El Palmar

Great hole in the wall Mexican. Best in Waukesha! If you haven’t been, you must go! Cheap & authentic.

This was definitely a good Unilocal find! Typically I would not have even noticed this place driving by, as it is kind of hidden and does not have a very big sign, but we found it! Great authentic Mexican food. I had chicken tacos and my co-​worker had the quesadillas and we thought they were great! The environment is definitely that of the proverbial «hole in the wall,» but we came here for the great Mexican food! Prices are very affordable and the staff were attentive. Good place for lunch, and will definitely come back for their authentic Mexican food again!

I was not getting a good vibe from this place from the moment I walked in because all the employees walked past me several times and never acknowledged me and just left me standing there until I finally stopped some and asked if could I sit any where. I was the only non Mexican in the place so I had high hopes.
The place is small and with booths and tables and chairs. There is a flat screen and art on the walls. It has wall paper that looks like bricks and wood half way up the walls. And like so many places in Wi the poker machines.
There was no hot sauces on the table which I hate from a Mexican place. My chips and salsa came to the table with my menu. The menu had a lot of choices but no combo plates to get a better sampling of the menu.
I noticed all the other table getting getting hot sauce brought to them but I’m invisible and none for me WTF hello I would like some hot sauce. My meal came to the table and still no hot sauce so I asked for some and I finally got some. The yellow bottle tasted horrible while the red was hot with plenty of seeds in it.
The chips were thin and crisp and not seasoned. The salsa was semi chunky on the watery side with some heat with tomatoes, onion and cilantro.
I ordered the steak burrito suizo meal that comes with a drink so I took home a Pepsi. The meal comes with rice and beans, see my pictures. The burrito suizo looked strange because all the other times I have had one there was sauce and cheese on top where this one only had cheese on top. None of the food is seasoned by the way.
The beans had the texture of gravy, very runny and bland. The rice had great texture and was firm and separated well from the other pieces but bland also. The steak burrito had a nice amount of steak but it was gray looking and not seasoned so it was bland and not exciting at all.
My service was not very good from start to finish and my server never came back after I got my meal to see if I needed anything. I finally had to grab a server and ask for the check so I could leave.
I don’t see the four star reviews because this place can’t hang with the Milwaukee area four star places at all and I now have a better appreciation for Milwaukee’s Mexican food scene.

Great tacos, friendly service, and reasonable price… what more could you want? We enjoyed the authenticity of Palmar. I ordered the loco tacos dinner. Excellent flavor and the green hot sauce just added to the experience. Get up and go to El Palmar!

One is the better places to get Mexican style tacos, with meat, onions, cilantro and lime. It’s a little while in the wall joint with fast service and few tables. But yeah, it defiantly hits the Mexican food craving when you have one. Nothing extraordinary or special about this place. Just rock solid tacos.

I used to love dining at El Palmar but now I sadly suggest it as a takeout only. I have lived in Waukesha for years and have enjoyed many meals from El Palmar. The food is great and authentic, I’ve yet to taste better Mexican food than at El Palmar but I may be branching out soon. The dine in experience there has always been great until recently. The current waitress that seems to always be there is obviously preferential towards other Mexicans. I am a white man and don’t have a racist bone in my body. I went there twice and received no service from this waitress while watching Spanish speaking customers served hand and foot. I finally went a third time to give it the benefit of the doubt but was once again disappointed. I don’t ask a lot. I was given the chips and salsa every time, given a menu, in 2 minutes I was quickly asked what I wanted to eat and drink and that was it. No follow up. No ask for a refill on my beer or water (and the salsa is spicy). All the while the waitress would joke and serve the Spanish speaking customers. With this said the other servers have been great. They have a male server that takes the time to please and is the shining light of this establishment. My main point: ORDER TAKE OUT OR LEARN SPANISH.

Good food, cheap eats… free chips & salsa then Tried 3 different tacos with beans & rice & avocado. Beans a little runny but overall it was a good meal. Wait staff (1 for the whole place) was on the slow side, l was the only gringo dining (all other patrons spoke Español to her). Seems like a great place to eat late-​night after a few beers… or before a few beers as it is across the street from Discount Liquor Waukesha. They dont take American Express.

Really great food here, at a decent price compared to it’s main competitors, whom I will say outright, are very inclined towards Americanized dishes! This place is as close to Mexican food in the area as it gets! My gringo friends below me may attest differently but as to my palate, it speaks differently. I will bump down a star in my rating due to the fact that service is kind of shotty depending on who’s your server but they are generally very very friendly!
I do agree that the salsa is kind of disappointing but then again I didn’t really go in there for the salsa, but for the food. The layout is your typical ‘hole in the wall’ type restaurant.
I’d like to say that this is not a stab at any of the previous reviewers but I would recommend this place over any other Mexican restaurant in the area, for authenticity’s sake… BUT if you’re willing to sacrifice that over looks and the crowd you want to attract, then you’re at your own whim LOL but long story short, this place is delicious! Funny how I hear the stories my wife shares of her friends who are told to come here but are so weary of going outside the box and stick to nachos, or something close to that, haha!
Don’t be afraid to try this place, all joking aside!

Great if your on a budget. Very authentic, early & late hours and again cheap prices. The food is descent but pretty run down location.

Full disclosure, I did not eat a full meal here. Walked in, was seated, given a menu, and drink order was taken. Some clues that something was off — chips and salsa only upon request. Chips were stale and not very salty. Salsa was jar-​like. It was as if someone threw some tomatoes at some onions and watered the whole thing down with tomato water. The meal reached a confusing conclusion when ketchup and mustard were left at the table to accompany nothing at all.
The layout inside is confusing. It kind of reminded me of an old Laundromat.
The wait staff was friendly but not friendly enough to offset the chips/​salsa/​canned soda. We left. The can of soda (and the chips?) totaled $ 2.something. It was a confusing end to a short-​lived meal.
Maybe it’s better take out than dine in. It wouldn’t be my first choice in Waukesha.
This detail isn’t that important but I found it to be meaningful that Speed Racer (the new one) was on TV in the background.

Ate there twice yesterday for lunch and dinner. Their loco tacos with the works are addicting!

I had 3 tacos with rice and beans. The meat was pork, flank steak, and steak. It was so bland that I couldn’t even finish my food. The only reason it gets an extra star is for the friendly customer service. Will not go back.

This is my favorite Mexican restaurant in Waukesha. The food is always made fresh and made to order. The staff is personable and willing to explain menu items. I’m a regular there so they know what to cook up when I walk in the door. A must try is the Bistec ala Mexicana, Tortas are always amazing, and the Horchata’s are yummy! They even make homemade strawberry jelly every now and then so ask about it!

Very good! Great prices, and the hot sauce is hot!!! I love hot.

This place has the best tacos in the area. I am originally from LA and miss this quality of Mexican food. Great

What’s not to like about authentic Mexican food that’s cheap? The establishment is not as decorated as others in the area, but the food rivals a popular train stop in town. Although its nothing fancy, this is a clean place with about six tables. The staff is friendly and quick to serve you. Salsa is fresh and good. I come here on a rather regular basis for their tacos. I recommend the beef, with cilantro and onion on corn tortilla. It’s authentic and muy delicioso!

If honest authentic Mexican food is what you’re after El Palmar is as good as it gets! It’s not a 5 star fine dining experience and that’s not what it’s supposed to be. It’s a clean, friendly, and reasonably priced restaurant serving up the best Mexican food in Waukesha. El Palmar also offers many delicious Mexican choices you wont find at the chain establishments. For the adventurous try their goat burrito, for the timid their asada is to die for. Great salsa too!