El Tapatio

I don’t even know what to say… Almost at a loss for words. This was BY FAR the worst Mexican food I have Ever attempted to eat in my entire life. Just down right Disgusting!
We should have listened to fellow Unilocalers. Should have followed my instincts when I noticed there was only one car in the entire parking lot on a Saturday night.
Or. That smell that completely caught us off guard when walked into the restaurant…
it smelled as if something was rotting or died accompanied by bleech and other chemicals.
I could go on forever about the slop we were served but I’ll keep it short and simple lol.
–Chips
served upon arrival warm & fresh
the only decent part of the meal.
–Tamale
Mushy. It was all masa ZERO Pork, and it was covered in fake cheese. Ive never seen a tamale smothered in cheese before (maybe to make up for the missing pork? Don’t know.)
–Taco
Asked for chicken. received extremely extremely sour tasting ground beef along with five more pounds of cheese.
–Chicken Enchiladas
Canned Canned Canned. Gross!
I cant stand the taste, and especially the smell of canned chicken. The corn tortillas were completely rock hard like they’d been cooked the week before and just reheated then smothered in that fake Kraft/​winco like cheddar cheese.
–Beans
Expired Rosarita canned beans once again covered in that wrank cheese Yuck!
–Rice
Undercooked Spanish rice a roni nasty!
–Quesadilla
Same foul canned chicken, another 10lbs of fake cheddar
Service was non existent.
She took our order. I asked if I could sub something from my combo. She kept ignoring me. So I kept asking, offered to pay more. Nothing! She kept pushing those awful Tamales which I did not want.
After that we never saw her again. I had to get up and ask for boxes (95% of the food was left… seriously we needed 4 boxes)
Then I had to get up again and track her down for the check.
There was literally 1 other person in the entire restaurant (which he had multiple complaints about his meal as well. I’m an eves dropper) She was to busy eating chips, and talking with another woman possibly employee or friend.
Like I said earlier.
THE WORST Mexican food I have EVER Tasted in My Entire Life!!!
I will never return to this restaurant. They should feel ashamed that they are serving people this food… Well. If you can even call it that.

I went to this restaurant due to the reviews. I want to state that the servers provided good service however the food left a lot to be desired. I lived in Mexico in the neighboring state of Jalisco which is where the origins of the food is from. i am very familiar as to how it should taste. I asked what dishes the waitress would recommend she hesitated and informed me they are americanized not original she stated i cant go wrong with the fajitas and chimichangas. I agreed to try them in all fairness the place smelt like food was spoiling in the kitchen my fajitas had a funky taste and the chimichangas where extremely bland.
A note to the owners please try to step up your food quality otherwise you may keep loosing business the discounted coupons wont save your business. The food was so bad i was afraid of food poisoning. I Will never go again.

Had to re-​review this restaurant after my second visit today.
I ordered the tamale, taco, and enchilada; my food was AWFUL; an insult to Mexican food. I had to cut up my whole tamale to prove there was even meat inside because it was all masa. The enchilada tasted like the ones in the frozen section. & my taco fell out of the bottom after I picked it up. The meat was in seasoned, bland and there was no flavor whatsoever to my meal.
The chips are good, and the Nachos Tapatio are great hear. But the rest of the menu, and the meats are flavorless and poor quality. I really wanted to like this place, but I won’t be back.

Kind of embarrassing how often I come here to get takeout. I live nearby and their food is so yummy so it’s easy to come as often as I do. They seem to be busy often which means I’m not the only one who thinks so.
They are always friendly and attentive, and as I said before their food is yummy! They have daily specials throughout the week that I’ve dined in for in the past. I usually get tacos to go, because who doesn’t love tacos?

Always the same delicious uncomplicated food. Excellent service, and a bright cheerful atmosphere

I’ve been going here many years & sadly I will never return. Tonight was a disaster. One thing after another since sitting down.

