By: Clark Kinney
It’s the age old debate of the two staple Mexican restaurants in Sumter: Yucatan or Mariachis? Now I really do like both and go to both often, but one is sightly better overall in my opinion.
Mariachis has a very friendly staff who are always looking out for you and your table. Despite not usually writing your order down (which worries me), they do get them right most of the time. The atmosphere is solid with lots of TVs especially outside where there are fans and heaters to regulate the temperature. The chips and salsa are pretty good along with the queso but could be a little better. The food is good overall but there is room for improvement. I would give the food a 7.1 out of 10. A couple things they really do have going for them is their homemade ranch which is fire and their blue smurf drink which is sprite mixed with something blue and topped with whipped cream. I haven’t had it since probably 6th grade but it’s good bumped their score up a point or so. One thing they don’t have going for them even though I understand why is that they are not open on Sundays which is sad because people with go there after church or to watch NFL football.
Yucatan has a nice staff but not as caring as Mariachis. They have always gotten my order right other than one time, and they gave me my meal for free. The food also comes out in no time so it feels like you’re never waiting. The atmosphere is solid with music and TVs but not as many TVs as Mariachis. The chips and salsa are so good along with the queso. Yucatan’s queso is what makes the restaurant better than Mariachi’s. Their queso is just better like I don’t know how else to put it. It makes every meal at Yucatan good. It brings their food rating up to a 7.9 out of 10. They are also open on Sundays which is a plus.
In my opinion, Yucatan is simply better than Mariachis based on their better tasting food and shorter wait times. It is close though but Yucatan takes it, it is the best Mexican restaurant in Sumter.
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