Here’s the best Mexican restaurant in Southwest Illinois according to our readers
Holy guacamole! The Final Round in our Mexican restaurant bracket was … well, it was no contest, really.
I say that because Casa Maria Mexican Grill won by a landslide – and I’d definitely call getting 2,560 votes (that’s 97% of the votes) winning by a landslide.
Restaurant manager Kierra Hennings was thrilled to learn that Casa Maria won the poll.
“Oh my gosh, that is amazing!” exclaimed Hennings, who gives most of the credit for the win to the customers.
Hennings said they have a lot of regulars, “really good clientele … great customers.”
Early on, Hennings said she expected an older, more established restaurant to get the glory.
“We had our fingers crossed” throughout the poll, said Hennings.
“It feels great to be numero uno,” said owner Daniel Gonzalez, who added that the business gets a good response from customers and that they’re loyal.
Hennings feels that sharing the poll on the restaurant’s Facebook page really helped it claim the victory.
Gonzalez recognizes and credits the value of social media for Casa Maria’s success, not just with the poll, but for the business overall.
He shared that he looks at the social media sites of surrounding businesses and notices they have far fewer posts and not as many likes as Casa Maria.
Casa Maria’s Facebook page has frequent posts that include interaction with and between customers in the comments.
Hennings is optimistic that winning the reader poll will bring even more customers, saying that a lot of people who aren’t from Belleville don’t know about the restaurant because it isn’t on Main Street.
Gonzalez said at Casa Maria, the focus is on family.
Rather than make their bar the centerpiece of the restaurant, their priority is each family that comes to the restaurant. Adults, kids, babies … all are welcome.
Hennings said the staff recognizes the regular customers and remembers what they like to order.
(Speaking as a regular customer of multiple establishments, this is something that I notice and appreciate every time.)
The staff at Casa Maria is also a family, said Gonzalez. “We work together, we fix our problems” like any family.
Casa Maria opened in July 2015 at 100 N. High St. in Belleville, the former home of The Jug, which closed in 2011.
Casa Maria is open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday-Thursday and 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday-Saturday. Get more deets at 618-416-1337, casamariamex.com, or find ‘em on Facebook.
Second place … not too shabby
Taking second place, no small thing given the competition throughout this tournament, is Mi Casa Mexican Restaurant, located at 4311 W. Main St., Belleville.
Neither the owner nor the manager were immediately available for comment.
Mi Casa opened in 2009 in a building that once housed a Wendy’s restaurant, which closed in 1998.
The building was vacant for 10 years before being purchased in 2008 by CMD LLC, based in Troy.
Mi Casa owner Jorge Fonrodona leased the space from CMD.
Fonrodona also owns El Mezcal Mexican Restaurant in Bethalto. There is another location in Godfrey.
And if you’re interested in trying some of the other places that were included in the poll, here’s the full list:
Agavero Grill & Cantina, 604 N. Bluff Road, Collinsville. 618-855-9200 or facebook.com/Agavero-Grill-Cantina-107644208181153.
Camino Real, 9 W. Main St., Mascoutah. 618-566-0007 or caminorealmascoutah.com.
Casa Azteca, 501 W. Highway 50, O’Fallon. 618-632-2981 or facebook.com/pages/casa-azteca-mexican-restaurant/184562744910381.
Casa Maria Mexican Grill, 100 N. High St., Belleville. 618-416-1337 or casamariamex.com.
Casa Romero Mexican Restaurant, 512 S. Market St., Waterloo.618-939-6440 or casaromeromexican.com.
El Gordito, 2630 Mascoutah Ave., Belleville. 618-233-0003 or facebook.com/elgorditorestaurant.
La Casa Mexicana, 1222 Central Park Drive, O’Fallon. 618-622-9833; 201 Harvard Drive, Edwardsville. 618-655-9606. lacasamexicanatogo.com
Margaritas Mexican Restaurant, 108 E. A St., Belleville. 618-222-7150; 4817 W. Main St., Belleville. 618-416-8465; 807 E. Hanover St., New Baden. 618-588-3040. margaritasbelleville.com
Mariachi’s, 400 S. Illinois St., Belleville. 618-236-9492; 2922 N. Center St., Maryville. 618-288-6300; 717 W. Washington St., Millstadt. 618-476-6223. mariachismexfood.com
Mexico Tipico, 501 S. Madison St., Lebanon. 618-808-5020 or mexicotipicolebanon.com.
Mi Casa Mexican Restaurant, 4311 W. Main St., Belleville. 618-355-7990 or facebook.com/MiCASAbellevilleMexicanRestaurant.
Ramon’s El Dorado, 1711 St. Louis Road, Collinsville. 618-344-6435 or ramonseldorado.com.
Rio Grande MX Cocina, 47 Ludwig Drive, Fairview Heights. 618-213-7200 or riograndecocina.com.
Tequila Mexican Restaurant, 341 Marketplace Drive, Freeburg. 618-539-9820 or facebook.com/Tequila-Mexican-Restaurant-128840413850166.
Tienda El Ranchito, 2565 N. 32nd St., Fairmont City. 618-875-1521 or tiendaelranchito.com.
Tres Caminos Mexican Restaurant, 601 N. Main St., Caseyville. 618-922-0634 or tres-caminos.com.
So now we have our winner, who gets the pleasure of enjoying some bragging rights.
If you haven’t been to Casa Maria, you now have another reason to go. If you have been there, you’ve probably been there more than once and will likely go back again.
Either way, go, grab a margarita or a beer, order some great food and have an excellent time.
Thank you to all who participated in this poll. Keep an eye out for the next one.
This story was originally published March 29, 2022 at 7:00 AM.
