Zapata’s

Mexican fast food restaurants have become very common nowadays with zambrero, mad mex and guzman y gomez. Each of these chains provide burritos, quesadillas and tacos at reasonable prices with a variety of hot sauces to choose from.
so, when you’re paying $ 17-​$ 20 for a burrito (double the price of a mad mex burrito), you expect authenticity and quality. However, zapata’s was the complete opposite.
I ordered the chicken quesadilla (12.90) while my friends ordered the vegan tacos, chicken tacos, and the meal platter for two.
We all thought our food lacked flavour and was pretty bland. My chicken quesadilla had a filling of 90% cheese and possibly 10% chicken (I literally had to open up my quesadilla and look for it as I couldn’t taste it).
The service was slow even though the restaurant was empty (on a Friday night around 7.30pm — maybe that says it all).
Cons: Overpriced, poor service, and below average food — not going back!
Pros: Do a variety of cocktails, separate billing, great music and good vibe

I find this place a bit hit and miss. I’ve been a few times for half-​price nachos and a carafe of Margarita. Sometimes everything is delish and other times just meh. The specials are pretty tempting, and I quite like sipping Margaritas out on James Street, so I keep going back to try my luck.

Monday night at Zapata’s means half price nachos, $ 6 tacos and $ 6 Coronas with an order of nachos. We indulged in the above, which were tasty and well presented. One of my bug-​bears with nachos is that there is never enough sauce for the corn chips, however the beef nachos at Zapata’s were generously topped with a delicious sauce.
The one thing that (consistently) lets down this establishment is the service. Although the staff are friendly and polite, on my 4 or 5 visits they seem stressed, understaffed and the food takes a little too long to arrive. My tip — come early or late on a Monday or Tuesday night. Forget Saturdays and large groups (even if you book ahead).

This was a nice surprise as I have not been very happy with Mexican food in Australia generally. We had something called Mexican share or whatever — a combination of a burrito, couple of tacos and a bit of nachos that was a great choice for a dinner for two. Adding more than couple of drinks we payed around 100 dollars for a very tasty Mexican dinner. I would call that a good value for Perth.
Plus the service was very good as well. Timely, but almost invisible. The fell of the place is maybe not the best one so I was about to give this place very hefty 4 stars, but then we were standing outside after the dinner (so normally outside the responsibility window of the staff) and trying to get somebody with a lighter. That was noticed by one of the staff and a lighter was brought from the kitchen. I call that an extra mile and give 5 stars.
We will definitely return to try one of those good looking fajitas and more of the Mexican Bohemian bear.

I think you get what you pay for, and for what it costs to head to Zapata’s, I think it is a great place and this is why we go there once every couple of weeks.
My hubby and I pretty much always head there on a Monday or Tuesday night when they have the nachos and tacos specials — half price nachos and $ 6.00 tacos, and it is easy for me because the menu has vegan nachos.
I think they’re usually about $ 13.00, which means I get a meal for only $ 6.50.
The nachos have beans, corn, onion, mushrooms, guacamole and I have found them to be consistently satisfying.
Their cocktails are also cheap and we always grab a carafe of lemon margarita, as well as the trio of dip (I stick to the salsa and guac, and hubby loves having the cheese dip all to himself) and we always treat ourselves to some of the free sauces near the counter, which I think is becoming a bit of a competition between hubby and I to see who can handle the most spice in their life!
I think you have to look at restaurants in context — this is the same rating I’ve given to really top-​notch places like Tom’s Kitchen, who serve quality food and have well-​trained staff, but for their price, which is also quite reasonable, that is what I expect.
You go to Zapata’s for a cheap and cheery Tex-​Mex meal with a cocktail, and if you go there expecting that, you won’t be disappointed.
Go there and expect a five-​star dining experience, and, well…

went there last night with three friend after a day of spa e nails done…
omg the first thing that u will notice is the amount of noise coming from the inside of restaurant. for whatever reason people scram and yell to each other to talk. the food is awesome and the cocktail are so yumm… but the noise ruins everything. plus if it’s busy u will prob wait half an hour for you food and drinks.
honestly i’ll come back even if was noisy cause the food and drink are above average.
oh and this card thing to let people pay separate it’s simply awesome and all the restaurant should have it!!!

