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El Puerto
Rating Details »
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Good for:
- Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
19 reviews for El Puerto
The service is ridiculously fast, the food is delicious, and the staff are friendly and talented.
When I say the service is fast, I mean it is frighteningly fast. Ordering for take-out, I have yet to place an order and get there before my food is ready. It's always there, hot and ready for me, as soon as I get there. I had feared that the quality of the meal itself would suffer for this speedy service, a fear that was quickly put to rest. The various dishes I've tried are well seasoned, nicely portioned, and have never failed to satisfy my taste buds.
The only negatives I could mention would be parking. If you're just popping in to pick up some take-out, parking in that area can be a pain.
I hate to do this because I'm pretty protective of my neighborhood and I like to prop it up when possible, but I have to knock some stars off of my review of El Puerto. The last few times we've been there the food has had some funky tastes. Beans that taste like coffee grounds, beef that tastes like chicken and fish, in general, food that doesn't taste like it should.
And though I'd known how expensive it was before, it became glaringly clear just how pricey this place is after a couple not so good meals. They love to nickel and dime you here, probably a sign of the times. And I found out something new - no free refills on soda. So I accidentally paid $3.50 for two glasses of soda that were primarily ice. That's a nice profit on about 10 cents of syrup.
I love walking downtown and getting lunch or dinner, but other than bar food, nowhere is worth it anymore. There's really no place to get a good lunch downtown for a decent price and dinner is even more ridiculous. El Puerto used to be an option, but after my last visit, I think El Puerto has officially been written off as a place to eat and now there really isn't much left.
1 Previous Review: Show all »
-
11/1/2008
For what it is - a Western Washington family-style Mexican restaurant - El Puerto is pretty good.… Read more »
I love walking into a restaurant and having the owner greet me and tell me that I can have anything I want, I need only ask. This is exactly what happened the first time I walked into El Puerto. The staff is warm and friendly x10. The food is good, but I do have to agree with some of the other reviewers that stated that it is expensive for Mexican food. There is no bar to sit at, but they do serve beer, wine and hard alcohol. This is the heart of downtown Edmonds so you'll have to find parking on the street.
They charge for refills on coke without telling you.
Their food is overpriced and decient at best.
The dining room is crowded.
I used to come here regularly ten years ago with a family friend and I remember delicious food, superb service, and super-warm hosts with lots of smiles coming out to talk to us. The restaurant was always packed and it had such a cozy atmosphere. Not so much anymore.
Don't get me wrong, they'll still seat you immediately (usually because when I go there, no one else seems to be around just yet) and are polite, the food is okay, but something is missing. The prices have gone up since I was a regular and in my opinion, the "meh" food is not worthy of the price increase. Food is still on the table within ten minutes or less which is always appreciated when having Mexican food (I want that plate HOT), but I will only eat here when I'm staying in Edmonds and am feeling too lazy to venture elsewhere. At least I can nip into the sweetie shop nearby to get myself a little something for dessert later...
I stopped by for dinner at this place again after a long break - nothing comes to mind at the time, and Chevy's at Lynnwood has closed down recently (bummer!) El Puerto, for some who are not familiar, is located right at the heart of Edmonds, and is quite visible from anyone that happens to pass by, so there's almost no problem finding it. The place is just...there.
Anyway, it has not changed much since the last time I sat there: the salsa for chips is still hot, the service is still fast, and the food is still consistently ... AVERAGE! The menu prices are higher than other similar establishments, and so I went in, expecting that they probably have something better to offer. But after dinner, it gave me the feeling that Chimichangas, Enchiladas, or Fajitas will probably look and taste the same whether you get it here or someplace else, like Azteca or Guayma's- except those places offer their items at a much reasonable price than this El Puerto (I like saying this, esp when you roll the Rs). So what's the difference, then? I can only think of one: maybe this place is in a better location than others. But if that's the only reason, then El Puerto may have to work harder on the real purpose of their being there in order to stay.
If you hate fast service, friendly staff, great tasting food, well made drinks, and a comfortable Mexican environment, don't come here.
El Puerto has been the place my family goes when we want good Mexican food. The service is quick and witty, with the classic waiters who eye down the newly legal drinkers ordering fruity margaritas.
The chip n dip classic is full of freshly made tortilla chips and quality fresh salsa.
I would recommend the virgin strawberry margarita (comes with whip!), and the double chicken enchilada combo plate. Its what I get every time and I leave stuffed and happy.
Parking is street only, but most times the roads around the place have a few openings at any time there isn't a festival going on.
This isn't some old Azteca knock off, its El Puerto!
El Puerto is definately the best Mexican food in Edmonds. But they dont stop there. . . the chicken fajitas are unbeatable. I have never had better.
As for the rest of the food, I can't say too much about it personally because I only get the chicken fajitas. But I have never heard complaints and it looks like pretty typical Mexican food that you would get in a family owned Mexican restaraunt.
If you go to El puerto, expect fast good service. The chips and salsa are pretty basic, the salsa is HOT. The atmostphere/decor is not the greatest, but it is always clean inside. But most importantly. . . order the chicken fajitas! You wont be dissapointed.
The chips and salsa are a bit disappointing, but it is easily fixed by ordering a Pico De Gallo and mixing it with the salsa.
