El Potrillo

A repeat customer.
I always come here when in town. The meals come fast and hot and are consistently excellent. Two for one margaritas on Sunday also helps. I cannot say enough good things about this place. I will return.

My favorite place, food is pretty consistent. Customer service could be a tad better, but I think that they could work that out.

Great sizzling fajitas, large portions, very nice place! Perfect place to stop between New Orleans and Houston.

This place is quite consistently delicious! Only problems I had tonight was that I had to ask my for my order to be taken, and remind the waiter about my drink. I can say that it was pretty busy though. Other than that, no real complaints. I always get a quesadilla of some sort and I’m never disappointed. They are on another level of awesomeness!

We stopped here on a family road trip with a large group, mostly kids. Area of town did not feel sketchy to us, as other reviewer’s had said; def more industrial-​feeling area. Very close to highway; maybe 2 minutes away.
We had some problems placing our order regarding drinks and appetizers… miscommunication? Server was often polite but sometimes seemed indifferent (shrugged when bean dip was covered in cheese and told us that’s how they do it when menu made it seem queso and bean dips were 2 separate items). We were unable to get plain bean dip.
Quality of food was pretty good. Chips were hot & not greasy! Lemonade was very unpleasant. Good kid menu. Shrimp chimichanga was very good. Chory pollo was good. Chalupa was ok. Quesadillas for kids were fine.
Overall, an ok clean place. But didn’t wow us and we will probably try a different place next time.

Customer service was okay. Given, we the only ones there at lunch time. However, service was fast and friendly.
Food quality was okay. Refried beans and Mexican rice were really good. Taco meat was questionable. Chile Relleno was disgusting because the cheese tasted like Mac and Cheese White Cheddar cheese sauce. Damn. That was the one thing I wanted too.
I probably wouldn’t go back.

Not the same anymore. Food & service could be better. Not the best anymore, in my opinion. I’ll have to try again

Food is excellent and service is fast. Seated quickly and chips and salsa immediately served to table. Salsa is a little runny but otherwise tasty. Fajitas are superb! The shrimp chimichanga is consistent and stuffed with decent size shrimp. Margaritas are fantastic, they don’t skimp on the tequila. The atmosphere is traditional mexican restaurant as you would expect. Definitely one of the better mexican restaurants in town.

First off I want to correct something said about this place. It is not now nor has it ever been located in the «so call ghetto». It is located on the north end of Lafayette which to my knowledge isn’t one big «ghetto». To my knowledge people who live on the south side aren’t all living in trailer parks.
I decided to try this place last evening after not eating here in a couple of years. Not because of a bad past experience. I’m just not the biggest Mexican Food fan. But just as I remembered from years ago, good service with great food done fast. I ordered the Fajitas Bravas which included chicken, steak and shrimp with sauteed vegetables. It also included Mexican rice, guacamole, Pico de Gallo and re-​fried beans. Everything wasn’t perfectly cooked or seasoned but it was close. Best fajitas I’ve had at a Mexican restaurant hands down. Whenever the mood hits me again to eat some good Mexican food I will without a doubt visit this place again.

Stopped by this restaurant on our way to Houston and the Fajitas and shrimp are great. Service was excellent. Highly recommend.

I used to like this place until I went tonight. Our bill was high because they got my order wrong. I wanted a cheese enchilada which was 2.99. They brought out a different quesadilla which cost more than 11. Make sure you explain to them clearly what you want.

Uhh no. Why?
— Somewhat dirty.
— In a crappy part of town. Not safe for women at night.
— Food is OK… but there are at least a dozen better Mex places in town that are not in the ghetto… so why go here?
Hacienda, La Pagua, Azteca are a few… they are all fab.

Unbelievable service. Loved the atmosphere!
The queso was amazing, as well as the fajitas. Super fast service and excellent quality. I will definitely be back.

