Stopped by for a quick lunch and drinks. I ordered their house margarita on the rocks. They serve it from an icee machine. If I graded it, I give it a "D" for taste. It's pretty weak on the alcohol content. I've had two double's and I've yet to feel it. Minimum tequila for sure. I ordered their Shrimp Tacos with flour tortillas. I'd give it a "C", it was just okay, noting great. They are quite big for shrimp tacos, I did expect a bit more flavor, but they do serve a secret sauce with it. It did help a bit. Chips and Salsa are okay too. They make their own chips, they came out very warm. The salsa is a bit watery. They blend the shit out of it. I'd give it a D+. They have 2 TV's at the bar. ESPN is on one and FS1 is on the other. A+ for me! The service is quite underwhelming at best. I had to chase my waiter down for a second drink, he forgot about me at the bar. As I sit here, no one tends to the bar. The waiters make their drinks as they are ordered. I've yet to see an actual bartender for 90 minutes. I had to wait an additional 15 minutes for my check. My waiter forgot about me in the bar for a second time. He gets a flat out F. No doubt there. The ambiance is okay, Hispanic music is playing on the restaurant's speakers. Some booths have torn vinyl seats. That's quite sad to see. See my photos. I think a 1 star grade is warranted with the issues I've mentioned. It's definitely a below average place to dine, it's not a restaurant you'll remember or want to come back to again and again, it's just kinda okay. I personally want my dining experience to be one I'll remember. I'll forget about this place on the way out the door. They only average 2.4 Stars here on YELP. That about sums it up for me. Read the other reviews here, it's very sad to read them. You chose to come here for a good meal and they chose to leave you very disappointed! read more

El Cazador - Nice looking booth bench! How long has it looked this way? I'm thinking quite a while. - Mexican Near Me - Monticello, Kentucky

See all

Good food, good drinks and good waitstaff. Our second time there and consistent flavor. We've had Juan and Manuel. Both good guys. read more

Pros: shrimp were grilled well and you received about 4 shrimps to a taco cons: shrimp were poorly seasoned maybe lawerys? chopped cabage no seasoning they don't even bother to slice thin...sliced avocado.and a mayo katchup sauce that I'm still not sure what was in itif anything else....shrimp tacos were served with canned fruitsalad on the plate...the dinner came with refried beans (no flavor right from the can) and rice... Service was ok my shrimp tacos and my husband's fish were one note and boring...no spice....no cilantro...no. Onion or garlic. And I'm still trying to figure out the canned fruit salad? Will not order their fish or shrimp tacos again! read more

El Cazador - Shrimp tacos - Mexican Near Me - Monticello, Kentucky

See all

I'm a huge fan of Mexican restaurants in small Kentucky towns. So, I was really looking forward to trying this one while in Monticello. I'm rarely disappointed with these small town Mexican eateries. But rarely doesn't mean never. And this one definitely disappoints. The first thing you'll notice when you enter is the decor and ambiance. It is very pleasant inside, and it deceives you into believing you're about to have an excellent culinary experience. This is the only reason why I'm awarding two stars instead of one. The food is poor. I ordered the Chori Pollo, expecting a meal with quite a bit of flavor. The meal was served borderline warm/cool and lacked any discernible flavor; it was extremely bland. The chicken/chorizo was way over cooked, and was very tough and chewy. In addition, the service was slow as molasses, and me and the fam were there at 3:30 in the afternoon, and were some of the few groups in the restaurant at the time. There was no real good reason for the slow service. It took an uncomfortable amount of time to even get the bill. I'm giving the place two thumbs down. Way down. read more

El Cazador - Take a look at Mary's face. She can't hide the truth. The food was that bad. - Mexican Near Me - Monticello, Kentucky

In my opinion and point of view it was Just horrible. Food was uneatable. Blended margarita was not blended just yuckie syrup. Pointed this out to waitstaff and was told that's the way the machine works. Did not offer an alternative. Didn't drink it and asked not to have to pay. Reluctantly he did not charge me. This was my second chance for this restaurant. No more read more

Really good Mexican for and huge portions. E we really enjoyed our dinner here. Friendly staff also.

Ordered take out from here twice and both times we had problems. The 1st one was that we told them all our meal options will be vegetarian and of course we found a couple of pieces of chicken in are vegetarian chimichangas. We called and try to get it resolved and the gentleman told us to come back in with the receipt and we will get a credit for. I am on vacation and was weary of this but decided to give them another try since I thought their cheese and mushroom quesadilla was extremely tasteful. We went and ordered 2 days later and the teller charged for another chimechanga. 30 minutes later we walked out of their with no food and just mad. The teller charged us for another dish instead of a credit. We wanted the new food but wanted our credit. read more

El Cazador - Proof - Mexican Near Me - Monticello, Kentucky

See all

Food was very burnt and they act like they don't care. Dos amigos is better by a lot. Price is the same basically but better service is a whole: waiter here hardly checked on us, quesadilla was burnt, steak was hard to eat, no seasoning, bad food, and it costs like 22$ or something for 2 meals bruh read more

Great food, good service! Love their vegetable quesadilla. Chips and dip are good too.

I have never experienced such awful, rude service at a restaurant in my life. The food was terrible. Such a disappointment.

