Mexican Bar Madness
We had a ton of fun and success with our March Madness style tournament with 64 different bars in Charleston back in March. So we asked our followers if we should keep that going with smaller, more themed voting-style tournaments, even though it’s not March Madness. The response was a resounding yes, and we chose Mexican Bars for the first themed tournament.
We picked 16 of the best and most popular Mexican bars and eateries in Charleston county, but we had to leave out a lot of great places. It was especially difficult picking the teams because not all of the bars included were authentic Mexican, and many of the great authentic places were left out.
If you’re interested in seeing all of the Mexican bars in Charleston, just search “Mexican” on Bartopia and you can add different filters to browse places near you!
Now let’s get into it!
Sweet 16
Santi’s crushed Azul Mexicano 79% to 21%.
Taco Boy handily beat Cantina 76 two thirds to one. Taco Boy likely had an advantage with their presence downtown and having multiple locations in Charleston county.
Chico Feo blew out Ritual almost 80 to 20.
Rebel Taqueria rallied some big support to upset Maya 70 to 30.
Rancho Lewis snuck by Juanita Green with just a 10% lead.
Jalisco knocked out El Pincho Taco with almost double the votes.
Mex 1 obliterated Papi’s Taqueria in a battle of the islands, winning 82% to 18%.
To end the first round, Pink Cactus made it to the next round over Zia Taqueria by just 8 votes!
Elite 8
Charleston’s love for Taco boy was no match for its love of Santi’s, who again won by almost double the vote count.
Chico Feo kept the momentum going with a 65% to 35% win over Rebel Taqueria.
Mex 1 upset Pink Cactus with over three fourths of the vote. We were shocked to see Pink Cactus get out so early but Mex 1 has an advantage with their 3 locations in Charleston over Pink Cactus’s small location on Spring St.
We expected this to be closer, but Rancho Lewis knocked out Jalisco 71 to 29% growing their momentum.
Semi-Final
Santi’s vs Chico Feo was set up to be arguably the best match up so far. Both places have near cult followings in Charleston. But in the end, our downtown and Mt. Pleasant followers overcame the folks on Folly. Santi’s secured their spot in the final by an 11% margin over Chico Feo.
The other semi-final turned out to actually be the closest match up of the tournament. It went back and forth throughout the day, but Ranch Lewis finished on top by just 2 votes!
Final
There’s a reason Santi’s was a 1-seed for this tournament. Charleston’s love to the authentic, local, family owned Mexican restaurant goes deep for locals and transplants alike. They smoked Rancho Lewis 68% to 32% to take the crown, and prove once again that they are the best Mexican in Charleston.
Thank you to everyone who joined the voting and huge congratulations to Santi’s for winning this tournament and the hearts of Charleston!
Stay tuned for more tournaments like this on our Instagram, the next one is Best Charleston Sushi!
Check out all the Mexican bars in Charleston by clicking our logo below. And as always tag us when you hit some of these great bars on social media. Happy drinking!
