El Paso Cafe

Good stuff. I’ve been coming here for awhile with the fam when we’re in town and when we need some good food without all the noise ;)

This place is bad. Very bad. There’s very few places where I’ve found the food to be inedible, but this is definitely one of them.
As a start, the salsa is flavorless — this is always a very bad sign for any Mexican place. The rest of the food followed suit; flavorless and uninspired. Assuming I don’t get sick, I’ll consider upgrading the place to two stars, but I’m pretty sure my fat husky dog wouldn’t even eat this food.

We used Door Dash delivery tonight and thought we would branch out and give this place a try.
Worst. Idea. Ever. I barely managed to get any of it down and my stomach already feels horrible.
Their salsa was flavorless and the consistency was strange. Their chips taste like a cheap brand from bottom shelf of grocery store.
We ordered fajita tacos with steak — meat was dry, overall flavorless
Chimichanga– super greasy and the inside didn’t taste right at all
We couldn’t bring ourselves to even try the chorizo burrito we had ordered.
Do your taste buds and stomach a favor and DO NOT order from here!!!

Love this place! It’s tiny yet yummy. We’ve been eating here for over 25 years and still find it so appealing, I love the huevos rancheros which I always order at brunch time, it’s real comfort food with a Mexican flavor pàllâttè, it’s satisfying and I’d eat it every day if I could. Squeeze yourself inside and give it a try, you might be pleasantly surprised.

Just found this place after a round of golf w/​my Boyz. Great friendly place with killer FOOD …
It is a must, you won’t be sorry !!!
Killer Burritos
J. O’D

Chevys closed so we are searching for a Tex mex place.
Parking here can be tricky. There is a patio.
I ordered regular tea and it was colored water.
Husband ordered flautas and they serve Tacquitos for flautas. The beans and rice are good and the salad dressing is delicious.
The chicken fajita tacos were good.
The prices are medium.

A cute little Mexican restaurant right on El Camino in Mountain View!
We started the meal with chips and salsa ($ 2). I’m docking off a star because most Mexican restaurants serve complementary chips and salsa. The salsa was very good, chunky and full of flavor. The chips were thin and crisp, not very oily at all, but needed salt.
We then ordered margaritas, chili relleño and the chicken enchilada. I agree with some of the other reviewers that the food has less salt than general Mexican fare but that’s a plus for me because I’m not furiously downing glasses of water.
The service was excellent and they gave us a small glass of the sangria which I am definitely ordering next time.

We had a lunch with a friend couple at this restaurant.
Unlike the same name restaurant at Fremont which is Americanized,
this one serves real Mexican food. The dishes, Taco salad, Fish soup,
Vege Burrito, and Spicy shrimps are all delicious. More important to us,
the food was prepared at light and healthy side. Setting is very casual and
comfortable, feel like in Mexico.
We had a great time and would definitely come back.

I got my food to go. The burrito was very subpar. Kind of thing you’d get for hot lunch. Lots of food though, maybe some stoner food or something?

Average at best. Lot of food but quality is not very good. Some of the grossest salsa I’ve been served in awhile — looked like it was weeks old, soggy and flavorless. They also couldn’t get their credit card machine to work and asked me for cash, which I carry for emergencies only… I came in by myself on a quiet 2pm Saturday and got a lot of leering or hostile glances from the other patrons parked at the bar… just didn’t feel like a friendly place.

Love this place. Been going here for years. Friendly, comfortable, good honest Tex-​Mex food.
Food is fresh, tasty and not too spicy. True Mexican food isn’t spicy, so I don’t know why some folks
expect spicy food. There’s always hot sauce if they want hot and spicy!
Friendly, personal service and great beer on tap here. We especially like the chicken enchiladas verde or the pork burritos. GREAT GUACAMOLE!!! Nothing fancy here, so don’t expect fancy prices either.
There is a sitting area out back, which would be good in the summer when it’s hot. The place looks small when you first enter, but then there is a 2^nd seating area and then if you walk further back, you can have the outside seating.

Note: This is a very preliminary report based on just one meal — not enough to measure ANY restaurant (a reality, alas, unwittingly emphasized by many Unilocalers who post conclusive judgments before bothering to learn the important things, or even much of anything, about a new restaurant). As usual with little experience to go on, but that experience being encouraging, I put three stars, may move up or down after more experience. (Compare Oren’s Hummus Shop
or especially Han Gen Szechuan Restaurant
for examples where impressions changed with experience.)
I’m embarassed to’ve seen this low-​key restaurant for about 20 years yet only tried it recently, at a friend’s suggestion for a foodie lunch group.
Although he had more experience, I think Dan B was too harsh in his review six and a half years ago (when I believe El Paso Café had a different owner). Anyway, Dan wouldn’t have complained of blandness had he tried the camarones a la diabla plate I did (with penty of moderate-​sized prawns in a quite spicy sauce of mixed chili flavorings, much enjoyed) or even the current caldo-​de-​pollo (main-​course chicken soup), whose broth also had a hint of heat.
Unlike some restaurants like La Fiesta (not far away)
(which does an elegant presentation of this soup, with clear glass bowl, shredded meat, avocado bits, and lots of herbs and lime juice; I’ve gone to La Fiesta sometimes just for that soup), El Paso delivered more of a home-​style soup — chunks of recognizable vegetables, large meaty chicken pieces on the bone. I found the soup well made and satisfying, though the big bone-​in chicken pieces took some work with knife and fork on a side plate, being too hot and wet to eat in hand, like roast or fried poultry.
Guacamole order shared by the table as appetizer was freshly made, disappeared quickly.
Overall, food was satisfying and different; I’ll certainly return to try more. Seating is both indoors and in a sizeable enclosed and lattice-​covered covered outdoor area that’ll fit at least 20 diners.
A quirk to know about is parking. El Paso is between two businesses with rear parking lots (Firebird Dance Studio to west, the venerable Petit Bistro
to east), but El Paso lacks its own dedicated parking. For lunch, that’s no problem since the adjacent businesses are closed and their lots free. Dinner may require parking on the street, or around the corner.
For some reason, both HOURS and WEBSITE (
) have been missing from Unilocal; I’ve submitted them now. Website and sign out front say daily opening 10AM Tues-​Sun. which is what I supplied to Unilocal,yet menus (both plastic and take-​away) give 11 as the opening hour. So, you might want to phone ahead before going there 10−11AM until the owners fix this ambiguity.

