ALLI Mexican Cuisine

I've been coming here almost 5 years and they never disappoint!! GREAT food, my Mexican mom loves the gorditas (they are so big!!!) TACOS ARE DELICIOUS! The staff here are so nice, they definitely make sure your experience is great. The spot is super clean and very authentic! Overall, food is AUTHENTIC delicious, great portions, GREAT price overall! 10/10 THIS PLACE DESERVES MORE RECOGNITION!!!

This may be my favorite *real* Mexican food in Austin.I love taco trucks, and fancy "Mexican-inspired" food like Suerte, and everything in between.But if I just want real Mexican food that makes me feel transported to Guanajuato, this is where I come.The chicarron gorditas are incredible, and also cheap. The service is friendly. It's clean and nicely decorated. But it's also not fancy or catering to gringos. You can't go wrong here.

Review: Gorditas made to order, Refreshing Jamaica agua fresca and friendly service it doesn't get better than that. Their gorditas were spot on, not too thick where the maza is overpowering and their fillings are popping with flavor. Their Rajas & Queso Fresco was amazing the poblano peppers added a mild smoky heat which was cooled down with the queso and it paired beautifully with their spicy salsa roja. The Desebrada gorditas was juicy, complicated with onions and cilantro. Adding their salsa verde just elevated it giving it freshness and acidity from the tomatillo. Their sopes were tasty with the saltiness from the refried beans as the base then Alpastor which is their spin on it but still good topped with tomato, lettuce, queso fresco, sour cream and avocado. Highly recommend and hope to go back to try some of their other items like their tacos and tortas.Rating: 10/10Gorditas: Alli's unique maza pockets prepared at the moment. They take 10-15 minutes to be ready. One of the most traditional and authentic item on our menu. (Cheese, Sour Cream, and extra Avocado additional charge)Desebrada: slow cooked marinated shredded beef.Rajas & Queso Fresco: Sauteed Poblano peppers and Queso Fresco.Sopes: Three mini-sopes with refried beans, sour cream, lettuce, tomato, avocado and queso fresco. Your choice of ONE of the following meats: Carnitas, Bistec, Pastor or Chicken. Alpastor: smoked marinated pork

I'm basing my review solely on the Al Pastor tacos that I ordered to-go today. I order these everywhere and basically compare all on taste, flavor, cut, and tenderness. These Al Pastors met all of my requirements. They were juicy, yet cut into smaller than bite-sized pieces, which is difficult to do without overcooking. I ordered them on flour tortillas whereas traditionally they'd be on corn; but the tortillas were just the right size and flipped on the griddle to be still soft, with no crispy edges, yet toasted and pliable. Perfect. They were adorned with the traditional diced cilantro and white onion; no pineapple added, yet tasty nonetheless. I asked the bilingual order-taker if they had "creamy green salsa," which is my favorite to accompany these types of tacos, and she said, "yes," but it turned out to be simply "verde," no creaminess. I wished then that I'd asked for some red salsa to compare--oh well, it was not to be this time. The salsa verde was a chunky version and mild, tastier with a bit of salt added. I would definitely try this place again--I'd like to check out the mole, which comes Yelp-recommended. On the menu it just lists a chicken mole dinner, but I'm sure that they'd be willing to serve it shredded, in enchilada form. The restaurant sit-down patrons seemed to be enjoying their chips and red salsa on their table, but I chose not to interrogate them about their meal (this time). The greeters and wait staff were extremely friendly and showed me where to order "to-go"--Hint, it's at the bar counter register, not at the front door podium. Oh, and a last hint/warning: nowhere on the outside signage is the word, "ALLI," but it's the farthest storefront to the left within the strip center, and obviously a home-grown place, so please frequent these hard-working folk who make delicious food locally. Enjoy!

The first time I ate ALLI was a pivotal experience for me, and that's not praise I endow on just any restaurant. It was a moment of elation, a tummy euphoria, peppered with a bittersweet sadness. The joy, because of the caliber of the food. And the sadness? Regret for the countless Mexican meals, years and years of which I'd recklessly squandered by not dining at ALLI. ALLI is a family owned Mexican restaurant located in a nondescript (& a bit disheveled) strip off Payton Gin. Do not let the exterior scare you off, like it did me for several years. You'll regret it.The first time I had real Mexican food, it was prepared by my roommate's abuela in the valley. It opened my eyes. I must have eaten 3 whole plates of carne guisada, rice & beans that night. I'm sure some of you gringos have had a similar experience. Most of the taquerias around Austin can't replicate that homemade vibe; they supply a cheap imitation, at best. ALLI is different. A lucky someone's grandma is making that food, and it tastes exactly like you'd expect. The gorditas, with their fresh made-to-order pockets of masa house their spiced & braised deshebrada, without that overpowering masa flavor. The crisp exterior supplies the perfect amount of structure for your fat deshebrada bites, all the while mopping up the yummy juices. The end result is a beautiful, glistening gordita pocket that's soft and supple without falling apart in your hands. Enormous and at $6 a pop you can't go wrong. I believe it's one of their standout menu items, and the proprietors themselves describe it as one of the most authentic items on the menu. You must get one as an accompaniment with your meal. They also have the best chicharron en salsa that I've had the pleasure of having in the Austin area. In Austin, I'm accustomed to a slimy mess coated in an ambiguous watery mixture, which I choke down due to my gluttonous masochism. At ALLI, you'll enjoy large, silken chunks of chicharron with some actual texture in each bite. It's bathed in a rich, oily & chile-infused salsa that fully permeates each delightful morsel. Unfortunately I moved away shortly after discovering ALLI and I have not been able to extensively explore the menu, but everything I've tried (bistec ranchero, molcajete, mole, chile relleno) has been stellar. It just blows all of the other small chain taquerias around here out of the water. Life is too short to eat crappy tortillas and poorly seasoned meat. Next time you're craving a traditional Mexican meal, come to ALLI. They'll serve you as if you're a guest in their home, and it'll taste like it too.

I work on Burnet Road and decided to try this place again and omg it's unreal how good this place is. 100% authentic hands down my favorite Mexican restaurant.

My daughter and I were on a quest for local, authentic Mexican food, and we found it here!!The chips and salsa: perfect, and the customer service was top notch! I ordered the pollo platter with corn tortillas, and my daughter ordered the carnitas plate. Everything about my dish was delicious, and the portion size was exactly what I was looking for that evening: large! The carnitas plate was ordered with flour tortillas: wonderfully flavored, but the meat was slightly over cooked. With our dishes, they provided a bottle of salsa verde... I could have eaten that by the spoonful! It had great flavor and a good balance of spice; both the green and red salsas tasted freshly prepared in-house. The restaurant is located a bit off the beaten path and could be a tad cleaner inside, but we had a very good dining experience and are new fans of this local, dine-in spot!

Authentic Mexican. Clean and great service. Mexican Coke. Delicious * 100. No booze, unfortunately.

Loved the food here !! Mauricio was our server he made our experience much more better here ! Loved it, food was amazing and great customer service We got an amazing and delicious plate and on top of that, our server was super friendly and he gave us a great experience here he deserves a raise or a promotion! He's really committed into making customers feel welcome.

Best and biggest tortas in town. You even get chips and salsa and see videos at the same time. Highly recommend this spot. You won't be disappointed.