El Cartel - Carta

The margaritas are excellent and the food is delicious. The atmosphere is great, and the staff is very helpful and friendly. The only issue is that the restaurant is popular and doesn't take reservations, so you may have to wait for a table or not get one at all.

This is exactly the type of Mexican dining Edinburgh has been screaming out for! Gone are your sour cream and refried bean mound of slop, and in comes the delicious fresh tacos and amazing sides. And who doesn't like frozen margaritas?! Will be frequently visiting here to eat allllllll the tacos

I went to this restaurant last night with my friends who were visiting from Bristol and I was incredibly impressed! We tried a variety of dishes from the menu, with the assistance of the very friendly staff. All of the dishes we tried were amazing- made with fresh ingredients and packed with flavor. The frozen paloma was also delicious! I will definitely be returning and would recommend this place to anyone who enjoys Mexican food. It's easy to get Mexican cuisine wrong, but El Cartel really nails it. I will be longing for those tacos for a long time. Ver carta

I love that El Cartel doesn 't serve 'typical ' Mexican fare instead you 'll find Mexican street food with a modern, gourmet twist. The portions are small, tapas style, and ordering multiple dishes is the best way to sample the innovative offerings. My favourites are the ranchero taco (fried avocado, scrambled egg, guajillo chile, and sheep 's milk cheese), the guacamole – topped with pomegranate seeds and sheep’s milk cheese, served alongside crispy plantain chips, and the corn slathered in cream and spiced cheese. The uniquely flavoured frozen margaritas are fantastic as well!

two pairs of tacos jumped on the table. baja cod had crispy broken fish fillets, sitting on a crispy granatapfel infused salat, dressed with smokey/spicky spiked creamy sauce, all in damp, soft taco dishes, which had the subtle pixancy of limettes soaked mais. also delicious were their carnous counterparts carne asada the same beautiful taco shells but this time surrounded flash fried, juicy strips of flat iron steak (a underused cut in my opinion) combined with a free mix of chord bites and roasted cherry tomatin, giving a real kick of subtle fiery salsa with arbol chilies. literally pouring.

I have been wanting to go here for a long time, and I really wasn't disappointed. It a Mexican that serves Mexican street food, the dishes are quite small so you are told to order a few dishes and share them, like tapas. The food was so nice we has 5 dishes, I had the quesadillas which were really yummy and then the pumpkin tacos which were really good. My friend got chicken wings and ribs and we shared some red rice, which was great. We also had a frozen margarita each, I had a mango one and my friend had a white peach one, which was really tasty. The food was so tasty and the service was great. I was quite surprised how small the restaurant was. It wasn't overly expensive. I will definitel... Ver carta

This restaurant is fantastic, especially if you need a break from shopping. The portions are small, allowing you to try more items on the menu and are perfect for sharing. I tried the duck tacos with soft shells and my friend had the lamb tacos, which were the special of the day. I'm not a fan of spice, but I found them to be a bit spicy. The combination of flavors was excellent, and I particularly enjoyed the pumpkin seeds. We also shared the quesadillas, which were equally delicious. The restaurant has a trendy vibe with decorative skulls, and the staff were all friendly and quick to recommend dishes. I'll definitely have to come back with an empty stomach to try more of their offerings an...

tacos are my favourite food and el cartel is my favourite place to get them in edinburgh! it is a small restaurant that means that it is quite difficult to get a table, but as long as it doesn't matter to wait for them, they can have a drink in the neighboring bar and the personal will let them know when they are ready. the environment is very intimate, but because it is so busy, there is always a great atmosphere. the staff is very cooled and very friendly. I was here a few times and I enjoyed it with everyone. at my last visit, my mother and I came to lunch and took what felt like an exceptionally long time to decide what to order! Finally, after help from the waitress, we decided for the...

As part of the Bon Vivant group I expected the food at El Cartel to be good and thankfully wasn 't disappointed. Had some tasty sweet potato and chorizo quesadillas; pork tacos; duck tacos (I think it was this that was particularly fiery and delicious cod tacos with light and crisp battler. Had all three of the accompaniments too, including a beautiful slaw, though I wasn 't crazy about the flavour of the drunken beans. Had a scoop each of chocolate chilli and rich pudding (more like hot cross buns or something ice cream to finish: tasty and with an interesting, almost chewy texture, though at £3 each feels a little steep. All washed down with a tasty frozen margaritas (I had a rhubarb one t... Ver carta