Mexican Restaurants in Apache Junction

For food in a flash, head to Taco Bell in Queen Creek's Shoppes At Indigo Trails district. At Taco Bell, you can impress your healthy friends with the vegan and gluten-free menu. If you're in a hurry, place an order for pickup instead. If your preferred mode of transit is of the two wheel variety, you're in luck — there's tons of bike parking outside the restaurant. Save your pennies for a rainy day — with prices generally under $15, you'll have plenty left over even after dining at Taco Bell. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner are all available at Taco Bell.

The newly remodeled Asado Mexican Kitchen aims to put a modern spin on Sonoran cuisine and New Mexican fare. Among the space's handsome stone walls and LED-lit wooden-plank ceilings, the sleek granite bar and tables are not just home to traditional street tacos, slow-roasted pork, and Frito pie. There are also more unusual dishes to be found, like freshly roasted hatch chili peppers, Mexican-style ceviche, and a Southwestern pasta tossed with red chili cream sauce, grilled chicken, black beans, roasted corn, and cotija cheese.

The authentic offerings hat-dancing across Blue Burrito's menu marinate expectations in garlic and grill them into delicious oblivion (menus vary slightly by location). Appetize yourself with the complex complexion of a Mexican fajita pizza (double-layered tortilla pizza with grilled chicken or steak, pico de gallo, grilled peppers and onions, and melted cheese, $9.95), before boldly moving on to a specialty such as the two flautas and a taco platter, which comes chained to sides of Mexican rice, black or pinto beans, guacamole, sour cream, cheese, and tomato ($7.25).

When you spend 25 years doing one job, you'd better love it. Luckily for LuLu's Taco Shop owners Lulu and Israel Aviles, making the traditional Guadalajaran cuisine of their homeland has always been a labor of love. The duo begins with Mexican recipes passed down through generations and then incorporates Arizona's Tex-Mex influence to create a menu that mixes old with new for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Tacos begin with hand-crafted flour and corn tortillas. Once the tortillas are hot and pressed, staff then fill them with meat or seafood cooked in house-made marinades. Dishes can be prepared in the Mexican fashion?topped with cilantro and onions?or Arizona-style with fire sauce, cheese, and guacamole. Either way, the flavors stay true to the Guadalajara region, as the shop sources its spices and seasonings directly from Mexico. LuLu's even imports Mexican beers to round out the taqueria experience, with margaritas available to get parties started or put out party-related fires.

El Rico's transformed from a humble taco shack into a full-fledged Mexican restaurant that boasts a menu jam-packed with homestyle eats. Mountains of nachos lurk beneath grilled carne asada or pollo asada capped with guacamole, sour cream, and lime ($9.79 for full order; $6.99 for half order). Crispy flautas ($8.99), which come in threes to symbolize each of the hemispheres, conceal shredded beef or chicken, and the grilled-shrimp taco plate hosts its seaworthy morsels atop soft tortillas accessorized with pillows of rice and beans ($11.99).

Serrano’s extensive menu features a full spread of authentic Mexican appetizers, enchiladas, fajitas, sandwiches, and more. Make the flavorful most of the preprandial course with a combo mini appetizer platter, a delectable spread of beef flautas, chicken and cheese rollups, and stuffed jalapeños ($9.50). For the prand itself, diners can avail their faces of house specialties such as the machaca, shredded beef or chicken with chili, tomatoes, onions, rice, and beans saddled up next to a posse of flour tortillas ($9.75). Seafood lovers, and people who once dropped an engagement ring into the ocean and are searching for it one fish at a time, can explore the seafood favorites, such as the diverse Del Mar Sampler, featuring a shrimp enchilada, halibut steak, and garlic shrimp served with rice and Mexican-style veggies ($14.95).