Zapata’s I’m pretty ⁵⁰⁄₅₀ on.
Some of the best things about Zapata’s include:
— great for big groups
–good atmosphere
–staff are friendly
–drink specials are on point
–huge menu
–separate billing (makes everything so much easier!)
Some of the things I’m not too keen on are:
–I find it a bit pricey for what it is
–the food is good, but with the likes of all the new mexican places in Perth it isn’t my fav (El Publico is the best imo, then perhaps El Compa).
–good sized portion
I wouldn’t think of Zapata’s as a place I would come to treat myself. But as group dinner eating goes it is pretty amazing. I am in love with the separate billing as well because it can be a real pain to organise.
The servings were good — some of these new delicious restaurants in perth serve you the tiniest morsels that you have to order heaps and heaps to get full.
I shared a Supreme Nachos with a friend at around $ 14. It was tasty but I’m a cheese fiend and I wanted more cheese up in this nacho. Maybe I’m also a bit picky but it appeared to be a tonne of meat and I had to hire a search party to find my nachos!
Special mention: We had around 20 people come to this dinner and all the food came out in a good amount of time — we even had somebody rock up late and they were served promptly with minimal waiting for the food.
So you can see what I mean about a really good group dining place, because serving groups in a restaurant is tricky business so I was impressed just with that — PLUS separate billing.

In Australia, our Mexican is not too common and often poorly executed, but this place is one of the worst I’ve experienced.
I honestly think you’d get better Mexican in a food court! Bland and tasteless and a pretty average menu… they don’t even do enchiladas!
The chili con queso dip was just like bland Kraft cream cheese microwaved! And for $ 13! Outrageous!
Nachos — I could make better at home. Tacos — bland. The chicken and corn burrito was actually quite nice but hardly any chicken for the price (about $ 16 from memory).
Huge drinks menu and being in Northbridge, it can get pretty rowdy and busy, particularly on weekends.
Give it a miss!

Went here for a birthday dinner, after an awful, awful meal at Santa Fe in Subiaco… I still wince a little bit at the memory of their frijoles refritos. But that’s another review.
As far as Australian standard Mexican food goes, it’s okay.
Originally hailing from the South, I’ve eaten my fair share of Mexican food, and even the best Australian «Mexican» makes Taco Bell look good.
But I live in hope, and I really wanted some Mexican eats that I didn’t have to make myself. so we took the plunge. It was a mixed bag as far as food goes, but we had a good time.
The chile con queso was not a solid, which is always a good start.
I didn’t even bother with the nachos, because if I get one more plate of chips and meat welded together with shredded cheese melt, I may lose my mind.
I’ve just learned to accept the fact that nacho cheese sauce is my white whale.
It could have used a bunch more onion and chiles, but it tasted pretty good after a carafe of pina coladas (also nice, but light on the rum — but it’s Perth, the only way they could manage to rip you off more on alcohol is to start charging for the use of a glass.) As previous reviewers have mentioned, the tortilla chips are weird — they’re dense and kind of tough, but they had a nice flavour.
The chicken quesadillas were a disappointment — bland, chewy, and tasteless. I don’t believe the chicken was seasoned at all, and it was topped with good old tasty cheese and squashed thinly between tortilla folds. No sauce, no salsa, nothing.
However my other half enjoyed his steak and prawn fajita dish, which was served sizzing and looked quite fresh, and the service was good — the lovely waitstaff graciously tolerated rather more inebriated carousing than other restaurants would, and were happy to let us demolish the cake we brought with us afterward. (Yes, I have been charged for both the privilege of bringing my own cake AND the luxury of being provided with plates for it before, so it’s kind of a thing for me.)
So props for that, but I probably wouldn’t be making a return trip.

