El Sonador Restaurant Review in Gatlinburg: Best Mexican Food in Town?

It took us a few years before we tried No Way Jose’s in Gatlinburg, but it’s taken us a handful more before finally walking inside El Sonador. The reason is mixed. Unfortunately, this Mexican restaurant was lost to the Gatlinburg fires in November 2016. Its original location was on 321 beyond the downtown strip. Now, they are on the corner of 321 and the Parkway behind Gatlinburg Brewing Company, which should be good for business. What did we think? Read on and I will finally share our first experience at El Sonador.

Even though we’ve eaten our fair share of Mexican food throughout our lives, that doesn’t make us connoisseurs of the cuisine. Sometimes, I’m not even sure we’ve ever had authentic Mexican food with everyone claiming to adorn either the Tex-Mex or “authentic” Mexican moniker. In Gatlinburg, No Way Jose’s is part of a diverse restaurant group, but they adopt the latter, while Loco Burro proudly calls themselves a Tex-Mex establishment in the Kennedy Concepts restaurant group.

El Sonador stands alone as claiming to be authentic without the weight of belonging to a group of restaurants serving foods that have nothing to do with Mexico…mostly. I’m not ripping these restaurants by saying this. We happen to really like some of these places, but I’m focusing on this one, so let’s get started with our visit.

After getting off work at 5, I was feeling a bit starved, as was my wife. We were trying to decide whether to eat at our familiar Mexican spot, No Way Jose’s, but felt it was time to make our first visit to El Sonador. To get there, I think you can take an elevator, but we opted for the steps from the 321 side of the building.

It’s not a large area, but it’s also not small either. Seating is comfortable, and you can see some familiar Mexican flair and photos inside, even if it’s a little more understated than other traditional Mexican restaurants. I will applaud them for having one of the smaller, easier to read menus you can find at Mexican restaurants. This is a classic “if you know, you know,” aspect.

There’s always the common basket of tortilla chips and salsa, standard at most Mexican eateries. But this wasn’t standard in the least. I mean that in the best way. The chips had a distinct corn flavor with a firm texture, and the salsa was seasoned with a bit of heat, but not enough to incinerate your mouth. And they struck a nice middle balance between watery and thick. My wife and I agreed—while trying hard to stop eating them—they were the best chips and salsa we’ve begun any meal with.

My wife ordered the Quesadilla Fajita with Steak, which consisted of a large grilled flour tortilla stuffed with mozzarella and served with a modest helping of lettuce, tomato, and guacamole (she held off the rice and sour cream). She thoroughly enjoyed it, except she thought the guacamole was on the bland side, but I disagree. I haven’t met a serving of mashed avocado I didn’t love.

I ordered the Taco Salad with Ground Beef, being wary of the fact my carbohydrate intake was already at its limit. As it turned out I ended up eating the entirety of the shell, so…so much for that (and my blood sugar, for that matter). My only problem was that it wasn’t large enough. I kept thinking how much better it would’ve tasted with peppers and onions. For what it was worth, I still found it quite delightful.

Service was pretty on-point. I always have to mention it, because bad service can ruin the whole experience, as it has in the past for a few other restaurants in Gatlinburg where the food was and still is delicious. Our server was friendly, checking up on us to make sure we were enjoying our food, which he clearly understood as he approached us prior to our plates being polished off.

Needless to say, we will be returning, and maybe even before we visit our previous favorite, No Way Jose’s. The verdict? If you want to know what authentic Mexican food is, I don’t think you can go wrong with eating at El Sonador in Gatlinburg. I think it’s the first, or maybe second time the word “authentic” can legitimately be assigned to a Mexican restaurant we’ve visited. Once again, I’m giving a Gatlinburg eatery 4.5 stars, and it’s our new favorite south of the border dining experience.

I hope you enjoyed my latest restaurant review. Next week is Gatlinburger Week, so make sure you subscribe, as I will be trying at least a few of the competing burgers from some highly regarded restaurants in town—some of which, again, we’ve never visited. Therefore, expect a few reviews and my vote for a favorite of the burger bunch. Thank you all so very much, and you’ll hear from me again soon!