El 7 Mares Bar & Grill

Reviews

• Energy K.

  star star star star star 12 June 2026

  The food is good the drinks are good pool table is good and the people are pretty good so I think is pretty good

• Loz J.

  star star star_border star_border star_border 1 June 2026

  Jackson Ave., with a couple of notable exceptions, really tests my adventurous-eating mettle.  This particular stretch makes Summer feel like Shady Grove to me.  I've passed by 7 Mares for years, riveted by the sweet murals with sharks, mermaids, and Mexican dishes painted in the windows, and yet paralyzed by thoughts of a massive language barrier, or a filthy establishment, or something darker - with fear driving my fantasies inevitably to a cartel-style execution awaiting me inside.  But I've also imagined it to be the next great Mexican restaurant in town, which I'm on a continual quest to find.
  
  I finally got the nerve to go in today, and I was worried for all the wrong reasons.  Make no mistake, this IS a dicey part of town.  There is a lot of, uh, colorful foot traffic.  (El 7 Mares shares its building with a small corner store.)  But 7 Mares is an oasis from the outside.  No record scratched when I walked in.  It was cheerful (with plenty of Halloween decorations adding spirit) and clean enough upon a cursory inspection. I was greeted warmly in fluent English.  Even the TV was airing a program in English.  (Red flag?)  There were several (diverse!) tables of customers in the small front room, with a few people at the tin-roofed bar.  I was very relieved to have my assumptions proved wrong.  Sadly, the disappointing part of my experience was the food.
  
  I have to say that I didn't find the next great Memphis Mexican food today.  I went with a safe, standard choice for me:  enchiladas suizas with a side of guacamole.  Chicken was the only option for these enchiladas.  7 Mares provides free chips and salsa.  The salsa was average at best, and the guacamole I ordered was subpar.  The salsa reminded me of Los Picosos - not bad, but not my type.  I can't verbalize the flavor, but I think it's a combination of sweet and tangy.  And quite mild.  
  
  The guacamole was really creamy, as if it had been mixed with sour cream.  Again, edible, just "unnatural" and not very good.  I haven't had the processed grocery store guacamole in many years, but this didn't seem too far from what I remember of that stuff.  As far as the enchiladas, they were not a good example in my experience.  The menu mentioned a tomatillo sauce (that's what defines the dish, right?), but I swear there was nothing but cheese on these.  And a ton of it at that.  The chicken was good - tender and well seasoned with peppers cooked in.  But these weren't the enchiladas suizas I've grown to love.  I'll keep going to Playitas when I'm craving those.
  
  I may end up giving 7 Mares another try, but there are a ton of proven restaurants in the vicinity - Macon and Summer to the southeast - that already have my loyalty.  Things would have to improve dramatically for me to come back a third time.

• R R.

  star star star star_border star_border 1 June 2026

  I can't say anything particularly bad about this establishment except the extremely shady location. The food is on par with any of the summer ave tacatarias at the exact same price. The only major difference is this is a lounge with music blasting. I suppose the experience depends on if you like Mexican music.