Y'all... those margaritas were hands down the highlight of my visit Not too many places can get them that strong (just how I like it ). And don't even get me started on those wings absolutely amazing.the fish u I devoured that Safe to say, I'll be back next time I'm in town! read more

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My husband and I were out recently and decided we wanted Mexican food. We love the El Cerro closer to our house so this seemed like a great choice. When we arrived, we were seated quickly. Our waiter came to take our drink order, and when we asked about flavored mojitos (there are other drinks that come in a variety of flavors), he told us we could only order margaritas with flavors. When I explained that I don't drink tequila and asked for other options, he just stared at me until I said I'd just stick with water. He brought our drinks and then didn't come back with any chips or salsa. Another gentlemen noticed that and ran to grab chips and salsa for us which we greatly appreciated. Our waiter came back to take our order and then didn't check on us again for quite awhile. In awesome things, our food came out really fast and tasted delicious. The entire time though our waiter was just shooting the breeze at the host stand right by us. He definitely didn't have any interest in us and wasn't friendly at all. The other waiter near us was super nice and did what he could in between his own tables. Based on the service and the weird response about the mojitos, we'll stick to our normal El Cerro location instead of this one. read more

Very fast and nice service! Food was amazing. I recommend the quesabirria tacos & fried ice cream. read more

El Cerro Grande Mexican Restaurant - Quesabirria - Mexican Near Me - Wilmington, North Carolina

Food came out fast, beautiful outdoor seating, good food, and great service, Blanca is a great server. She is fast and friendly, thank you!

I ordered the fish tacos, $13.99 for two, and I couldn't taste much fish with the first taco so the second one I picked it apart only to find one small chunk of fish about 1/2 inch piece. Also the steak fajitas were tasteless and the meat very tough. They forgot to bring tortillas as we asked twice for them. We will not return here read more

Go here for a birthday! What a fantastic staff. My nephew was celebrating his birthday there today. I live out-of-state but I called and ordered a birthday dessert by phone and they delivered it to the table with drums and singing and sparklers and sombrero! My nephew and the family loved it and the staff really made it special and made him feel special. Thank you so much!! read more

El Cerro Grande Mexican Restaurant - Staff bringing out a birthday dessert! - Mexican Near Me - Wilmington, North Carolina

We went for lunch and our first time visiting this restaurant. There were about 15 affordable lunch options (sorry I did not count). Our lunch came out quickly and it was delicious. Our waitress was both friendly and efficient. The frozen margaritas were delicious too. The restaurant and bathroom were clean and nicely decorated. Where I was sitting I can see that all of the cooks wore hair nets. read more

El Cerro Grande Mexican Restaurant - Frozen Margaritas - Mexican Near Me - Wilmington, North Carolina

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Authentic Mexican food I'd say in my top five in Wilmington Their queso dip is white and light / creamy at the same time. Taco Tuesday's is a hell of a deal. Have not tried their entrees yet but will post once I do read more

We ordered takeout and were disappointed since multiple items were missing. Thankfully, we were easily able to get a refund for the missing items, but still unfortunate when you don't receive what you ordered. We purchased the el cerro sampler and it was just ok. It included chimichangas, we don't typically order these, but the ones in the sampler were just like mozzarella sticks - they were good, but I guess we didn't expect them to just be straight cheese sticks. We were missing the blue cheese for the wings in this sampler. We ordered bean dip, which was another missing item. We did end up with queso that we did not order. And the queso was yummy. I'm still confused by the tortilla soup. See the pics for how it came as takeout. I understand not adding the tortilla strips ahead of time so they wouldn't get soggy, but I've never seen soup takeout split up like this. I also did not see one piece of avocado in the soup which was listed on the menu. The soup broth was very salty. Overall not the best takeout experience. :( read more

El Cerro Grande Mexican Restaurant - Tortilla Soup broth - Mexican Near Me - Wilmington, North Carolina

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This was basically an upscale taco bell. My burrito was filled with ground hamburger and the chili relleno was the same. Everything had a very bland taste. I ordered a premium margarita on the rocks with salt and it came rimed with sugar. My second one had salt after I complained. If you want a step above Taco Bell then this place is fine if you want authentic Mexican food then look elsewhere. Service was great! read more

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The staff, especially Ronaldo, are exceptional! We always have a great time here and the food is great.

When you visit Wilmington and you want authentic Great Mexican food with an AWESOME VIBE come visit @myelcerro Pictured are chips & salsa, fajitas, and fish tacos + Dos Equis cerveza! Super chill and the wait staff was excellent! Our waitress was Katia and she was extremely awesome! read more

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Not all Mexican food is the same! El Cerro stands out. Great service and very tasty food. I would go back.