Lived in Houston, and have worked in Pecos-​Odessa-​Midland area for the past year where there is nothing but Mexican food so Mexican food was the last thing I wanted but all of the Cajun restaurants are closed on Sunday.
Atmosphere is traditional Mexican inside and the tables had cool Mexican imagery on them.
The service here is very good and the people are nice.
The salsa had a sweet taste, and was not spicy/​hot. It was decent, kind of bland.
Ordered fajitas and it came out very good. Usually when I go eat Mexican food I prefer to order a more original dish than fajitas, so I’ll have to try something different. If you have ate at several authentic Mexican food restaurants then I would try one of the other dozens of places to eat in Lafayette.

The place is Ok. I mean, there are so many more good authentic Mexican restaurants in Lafayette that it’s hard to rate this place higher. However it’s not a bad place at all to have a few margaritas, and your typical, not so traditional Mexican dishes… The pro on this one, it that is pretty close to my house. The Con… well, If you have a craving for some «tacos al Pastor»; you’re sh… out of luck.

This in my opinion is the best Mexican food I have had anywhere. I would probably eat here very regularly if I didn’t have to drive all the way to Moss Street to get it. If the moved closer into the center of town then they would probably give all the other Mexican restaurants in town a run for their money.

I decided to stop here after seeing all the five star reviews. I’m glad I stopped by as I thought this was an excellent Mexican restaurant.
The reviews for this place all say the same thing; that this place is cheap, fast, and good. I was always told when it comes to cheap, fast, and good, to pick two. This is not the case with El Potrillo. It hits on all three notes.
It’s definitely located in an older, declining area of the city. It’s also not the safest of areas. This isn’t a place you visit to impress your date. The interior is very kitschy. When you enter the entrance you are met with hundreds of Polaroids. It definitely has its own special charm.
I came here with a good friend of mine and we both ended up ordering the same thing, the Fajitas Bravas, which is the combination fajitas. They came out so fast I almost didn’t believe it was my order. They were very good. The bell peppers and onions were also good. The refried beans were also delicious.
I realize that I’m the first person not giving them five stars. While I think they have excellent food, good service, and great prices, their food wasn’t five star worthy. That being said I could see my opinion on this changing and if so I will update accordingly.

In a nutshell, this is one of the best Mexican food restaurants you can find.
The location of the place is not ideal, as it’s in an area of Lafayette that faces a lot of crime and is generally not a place to visit at night. However, it helps the place gain the whole hole-​in-​the-​wall fact.
I’ve been to El Potrillo quite a few times now. Enough to know what my favorite dish is – a white enchilada with Spanish rice. Out of the many times I’ve gone, I’ve only had one bad experience where the food was not cooked enough. Not a big deal, in my opinion.
The atmosphere at the restaurant is genuine and one of the best out of all the Mexican places I’ve been to. The pricing is amazing, the service is very responsive (they actually check on you frequently!), and it’s one of the best. I have no reason to give this place anything but a five-​star review.
Thanks!

Cheap, fast, friendly and awesome. This is the home of endless chips ‘n salsa — and the chips aren’t greasy, thank God. Service is lightning fast & the portions are huge for what you pay. Check the menu for a freaking enormous margarita «for two.» Pretty epic.
My go-​to item here is their Steak Fajita Nachos. Good lord, I could eat some right now. I’ve had a few other things & have never really been disappointed. But oh my God, the cheese sauce on the Fajita Nachos… mmmmm…
Tell them when it’s your birthday & they’ll bring a free dessert to you, sing, then smash a bit of it in your face while taking a picture of you to add to their «wall of shame.» I am not kidding.
I didn’t use to eat Mexican food very often, but this place is changing all that. Do it!

Service is EXCELLENT. The food however is even better. We had the fajitas for two and couldn’t eat it all (but we tried!) I’m from Texas and I know my Mexican food. This is where I’ll be headed in Lafayette when I get the urge for Mexican from now on!