I think that six years of living in Las Vegas, with frequent trips to Southern California and Mexico, has ruined me for AusMex.
I remember, back in the day, being decently satisfied with Panchos Mexican Villa in East Vic Park, but since they were booked to the gills and I had to pick up my friend from the Library just around the corner, we decided to give Zapata’s a try.
We ordered the chile con queso, the salsa mexicana, and some nachos. My friend also had a mushroom burrito.
The first and most obvious problem with Perth Mexican food is we just can’t get the cheese here. Everything, when it came out, looked absolutely cheddar-​tastic, complete with that slick of oil that Australian Tasty Cheddar gets when you melt the stuff. The nachos were basically some dry, tasteless meat, tossed on some chips with a bit of dried out tomato concoction with a bit of cheddar melted on top. Congealed, stuck together badness.
The queso dip was actually OK, but it could have used onions and some, you know, actual chillies. It was so bland that it almost tasted like that shelf stable Kraft cheese spread you get from the supermarket. The real failure was the salsa which, when it came out, looked like a pretty bad salsa fresca, but tasted like nothing I have ever put in my mouth at a Mexican restaurant anywhere on the planet. All I could taste was cumin — it was like a cumin powder dip. At the end of the meal I told them what I thought about it and they, to their credit, removed it from the bill. Still, no one should be paying for this monstrosity. And while I’m on the subject of paying for salsa — Australia, in the USA chips and salsa are free. I get that in Perth you pay for everything, but keep the charge nominal for things like this. Also, someone needs to take a culinary junket to the south west USA and see exactly how to make chips. Those dense triangles just don;t cut it. A good tortilla chip should be light, bubbly, and delightful — it should not be a plain Dorito that’s going to pierce the roof of your mouth if you bite down the wrong way.
My friend’s mushroom burrito looked pretty unappealing, and he described it as «bland, bland, unbelievably bland». The cheddar cheese melted all over it made it look like an inverted toasted cheese sandwich wrap with a few mushrooms tossed in for good measure.
I know that Perth has recently seen a couple of supposedly authentic Mexican places open up, but has anyone seen the menu? I don’t want weird, trendy takes on interior Mexican food. Give me some good TexMex or CalMex. All you need to do is master the cheese, master the chips and you’re 80% of the way there.
And for God sake, stop with the pointless little side salads. A few strips of lettuce with a cube of tomato on top? Why bother? Learn to make proper refried beans, black beans, Anyone In Perth who hits on tasty, honest Mexifare is going to be my best friend.
Zapata’s, unfortunately, fell a long way beneath my Mexpectations.

Well this was just abysmal. We had eaten here a couple of years ago and we were unimpressed. But walking past often and seeing it always full tempted us to try again. We were FOOLED. We ordered the ‘pueblo’ burrito (stuffed with tasteless rice and spinach loosely held together with ketchup), a bean taco (passable) and the most revolting vegetarian soft tacos which tasted of nothing yet were revolting at the same time. The soft tacos had the texture, taste and aroma of melted plastic coasters. Thank god we ordered some chips otherwise I would’ve left hungry. We kept looking around at the packed restaurant asking ourselves ‘who are these people?’ Zapatas, consider yourselves blacklisted.

