El Vaquero

Steer clear: another gun free zone (criminal protection zone).
I opted to try Al Smith’s place down the road instead. Different kind of food but tasty none the less.

I think this place has excellent food for the price. The meat is always seasoned well and tortillas are warm and soft. Food is fresh and everything is flavorful. I’ve been here for both lunch and dinner and haven’t been disappointed. The menu however is overwhelmingly large so you’re guaranteed to find something you like. Also, the guacamole made table side is delicious. So glad I found a place in Toledo that does that. Makes me so happy. Only reason why I’m going 4 and not 5 is because the interior of the place is way too gimmicky Mexican restaurant theme. But the food’s great and staff are friendly so I can’t complain.

Lunch Friday, August 29, 2015
Ordered #133 — enchiladas
Well cooked and well presented.
Excellent taste.
Restaurant clean and service was excellent.
Definitely recommend!

Quite simply my favorite place in town. Our family has been going there for years. Our kids enjoy it too.
Recently they’ve been trying to expand their menu to include some «neo-​Mexican» dishes. Some of them are pretty good. Others… Meh. But you can’t go wrong with the classics here.

I probably won’t be back. My huevos rancheros were small, expensive, and runny. The flavor was pretty good, though. I thought both the salsa and guacamole were bland, and were served with broken shells, not chips.
The place was clean enough, but VERY worn and dingy. It didn’t feel unsafe but wasn’t appetizing.
The owner was very friendly and changed TV channels for us to the game, but the wait staff never refilled my drink. We were a large party, so that does happen.
Overall, not bad, but there are several better Mexican choices in Toledo.

I went here for my first time tonight, and the food was absolutely terrible. I wouldn’t recommend this place to anyone. The overall service wasn’t great either. The food came fast, but the waiter didn’t ask us for refills on our drinks or check on us to see how the food was. On top of all that, the food made my stomach kill, plus I could only eat ¼ of my dish that’s how bad it was. It was a waste of time and money. I will never go back to this restaurant. There’s far better Mexican restaurants in Toledo than this one.

Go here quite a bit and for good reason. The food is amazing and not to overpriced. There are a lot of options and they are all sectioned out so you don’t miss anything. Only down side is a lot of the waitstaff do not speak great english. But they have never gotten an order wrong or been unprofessional.

El Vaquero has never been my favorite Mexican restaurant, so I was less than thrilled when I was invited there yesterday. I understand the appeal: a menu long enough to be authored by Dostoyevsky, there is certainly something to please everyone, right?
My main beef with El Vaquero is their enchiladas which are cloyingly sweet. I find myself trying to pinpoint where they depart from traditional enchilada sauce to something else — sugar? Chocolate? Cinnamon? I can’t put my finger on it.
My most recent visit yielded something truly delightful, the chilaquiles mexicanos, a plate of fried tortilla chips and chicken cooked in salsa topped with cheese and served with rice. I was concerned that the dish might be bland or sweet like the enchiladas, so I asked that it be prepared with the diabla sauce instead.
It was great. The heat was complex. Each bite tasted sweet at the beginning, with a slow burn at the back end. The sour cream enriched the dish.
So long as I can order anything «la diabla,» I can make peace with El Vaquero.

Went on a Friday so we expected a little wait. Both dishes were good for the price. Wait staff was definitely on top of their game. Will definitely continue frequenting this location.

I prefer Palacio Maya but we decided to try El Vaquero again and I’m very glad we did. I got a Texas Margarita that definitely was stronger than I thought it was originally. Is this «authentic» Mexican food? Probably not everything — it’s very TexMex but it’s still delicious. Their table provided salsa has a good flavor to it as well. I got a Fajita Quesadilla and the portion was ENORMOUS. My husband got the beef tips chimichanga and enjoyed it. The little salad with tomato, lettuce, sour cream came in a little taco shell bowl which we both thought was neat. The service was pretty good and it looks like a Mexican restaurant as far as décor goes. Prices are very good for the portion size. I enjoyed the margaritas quite a bit too. It’s a great alternative to El Camino which I hate but I still feel like Palacio Maya is a little fresher.

The food was tremendous and the service was great!
They made the guacamole in front of us!
5 stars!

Here about once a month for lunch. Service is always fast. Food is tasty. My friend raves about their salsa and their guac. Staff is attentive and is quick to refill pop glasses and chip baskets. Food is always hot, portions generous. Definitely worth a visit!

Pretty good food, probably my favorite of the regular mexican restaurant. Seems similar to most other mexican restaurants, nothing too special.

