Best Mexican food (and Papas & Beer) in Asheville. There are multiple locations but this is the best one by far. Not your typical "order by the number" mexican restaurant. They actually make their salsa fresh every day and the menu is somewhat original. And yes the beers are good after a long day in Bent Creek.
Review Source:Wonderful food. Â Not fine dining, but a great value and great food. Â We had cocktails, four entrees, great chis and jalapeno bean dip. Â Recommend the chile relleno plates and the Cancun, a seafood medley of fish, shrimp, and grilled vegetables. Â Four of us ate for $0 before tip.
 We ate in the bar, which somewhat oddly was quieter and more refined than was the dining room.  Margaritas were good and the service was reasonably quick.
Read the reviews and decided to give the place a shot. My wife really enjoyed the bean dip that was served with chips before the meal. I decided to hit famed salsa bar - much to my disappointment I did not find a salsa I loved. There was a wide variety from a super spicy white looking salsa, to a more classis smooth red colored. I was not blow away by either. I ordered the "Mexican Taco" plate, which was very good! My wife chose the "shrimp tacos" which she said were also very tasty. Our tab which included two entrees, one soda and a water, with tip, totalled $25.00 even. Why 3-stars? The salsa is a key factor in how much I like a mexican restaurant and I was very disappointed.
Review Source:Great Mexican food - cheap too. Â Beer was cheap and good selection. Â Waiter tried to add another beer to inflate his tip. Â As soon as a looked at the receipt weirdly, he grabbed it and siad "oh, they must have put too many on there, I'll fix it". Â I hadn't even said anything, so he already knew. Â Check your bill if you get a fat, young, tall waiter.
Review Source:Tasty- for a standard kinda tex-mex joint. Â Granted, we went on a Sunday morning so no tequila for us thanks to NC blue laws, but I ordered the quesadilla special and my husband got tacos. Â The food was serviceable- but nothing special. Â Pinto beans are served in a cup- not refried as they are in most places. Â However, I didn't think they had much flavor. Â The only part I'd really go back for was the chips and bean dip they served. Â That was tasty, for sure.
Review Source:Since Papa's & Beer claims to have "California Style" Mexican cuisine it drew my attention, as a Californian, to try this restaurant while in Asheville. Â Overall, my dining experience was quite positive and I think this is a reasonably good Mexican restaurant. Â The prices are very reasonable for both the food and drinks. Â The menu is also quite extensive with many choices. Â The table side prepared guacamole was excellent as well as their Cadillac margarita. Â Upon being seated warm chips and retried beans are served. Â There is a salsa bar which features five different salsas which can be brought to the table at no charge. Â The salsas are rather average in taste yet with the wide selection it should be possible to find at least one that suits your needs. Â The restaurant seems to get very busy with a wide range of customers and ages. Â The attire is very casual and I preferred to sit at the bar which has many plasma TVs to watch while dining. Â If we could assign half stars I'd rate this restaurant with 3.5 stars since it is slightly above average.
Review Source:Our family was passing through Asheville and decided to stop here for a bite, thanks to yelp! Â What a great choice! Fast service, though a bit of a wait to get a table. Â Definitely recommend the house margarita, perfect mix of sweet and strong. Â Food was flavorful and fresh, we especially liked the steak quesadilla. Â We will definitely stop back here whenever was pass through again!
Review Source:Well, what do you expect, really? If you need a harsh and frantic reminder of what the hell is going on in America these days, head on over here. You can pack yourself in with what seems like hundreds of people and watch underpaid immigrants mashing up avocados for some fat family with two screaming toddlers.
The energy is so whipped up, with the combo of sports tvs, shouting, and some poor waiter plopping an oversized sombrero on someone's head and singing a birthday song (which WILL HAPPEN AT LEAST ONCE while you are there). I also enjoy the endless stream of people out the door carrying Styrofoam boxes of leftovers. If you leave without one, you probably get your Polaroid by the door or something.
The food is predictable and I refuse to call it Mexican. It's Tex-Mex. Meaning slathered in sauce and cheese and about five times bigger than any meal ought to be. That's not really a complaint. I like that kind of thing sometimes, too. Plop a 32 ounce Dos XX beside it and say hello to your Food Coma. Or, do what I do and order a huge beer and help yourself to the free chips and salsa bar. Where else can you get 3 beers for $5 in a restaurant? It's like some kind of magic where all you have to do is trade your soul.
