El Sol Express

Just like Mexico. Extremely authentic experience of flavors. I eat here when the Taco Cravings hit. Family enjoys it as well.

I don’t usually crave Mexican food, but when I do, there is nothing that will quell that hunger until I get me some. On a night where I had planned to make Buffalo tenders for dinner to only realize that I did not have the necessary ingredients to complete this task, we decided to try out El Sol on Hartzdale because of its numerous positive reviews compared to other restaurants of similar cuisine in the area.
Food: We ordered the ground beef chimichanga and a steak burrito. Every Mexican restaurant I have ever been to starts the table off with some fresh chips and salsa. This may be my favorite part of any Mexican meal. Unfortunately, at El Sol, you do not get complimentary chips and salsa. They cost $ 4.00. We’ll circle back around to this; but overall, the chips were definitively fresh, and so was the salsa. The salsa had a wonderful, fresh burst of tomato and cilantro flavor, with a subtle sprinkle of other seasonings and some red onion. Like I said, definitely fresh, but it could have used some more flavor. It tasted mostly like tomato sauce.
The chimichanga was good. The ground beef was actually seasoned! Most times I get anything with ground beef in it from a Mexican restaurant, it is usually bland and relies on the other flavors of the meal to boost it. This ground beef stood on its own two feet and delivered excellent flavor. Best ground beef I’ve had at a Mexican restaurant. Here, the chimichanga is topped with a red sauce of sorts. This is one of my major gripes. I knew this was the case, but I prefer mine smothered in nacho cheese, or queso. This was different, and I give them points, but the dish lacked the creaminess and flavor that the aforementioned brings to the table. (⁴⁄₅)
‘The Original’ Burrito: Great quality steak that was tender and flavorful. The burrito was stuffed with high quality, fresh ingredients and served alongside a heaping pile of guacamole and sour cream. The burrito was way better than Neato Burrito. Waaaay better. Mind you, I am not a big fan of Neato burrito to begin with; but this is how it should be done. Keep in mind that the contents of this burrito are pre-​selected, so make sure you make any alterations at the counter. (⁴⁄₅)
Sides: The guacamole was ok. I do not like large chunks of red onion in anything. It completely nukes my palate. Mmmm… yummy delish guacamole. Then…‘crunch, crunch, ewww’. That is what happened in my mouth when I ate their guacamole. Super disappointing. The beans and the rice were great. It was definitely higher quality than your traditional Mexican restaurant where these are typically an afterthought and just slopped on the plate. (³⁄₅: 4 – 1 for the excessive red onion)
Food: ⁴⁄₅
Atmosphere: This place is nice! Loved the atmosphere. Super clean (which is rare in my experience of restaurants of similar cuisine). It had an open kitchen floor plan so you could see what was going on back there, and everything looked great. The furnishings were warm, inviting, and really mentally-​transported me to a different place. I was not eating in Camp Hill when I was in there. It felt very home-​y, warm, and inviting. I would love to make my home feel this welcoming and nice.
Atmosphere: ⁵⁄₅
Service: The service at El Sol is fast-​casual. You order at the counter, they bring out your food when it is ready. I honestly prefer sit down restaurants in most cases, but this worked. It was unclear if you pick up your dishes, or if they do it for you… so we stacked our dishes and left. Overall, the service was respectful, expedient, and easy. Paid for my food, got what we needed, and received it from someone who seemed like they cared about the service they provided.
Service: ⁴⁄₅
Price: Not happy with the price though. $ 4 for chips and salsa is outrageous. Most places it is free, but $ 2 would have been more appropriate. I think their menu said $ 8.99 for guacamole and chips. Whhhaaaaat? That’s nuts. The burrito was 8.99… and comes with guacamole. Doesn’t make sense…
Overall, I think they do serve quality food, so the price is almost justifiable, but I don’t feel as if I got that good of a value for what was paid.
Price: ²⁄₅
Final Thoughts: Because of the price, I do not think I will be back; but the quality of the food and the overall atmosphere of the restaurant are currently second to none in the area. This disappoints me because I’d really like to come back; but just can’t justify the price for food that, although is better, isn’t so much better that I want to spend the extra. I highly recommend checking this out though and judging for yourself.

Small place in a strip mall nothing fancy here, large Burritos and decent priced. Might be a little higher priced than Neato Burito or Chipolte but it offers a different menu than both of them with a Mexican style and Taste!
If you got the Stomach for it try their Habanero Chili sauce with your meal. Any of their sauces marked hot are!
Quick– Clean and close! A great option!

Just as good as their eat-​in counterpart in Harrisburg, a great meal to go, or to have a casual night out, limited seating. They’ll give you a number and bring food to your table, we prefer to get take out here but are never disappointed in our meals. My husband gets their mahi special an we call ahead to see if they have it typically, but go regardless, it is quite good but so are their spicy homemade sauces, self serve in the back of the room, great tacos and good for vegetarians as well!

