El Caporal had a lot of interior decorations which was nice and cute! Additionally, their staff were super friendly. They taught us some Spanish phrases as well. Their food menu is pretty extensive so there's something for everyone. Complimentary chips and salsa were provided for our group and they were good. The salsa had chunks of tomato and onions and were on the more watery side however the flavor was good. I got the chicken mole and it wasn't too sweet and was good. The sides of beans and rice were also very filling. I had a bite of the carne asada and that was delicious - that's probably my next dish to order when I come by next time. Overall, El Caporal is a good Mexican spot if you're ever in Cle Elum or passing by. Service is great and the food is good. read more

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Awesome margaritas and virgin pina coladas for the kids. Their salsa is seriously delicious. Ambiance is typical for a Mexican restaurant. The booth we were sat at was worn and lumpy but the food makes up for it. The taco plate was the best thing we ordered. The salad was lackluster. The service is great though! read more

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This restaurant felt very average for a Mexican place. We were seated by the doorway to the kitchen, but the restaurant was less than half full. The chips were on the bigger side, and the salsa had big chunks of onions. That was fine, since at least they had onions in their salsa. We got the combination with two beef enchiladas and two tacos. The menu doesn't say what meat the tacos will be (beef) and that they'd be hard shell tacos, and I didn't think to ask. The beef in both the tacos and enchiladas was kind of soggy. It was especially goopy in the enchiladas, but edible. If I had known the tacos were going to be hard shell beef tacos, I would have ordered chicken enchiladas. read more

El Caporal Mexican Restaurant - Two enchiladas (beef) and two tacos combination - Mexican Near Me - Cle Elum, Washington

Highly recommend! Food was delicious, quick, and affordable. The staff were all incredible! Very welcoming and personable. Will definitely be coming back next time we are in the area! read more

I visited on a Friday night and was seated promptly, and given water/chips and salsa within minutes. I ordered the three enchiladas plate with one chicken, one cheese, and one beef enchilada. The plate came out in less than 10 minutes! I really enjoyed everything about the meal and finished pretty much everything on the plate. The enchilada sauce is what made it 5 stars along with the excellent service. Definitely stopping by if I'm in town again. read more

El Caporal Mexican Restaurant - Three enchilada plate - Mexican Near Me - Cle Elum, Washington

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Family friendly food. The staff is kind and the food is very good. It is a good halfway point if you are headed to Eastern Washington. It is a nice clean little stopover. The mexican food seems authentic and is inexpensive. read more

We stopped by on our way back from Leavenworth. Typical pnw Mexican restaurant. Good menu selection. Salsa was really good. Loved their cabbage slaw. Service was attentive as we were the only table there. Fun little trinkets all over the restaurant making it feel cozy. read more

What can I say about El Caporal?!? I think my hubby would choose to eat here everyday if he could! He calls it, "home away from home!". I'm Irish, Mexican food is not really my thing, but I can always find something good at El Cap, and they always remember my ketchup. They also remember that I'm allergic to cilantro. The service as always was top notch, and we are always greeted like we are family! Zandra, who is usually our server, always takes special care of us! As usual the food hit the spot! He had a burrito with rice and beans, and I had a taco salad with beef, Nortena style! The music is always at the perfect level and it is always authentic Mexican music! You always feel like you have stepped into another place, instead of downtown Cle Elum! This time of year is especially fun with their very special Christmas Tree! read more

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Our service was outstanding! Even on a very busy Saturday night our waitress, Megan, was welcoming, helpful, and went out of her way to make our experience awesome! read more

It was ok. Not the best or worse I have had. They must be short staffed because they didn't refill our chips or drinks. The entrees came out fast. The fajitas were good but the fresh lettuce and pico was sparing while there was a lot of sour cream. The enchilada suiza was good but I expected two, not one. Rice and beans were average. Employees were nice but it was pretty hot in there. Decor was very busy and the men's room had a condom machine! read more

El Caporal Mexican Restaurant - Beef Fajitas - Mexican Near Me - Cle Elum, Washington

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I drove to the past to play in the snow and I always drive another half hour to come to this Mexican restaurant. I don't know how long this place has been in business but the service is good. The food is always good. It's like old Mexico. Next time I come across the pass, I will eat here again read more

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Love the Place Great Margarita's, fast and friendly service. Good Food and delicious salsa. read more

Food was very tasty. It wasn't busy and our server was attentive without being overbearing. Will go again. read more

