Recommends

Judith K.

Joined 1 year ago

Simply the best!. Excellent food, excellent service! This is a "Mom and Pop" operation--Pop is the chef and Mom provides warm, friendly, and prompt service. The food is delicious, obviously prepared with great care and creativity. I am on a special diet, and most of the menu items included ingredients prohibited on my diet. I explained my needs and the chef created a special dish--absolutely delicious!--that fit perfectly into my dietary requirements. I have gone several times with family and friends who order from the menu and each of them has been enthusiastic about the food. For the quality of food and service, we find the prices quite reasonable. This is not your typical Mexican restaurant! Try it and you'll see! It's near the post office on Shannon St.--easy to miss but well worth the trip.

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C N.

Joined 1 years ago

superb restaurant: deserves more attention. Really lovely traditional Mexican food served with great warmth and attention to detail. Went for lunch. Enjoyed wonderful black beans with rice (soup-like beans, with rice mounded in middle, both perfectly composed), grouper tacos, porcini-stuffed empanada. Reasonably priced for quality of food. Not a big fan of overly fussy food -- this is not that -- just good food prepared with care. Everything super fresh, with almost everything locally sourced. Somewhat easy to overlook from the road -- passed by it for years before neighbors told us we had to go. Very glad we did. Will be back.

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jstev

Joined 5 years ago

A five star jewel. This is a five star jewel hidden on Shannon Road in SW Durham. The chef, Andre, is well trained, has wonderfully creative ideas working off a regional Mexican palate. His dished are unique to our area and well worth going there. Try one of the specials for a real treat, using the freshest ingredients available.

jss

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audiearn

Joined 10 years ago

Exceptional regional Mexican dining. We have eaten here many times, and we're always delighted with the care and skill used in creating exceptional versions of regional Mexican dishes. Tonali's offerings are subtly complex and flavorful, nothing like the huge, oily meals served at cheap Mexican places. The location is a bit out of the way, but it's easy to find and well worth the effort.

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leehays

Joined 7 years ago

Quite a find. Tonali's is almost in our backyard, yet we had to look to find it. The food was outstanding. Paella was marvelous and my wife's relleno was surprisingly delicious. The margarita is the best we've had in Durham, in fact, no others come close. Highly recommended.

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marthado

Joined 5 years ago

Great place to have Mexican food. I have been at Tonali' Restaurant several times and always the food have been great and also the service.

I like the fresh salad with nuts and the delicious Tonali's dressing.

The coffee is great and also their flourless chocolate cake.

I highly recommend the restaurant.

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sadiemom

Joined 4 years ago

hidden secret in Durham. Every meal we have ever had at Tonalis has been excellent. The chef performs magic in the kitchen. I appreciate their use of local and in season ingredients. This is not Tex-Mex, but authentic and creative mexican cuisine. We always feel welcome, like family and have celebrated many special occasions here. They have a smaller room, perfect for private groups.

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sisterskeeper919

Joined 4 years ago

Great food but be prepared.... to spend some time and a few dollars. We just visited this spot for the first time. My husband ordered the soup of the day for $7. Assuming this would be a large bowl of soup I didn't order one for myself. When after sometime it arrived, it was beautifully presented and delicious, but of average size. We both ordered fajitas, and they were unlike any we'd ever eaten. They were also beautifully presented and delicious. We will probably return, but for an occasional treat. We will not become regulars.

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foodlovernc

Joined 4 years ago

food was delicious, full of flavor, lovely presentation. Ate at Tonali last night with three friends and we shared appetizers, one entree and three desserts. None of us wanted to eat too much, so you might want to get an entree and appetizer when you go, but it was so good we ended up practically licking the plates--and with all the flavors, it was very satisfying . The pork with cilantro gnocchi was the entree choice and it was my favorite, but the empanada appetizer, the soft crab appetizer, and the grouper taco appetizers were all delicious as well and we ate all three desserts, the chocolate brioche cake with tequla strawberries, the creme brulee and the guava flan with caramel. We decided to go as a group again and eat our way through the menu.

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countonit

Joined 4 years ago

Best Mexican Food in Triangle. Eaten here 12-15 times with up to a dozen friends. One so-so dish (turkey), the rest eye-rollingly good. It is a peasure to be in a place where the chef so obviously cares about the quality of each dish and has the expertise to surprise you by making it better than at least I could imagine. Appetizers are big enough to enjoy with a friend. Try a standard, like tortilla soup, and you'll recognize what it is but be amazed what can be done with it.