The closest thing to me celebrating Cinco de Mayo is drinking a corona while writing this review on a supposed Mexican/​Latino restaurant. Unfortunately, I can’t say the closest thing was the food, as it was arguably the furthest thing away from being considered Mexican.
I’ll compare it to this… I imagine an Italian traveling to anywhere outside of Italy and finding «Italian food» laughable, incomparable, insulting and probably disgusting. Let me remember that I’m half-​way around the world from Mexico. Tonight that distance was felt in my heart, stomach and soul.
Simply put, Zapata’s is abysmal. Let me count the ways.
We ordered the Los Tres Dip. It contained salsa, queso, and guacamole. Two out of three were an unrecognizable tribute to the real McCoy. I’ve never had regular salsa served sweet. The Salsa Mexicana was merely tomatoes, chives and probably sugar. Cilantro is a crucial part of all Mexican dishes. It was nowhere to be found the entire night.
This wasn’t a specialty sweet salsa with fruit and mint. This was their sad attempt. The queso… what was this? What’s in this? It was literally the same consistency of adhesive. I couldn’t eat this and I don’t think I’ve ever passed on cheese. It wasn’t thin and smooth with jalapenos, onions and tomatoes floating around. The taste was completely off, wrong cheese and wrong texture. The guacamole was fine, although, that isn’t a hard dish. The corn chips that accompanied the dish were good.
The carafe ($ 16) of margaritas was a joke. Is there even any alcohol in these? Let’s be honest… You just scammed me and charged me $ 16 for lemonade and margarita mix. Skip the carafe and just order a Negro Modelo.
I should have known by now to just up and leave, but we had already ordered and neither of us had eaten since noon. We originally had wanted to go with the Mexican Sampler but asked our Colombian waitress if we could substitute the Mushroom Enchilada. I’ve never heard of a Mushroom Enchilada nor had one South of the border. The waitress said, «No»… not a «Let me go ask»… just a solid «No». We ordered the chicken fajitas and a side of refried beans.
The fajita skillet wasn’t covered with food. I’d argue from a presentation standpoint, the idea would be to impress. I argue I saw more skillet than food. The onions and three (yes, 3) bell pepper pieces were chilling on the opposite side of the meat. This is embarrassing! All of these flavors are suppose to meld together and be cooked together. If meat is so expensive, you could at the very least spring for more veggies. The meat appeared to be have been done in a frying pan, it had not cooked on the skillet they provided. The meat didn’t have the smoked fajita taste. The tortillas tasted like glue. They were inedible.
The beans… I don’t have one positive thing to say about them. For $ 3 extra (as they don’t come with fajitas, nor rice for that matter), I might have received 2 ounces and this is what it contained, canned beans (not fresh), served with cheese and some kind of thin tomato salsa (like ketchup). Utterly disappointing and not at all representational of true frijoles. There was nothing authentic about these beans.
We were ready to leave and to pay the full bill; However, we wanted the beans comped. We requested to speak with the manager, who oddly enough is Mexican. He asked our opinion and so we asked if everything is fresh and homemade. He said, «Absolutely, everything is.» My man said, «What about the tortillas, they taste like glue.» And, the manager stated, «Oh, no those aren’t homemade». «So, did you just lie to me? You stated everything is fresh and homemade.» And, the manager said, «Well, everything is but the tortillas.» Um, convenient. In my world, your word is meaningless now. And, tells me that this food isn’t fresh.
The manager said, «Yeah, well, this is just your opinion. Australians love us.» No, «I’m sorry to hear that.» Or, «You know produce is really expensive over here.» Or, «We can’t get so-​and-​so product over here.» «Thank you for your feedback, we always want to make strides to improve our food. Let me comp those drinks.» Absolutely nothing. I am use to managers bending over backwards to ensure their patrons have amazing service, food, and care about constructive criticism. Nada.
I do recognize that this is Australia. For a Saturday night, the place was packed. So, it may be true that «Australians love you». However, as a Mexican and a manager of a Mexican restaurant, have some pride in what you serve and to the authenticity of your country. Maybe «real» Mexican food would actually change the mind of plenty of Australians that I hear hate Mexican food.
I won’t be back. I am ashamed to say this but I’d take a box of Old El Paso over Zapatas any day of the week. At least I know I am getting mediocrity and paying accordingly. This place is a farce.

OK, I’m not 100% sure I qualify to be able to write a review about Zapata’s, as I can only remember the beginning of the night. I remember thinking why did my friend have to pick a Mexican restaurant to celebrate her birthday and in the middle of the week. I walked through the door and my mood immediately lifted, the décor just had a great jovial theme to it.
And then we ordered the Sangria! need I say more?
We had a fabulous evening, the food was good and the staff were brilliant. They had a laugh with us and didn’t mind us getting louder and drunker by the minute, which in my book is the most important rule of dining out.
I’m not a massive Mexican fan, and generally avoid Mexican restaurants if I can, but I can honestly say I did enjoy the food.
This is the perfect place to celebrate your birthday and surprise yourself, go during the week, just make sure you get a bus in.

After coming back from a trip to Texas where we sampled some amazing Mexican dishes my friend and I decided we had to find a local joint to keep out cravings at bay and Zapata’s was the winner.
They have a bunch of different discount nights like cheap margaritas, tacos and nachos but I cant remember the all — awesome reviewer I am.
The quality of the food is great and their menu is pretty expansive as well so there’s a fair bit to choose from, but the thing that impressed me the most was that we customised our order. By that I mean we mixed a bunch of different stuff in with queso cheese dip and they were more than happy to help. Confused but happy.