Let me start by stating that I rarely give a damn if ethnic is «authentic» or not. If I like the taste, that’s good enough for me.
Well, the food at El Vaquero tastes quite good. Not authentic? IMO, who cares?
This is one of my favorite Mexican (?Tex/​Mex?) place in Toledo. Kids and wife like it too. Friendly and attentive wait staff. The table side guacamole cart is a pretty cool addition, and depending on the waiter or waitress using it, probably produces the best guacamole in town.
The margaritas taste good and are reasonably strong. They’re not as strong as they used to be at the corner of Sylvania and Douglas (but of course El Vaquero has never been busted for spiking their margs with Everclear, either).
The menu is huge. This is one of the few Mexican places in town where I order items other than burritos, chimis or enchiladas.
During the warm months, you can dine on the patio. Yes, I realize that the patio overlooks a parking lot, but it’s still a patio.

I wasn’t sure what to expect and it almost met my expectations. I rarely see Huevos Chorizo on menus, so I was compelled to try it. I’ve had huevos ranchero at so many places, I know what to expect.
I like that they had the option for flour or corn tortillas if you ask. The corn tortillas were served warm, just not enough of them.
The disappointing component is the eggs were not over easy. They were scrambled with the chorizo. Without it being runny, the dish misses the heartiness sauce the eggs bring. It would help to solidify the chorizo more with the eggs. The beans and rice were good, not great, nor bad, but mediocre.

Great Mexican food. This place makes me feel like I’m right back in Mexican Town or in my gramma’s kitchen. It’s definitely casual dining, but everything is bright and the atmosphere is fun and attractive. The menu is varied and the prices are cheap.
Every time I’ve been here I’ve had the enchiladas marias (with mole)…that’s how good they are! I can’t bring myself to order anything else. I’ve brought family and friends to El Vaquero and they have ordered a variety of dishes, all of which they have raved about.

Okay I must start off with I have had other items here and they have been middle of the road mexican, but the last few years I strictly ordered the to #149 Fajita Quesadilla with chicken. So delish I dream about going back to Toledo to eat there, and Ralphies (for chicken wings & cheap beer.)
The margaritas are super strong, so be aware if you need a designated driver! The house marg’s aren’t the most delish ever but after a long work day they do the trick.

I don’t usually eat at Mexican restaurants because I’m not usually too impressed with the food. But I had heard good things about El Vaquero and decided to try it.
Décor: El Vaquero did a great job transforming the space from what used to be Denny’s into a cute Mexican restaurant. They changed the tables and even the brick around the windows. You could hardly tell that it used to be a Denny’s.
Service: The waiters there were really nice. Especially that guy who made our guacamole! He was a very kind, attentive, nice older waiter. The place seemed very clean and the service was fast.
Food: (First off I have to say that I am in no way an expert in Mexican food so I have no idea what is authentic and what isn’t.)
They start you off with chips and salsa (not the generic salsa that you buy in the store, but it seemed like authentic Mexican salsa). There’s also a guacamole cart where they bring it over and make the guacamole fresh for you. It’s a bit pricey for guacamole but you get a lot (they put in 2 avocados) and you can choose what you put in it and they’ll season it to your taste. Really good guacamole!
I can’t remember the name of the dishes that we tried but the numbers were #8 which was some type of chicken with onions and green peppers and cheese on top served with beans, Mexican rice and tortillas and #134 which was some type of lunch meal that came with a chicken enchilada and a chicken burrito served with Mexican rice. I also got a chicken tamale just to try since I love tamales.
The #8– chicken dish was really good. It would’ve been nicer if it came with more rice, but other than that, it was a good dish.
As far as the #134, I didn’t realize that it was served with mole poblano sauce. And apparently, I don’t like mole. I guess I will have to be more careful when I order next time! (I felt like this place was more authentic than other Mexican restaurants because I don’t think I’ve ever been to one that served mole sauce, but like I said, I haven’t really been to make Mexican restaurants in the area.)
The tamale had a lot of sauce on it so it was hard to tell the taste of the tamale itself, but it was pretty good!
The prices were pretty decent especially for the lunch menu.

The El Vaquero in Maumee is much better than this one.
The food is not that good.

Quick and easy, and the cost is right in line.
This is our go-​to place for Sunday Mexican dinner. We don’t drink so I don’t care about the Margaritas which seems to be the main criteria for most Mexican restaurant reviews in Toledo. The food is good, the portions are good, the wait staff is normally is very good.
Today I had a vegetarian plate of Bean Burrito with Nacho Cheese sauce, and a bean Chalupa, with a guacamole dip. The guacamole was too hot for me today but the cheese sauce more than made up for it.