I’ve been here several times now and it’s not bad. I’d say it’s «more Tex, less Mex» in that the food is decent, but Americanized («gringo-​friendly?) in terms of spiciness, flavor profiles, etc.
I’ve tried the spicy chicken, chili verde, and breakfast super burritos and actually enjoyed the breakfast one best. As others have said, the nachos are good with toppings divided evenly on each chip. Nice.
I also came here for dinner/​happy hour with a group and had the border style burger. Comes on a long sandwich roll with chiles, etc. Surprisingly good and very hefty. Waffle fries were ok, margaritas were plentiful and a good bargain during hh.
Also delivery is an option through Waiters on Wheels, not cheap but the one time I tried it my order arrived quite fast (30 min) and was nice and hot. I’ll definitely try again and explore more of the menu.

If you are wanting a margarita, go here. If your hungry, and you want something good, maybe go somewhere else first. I mean if I was starving, I might be ok with the food.
They have barely any vegetarian options. The «veggies» they put it in their burritos consist of onions and bell peppers presumably for fajitas, and carrots. Their chips are fried with meat, so chips and salsa, or nachos was a no go for me.
Its a small place, but stretches out longway to the back, where the outdoor seating is. I really like the outdoor patio seating area, but if you sit out there, you’ll probably be forgotten. This place is divey, but when our waitress remembered we were outside, she was really nice.
If you want a DELICIOUS frozen strawberry margarita thats decently strong and you’re in the area, head here. If you want anything else, you can get the margarita at Chevy’s.

I just ate here last night and was pretty impressed. I got the steak fajitas and it was real real good. The steak was also real legit. The rice and beans were your average mexican restaurant sides, but the steak and flour tortillas (tasted home-​made) that come with it are out of this world. It is also a really reasonable price place. Great great food.

Tex-​Mex food equally as beautiful as it is delicious. Been going here since the mid 90’s. Yeah, it’s been around that long because it’s that good. They changed ownership a few years ago, but the old owners passed the torch wisely and the new owners kept the same recipes.
A burrito at El Paso is built by hand with precision and artistry. This is not you average taqueria grease bomb burrito where all the guac is clumped up one end, and the salsa leaks out the other side all over your hands because some stoner doesn’t give 2 cents about wrapping a tortilla. No sir. At El Paso, each burrito is assembled by hand with love, ensuring that every bite will include all the flavors you crave. Note these are knife and fork burritos, (especially if you get it wet, or if you order the super burrito). No foil wrapped salsa time bombs here. This is a delicacy best savored in a civilized manner. If you order the super burrito, it comes layered high with guac, creama, salsa, and cheese on top of the beast, and it will literally hang off the edges of the platter it is served upon. Also no rice in their burritos! The beans and the meat are the stars of this show.
Of their meats, their carne asada is tender, juicy, and spiced handsomely. Their chicken is flavorful without being greasy. Their chunky salsa is made fresh daily and you can consistently taste the goodness. Definitely do yourself a favor and order some, because it is not complimentary. They use red onions in their salsa which gives it a unique distinction.
My personal favorite at El Paso is the nachos. I order them as a meal because they are that hearty. Once again, these are a far cry from your normal taqueria nachos with pickled jalapeños, a spoonful of greasy meat and stringy white cheese shoved under a broiler. At El Paso, each chip is individually assembled with meat, cheese, salsa, guac, creama, ect. You may only get about a dozen chips in an order, but each chip is piled inches high with goodness. The house fried chips are thick enough to stand up to the task of delivering all that goodness to your mouth without falling apart.
They have a few beers on draft and can mix up a decent margarita. In nice weather, try to snag a table on their back patio for a wonderful setting.
Do yourself a favor and go to El Paso. I try to go whenever I am hungry and in Mtn. View.

Bland.
There were two of us and we both agreed that this was the blandest Mexican food we have ever had. Nice service though!

Food: 2 Service: 4
I stopped eating at Mexican restaurants when I moved from Texas to California a decade ago and this place reminded me of why. To maximize my options I ordered the enchilada and chile relleno combo. To my disappointment, the food arrived drenched in oily cheese, and tasted very bland. The included salad was wilted and just cut up iceberg with a few slices of tomatos. Very disappointing.

Hubby and I just got back from ordering 2 super burritos to go. TERRIBLE! All that was in the burritos was meat and beans. No seasoning. In fact, they tasted *off*. Hubby was so excited to eat here because this used to be one of his favorite restaurants. Needless to say, we will NOT be back.

Terrible. Just terrible.
Food was so bland– no spices and possibly not even salt and pepper. I was starving so I ate, but I won’t be back.
This place must have changed hands– or gone downhill fast– because I cannot fathom that this place could get 5 stars from anyone.