I have mentioned in a few of my reviews, my love for Mexican, I think I have tried most of Perth’s restaurants. I am not sure what it is about Mexican that really makes it special but Zapata’s seem to have mastered it.
I love Fremantle, and because it has so many restaurants, deciding on dinner is a challenge. Zapata’s, gets my choice over most of Fremantle’s restaurants, but to be honest im not sure if that is because I love all Mexican food, or if it is down to something else?
Either way on of Fremantle’s best and one delicious burrito!

Zapata’s is a great place to go for a fun night out. Mexican restaurants are generally always a fun and easygoing place to go to for a meal, and Zapata’s sums that up completely. It is centered in the middle of Northbridge on James Street which creates a lively atmosphere around the restaurant whether you are sat inside or outside. The staff are friendly and accommodating, although I did catch out one of the waiters who was Brazilian not Mexican, but we’ll let them off! The food is amazing and the portions are crazy large, I’ve never finished a meal there so it is worth the reasonable price you pay. They have a fun cocktail list, it’s worth getting a carafe for the experience, and if you go on Wednesdays they’re $ 10, so you can go a bit crazy and get two!
It is a lot of fun going here, it’s easygoing, so after a day running around the city, or to catch up with a group of friends, you can hang loose, eat some tasty food and enjoy the atmosphere of the restaurant. (An added bonus, to make your booking you can ring 1300 NACHOS, a massive highlight for me!)

Zapata’s is a delightful Mexican oasis in the middle of a James Street strip desert full of Italian restaurants and steakhouses. That metaphor doesn’t work too well, but you know what I mean! Mexican restaurants can be a bit hit-​and-​miss, but Zapata’s is a delightful change of scenery, and it’s also one of the best Mexican restaurants I’ve ever been to. The food is delicious, the portions are satisfying, the menu is extensive and reasonable and it spells out the names of the Mexican dishes phonetically so you don’t sound stupid when you order! The inside of the restaurant is really nicely decorated, but sitting outside, if you can get a table, is where it’s really at.
As well as great food they also do tasty cocktails and cheap sangria ($ 16.60 for a carafe). Not many men want to sit in the middle of a Northbridge street sipping a colourful fruity drink, so Zapata’s has got the guys covered too — they have ten Latin American Beers on offer, and at reasonable prices for imported beer. Also, considering the location of the restaurant, it’s a great place to begin a night out in Northbridge, and what better way to get the party started than with the cheapest range of tequila slammers you’ll find anywhere in the city!

Here’s a local tip: for a faster fix, skip the long customs line at the airport and head to Zapata’s to experience the the full flavours of Mexico, at your personal spice level (mild, medium or hot). Open 7 nights a weeks, they offer the simplicity of split billing and extrodinary specials:
Monday/​Tuesday: half price nachos and $ 6 tacos
Wednesday: Cheap cocktail carafes ($ 10 with any meal)
Thursday/​Sunday: $ 6 pina coladas
I went for 3 other of my girlfriends on a Monday night and we all got the half price nachos, with eyes bigger than our belly’s we asked for extra jalapenos, tomatoes, sour cream and avocado at an extra cost of only $ 2, as delicious as it was, they were surprisingly very filling and we struggled to get half way through.
Now your only question is which night to go!

Ein wirklich toller Mexikaner in Perth, mitten in Northbridge (dem Restaurant– und Fortgehviertel von Perth). Wir waren während unseres längeren Aufenthalts dort häufig essen und jedes Mal wieder begeistert — sowohl vom Essen als auch vom Service. Die (scheinbar gemischt-​südamerikanische) Crew war stets super freundlich. Das Essen war sehr lecker (wirklich alles auf der Karte zu empfehlen) und die Preise für diese Qualität mehr als fair.
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Great mexican restaurant in Perth, in the middle of Northbridge (the restaurant and bar district of Perth). During our long term stay we went there several times to have dinner and every time we were very delighted with the dinner as well as the service. Great prices for perfect food!