Cinco de Mayo

Came here with some coworkers today for lunch. We got there around 11:35AM and the place was nearly empty. After walking inside, we were warmly greeted and led to our seating area. Shortly after, our waitress brought out the chips and salsa. The chips were warm, which is always a good sign. I was a bit surprised by the Styrofoam bowls for the salsa. This is probably the first place that I saw using those.
I ordered the arroz con camarones (rice with shrimp). My first impression was that they gave a lot of shrimp (around 7 or 8). The shrimp were perfectly cooked. The grilled onions were amazing. Overall, it was a great dish and definitely one of my favorites from this place.
Service was good. Will definitely be back.

Very well priced food. Salsa and chips were great and the food had lots of flavor. One of the best restaurants in the area. We had the pollo chipotle which is what we order at most restaurants and the chicken filled up 2 plates worth it was HUGE. highly recommend that as a dish!

Good food, reasonable prices, fairly quick service, and good drink specials during the week. The chips and salsa are great also.

Great food. The lack of the other two stars is due to the establishment. The smell of ammonia saturated the restaurant as a waitress mopped the floors upon our arrival. The ammonia was so strong that it took about 15 minutes for my nose to adjust. It actually ruined the smell of food. Seemed to me they should do that type of cleaning at night. Not during lunch hours. The floor was slippery all over the building. I got up to take a trip to the bathroom and it was just damp everywhere.
Again the food is awesome. Also I was bugged by the use of styrofoam… Not sure what whatever. Good food!

I love the carnitas, but I don’t like the lack of good or consistent service. Having gone there every week and ordering the same thing they rarely get all of the order correct. Shame on me for not checking the bag before leaving the restaurant for silverware or salsa.

We arrived in Durham after driving from Morehead, Kentucky and were killing time until Andrew T and Aunt Annie flew in the next day. We knew we would be eating barbecue for the next several days so decided to go to Cinco de Mayo which was just a few blocks from our hotel. With a name like Cinco de Mayo, I expected a margarita place with mediocre food. After looking at a couple of photos on Unilocal,we decided to try it anyway.
Ms T (aka La Gringa) had another Taco Salad with ground beef, second in two days. This one did not meet her approval. The meat was OK, what little bit there was. It was filled mostly with beans. Two stars, max.
I quickly settled on the Carne Verde (pork). I had planned on Huevos con Chorizo after seeing one photo but saw the pork on the menu and changed my mind. I’m glad I did. To start with, this pork tasted like pork. That is a rare thing these days. If you want the normal, tasteless, «other white meat», this is not for you. I assume it was fat sow meat. It needed to be trimmed a little better in the kitchen as a lot of fat chunks were left on and it was barely cooked enough, not dead tender as it should be, but it tasted so good. On top of that was the delicious green tomatillo based sauce. This was as good as any I have ever had. It was thickened slightly and was tart, but mellow, not harsh. I had the small order and it was plenty for me, but a larger portion is offered.
To top off this delicious pork plate were frijoles charros. These were also excellent, very much like what I like to make at home. They had a little bacon and slight tartness perhaps from sofrito. I order frijoles charros when I have the chance and they are rarely this good.
I went in with low expectations of homogenized, cuminy Tex-​Mex food. What I had (excusing Ms T’s taco salad) was four stars, so four stars it is. This is another place with a large menu. I’m assuming the pork in green is not the only good thing.
Addendum — We were back a few days later and knowing how well they do the pork, I ordered the pork Chile Colorado and again was impressed. The pork is cooked perfectly and the sauce, made from chiles guajillos was delicious. It had good toasted chile flavor and a little heat. This is highly recommended. The frijoles charros were again good, but they do make good refritos if that is what you want. Cinco de Mayo is a definite cut abofve the average if you don’t order the gringo dishes.

This is my go-​to Mexican joint. Food is always fantastic, authentic, and with huge portions. Excellent margaritas! Worth the drive from anywhere in Durham to come here!

I find a hard time finding any Mexican food better than here. This is my diamond in the rough for great flavor. I try other places, and my only comment is «it isn’t cinco de mayo «…

The chips were stale and the food flavorless. Maybe the do better when it’s not actually Cinco de Mayo.

I moved to NC from Southern California a year ago and I had yet to find a mexican restaurant that was anything close to satisfying my mexican food craving! I couldn’t believe how impossible it was to find a decent place that was simple, cheap, and remotely enjoyable. Cinco de Mayo was an unexpected surprise! It was just what I was looking for. Although nothing compares to the mexican food in so. cal (other than mexico itself), I am happy to have found this restaurant. I had great service… quick, attentive, and nice. Food was flavorful, portions were great, and there were a lot of options.
FYI: Their margaritas are huge and delicious!