As for the meal, I NEVER order anything but the Chicken Fajitas, they are simply amazing. By far the best I have had and that includes my 10 or 12 trips to Mexico.
The other food is typical Mexican food...not amazing, but never bad. You know what you will get every time.
Very fast service too, usually too fast but overall, I love El Puerto.
Another yelp suggestion, I've had this one bookmarked for a month and finally had the opportunity to visit this past weekend. Overall, I was unimpressed, but I'll mark out some pros and cons.
Pros:
- Like everyone else said, chips and salsa are goooooood. Chips are hot, salsa is hot, they're good.
- Margaritas are frickin amazing. I had one cadillac margarita (to the tune of $10) and it knocked me on my ass. There was a HUGE amount of tequila in it, I was very happy!
Cons:
- Food was decent, but nothing really amazing. Our group of five tried five different dishes and no one was really impressed by anything they ate. It was good, don't get me wrong, but for $15 a plate, I could have gotten the same thing at Azteca for half the price.
- Expensive, like I said, $15 for an entree for so-so food. Our bill, for five people, was $110, not inlcuding a tip.
- Service was crappy. I read all the reviews saying that the service was great, but they were rude to us, messed up our orders, and after delivering our check (as we were still eating), didn't come back to check on us at all. Seemingly, just tried to get us to leave, when the place was only half full.
Will I go back? Probably not. If I do go back it will be just for the margaritas, that's for sure.
These guys are so incredible. Sick of chains? Not feeling like paying for Mexican food that is all beans and rice and salsa? Go here immediately.
First of all, their chips are hot and so is their salsa. It's the type that you taste and think, "Not too hot" but burns your tongue and lets you feel it in your face for a while. It will clear your sinuses and make you sweat.
The food is done perfectly. I had ostrich fajitas. They were delicious. The ostrich looks like beef and has the chewiness of it but tastes like some kind of hybrid meat. It didn't taste like chicken. It didn't taste like beef. It tasted like, umm, ostrich! If you go here, get it, you won't regret it.
Also, for those of you who enjoy alcohol, they have the giant margaritas that come in a glass the size of your head.
In short, don't go anywhere else if you're in Edmonds and are looking for Mexican food.
My family spends a great deal of time down in the Edmonds Bowl. This is often THE place we go out as a family. Besides having fine tasting food and friendly staff, they enjoy kids. My son always feels welcome. It's always a pleasure to go.
Food was good. The drinks were large and the best part about the evening. Service was hit and miss. We came on a busy night so I can forgive them forgetting about us a couple of times. The decor is standard strip mall family Mexican. Nothing special, with lots of colorful stuff hanging from the ceiling.
The salsa here is very good and can be purchased in larger containers to take home.
The family who owns this restaurant is so nice that I hate to give it less than 5 stars.
My only complaint is that the food comes too fast. This is great when you need to hurry at lunch time, but not so great when you'd like to linger at dinner. No sooner do you order drinks than your food comes.
Deliciious food, but I like to linger over dinner.
The locals like to eat here on Halloween night to see the parade of costumes that go by the huge picture windows during the downtown Edmonds trick-or-treat festivities!
Muy bueno!
Great service and even better salsa!! A fine family run restaurant, we've enjoyed coming here for many years now.
Interesting side note, they jumped on the "leaner is better" bandwagon many moons ago and still serve ostrich! You know the ever present 3rd white meat!?!? Haven't had the guts to try this out yet, looks just like very lean beef, but I guess it tastes like chicken?? (No idea actually!)
As I mentioned the salsa is solid as are the Mexican standards, service is always friendly and they keep your chips and water filled all the time, which I like. And be forewarned, they use "yellow" cheese in copious amounts, if you no likey the "yellow" cheese, move along people, move along....
The other knock is there isn't a parking lot so you have to search along the mean streets of Edmonds! Watch out for those aggressive Ferry travelers!! ;-)
Well worth the trip to olde Edmonds.
You call this place Mexican? More like MEXICANT! I live walking distance to this place and just the smell makes me want to walk the other way- but wait- I have not tried the Ostrich that they LOVE to advertise, maybe thats what Ive been missing! So, ya, never have had a good meal here. Everything is pretty much ground -beef/chicken- maybe thats because of all the senior citizens that live in Edmonds. I have eaten here on a few different occasions- 1st time by choice, the other times not. I wish so much this place was good- someone must like it, its been here a long time. I guess if you want your traditional AMERICAN/AZTECA mexican this place will do the trick.
We love to go to El Puerto. We have always had great meals for a very fair price.
They have the best Chili Verde I have ever tasted and it has the most tender pork around. I love to order the Salad with Chili Verde. Or the Deluxe Burrito with Chili Verde. My husband has tried many things on the menu and raved about them all, his favorite is the Chicken Enchiladas. Yummy!
Every time I go here they have the friendliest service! I absolutely love their Salsa! The salsa can get spicy, but perfect for me. I can't say anything for all the other meals served here, because every time I come here I order the Chicken Fajita's or I order the Chicken Fajita Burrito, and I love them! I guess that is obvious because it is what I order every time! So if you are a Fajita lover I highly recommend trying them out!
This is our family's usual place for Mexican, the service is friendly and the food is fantastic and served quickly
