Our family loves this restaurant. Consistent great food and excellent service. We have been dining here for over 20 years and never been disappointed. read more

The ambiance was great. The food was not so great, didn't taste like much and staff was very rude.

Great food and service is outstanding. I like coming here often. I particularly enjoyed their meat dishes such as carne asada. read more

Great fajitas! I've been here several times, and it never disappoints The service has always been prompt. The place is clean I like to order the big bag of chips and their salsa to go read more

I am from the Midwest and was sent to this town for a work assignment. I stopped in here as I was heading back out of town. I always when I try I new restaurant I ordered the combination plate of taco, enchilada and chili rellano. This plate was served hot and oversized! Beans and rice were included. The rice was not the softest which was fine (maybe fried). The enchilada came as I would expect. It was a shredded beef covered in a tasty enchilada sauce with melted cheese on top. The taco was ground beef but lettuce, cheese and tomato. The rellano was covered the same as the enchilada. This is what a Mexican plate should look like! The salsa was very good. Plenty of flavor with chunks of veggies. Chips were fresh. Service was good and quick. Overall a great dining experience. I would say that this place is about 5 minutes off the interstate along the business route. You could take either exit and then get back on without back tracking. You will pass through the town which is surprisingly bigger than one would expect. read more

El Caporal 2 - Combination plate with enchilada, taco and rellano. - Mexican Near Me - Ellensburg, Washington

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We've eaten at this restaurant multiple times over 15 years. In our experience the food is good and the servings are huge. We live near Seattle and have family who live in Moses Lake. Ellensburg is a good stopping place for a meal and relaxing from the long drive. In Seattle the food portion size is typically smaller and more expensive. I laughed when I read another review complimenting the salsa. It's freshly made and in our opinion, completely inedible. It's watery and swimming with huge hunks of raw onion. I talked with the owner about this and suggest he offer an alternative salsa as well. Their chips are good and the guacamole we ordered after tasting the salsa was too. The staff and owner have always been friendly. Fresh thick tomato salsa really makes a Mexican meal special. For us, definitely minus one star, simply because their salsa doesn't suit us. Obviously others do like it. read more

Passing through on our way back from Spokane, and my friend who has questionable taste in Mexican food selected El Caporal 2 as our dining spot. So I had very low expectations before even setting sights on this place. The restaurant feels like it's been around a while and has seen some things. Extensive menu with pretty standard Mexican fare and not a ton of vegetarian options. Chips looked fresh but were too oily for me. I had the spinach enchilada which was fine. It came with rice and beans which were okay (had to pick around some inedible burnt bits). Everything was loaded with cheese as expected. My friend's avocado tostada was very big. Service was unmemorable. It worked, but I think we could do better next time. read more

Been going here for almost a year. Service has always been great. Food always very tasty. Prices are very fair. Not sure why there are any bad reviews, seems more like people with bad taste. read more

Respectfully food here is not good The service is good Is a good family restaurant if you're looking to eat Poor tasting food read more

I used to live in Ellensburg and El Cap was my favorite restaurant . Now that I have moved away I really miss it - whenever I am back in town I make sure to stop in at least once a day. read more

El Caporal 2 - Chicken fajitas and the best salsa I've ever had - Mexican Near Me - Ellensburg, Washington

Recently had an awful experience here. Came in on a slow Wednesday alone. Ordered a chicken fajita burrito. It came out quick and hot and looked delicious! When I took a bite the meat tasted and smelled off.. the chicken had a weird texture, it looked cooked all the way and smelled funny. So I politely sent it back and tried to explain it to the waitress. And asked for the steak instead. Again it came out quickly and looked awesome. However I took one bite and same thing... I didn't want to get sick to I just quit while I was still ahead and asked for the check. Mind you I had only eaten some unsalted chips, my $10 margarita and two bites of two separate burritos. The hand written check was $29.. I figured she just didn't write it in there that she was taking the burritos off. So I paid for my margarita in cash and even left a tip and left. Fast forward about 15 minutes later I get a call from a police officer that I had dined and dashed! No I paid for my food and tipped. Well I had to go back down and settle this with the manager. She argues with me that I had to pay for all of it even though it was their fault it was not cooked correctly and safely. She even said "I didn't even charge you for two burritos!" Finally she settled on me paying for just one burrito and no margarita. Now she got no tip! And I will never go there again. What ab awful experience and poor customer service. read more