I’ve always been a fan of the Chapel Hill Cinco’s, and was so happy to see them expand to this location because I work nearby. I eat lunch here often and have always had friendly speedy service and enjoyed everything I’ve tried so far. I think their complimentary salsa is some of the best around. Most lunch items are in the $ 6 – 8 range and are very good sized portions. I have tried the Burrito Grande and Lunch Flautas both were good but nothing special. I usually end up ordering a side of beans, cause only some dishes come with them, and the side is huge definitely enough for two. The standouts here are their specials, although their al pastor is very good also. So far, the best thing I’ve had here was the Choripollo which comes with chicken breast covered with spot on crumbled chorizo sausage and queso and come with the usual suspects: beans, rice, and taco fixings. So much food and just a great combo but I’d definitely try it with corn tortillas, they are so much better. On my most recent visit I saw they have a new menu with tons of new items and a bunch that I haven’t see elsewhere (in addition to the the unique ones they already had). I decided to try the Arroz con Pollo because of the recommendations of several fellow Unilocalers, and I’m so glad I did. First off its huge, and it comes with grilled peppers, onions, tomatoes, and queso tossed in with the chicken over a bed of tasty rice. It did have a bold garlic flavor, but I happen to enjoy that and was really impressed with the dish cause it didn’t look like much. I can’t put a finger on what the chicken was marinated in or the overall taste but it all just came together perfectly. I also got a side of charro beans to try instead of the usual refried or black beans (which are both good here BTW) and that was really good too, especially paired well with the ACP. It sorta looks like baked beans but the flavor isn’t as sweet, I guess think of them as a cross between baked and chili beans. Highly recommend this place, from their traditional Mexican fare and Tex/​Mex to there specialties you will find something you’ll love if u enjoy Mexican food.

This place used to be El Agave, and nothing seems different now besides the name. Quick service and good food. Nothing out of the ordinary for this Mexican restaurant.

Food is ok. Service is terrible.
Food was not great Mexican food (my fajitas were overcooked) but not terrible given its North Carolina. However the waitress was so bad I’ll never come back. Brought out the wrong item (still charged me for it). Slow service. Rolled her eyes every time we asked for anything (and we were not by any means demanding/​difficult). Maybe it’s not fair to judge a restaurant by one person, but it was pretty bad.
Oh and they charge for extra tortillas (fajitas only came with four). I’ve never been to a Mexican restaurant that does this…

Great atmosphere and good food. I highly recommend this mexican place for a corporate lunch experience. It is part of a small chain and this is the best of the locations!
also, they tend to have soccer on the TVs if you like that.

Could be being a bit generous here but there’s something about this place I like. I’ve visited here a few times and every time I’ve been pleased with my meal. Not sure why there is such a variance in the ratings by others. Maybe it depends on what you order? Maybe those reviewers just somehow irked the kitchen crew?
The food is traditional Mexican fare, but there are some surprises on the menu as they have dropped in what appear to be «own» creations, or meals which have been passed down to them from older generations.
Generous portions with fresh ingredients and a decent price.
Décor is not the freshest, but the wait staff are friendly and welcoming.
¡Muey Bueno Cinco dé Mayo!

Horrible service! We ordered take-​out and we were told it would be a 10 minute wait. After 20 minutes we asked the hostess to check on our order. She said okay and never returned. At the 30 minute point we got up to leave and asked for our money back and said how ridiculous it was to have to wait so long. The Manager’s response? «We’re busy». That’s it. Not even an apology. We have never experienced such horrible service and we eat out 2 to 3 times a week. Cinco de Mayo bye bye O!
Note: Price on menu and website states that tacos are $ 1.75, but they charged us $ 3 per taco. Those taking the risk to eat be sure to double check your receipt before paying!

I’m a big fan of Mexican food after growing up in LA and having some of the best food anywhere around. I have standards and this place definitely did not live up to them. The guacamole was supposed to be made table side but it came out of the kitchen and was bland and missing something plus way too much cilantro. I ordered a margarita without specifying the size, expecting the regular size and the waiter took it upon himself to upgrade it to the fishbowl size without asking and charged us for the large size.
We were surprised when they told us that rice and beans were not standard sides with the entrees. That’s another extra charge.
My wife got the enchiladas with red sauce and it tasted like tomato sauce right out of a jar without seasoning it.
The enchilada suizas was also bland and nothing special.
You can definitely do better than Cinco and being new to the area we have many more places to try out. It’s a shame because we live 5 minutes away.

Formerly El Agave, nothing much has really changed here. For the local area it’s still pretty fair Americanized Mexican food at a decent price. If one comes here with expectations of being comparable to that hole in the wall Mexican place they absolutely loved and raved about in Houston, then one will be disappointed.
The fajita burrito was a good choice for me, and for lunch it was easy to get out of the place for under $ 10.
Most of the staff was friendly, some had very sour faces on, though, as if they were overwhelmed and didn’t want to deal with it anymore. The service itself was a bit lackluster — I don’t think the servers knew who was supposed to serve our table, so amid the confusion, we waited, and waited… someone did finally step up to it.
Despite the fact that Lemonade is on the menu, I was told they didn’t have any.
It was nice to see a small variety of hot sauces on the table.

Decided to stop by for a late meal and the place was dead. Saddled up to the bar and was served a beer within 30 seconds and chips 5 seconds later by friendly staff at the end of their shift (OK not that impressive… I was the only one at the bar!)
Took one look at the menu and picked the cheapest burrito I saw, the Burrito Carnitas. I wasn’t expecting much, but wow after that first bite I was pleasantly surprised! I’m new here, so maybe there’s a rule in NC that if you serve pulled pork it has to be mouth wateringly succulent and juicy, and Cinco delivered! Not only was the carnitas amazing, but the burrito was chock full of it! While that was the star of the show, the tortilla had perfect texture (soft, not soggy) and the green sauce and cheese sauce complemented each other perfectly. I ate about half and saved the rest for lunch.
I will definitely be back, though I’ll probably need to add a few more workouts to burn those calories. If I have to deduct one star it would be for ambiance, but now I’m just being picky!

This choice was last minute for dinner. Absolutely the best choice made. My sister is here visiting from Texas and she loved it. The food was amazing, the service was impeccable, the staff was friendly and fun. If you want great Mexican food and amazing service, with reasonable prices this is the place for you.