! My taco plate included 3 tacos along with refried beans and rice. The tacos were stuffed with meat, cheese and lettuce. The first thing I noticed when I took a bite was how crisp the shell was. Unlike so many places where you take a bite and the shell is soggy with grease and you have to tear it apart with your teeth, Zapata’s serves tacos with a nice crisp shell.

My wife’s fajitas were excellent. The beef was well seasoned and cooked just right. It was not tough to try and chew through by any means. Along with the standard sides of cheese and lettuce, she also had guacamole and sour cream.

My wife and I both agreed that Zapata’s Mexican Restaurant is a place we will be going back to in the future. For anyone desiring casual Mexican fare, Zapata’s makes for an excellent choice.