This week our search for the best tacos in Chatt town brought us to Fiesta Mexicana in Hixson.
I was in the Hixson neighborhood doing a little retail therapy when I drove by this restaurant and decided to stop in for a meal. Fiesta Mexicana is like Amigos Mexican Cantina restaurants we have in the city.
It’s a bit larger than the usual mom-and-pop locations and it has an extensive menu, a full liquor bar, cocktail and happy hour specials, and daily meal specials.
It has an ample dining room. The walls are painted in bright colors and works of art depicting the Mexican culture hang on the walls. There are big screen TVs which likely draw in crowds for soccer and weekend football games.
Of course I came to sample their tacos. But I plan to go back and try their Pina De La Fiesta. Picture a pineapple sliced in half filled with grilled steak, chicken, shrimp, peppers, onions, bacon, and Oaxaca cheese. That sounds fantastic and it’s served with rice, beans, fajita salad, and tortillas.
I ordered my tacos a la carte, but they also offer their Ricos Tacos with your choice of carne asada, pollo asada, chorizo, or carnitas. You get four tacos, choice of meat served Mexican style or American style.
I tried their shrimp and their fish tacos. I also ordered their Fiesta guacamole.
I was stunned when she brought out the guacamole. The molcajete bowl they served it in was bigger than my head. The chunks of avocado were the biggest chunks I’ve ever been served. It’s like they took a whole avocado, cut it into eight chunks and added the tomatoes, jalapenos and onions on it. It didn’t have any cilantro.
It was served with a lime wedge so you could add as little or as much acidity as you wanted. I squeezed that lime over the guacamole and stirred it all up. It lacked a little seasoning at first, but it was a quick fix with a little salt and pepper.
The shrimp were grilled and well-seasoned, adding a nice exterior crust. There were three shrimp per taco, topped with the usual cilantro and onions. The fish was Tilapia, and it was flaky, light, and delicious with a squeeze of lime. The tacos were served with a salsa roja (red spicy hot sauce).
It was brownish in color, I mean it looked spicy as all get-out, so I made sure to do the fingertip dip test (say that three times fast). I’m glad I did because it took my whole glass of Sprite to put out the five alarm fire in my tongue and throat.
Lawd ham mercy it was hot!
As I mentioned, the menu is huge with all your favorite Mexican foods. You name it, they have it. Fiesta Mexicana offers a variety of lunch combinations available seven days a week from 11 a.m. until 3 p.m. You can create your own lunch combos, with your choice of one item, two items or three.
They have another combo called a little of everything with a chile relleno, taco, enchilada, and tamale. All the combo platters are served with rice and beans as well.
Their dinner specialty is their Molcajete De La Fiesta. Grilled chicken, shrimp, steak, and chorizo, ribs, nopales (cactus), and cambray onions, topped with red hot sauce and Oaxaca cheese. It’s served in a bubbling hot molcajete bowl along with rice, beans, fajita salad, and tortillas.
This place likes to celebrate. Their staff is courteous, quick and focused on their customers’ needs. They make sure all is well. This is the type of place where you can expect to have a sombrero thrown on your head if it’s your birthday. So it if is your special day, be prepared to be serenaded by the staff and have some dessert smooshed in your face!
Open Monday through Thursday from 11 a.m. until 10 p.m. Friday-through Sunday from 11a.m. until 10:30 p.m. The restaurant has two other locations in Ringgold and Cleveland.
Fiesta Mexicana
- 4021 Hixson Pike, Chattanooga
- (423) 877-2879
- $$ - $$$
- Facebook: facebook.com/Fiestamexicana154021
What’s your favorite taco place and why? Send me an email at Pattyl@brewermediagroup.com