If you're looking for the best chicken enchiladas in Gainesville, our #17 Enchilada Dinner ($13.49) is the one regulars order over and over — two enchiladas, your pick of sauce, and a plate that's kept people coming back to Los Mariachis for 27 years. We're right off the historic Cooke County courthouse square at 319 North Commerce St, which makes us an easy stop no matter how you're spending your day downtown.
Start the Morning on the Square
Downtown Gainesville is built around the historic Cooke County courthouse square, and it's still the best place to start a day here. The square and the surrounding historic downtown shopping district are walkable, with storefronts worth a slow lap before it gets warm. It's an easy, low-key way to get your bearings before you decide what's next.
Gainesville also carries the designation of a Medal of Honor Host City, which adds a little extra weight to a stroll through the square if you're the type who likes to read the historical markers as you go.
Where's the Best Lunch Spot Near the Gainesville Square?
Once you've worked up an appetite walking the square, we're about a block off it on North Commerce — close enough that you don't have to move your car. Lunch here means real portions and no rush: Tuesday through Sunday, doors open at 11 and we're set up for exactly this kind of midday stop.
This is where the chicken enchiladas come in. Guests on Google and TripAdvisor consistently call them out, along with the sizzling fajitas and our chimichangas, and we'd be lying if we said we didn't agree. If you want something heartier, the #18 Texano Plate ($15.99) gives you beef, chicken, and cheese enchiladas plus a crispy taco — good if you can't decide. For a quicker lunch, our lunch menu runs #35 Cheese & Chicken Enchiladas ($10.99) with rice, a smaller, faster version of the same thing. You can see the full spread on our menu before you come in.
Afternoon: Leonard Park and the Frank Buck Zoo
After lunch, most folks head to Leonard Park, which has shade, walking paths, and playground space if you've got kids along — a good place to let a big lunch settle. The Frank Buck Zoo sits inside the park and is a Gainesville staple for families passing through or visiting for the day.
If you're visiting with a group — a birthday, a reunion, a team coming through town — it's worth knowing we handle catering too, in case the day turns into something bigger than lunch for two.
Rounding Out the Day
If your day stretches into evening, we're open Friday nights until 8 pm, later than most of our other days, which makes us a decent landing spot if the afternoon runs long. Saturday and Sunday hours are shorter (11–3 and 11–2), so if you're planning a weekend trip around downtown, it's worth timing lunch rather than dinner.
We're closed Mondays, same as we have been for years, so plan around that if Gainesville is a Monday stop for you.
For folks who'd rather skip the wait and grab lunch to go, online pickup ordering is available through our website — handy if you're touring the square on a schedule. And if you want more on how we ended up here in the first place, our story since 1998 covers that ground. Either way, come hungry — the enchiladas are worth clearing the calendar for.