There are good Mexican restaurants and there are great Mexican restaurants. Â My rating for this one makes be want to go back and change my reviews on every one that I voted 5 stars before. Â This one is by far the best food I've ever eaten at a Mexican place in this state. Â
First off, you are give an easy to read menu that groups like items together and it's not overwhelming like some Mexican restaurants. Â Here you also get at hot bean dip with your complimentary chips. Â There is a salsa bar available to you with about 6-8 different types of salsas. Â Personally I loved the spicy red tomatillo salsa. Â Also tried the boracha salsa which was good but it didn't stand out to me. Â But that's quite ok because I put the other one on EVERYTHING.
For an entree, I ordered the Chorizo Fajitas and it was so much food that I felt they could have fed half of Mexico with that plate. Â But OMG, those were the best fajitas I ever tasted. Â I didn't even have to add the guac and sour cream. Â Just a little bit of the spicy red tomatillo salsa and this was a match made in heaven. Â
The service was decent. Â Our server kept checking on us and refilling drinks. Â And like most Mexican restaurants, the prices are great here.
This is definitely a place I'll come back to when I'm in Asheville again.
Seriously, truly, as good as it gets. I shouldn't be writing this review now being as hungry as I am, because it will only make me pine for the best Mexican food I have ever tasted!!! Papas and Beer, I really really love you. Â The steak flautitas are riDICulous. Â This is the stuff dreams are made of. Â Shrimp torta? Forgetaboutit!!! Noboby can touch their supreme awesomeness! And that green sauce? I think they call it salsa borracha or something.... I could literally drink it. Â Even their chicken wings are awesome! Â Camarones flores are another dish not to be missed - big juicy shrimpys wrapped in crispy bacon............ it's a serious foodgasm every time. Â Cadillac margaritas. Â Delicious. Â I could go on and on but I think I'd be better off leaving it at that and running to Papas and Beer for their incredibly amazing food! Most recommended restaurant on my list EVERRRRRRR!
Review Source:Always tasty, and the portion sizes are definitely admirable, but the service has varied widely among the dozen times I've been there. Â Sometimes we are seated immediately and greeted with a smile. Â Other times we've literally been forgotten about for 30 minutes. Â More often that not, it's a positive experience.
Your typical "California style Mexican", which I'm still getting used to, but it's tasty, which I supposed is all that really matters :) Â I recommend the Papas Bean Burrito.
Really love this place ! The food is in great portions for the price. Now mind you ya not fine dining and they don't tout themselves as such but it's a good place to meet coworkers for a beer and Rita and take your anger out of the day by eating south you could care less . Highly recommend .
I did lack one star because the service is a bit cold but efficient there is no pleasantries which if your there with friends you don't necessarily mind that aspect . Go eat and be merry!!
Good food, terrible service. i mean terrible. out of the 3 times my wife and i went there, we had some of the worst service i have ever had in my entire life. the whole staff is very unfriendly and seem just pissed off to be working there. no pleasantries like hello and how are you, just order eat and get out. i loved the salsa bar and their taco's (except no corn tortilla's :( )i tried 3 times but the service in consistently crap. never again, id rather eat out of a dumpster than patron here again.
Review Source:This is the best Mexican restaurant I have ever been too. My wife and I moved to Portland, OR a year ago and haven't found a place that touches them. We often dream of a $6 Cadillac Margarita w/ a shot of gran marnier and steak flautas. The salsa bar has a magical green cilantro garlicy sauce that makes everything better than it already is. Every dish I have eaten has been top notch and the service is always on point. We are moving back to NC and can't wait to frequent this wonderful wonderful establishment once again!
Oh.... Free Bean dip and chips. Three thumbs up!!!!
Love...Love...Love Papas & beer!!! Fun environment and awesome staff. Large parties are always welcome too! I love the Fish Tacos served with rice that you cant find anywhere else and beans which are nice and creamy. Another favorite is the Avocado Burrito and the dinner plate Cancun is sooooo good. The food always comes out fast and HOT!! Salsa bar is fun and always nice and clean. Be careful though... most of them are spicy :) Great for lunch or dinner and don't forget to get a Fried Ice cream!!!!