Last time I reviewed this place I gave it 5. I believe that since then, that it is not what it used to be. Where the food is still just as great as it usually is, the service and atmosphere just doesn’t live up to 5. If you don’t mind a whole in the wall resturaunt and a little bit of misunderstood service, this is THE place to come for Mexican. The food here is still a five in my book. Best enchiladas around.
TL;DR: Rough around the edges, but overall great food.

We have lived in this area for five years and today we decided to check out the neighborhood El Tapatio. Very glad we did. Plenty of parking. Cute décor– like a cantina, and almost as soon as we sat down we had water, chips and some of the most flavorful salsa I have ever had. Very fresh, with a bit of a kick. Chips were warm and we were dipping and eating, and dipping and eating. We both ordered ta lunch combo, rice, beans, chicken enchilada and a pork tamale– only $ 7.95! Chicken was moist and plentiful, rice and beans very good too. Can’t wait to bring our boys back here to see what we have been missing. Definitely coming back.

Um… well… Yuck. My fajitas were so overcooked the onion and peppers were like slime, the margaritas were weak… my date had a chicken chimi and it was just boiled chicken, no spices or seasoning at all. Pretty sure she won’t be calling me back. A buddy at work raved about this joint, I don’t get it. Is there any decent Mexican in this county? That’s the third place I’ve been to since moving here, and they all suck!

Good salsa but not that authentic of food. The veggie burrito when we went was a bag of frozen birds eye veggies. Seriously?! Kept getting our drink order wrong. Been there other times and was OK. Always feel like they don’t care if I am there or not.

Fabulous! Best Mexican around this area! Love it, great service, huge servings always bring home half of my chicken quesadilla. Fresh shredded chicken or beef, the best you can get! Margaritas suggest the Cadillac!

Seven of us had dinner and drinks there this evening. My Burrito Tapatio was excellent with many good comments from the group about their fajitas and nacho dinner plates. This is the first time I have ever taken some of my dinner home with me, as did two others. The friendly service and attention to our group was excellent. The drinks never hit bottom without someone asking if we would like more of our drinks of choice. The bottled beer came with iced glasses for each round. If you are looking for good quality Mexican food, with good service, a fairly priced menu that is family friendly and large portions, this is the place top go. We continue to acquaint ourselves with the variety of Vancouver restaurants and El Tapatio is definitely on our short list.

I am visiting from California, and loved this place so much we went two nights in a row. Great atmosphere (loved the music), great food (mole…mmm like I’ve had in Mexico), but it was the service that brought me back. We had barely sat down when the staff brought us water, chips and salsa. Refilled the chips without us asking. The food showed quickly. There was even enough leftovers to take home. i will return next time we are visiting

I’m surprised by some of the reviews here. Yes, the food is Americanized, but this is a strip mall in Vancouver. It’s nothing fancy. The staff is always very friendly.
The shredded beef enchiladas are delicious.

SW Corner of NE Hwy 99 & NE Minehaha
Table Service type restaurant
You know you’re in a good authentic joint if the main clientele has a strong presence there… that should have been my first clue to what I was in for. My parents really like this place which is the reason I have been more than once… also they usually pay so I’m not one to «look a gifthorse in the mouth» so to speak.
The place is owned and run by people from Mexico… they even speak Spanish to my mom whenever she comes in. My biggest issue (well besides the servers and kitchen needing to be retrained) is that the food is overly «Americanized» and pretty bland. They have no problem getting things for you if you ask, but you’ll probably end up having to ask for most things. They are decent at refills, but again if you’re not sitting at the end of the table closest to your server then there’s a pretty good chance you will have to request a refill. Also this place uses a LOT of cheese, so if you love cheese then you’ll be in good shape with their food.
On my most recent visit I had their Combo #11:
which is 1 Chalupa & 1 Enchilada. I went with Shredded Beef, but they give you a choice of beef or chicken. If you go with beef you have a choice of either Shredded Beef or Ground Beef. Their beef was nice and juicy and they used really good portions, but I just found the meat to be rather bland. I’m used to Chalupas being much smaller and having a Masa based shell, but this one was made from flour and tasted more like a cracker. A Chalupa is basically like a puffy Taco normally with a Masa based shell. The beans were pretty good and their rice was pretty moist.
What I did like was their complimentary chips and salsa. The chips were crunchy without being greasy and the salsa was robust and refreshing without being too spicy!
They have both booths and regular tables and their dining area is pretty large.
Décor is simple and homey and will definitely lead one to remember he, or she is in a Mexican Restaurant.
They have plenty of parking in this Strip Mall lot.

