Open M-Th 10AM-10PM, Sa-Su 10AM-11PM
(609) 393-0035 Google Maps
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(Covid Update Dec 2021 – in business) Restaurante El Mariachi is owned and operated by the husband and wife team who originally opened Taqueria El Mariachi, on N. Olden Ave. For years this was our favorite Latino restaurant in town, and while it’s still good, the best competition is now catching up. That’s why we now rate it 4-hearts. Mariachi prepares outstanding home cooked Guatemalan specialties, yet remains incredibly reasonable ( a dinner/feast for under $10/head, truly, and it’s byob).
Unique to Olga’s cooking is her salsas. They’re home made, and better than any other restaurant’s in town. The salsa verde, in particular, is sublime. As far as I can tell, the recipe is principally tomatillos, green chiles, a lot of lemon juice, and just enough avocado to thicken. Whatever the recipe really is, it’s out of this world. Mariachi also makes a mean red salsa, with onion cilantro, tomatoes, and chiles, and a mild salsa rojo (traditional with pupusas). Depending on the day, the heat of the green and red salas can vary from spicy to fiery. In particular, the chiles seem to settle to the bottom of the storage jar, so if they’ve scooped your bowl of salsa from the bottom it can be SERIOUSLY hot. So be warned.
Speaking of pupusas, Mariachi’s are heavy and greasy and utterly delicious (just don’t eat them if you’re on a low fat diet). Pupusas are a kind of grilled, stuffed tortillas. They’re served with the salsa rojo, and curtido, which is like a pickled cole slaw. I particularly like the ones stuffed with cheese and loroco (an edible flower that tastes like broccoli).
The guacamole is simple, utterly fresh, and delicious. You get a huge portion (all the portion sizes are generous). Combined with the salsas, it’s almost a meal in itself. Vegans will want to try the Guacamole Tostada (just ask them to skip the grated cheese they will normally garnish them with).
My favorite meat dishes are the Chicken Tostadas and Tacos Al Pastor, which will stuff an extremely hungry man, and cost $6. Piscivores will enjoy the fried fish (a whole porgy, fried crispy), and the seafood soup (available weekends).
In addition to the fabulous food, major advantages of “Restaurante” are 1) It’s not a dive. It’s actually kind of cute with newly tiled floors, white table cloths, and pleasant murals. 2) It’s located in a quiet, stable residential neighborhood in the heart of Chambersburg, that’s pleasant to visit. 3) It’s also fairly large, which means you can show up with a group, even on a weekend, and hope to be seated quickly. It’s also conducive to special events, as one or more dining areas can be set aside for a party.
It’s the kind of restaurant you can take your mother to, without having your sanity questioned. Indeed, after eating the food, and especially if mom picks up the tab, she’ll be raving about the experience for the rest of her days.
It really is as good as it says here, and the people are just as friendly. Highly recommend this find!
I’m there, sounds great!
Delia Ardastra let’s all go here one night soon — I’ll bring the margaritas!!
Wow!!! I can’t believe the portions!!! I ordered the pork chops, my wife had the chicken tostadas. Neither of us could finish our meals. Kudos to our hostess, who ushered us through the menu. Between our little bit of Spanish, and her English, we understood what what was what.
Everything tasted great. As we left, I caught a glimpse of the carne asada being served to the expectant mother in the booth behind us. It too was a heaping portion of sizzling steak with black beans and rice. I’m ordering that when I visit again.
Thank you for includng vegetarian choices!!!
Thanks for this post–my husband and I went there for dinner tonight (he had the enchilades verdes and I had the tacos al pastor and we both had shakes and shared the guac and chips) and it was hands down the BEST Mexican food we’ve ever had!
I went to El Mariachi yesterday hoping to love it as much as Taqueria El Mariachi but that wasn’t the case unfortunately. The service is still friendly, but the food preparation was slightly off. If I never tried Taqueria I probably wouldn’t have noticed. The avocado salsa was too thick, the tortillas were larger and taken off the grill too soon and the beef tongue was on the dry side (still very tender though).
I like that there is more space and think it would be great for family dinners or parties. I’ll go back and try other dishes soon. I’m a loyal Taqueria customer so I have to give it’s sister another try.
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Editor’s Comment: These seem like normal variations to me, not a systematic issue with Ristorante. In my experience the salsa verde goes from soupy to thick and spicy to fiery depending on the batch, and when it gets scooped out of the tub where they store it. The hand made tortillas vary a lot, depending on who’s making them.