Review Source:Best Mexican food in WNC! The most authentic California Mexican in town! Being a Southern Californian who grew up near the border I know real mexican, this is it! They are consistant and friendly! The fajitias are the stand out dish. Don't pass up the tabelside guacamole! And have the traditional Horchata beverage to wash it all down. Come hungry, the portions are always enough to share. There is often a line but it is worth the wait and it moves fast. The salsa bar is outstanding too!
Review Source:One of the better choices for Mexican/California style food. Â Always very busy, so be ready to wait a bit. Â They did expand and have a larger bar, so you can grab a drink while waiting. Â Love their spicy bean dip, and all of the different salsa choices. Â Great prices, for the amount of food. Â My favorites are probably the carnitas plate, and fish tacos...but like an awful lot of other things on the menu. Â Ordering takeout is a good option to avoid the wait.
Review Source:This place was recommended by the hotel we were staying at, and we are happy we listened. Had the "Vallarta" which was a shrimp enchilada and a fish taco. Wife had a fish dish. Both were delicious. Also had guacamole prepared at the table side. It doesn't get any fresher. Enjoyed the variety of salsa. You're sure to find one you like. Highly recommend this place.
Review Source:I've been here a few times with my sister. I LOVE the hot sauces. The bar with all the different choices gives you the flexibility to make the food as hot as you like, which works well for me.
They had nice specials on Margaritas. My sister ordered the pomegranate and I ordered lime (standard). I think hers was a little better than mine, which I found disappointing.
We both ordered #2- a nice vegetarian mix. Pretty good, standard fare mexican. My favorite part is actually the rice. It has wonderful seasoning.
Call ahead- there was a 20 minute wait for a table for five.
Highly successful meal. The wait (early on a Friday night) was maybe 10 minutes. Service was pleasant & efficient. Liked the salsa bar & chips were fine. I was very pleased with my spinach enchiladas (which came with guac, pico de gallo, no sour cream, rice, lettuce, & real not refried beans).  My fiancé enjoyed his steak, chicken, & chorizo fajitas (though he's now uncomfortably full). My only complaint is that there were 3 (obvious contagious) birthdays, & the Spanish song was nice but then they sang happy birthday and clapped loudly. When did clapping become part of the birthday song? Shut up & get back to serving my food!
Review Source:Pretty good place. Â I'm from Texas and it's pretty hard to find decent Mexican food in NC but this place doesn't suck. Â Although the waitress said that the enchilada sauce was tomato-based (which is not Tex-Mex), I don't think it really was (she brought us a sample to try and it did seem more like the chile-based sauces we're used to although it did seem a little sweet and thickened with corn starch). Â Portions were generous although I guess we did eat quite a few chips before the entree arrived.
The wait staff was very attentive, they kept wanting to bring us more chips even though we were so stuffed we couldn't eat another bite. Â
The place would seem to be kid friendly to most people although the three screaming kids nearby would clearly have other opinions (not from the same party). Â Everyone was very tolerant of the noise, though, so if you've got kids, don't let that stop you.
THey don't currently have a full liquor license but the waiter said they'd be getting one soon. Â Currently, you can only get beer and wine. Â Soon you'll be able to also get things like Margaritas.
Fresh California Style Mexican Cuisine.  I am a big fan of their fajitas.  They use the freshest ingredients and the food  always comes out hot.  Friendly staff and expedited service, this is a must visit for anyone who is in or visiting South Asheville.  The only issue is space, you must get their early if you are eating lunch and/or dinner. Â
Highly Recommended.
This is a great place to meet friends for lunch, dinner, or to hang out for a couple of refreshing beverages. The secret to dining here is to arrive prior to noon otherwise you'll get snagged by the lunch rush. Good thing is the service is quick so they turn tables pretty fast. The resulting wait is never too long. Dinner is pretty much the same thing. Food is always consistent and affordable. Portions are always a good size. Being vegan, I'm the one who asks for no cheese and despite this variance, they have never messed up my order. It's on the south end of town and for some bizarre reason, even though it's a mere 15 minutes from downtown, some downtowners shy away from anything on the south side of town. But with the crowd's this place continues to have, the only one's missing out are those who haven't been here yet.
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