The food is still not what I am looking for. The tacos were cold and the hamburger meat in them not good. The service was very nice. I plan on staying home and make my own food. I learned from true friends how to make homemade Mexican food. read more

Best Mexican restaurant in Monticello. Highly recommend for everyone. Food is always prepared well, and fresh. Friendly waiters. Fast service. Nice drinks. Beef in burritos never dry, or under cooked. read more

Food was good as usual but waiter was NOT good. No refills on salsa, chips, sodas etc. really did care to be pleasant at all and was not that busy. read more

Really neat looking menu. Unfortunately I never got to sample the food. Walked in at 6:00pm Sunday afternoon, it was slow and quiet. Seated within 2 minutes, but at 6:25 still no drink, chips etc.... Looked around and saw others looking at/toward/for the waiters who were busy talking among themselves. Walked out at 6:30 read more

I have tried and tried to get an order in the time they say it would be. Tonight is the LAST STRAW. Called in at 5:24, told 30 minutes, padded the time by five minutes and it has been an HOUR since I ordered and still have no food. This is a disgrace to customer care and poor service for a restaurant. I'm officially done! read more

First off, this question starts by making the assumption that the reader loves Mexican food. Rather than ask whether or not one loves it, it inquires about the extent to which we love it. Still some people might say that they do not like it at all. Well, you never know about that...at least not until you have tried it. That is the case for me. Last Friday, I had the opportunity to eat at a Mexican restaurant in Monticello, KY, named EL CAZADOR (translates literally into "the hunter"). I don't remember ever eating in a Mexican restaurant before; but for a first, that was incredible. This was a valuable experience both from an entrepreneurial standpoint and as an end in itself. Since this was my first time, the level of comfort was not the best when it comes to the tastes I imagine I would encounter. So going there was for me an illustration of growing ease with uncertainty and the willingness to take risk. On another hand, it was a demonstration of trust of me, as a team member, in the group leadership. This quality is important since trust helps in the facilitation of group decisions and the building of consensus in decision-making. Entrepreneurial leaders and members alike must trust one another. Also it plays a vital role in the work of entrepreneurs working with their community toward economic development. As an end in itself, the experience was also very rewarding. To answer directly, I would say that thanks to EL CAZADOR, I can say I love Mexican food very much. The food was delicious; the service prompt and excellent, the atmosphere wonderful. Looking at the time I spent there, I would say that the crew has provided not only food but a great experience to the customers. If you're near Monticello, KY and you're looking for an excellent place to eat plenty of good food, or you just want to taste something exotic, just think about the EL CAZADOR. You will love every bit of your experience, just like I did. Amos Prophete, a Berea College student and an Entrepreneurship for the Public Good candidate, wrote this review. read more

I have had better. Fault number one and the biggest, no margaritas!!!!!!!!! Thats what you get for being in a dry town! BOOOOOO! (not as in scary but as in ref you suck). Fault number two is that the salsa was basically tomato juice mixed with tobasco sauce. No chunks, no taste! On to the food... I got the borritto mexicano, not too shabby but not good either. Nothing special. My little lady got the chicken fajita, she said it wasn't very good, a little bland and as if the veggies were not fresh. The guacamoly was delicous though! If you have good quac you have at least one star. The service was very good, always around filling our water (wish I could say margaritas) and bringing us mroe chips. I have no idea what Peter/Amos Prophete is talking about in his review! I have had better mexican and HIGHLY recommend not going here. read more

Ate at El Cazador last night. Took my son and his girl friend out for her birthday. Place seemed to be clean at a glance. Service was good, but a little different than what I am used to. As they brought out our food, mine came first. Then a few minutes later they brought out my sons food. So his girl friend was waiting a few minutes for her food while we were eating. I don't ever remember eating at a restaurant where they brought the food out in this manner. We finished, and before my son and I could get out of the restaurant, we raced each other to the restroom for a #2 Marathon. Then as we stepped outside his girlfriend proceeded to hurl in the parking lot. Don't go there! I wont be back. read more

Not good. Food Is a little bland. Wait staff aren't that friendly And try to hurry you out. We've been three or more times and our experience has always been the same. We wanted to give them a few chances but unfortunately were disappointed each time. read more

Delicious food. Loved the spicy salsa. Ordered a steak burrito. Super good! Surprised on the clean part of it. The only correction i would give is the language barrier. Its difficult to order in english. read more

Every time I and my family have visited we have sat for about 10-15 minutes before we had our drink order taken and then a while before our food order was taken. By the end of it all we usually spend about an hour before receiving our food. Besides the time the food is usually greasy or cold.. the greasy I can sometimes ignore but the cold food is ridiculous considering the time it took to get to us! I have officially sworn off going here and will always drive to Somerset to get Mexican food. read more

Considering your options in Monticello, El Cazador is one of the best restaurants to eat at. The waiters are always friendly and do a pretty good job at keeping your drinks filled. They serve Pepsi products, which is a plus, most places around here serve Coke. They also stay on top of bringing out the chips and salsa. I usually order cheese dip with my chips. The cheese dip is a bit expensive, $3.00 dollars for a bowl but it's good. The food arrives quickly, after your order is placed, usually in 10 minutes or less. A lot of people complain that it is not very spicy, but traditional Mexican food is not all about spice. I usually order the Steak Chimichanga, which is delicious. It comes with a side of rice and re-fried beans. The rice is good, the beans are mediocre. My husband orders the fajitas jalisco which is great. It's brought to the table still sizzling, with chicken, steak and shrimp and all the fixings. It's usually pretty busy during lunch and supper hours but you don't have to wait long for a table. Go a little earlier or a little later to avoid the crowd. The also have call-in orders if you want to avoid the crowd completely. read more

The food was pretty good and they did a good job accommodating our group of 9 with 2 young kids. They bad thing is that you cannot get any alcoholic drinks. A good place to go for a good dinner. read more

Straight to the bottom line - it made us both sick. While the flavor was good, we both noticed that the dishes seem VERY greasy. So, whether that was the cause or it was something more severe, it is now Noon the following day abd we are both still experiencing the aftermath. "Montezuma's revenge" indeed. read more