The Local

Y'all, this is not your typical Mexican food, but boy, is it yummy! The atmosphere is so relaxing, and the music is at the right volume, where you can still have a conversation. We opted to sit at the bar. The bartenders were so friendly and made our drinks to perfection. We later took our drinks and went to sit in their lounge area, which was super comfy. There is also a patio. I love to sit out on patios (when it's not scorching hot out). We would definitely return.

During a business trip to Abilene, a colleague recommended The Local for an atypical, Mexican fare experience.. I visited on a Wednesday night and ordered their El Maestro margarita with El Afan Reposada tequila.. The El Afan was blended perfectly with their house triple citrus blend, brandy, and Agave nectar to make for a delightfully smooth, top-shelf cocktail.. It was so good that I ordered another after my meal had arrived.. I sampled their chips, salsa, and queso as starters.. All of these were delightful, but I wanted to take special note of the salsa verde and it's perfect kick and the creaminess and the great flavor of their white queso.. I ordered a pair of their featured pork belly tacos and a single al pastor, grilled pork taco with street corn for my main meal.. The seared pork belly tacos featured jalapeño salsa, radishes, white onions, salsa matcha, micro cilantro, and were finished with cotija cheese.. They were delightfully deelish, and I thought the radishes were a wonderful addition.. The grilled pork taco featured salsa verde, onions, and cilantro.. I opted out of the included pineapple salsa but had it on the side.. This taco was equally tasty.. The street corn was amply portioned and delivered hot, which made it a perfect complement to the trio of tacos.. In summary, the service was outstanding, the food and drinks were delightful, and the atmosphere was unlike any other Mexican-fare establishment I've tried.. The Local would be a great place for a date night for certain.. The Local will be among my repeat picks the next time I visit the Abilene area..

Update: Came here for dinner and we were probably the first people to arrive in the restaurant. I ordered the 8oz Sirloin wanting to try something different. I believe it was cooked in chipotle butter sauce and beer onions in a small cast iron. It definitely was not my thing I actually really really disliked it. I'm so saddened because I absolutely love steak and to eat this one just made me feel sad while eating. I also really dislike their sides here. They are just odd sides that don't go with anything. I grabbed chata beans and they were decent but also had cojita potatoes which were basically fries. I believe other options were lime rice, elote corn, another type of beans and asparagus. Next time I'll just do beans and asparagus. I told my husband this would be my last time coming because I just don't like anything on the menu. Service wasn't that great either. I enjoyed a different waitress attend to another table hoping ours would do the same. My son was so thirsty and she refilled his drink after we were paying and leaving. So my husband and son can some back but I'll skip out. --Service was a little slow in the beginning but was pretty good after receiving our drinks. I ordered the Ruthie Chicken taco and it was a little bland despite all the yummy toppings. The Carne Asada taco was very delicious but I got full quickly so I didn't finish it. Ordered chips and salsa and the chips were very stale also I think they are HEB chips lol. I mean I love me HEB but I wouldn't expect finding store bought chips in a restaurant. Overall I would give this place another try they have a lot of good items on the menu. Oh yea, it would of been nice to have more cutlery to eat with besides a fork. Couldn't cut the burrito in half that my husband ate.

Just love this place. Wonderful ambience, excellent food and selection, great service at reasonable prices. We had their amazing fish tacos! They have a gorgeous covered with trees and shade and fans. The patio was perfect for us because we were traveling with our dog. The waitress was very helpful and attentive and even brought water for our dog since the weather was warm. Will definitely be back next time we are in town.

Y'all, this is not your typical Mexican food, but boy, is it yummy! The atmosphere is so relaxing, and the music is at the right volume, where you can still have a conversation. We opted to sit at the bar. The bartenders were so friendly and made our drinks to perfection. We later took our drinks and went to sit in their lounge area, which was super comfy. There is also a patio. I love to sit out on patios (when it's not scorching hot out). We would definitely return.