I always get the (lunch version) chicken chimichanga (lots of shredded white meat in the fried tortilla) with whole beans instead of re-​fried. This is my favorite so I don’t even look at the menu anymore cause that’s always what I’m craving. I love the salsa! I wish I had it in my fridge all the time. I think the salsa has the perfect heat level and a visible amount cilantro which I always pour over my food. Yummy!

I’m not sure how this place only has a three star rating… so I felt compelled to chime in and give my review.
I LOVE EL TAPATIO.
I’ve been eating here my entire life. When I was little we used to come here for dinner at least once a week because we lived down the street. As adults and after many moves to different neighborhoods in the Vancouver and Portland area, this is still the place that most frequently gets chosen for a «special occasion» family lunch or dinner by my brother or me. It might be nostalgia or just one of those things that you love because you grew up with it… but I seriously do not understand the negative reviews. The food here is amazing. The salsa is INCREDIBLE and my absolute favorite. I could eat it forever. The chips are warm and delicious. And the drinks are cheap! Everything is good here… the beans and rice… omg.
I love this place so much. I hope it stays in this location forever and never changes.

Alarmed to read about Moldly tasting food. I hope the health department followed up.
Clark County Health Department is very thorough and has tight rules.
We have eaten here since they opened years ago. The food is usually pretty good. We are from So California so nothing compares in the Pacific NW. However, when the food has tasted «off» (fishy) I too have had the same experience of just being ignored with no resolution, which was frustrating.
They are open late — that’s nice!

Just skip all the way down to Michelle’s review in 2/2007…it’s still the same place she reviewed.
The food is good, there’s a lot of it, it comes out quickly, the place is clean, the staff has always been friendly to us and so on.
I don’t look at the menu here… I just like the Chile Colorado Burrito, all rice, no beans. I slather the salsa that comes with the chips all over it and I’m good to go. I suppose that’s not very Unilocaly to not try some of everything on the menu, but this is our comfort Mexican food place to eat. Three of us ate dinner and had six Pacificos total…$ 58. I don’t think that’s too bad of a deal.
The Pacifico is cold and the food is hot! A good combo for us…

OK, so I know it’s not the most authentic Mexican fare on the planet but unless you go to a mom and pop on the border somewhere, you’re not really going to get that. People like to have their ethnic food Americanized for some strange reason that I’ve never been able to figure out. If you saw what they really ate in China, you would never eat it.
I really appreciated the immediate service. We had no sooner sat down when the water and chips were on our table. The salsa had just enough bite to it to make it interesting. It didn’t hurt that the server was handsome.
Great atmosphere, typical Mexican food chain-​like with actual Mexican music. I hate walking into a Mexican restaurant only to hear Top40 blaring on the radio.
We had the fish tacos and they were actually pretty good. I didn’t see the warning from a previous writer until after we’d left the restaurant. Well, it’s the next day and I’m still upright.
I thought the place was good so maybe you will too. If the person who trashed the place on Unilocal could give me an authentic Mexican restaurant alternative, I would be very happy to try it. I also found it just a little amusing that the only photo on here is one of a bottle of Dos Equis and a dirty plate. LOL! Not very appealing and not at all helpful.