Loved the tacos so fresh and delicious The service was great also, we did pick up and it was ready super quick and staff were very friendly read more

Got sat right away. Chips and salsa were good, a little too hot but that's okay. Ordered a side of pico. It was fresh but too heavy on the green pepper for me. Enchiladas; chicken and cheese were very good! Good value for the price! This is going to be my new go to in town! read more

Came with a friend to try this place out. This is the worst experience I had at a Mexican restaurant, if not the worst ever food quality wise. I ordered a chicken burrito and my friend had enchiladas (chicken). My burrito had nothing on it but some gross slimy lettuce on the side that I was to scared to eat. No cream, guacamole, and barely any sauce. My friends food was way over salted as was mine and was served with old dry rice. The service was good once we seated ourselves because we waited to have someone even realize we were waiting for over 10 minutes. (Only 6 people eating) It wasn't even busy during the time we went. I usually give places second chances but this was just so bad I wouldn't want to drop another $40 to go back. Guava margarita As you can tell from the photo I really enjoyed this drink. It had a good alcohol to sweet ratio and would be the only thing I'd ever older at this restaurant if I HAD to go back! read more

El Caporal 2 - This was on the side of my burrito. Absolutely disgusting! It was slimy OLD lettuce. - Mexican Near Me - Ellensburg, Washington

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While on business 3/15/22 I decided to try this place simply because I had a positive experience with their Moses Lake location. I ordered the taco rellano combo. Sad to say the beef in the taco looked like a greasy turd. The rellano was a slimy pepper with rubbery omelet and cheap cheese. My stomach was upset within an hour of consuming only half of the meal. read more

My bf and I were passing through ellensburg back to Seattle and needed to eat. It was a Sunday night and not many places were open. After a really bad experience in Leavenworth at a restaurant, I rely on reviews on Yelp much more. This place wasn't even in the search when I looked up places to eat. I had to find it on google and it traces me back to their Yelp page. Just to let you all know, everyone will have a slightly different experience anywhere they go. Might be a bad day for someone and they accidentally take it out on you. Humans aren't perfect. FYI, we had an excellent experience here. They had really good salsa and the best bean dip! Our dishes were also very delicious. The service was prompt and everyone was really friendly. We are so happy that we tried this restaurant despite some reviews because I would come here again! read more

El Caporal 2 - Very delicious food! - Mexican Near Me - Ellensburg, Washington

Stopped in for dinner after a long day. Typical mexican decor, a bit dated though. Wait staff was friendly an quick to get us seated. My menu had salsa on it, guess no one wiped it off before sending it out. Drinks, chips/salsa arrived shortly after we were seated. Looked over the menu an we made our choices, the food was brought out pretty quick. I always clear my plate but not this time. The rice was over cooked and crunchy. The beans were clearly out of a can. The Relleno was missing the stem off the chili, which is something I always look for. That's how I know if it was hand made in house. The cheese inside of it was not even fully melted. The service was good but the food just wasn't up to par. read more

El Caporal 2 - Beef enchilada, Chili Relleno with rice and beans - Mexican Near Me - Ellensburg, Washington

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Fantastic food and amazing service! We all got huge meals, the spices and sauces were delicious!

Updated to 3 stars after trying the flan. The flan came with a tick crunchy crust of caramelized sugar. This made up for the lack luster soup. Try it. Ordered tortilla soup since it was soup kinda weather and I didn't want a heavy meal that made me sleepy at work Underwhelming describes it best. No cilantro onion flavors. No fresh lime to squeeze. The only positive is it was hot and spicy so warmed me up. $10.95 for a bunch of tortilla and tomatoes floating in hot water is too much. I added all my salsa (that was for chips) to the soup. This flavored it up but soup got cold. So I took it home for dinner where I added chicken cilantro and look me to it. Aah! Perfected finally. read more