El Caporal Mexican Restaurant - Yummy. - Mexican Near Me - Cle Elum, Washington

We love El Cap! The owners have had this business for over 30 years and the cook and most of the wait staff has been with the restaurant since it opened as well. We love the arroz con pollo and shrimp and chicken fajitas. The margaritas are delicious and the chips and salsa is tasty! It's such a staple in Cle Elum and the owners take the time to take care of every customer. For the bad reviews, those people are just grumps. Support this small business run by a lovely family and dedicated staff!!! read more

Was in the area and this place was highly recommended by the locals and it did not disappoint. They have a large menu of items to pick from and the owners have their own recommendations as well. I created my own burrito with fish and wanted very selective items on there. After few tequila shots of course everything sounded delicious. Burrito did not disappoint. The perfect amount of spices and very flavorful. They have a good bar option as well and well Make very stiff drinks. Worth the money you spend here. Place is very clean and take all the Covid precautions. read more

El Caporal Mexican Restaurant - a bar with neon lights - Mexican Near Me - Cle Elum, Washington

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Very nice authentic family run Mexican food joint in a small town. The salsa and guac was very good as was the service. I got steak fajitas which were fairly standard but good. The service was just fine and they were quick to refill our water which is always a nice touch. Inside decor was really cool. Really takes you away to a town in Mexico. read more

El Caporal Mexican Restaurant - Steak Fajitas - Mexican Near Me - Cle Elum, Washington

We stopped for late lunch during a long drive. The service was fast and efficient. The food and drinks were well prepared and tasty. Large portions. Excellent guacamole. The menu has numerous vegetarian options. The ambiance is traditional for Mexican-American places. read more

Service was good, food was not. Almost no effort put in to the ingredients or flavors in the dishes. The seafood dish looked and tasted like it was bagged frozen shrimp and they weren't even grilled or seasoned. Vegetables looked pre-cut out of a bag. Very mediocre Mexican food. Tostada, enchilada and taco were sub-par. Chips and salsa were good, but salsa was very watery and fell off the tortilla chips when dipped. Seems like nothing was house made or authentic. Restaurants need to stand out with their dishes, and this place was forgettable. read more

Love this place! My family has being going to El Caporal for 25 plus years. The staff is very friendly & get seated quickly. The food is always fantastic. If our friends are in Cle Elum we highly recommend El Caporal read more

This is a great family restaurant. The people working here provide friendly and fast service. The food is very good and consistent. It's a nice place for large groups and birthday parties. Great selection of drinks too. They have a lot of parking, so that hasn't been an issue. read more

This is great food stop on the road off I-90 especially with kids. Food is solid, I had the Chili Colorado, wife had the chicken fajitas, kids had cheese quesadillas, bean burrito, and a side of rice. All empty plates. Also bathrooms are cleans and safe for kiddos. 5 stars for a good food and clean bathrooms for a roadtrip pit stop. read more

I have been to this restaurant a handful of times and the food has always been good. Unfortunately we will not return after my take out order I received tonight was horrible. I had gotten two dinners of street tacos and the beef was charbroiled to a crisp and extremely dry! That meat should never have been served ! We could only eat one of the tacos and tossed the rest out, very disappointed. read more

Love this restaurant. The owners are great and the food wonderful. We've been eating here for years. We make a point to stop here as we drive from the Seattle area to Moses lake where family lives. The service is great, the food is too. The only negative (and I hope the owners read these reviews) is that the salsa is disgusting. It's a bunch of chopped up onions in a watery sauce that is horrible. I'd rather bring a jar of grocery store salsa to enjoy with our meal. Please, please figure out how to make a wonderful balanced salsa to serve with the great food and chips. I always try to remember to take pictures of the food, but we were so hungry we just dived in. Everything was great, except for the salsa. The booths were comfortable, all the staff were great. We really enjoyed our meal and hope that the next time we visit there is at least a better choice of salsa than the watery chopped onion mess they have now. read more

It's been about 3 years since we have stopped at our local Mexican restaurant. So many things have changed and not for the better. I am very well emerged into the Spanish culture of food and we were pretty disappointed to taste something of our favorite items have loss the flavor we missed. My tostada was over with way too much beans, so much that when I put up the toasted it immediately broke and fall apart. All the lettuce that covered it was an over kill as well. The nachos were bland and the rice was dry. The salsa and chips was okay. No one finished their drinks or food. For $100 we definitely should have had a way better experience than this. We needed extra napkins and straws but it was hard to get anyone's attention and the manager/owner kept looking over at our table but never came over to check with us. Not sure why so much has changed. The same staff is still running this place but for us, it is no longer a stopping point on our road map. read more

