Shaded Mexican courtyard creates an authentic experience at new South MS restaurant
South Mississippi has lots of Mexican restaurants, yet the new Aztecas Restaurant and Cantina that opened this week in Biloxi is an authentic experience in Mexican dining.
“Wow,” is what customers say when they get a first glimpse of the courtyard under a huge oak tree, said Orlando Godoy, one of the owners of Aztecas.
“People love it,” he said.
The building on the Biloxi strip has housed a lot of restaurants before this — Hooters, Wentzel’s Seafood and Mateo’s Tex Mex — but none of them incorporated the majestic live oak tree into the dining experience like Aztecas has.
The tree is the centerpiece of the courtyard filled with tables for dining and soft couches and chairs for drinks and conversation.
“We saw an opportunity under that beautiful tree,” Godoy said, and they created an experience for their customers.
“We’re going to have live music here,” said Luis Mendozo, a manager at the new Biloxi restaurant, who said he’s already heard people say they want to get married under the tree.
The courtyard can be reserved for a wedding or private event, and the restaurant also does outside catering.
Surprises at every turn
Under the shade of the sprawling branches, with a breeze off the beach across the street, a wall of splashing fountains and lights overhead, the courtyard is the most impressive element of the new Aztecas Biloxi But it’s not the only standout feature.
The restaurant is filled with color on the magenta pink ducts and intricate Mexican tiles.
An entire wall of the bar opens to the patio and breezes. Mexican stars sparkle over the dining room and the murals throughout were painted by Enrique Lopez of Mobile, who was a server at one of the Aztecas when they discovered his artistic talent. He first made T-shirts for the brand and then moved up to murals, which he does freehand.
Aztecas has three other restaurants in Mississippi at Gautier, Ocean Springs and Gulfport, and three more in the Mobile area in Alabama.
While the menu is consistent across all the restaurants, they took what the owners learned from the other restaurants and incorporated it into the Biloxi restaurant, Mendozo said.
“You have to have good food,” Godoy said. “You have to also give an experience to the customer,” he said. “Some place nice to celebrate.”
The Azteca brand started in Alabama and Godoy said, “It’s local, family-owned still.”
On the menu
A working exhibition kitchen juts into the dining room gives a view of the chefs at work while customers scan the menu of food and drinks and decide what to order.
The menu is extensive, with dips like guacamole and cheese dips but also shrimp or bean and other choices.
Among the appetizers are wings, Mexican sweet corn and ceviche made with lime cured tilapia or shrimp.
Customers will find a wide variety of street tacos, soups, salads and bowls, burritos and fajitas that come in varieties such as mushrooms, grilled chicken, steak, shrimp and fish.
The nachos aren’t just with beef but with shrimp, fajita steak and other toppings.
Also on the menu are a la carte options and a few selections for those who want just a grilled chicken sandwich, along with sides, a children’s menu and a dessert menu featuring fried ice cream, flan and margarita cheesecake.
What’s special?
Many of the tables and booths in the dining room have views of the water and the bar has Mexican, domestic and local beers on tap.
Margaritas and tequila are specialties of the house. Happy hour is from 2-6 p.m. Monday through Friday and the restaurant is open every day for lunch and dinner, from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., and until 11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.
Taco Tuesday is celebrated each week along with Margarita night on Wednesday and fajita night Thursday.
The restaurant soon will have delivery through DoorDash, Uber Eats and Grub Hub.
Sun Herald visual editor Hannah Ruhoff contributed to this article.
This story was originally published March 7, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