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Cute restaurant with friendly staff. I had the shrimp Diablo burrito. The sucker is huge. It has a generous amount of shrimp which was cooked perfectly, with beans, tomatoes, mushrooms, rice, sour cream, guacamole and bell peppers. It was a nice concept but the flavors were underwhelming. The sauce was tomato sauce which was oddly sweet with a hint of spiciness. The dish was not cohesive at all - almost confusing why they threw everything together the way they did. Chips and salsa - meh. read more

El Caporal 2 - Shrimp diablo burrito - Mexican Near Me - Ellensburg, Washington

Passing through on 6/29/2021 and made the mistake of wandering into this place. It was over 100 outside, and we were seated in a section of the restaurant that didn't have A/C, so it was nearly as hot at our table. Service was slow, the tortilla chips we were given were as stale as the Seahawks' offense, and the food was bland. The chicken in the fajitas was tasteless. All in all a really bad experience. Avoid at all costs... read more

Very good food! Everything you expect from Mexican cuisine! Very cozy home kitchen atmosphere! Great friendly and fast service! Recommend you bring the whole family!! read more

El Caporal 2 - Hanging with our College student Bailey - Mexican Near Me - Ellensburg, Washington

Typical Mexican hot plate restaurant. The food was definitely more expensive than typical Mexican places like this, and lacked anything special. My enchiladas, burrito, and taco combination consisted solely of tortillas and meat with enchilada sauce. No lettuce, tomatoes, or even cheese! Service itself was good, but I would pay $30 for two people for the mediocre food. read more

We stopped here on our way through Ellensburg, cute restaurant inside and really good service. The food was better than average American Mex, I was not expecting authentic Mexican food in Ellensburg [heck, I have a hard enough time just finding here in Seattle!!]. It was good solid fare. The Camarones Flores was very good, as was the Camarones ala Crema was also. Let me also comment on the beans--most Mex restaurants have over salted refrieds that taste like they have been in the pot all day cooking down to an unidentifiable mash served on the plate. These were not that way, they tasted as if they had just been made. This is much to their credit. As a traveller passing through, El Caporal is on my list of places I would go back to when passing through Ellensburg again. read more

How I heard of this place: Driving by on the way from Yakima to Seattle - taking the long, scenic route of Hwy 410. We were told, in Greenwater, that the first open restaurant was about 20 minutes away in Ellensburg, so we made our way over, drove through town and decided this was the place. Type of cuisine: Mexican Ambiance: Colorful walls and tall-backed booths lines the large restaurant with a large bar in the back and huge banquet hall downstairs. Mexican blankets and sombreros decorated the green and blue walls. One nostalgic painting (we assumed the nostalgia of the artist) decorated the wall (painted onto the wall) in the front entryway. No other customers were there at 3:00 p.m. when we arrived for lunch, making the space quiet, sparse, and the Mexican music louder, and somewhat hopeful. What I ordered: We were welcomed with a basket of corn tortilla chips, fresh, spicy pico de gallo-like salsa and a small plate of warm refried beans. I ordered a two-item lunch combination ($6.95), which came with a bean enchilada, a chile relleno, rice and beans. My dining companion ordered the pollo a la crema ($11.75) which was served in a large, round, blue plate and included strips of tender chicken breast and onion sauteed in a light cream sauce, garnished with Mexican Cotija cheese, and served with rice and beans. What I loved: I loved the freshness of the salsa and the addition of warm beans to eat with the chips. The pollo a la crema tasted more fresh, light and satisfying than everything on my plate (despite my tiny nibble of a sample). Why I loved it: The waitress was very friendly and offered us more chips, salsa, beans, water refills and the food very quickly. She was pleasant and warm and seemed happy to see us! Cost: Low to average ($7-$12 for a large entree) read more

First off, the service was excellent (5 out of 5 stars). Staff was pleasant & accommodating and the service was swift. Glasses of water and chips & salsa were placed on the table as we settled into our seats. Food was ok. It's definitely geared towards gringos who like their strawberry margaritas, never-ending bowls of chips & salsa, and large platters of tex-mex standards swimming in hot, gooey cheese. So if that's how you like your Mexican restaurants, then you'll like El Caporal. If you prefer a more authentic taste you might went to head to one of the popular taco trucks in town. Olé! read more