One of our favorite places for Mexican carry out. Chips and guacamole are super fresh. Smothered burrito is amazing. We live in York and get this for carry out every chance we get when we’re in Camp Hill.
The down town location is better for a weekend date night just cause the ambiance is fancier and there’s alcohol. But… Food quality is great at both places. Definitely recommend!

Very good food. For how busy it was today, service was great. They had one waitress serving, bussing, and doing dishes. Kudos to her. She was busting her hump. Floor was a little sticky, but no biggie.
Will be back for sure… Ol’e

When I worked nearby, I’d eat here at least once a week. I’ve tried the majority of their menu & never had a bad meal.
The staff is friendly, the service is quick & place is very clean. I cannot recommend it highly enough!
It’s BYOB, but there’s no corking fee or other charge.

Shocked by the reviews on here. I lived in Mexico and this is the worst Mexican place I’ve ever eaten at. It was as if they combined some of the ingredients to be unique, but the flavors did not work well together. I had the mixed taco plate so I got to try a variety of things and my co-​diners said the same thing about their meals. Really disappointed after reading the other reviews here.

I’ve eaten here twice in one week. Huge fan of the original location, so was glad to finally try this place. My work moved to Simpson Ferry, so this is really close now.
I had the chicken soft tacos and chicken crunchy tacos. Both were on lunch special and came with a drink. Both dishes were good. The soft tacos were a little soggy as I proceeded through the dish — I imagine it’s from the juice of the shredded chicken. But still good.
Look forward to trying new dishes here. Only downside, no alcohol.

Bland food — waste if money. Not tex-​mex or even sw — perhaps an obscure Mexican regional cuisine. Will never return. Rather visit taco bell.

I’ve said it about the downtown Harrisburg location, and this location is no different. Amazing food, especially the chips and salsa. I ausually get the chicken enchiladas verdes and it has never disappointed.

I was a big fan of El Sol Express, but I find that under the new ownership that the dishes aren’t quite as ‘tasty’. I had the shrimp taco and the grilled fish taco last night, and while they were good, they lacked the flavor they had before. I wonder … It seems that they are lacking that great fresh lime flavor. They put a lemon wedge on my platter, and i really think it should have been a lime. I hear there’s a lime shortage — or limes are more expensive recently… Could the lack of flavor recently be chaulked up to them not using limes as usual? Just my observation.

Had the taco platter, my choices were shrimp, steak, and chicken. They were all very good I liked the lemon wedge to squeeze over them that was an unexpected surprise. They were smaller than I thought they were going to be but none the less filling and the flavours were spot on.

I have to agree with a fellow reviewers that El Sol Express is the Best Mexican in the Harrisburg area hands down! This place is amazing. The service is fast. The staff is super nice and the food is unexpectedly gourmet!!! Also, this place is kid friendly, almost every time I have gone there has been families eating with their children. Seriously you have to try this place! I promise you wont be disappointed! I have been here many times for lunch and dinner, done take out and dine-​in and everything has always been awesome! I have ordered most things on the menu and they are always so good and attractively presented! You can tell everything is made with the freshest ingredients!!!

Best Mexican in the Harrisburg area hands down.

Ok, you really should go someplace more than once for an honest opinion, but it’s easy to see that this place has it right. It’s not a «wow’, but it a very solid, ‘very good’. Fresh, friendly, fast, fair prices and larger portion. I had the smothered burrito, wasn’t a fan of the red sauce, but that did not detract from the overall experience. Large enough to feed 2, I managed to get it down because I was on my own today. It’s going to be a pricier place for lunch, but I refuse to ‘eat because I’m hungry’, I like my food to taste good. And I’ll pay for that privilege.
Give it a try. It’s not a cookie cutter, greasy spoon type of place. The menu while large, may not have your favorites. (No fried chicken chimichanga here.) But the menu has a fresh consistent theme, and I can’t wait to try more of what they have to offer.

Food was great and came out fast. Coming from NY I have pretty high expectations of Mexican or Spanish food but this place was actually pretty decent for PA. Clean and neat.

Fresh dishes, many options. We have tried different burritos, all good. I just got the shrimp tacos, so good! Love the chips and salsa. The guac is also good. They have extra hot sauces made from different types of peppers over by the napkins and soda machine. I love to try the different levels of spicy and variety. Nice in the sense that if you don’t have much time, it is easy to get a good meal quickly and be on your way. It’s pay at register before you eat, food is served very quickly. Best burritos around.

We love this place! It is tricky to find a good Mexican place around here. I have been to the original el sol and thought it was great. We eat at el sol express about 2 or 3 times a month and are never dissapointed. I highly recomend the grilled fish tacos, and make sure you get the limes with it. My other standard dish is the veggie quesadillas.

I just have to add this. .. we’ve eaten here several times and each time the food is great.
I CRAVE the ceviche and order it almost every time we go there.
Tres Hermanos still wins in the taco category. .. but this place is great for everything else.
Did I mention the ceviche? ;)