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2.5 stars for this place. Service was friendly and started out fast, ended slow. Food okay, overpriced. Adult portions were huge though. Kids meals $8ish were more normal size and very basic. Would've preferred smaller servings for adults. Salsa was good. read more

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I don't have anything to complain about. We only waited for about a minute at most when we got there to be seated and we got our chips and salsa which were good and we got them quickly. The very family friendly restaurant with lots of people eating a big tables and talking so it was a nice atmosphere and the staff were very friendly. Did not take more than 10 minutes for us to get our order and we shared a burrito and I was nice they brought us out each a little plate. The burrito was tasty with the Colorado meat sauce in it and we enjoyed everything here and feel like if you're in Cle Elum do you want some family Mexican food for a decent price then this will be the place to go. read more

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2nd time in a row very disappointed! This was a go to place when daughter comes to visit It on substandard food wise the table was wet the booth next to us had a screaming kid, lots of open tables btw, but $2.00 surcharge to use credit card! When questioned the elder lady was very rude, but that normal for her. Very sad indeed can't recommend anymore! read more

We were traveling from Leavenworth to Puyallup and were STARVING. The place is very nicely decorated with love plants EVERYWHERE! That made me happy as all get out. The gentleman who greeted me at the door was super friendly but my server looked down on me because I didn't want park in my tamale and basically rushed me through ordering. The food was not good at all. When you're starving you will eat a dead horse and think it's the best thing since sliced bread. We didn't even finish what we had. The rice was dry and bland. The beans were horrible. The salsa for the chips was off putting. The chicken in my chimichanga was the worst though. It was almost like a week old repurposed taste. It was all overpriced and we'll never go back. read more

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First of all the giant oil painting if cockfighting is a turn off. The service level all depends on which server you get. I generally avoid this place but I went in recently with friends. I ordered a tequila sunrise and it tasted of mold! They did replace it with a different drink but I was treated very differently than the other women at the table after I had the nerve to ask for a replacement. I won't be back. read more

Chips and salsa were good. Decided not to order other food. Spicy margarita got better as I drank it. Strawberry margarita although it was red had no flavor other than water. read more

We've eaten here for going on 30 yrs and have Never had a bad meal,, even thru the town destruction. Always enough food for dinner the following day... whether we're dining in or take-out we're always greeted with smiles.. read more

Excellent authentic Mexican food! Went here recently for my anniversary and had the carne asada tacos. Maybe the best Mexican food I've had in WA in years. The staff was very lovely and kind, service was quick and the atmosphere was awesome. Can't wait to go back and sit in the outdoor seating this summer read more

El Caporal Mexican Restaurant - Carne asada tacos - Mexican Near Me - Cle Elum, Washington

The food, the service and atmosphere are all great. Highly recommendedz Keep up the good work Tino! read more

Excellent Mexican food. Good atmosphere and great service. I recommend you try it. We had been traveling all day, coming from S. Texas and N. Coahuila, Mexico and it was a wonderful treat, and just like home. Great place. read more

Visiting from California and happened on this restaurant. What a pleasant surprise! Absolutely delicious!!! I had enchilada and chili relleno and my daughter had the chili relleno burrito. The sauce was amazing. We had modello on tap and it was a giant. The servers were so efficient and so pleasant. read more

Just average...used to be somewhere special. Food has been slipping into hit or miss territory. If they are busy be prepared for disappointment. When they are slower it is a much better experience. I really would love to see them step up their service. read more

We came back to this wonderful restaurant because the food and service is above and beyond phenomenal. I was so full, happy and love talking with the staff there. They are constantly busy and on the move but never forget about you and are on top of the chips and salsa. You have to try the creamy goodness of the guacamole too ! read more

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Excellent, well prepared Mexican food at very reasonable prices with large portions. Their homemade salsa is excellent as is the enchilada sauce. Great service by the owners who are very welcoming hosts. read more

El Caporal Mexican Restaurant - Chicken enchilada, Chile relleno, and chicken taco (combo #16) - Mexican Near Me - Cle Elum, Washington

Fantastic food and fantastic service should make this a 5 star review; however, charging me 4% to use a credit/debit card without letting me know ahead of time is no way to do business and therefore deserving of 1 star. read more

The food was okay but bland and not worth the price. The raspberry margarita, however, was the best I've ever had without paying extra for name brand tequila. It was amazing! I paid with cash to avoid the credit card charge. The decor is great -- fun and festive. Honestly though on a Monday night at 9 pm pretty much everything else is closed for the night, closed for the season or permanently closed. read more