Good lunch specials, fair food - been here a few times for lunch. Fast service, but I think the mexican food is just ok. Good quiet place to come for a quick lunch, the waters were kept filled and the chips & salsa are great. read more

Passing by on way home to Seattle, drove out of I90 to find a Mexican restaurant and after a few decided to stop on this one. Food was tasty, a little more salt on the tacos al carbon but overall it was good, chicken fajitas was good also and taquitos from the appetizer was also good. To end the dinner ordered friend ice cream. read more

El Caporal 2 - Deep fried ice cream - Mexican Near Me - Ellensburg, Washington

The food here is pretty good it is not the best Mexican I have had but it was your average Mexican/American restaurant. The portions are also huge so if your really hungry this is a good place to stop at. Ordered take-out from this place and it was amazing!! They gave us tons of chips and salsa. I was in heaven. read more

We enjoyed this clean colorful Mexican restaurant in the heart of the University district. The portions were unusually large starting with a large bowl of fresh homemade chips and a large dish of chunky homemade salsa. I had the taco salad. The ingredients were extra fresh and crispy. Service was excellent! read more

I stopped in on the way to Pullman. When we walked in the service seemed very quick and we received the food quickly. The portions were large and the food was average and bland. It took over fifteen minutes to pay the check after we got it from when the money was on the table. The kicker? Being charge $1.50 for salad dressing....for my salad. I wouldn't go back. There has to be other, better options in town. read more

Best Mexican food ever?! Really?!! There's better Mexican food in Baltimore, for goodness' sake! Still, we're dealing with Ellensburg, here. Beggars can't be choosers. El Cap isn't awful by any means, and it's way better than the Dairy Queen. The staff are also friendly and cheerful. But don't expect much. This place is on the level of a Don Pablo's. read more

Passing through during a road trip and decided to try this place out for dinner. The food was good as was the service. Nothing really stood out, but would most likely return. read more

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We grew up in San Diego and have been searching for something that tastes like home for three years since we moved here. Wow!! Not disappointed. This food ranks right up there with any of the restaurants in Old Town San Diego. We ordered it to go without looking at a menu being a little skeptical after reading some of the reviews. The chicken mole enchiladas were AMAZING!! My son loved his cheese enchiladas and the Hubby stuffed himself to capacity with the huge carne asada burrito. Beans and rice were cooked to perfection. This is our new "night out" favorite!!! read more

This place is trash. Never seen a inch thick piece of carne asada before. Shredded Beef is far below par. Los Cabo's much better

Traveling through Ellensburg, we stopped here for a quick drink and dinner. We were seated quickly. Drinks came out fast. I had a Mango Margarita, it was very good. We shared deluxe nachos with ground beef and it was enough to feed three of us. It was delicious. Good place. read more

I love El Cap. It has a great energy and GREAT food. I get carne asada and though the meat is a little thicker than im used to, more for me. The staff is polite when they ar enot understaffed, sometimes can take a while to assist you but they are generally pretty good. The food is not fantastic but it's worth what they charge, which i think is important. Me and my girlfriend go here all the time. As far as Mexican food is concerned, El Cap is tops. Besides the taco truck of course! read more

Service was fantastic. Chips, salsa, & water provided almost as soon as I sat down. The waitresses were friendly & attentive. I had the chicken fajitas, which were delicious. It included grilled tomatoes, which I didn't realize. I picked them out, as I don't like them. The corn tortillas were warm & plentiful. Well worth the cost. I was in & out in 45 min, even on a busy Friday night. I'll be back. read more

Really fresh food , great avocado and tomatoes, the chips came to the table fresh out of the oven.

We stopped at El Caporal on our way through Ellensburg Wa. I had the chicken and steak fajitas which were delicious my only complaint was when I ordered them I specifically asked for extra tortias and when my food arrived I only had three tortias and we never saw our server again until he brought our check additionally my girlfriend had the taco salad and requested light meat however her salad was almost all meat and because our server never came back to our table we were unable to request a new salad. The food was great but the service was lacking. read more