Such a great surprise. They have really upped their game and our food was hot, fresh,and delicious. Lots of new menu items prepared with care and expertise. If you haven't been in a while go back! read more

Fantastic! After a long day of flying my wife and I finally arrived in North Carolina and we were HUNGRY! We found El Cerro Grande nearby so we dropped in for a quick bite after getting our rental. The food was fantastic! I went for the Arroz con Pollo and my wife had the Veggie Combo #2. We both loved our meal, the chicken was cooked perfectly and with the rice, cheese and sauce it was just exploding with flavor. My wife really loved the potato stuffed poblano she said it was full of flavor. Rice and beans were great, salsa was really good and the waitress was very friendly and attentive. We'd go back anytime we were in the area and I'd highly recommend it. read more

Not sure why the ratings are low on here but the food and service were really good! We went at time you would consider busy and still got our food at a decent time. We will definitely be back again! read more

Had a really nice lunch the other day. Really good ACP. Also enjoyed the chips and salsa. The service was very attentive and a nice atmosphere read more

great food, just wish the chicken was seasoned. the birria tacos were 10/10. great service and food came out fast! so many options to chose from. read more

Fantastic food, service and atmosphere! My server Amy, and entire staff were wonderful... 20 years, still a stellar place! read more

BE AWARE: This Place does NOT take Food Allergies seriously! This place will clean Your Colon and Stomach via FOOD Poisoning of explosive diarrhea, throwing up and cramps. Ignoring FOOD ALLERGIES is a RISK and DANGER Cross Contamination and Dirty Conditions are a RISK Manager was "Busy" and their Phone is off the hook with Busy signal. This Food Allergy happened after I said 3 times....3 X that I am ALLERGIC to Mushrooms!! I made chock hand on my throat gesture too. Server nodded but did not write down anything. NO Service after Food was brought from Kitchen. I should have walked out as it was Burnt, not proper temps and NO service to send back burnt food and mushrooms that were clearly mixed in leftover Bag of Frozen of Mixed Vegetables Mix with Carrots, Broccoli, MUSHROOMS and Cauliflower which is odd in Mexican Food. RED FLAG and RISK -Server nodded but did NOT write down anything about Food Allergy! Severe upset Stomach, cramping and Throwing up! I explained my Food Allergy carefully but they did NOT Allergy seriously. I have tried calling and it is Busy Signal. Worst Service in Life of eating out Daily and Hairs hanging from Bench Seat and many servers and staff walking by Table but no one asked if needed anything. Manager was "busy" and NO Server. I Regret paying! I should have walked out for Mushrooms and Mushroom contamination in mixed Veggies, Burnt food and NO service! I already asked 2 employees who walked by for Napkins for the chips and salsa while waited for Meal and water but they did NOT bring the Napkins or Water! Horrible place that risks Lives by ignoring Food Allergies and improper food handling and temperatures in addition to lack of cleaning between Guests! read more

I will not be returning. The service was extremely slow and we were not being checked on by our waitress. It ended up taking a very long time to get our bill after finishing our meal. On top of the poor service the food was some of the worst we have had at a Mexican restaurant. The chicken in the ACP was not seasoned well or marinated. It was very bland with little taste. Again, I will not return and would not recommend. read more

We came here on a Tuesday. They weren't very busy but they were understaffed so service was a little slow. We weren't in a hurry though so no worries. Food was all really good. Standard Mexican restaurant options. Would definitely come back read more

I'm honestly rather confused by the amount of negative reviews upon this restaurant. My wife and I came in on a Sunday night and they were packed! We waited for about 10 mins before being seated. Our server was very polite and welcoming. I had a couple micheladas which were perfectly made. My wife had a quesadilla and I had the carne asada. Both were fantastic. The portions were nicely big for the price, and both dishes were packed with flavor. The restaurant was clean, the staff was well organized and everyone around us seemed to be enjoying their meals just fine. As avid Mexican cuisine lovers, we thought this place was great. We will definitely be back! read more

when I asked for cilantro and NO tomatos they gave me extra EXTRA mushrooms on all three of my tocos I don't know what no cilantro tanslates into Spanish but I don't think it's extra mushrooms do not order the el cero tocos read more

This restaurant has seen better days! Went here today with my family. My children's chicken and happy face fry kids meals were over cooked. The chicken was hard and the fries were too crunchy. My quesadillas were okay. My husband ordered a burrito entrée and that was not served with rice and beans. Most dinner entrees are served with sides. The servers were very nice, and the restaurant looks like they did some updating on the decor. read more

The food was alright. service was slacking and all our orders were either wrong or took forever. I ordered the blueberry mint margarita and it arrived after all our food. We had to send back a meal because it was shrimp instead of chicken. substitutions were not followed. read more

We have found our sweet spot for Mexican food and a ton of it. We've ordered take out and gone in for limited seating and have enjoyed both. You get a TON of food - I can never finish everything I eat but I have no problem taking it home for leftovers! We love starting off with the chips and salsa, then adding some queso to it to make it even better. I wish wish wish they had some sort of corn on the cob type but it's so good that it doesn't even matter. They have really good margaritas if you're going to eat inside - order one, or two, or three if you're feeling frisky! What to order? Burrito Cancun for my shrimp lovers. Carne y Camarones for my meat lovers. There's definitely another shrimp dish that I love but I can't seem to remember what it was called, except that it was shrimp smothered in queso and there's nothing bad about that. I like this location better than the others too - service has been super nice! read more

El Cerro Grande Mexican Restaurant - Burrito Cancun is friggin massive - Mexican Near Me - Wilmington, North Carolina

Not the worst Mexican food I've ever had, but far from the best. Portion sizes are good for the price, but the food just isn't great. Food quality just seems very low read more

Excellent food and good service. Our waiter had some trouble understanding our order but we were finally able to communicate our requests.

Average Mexican food. I wouldn't use the word authentic to describe this place. Very reasonably priced. I sat at bar and don't expect a typical bartender experience. All their staff was hustling serving customers but no real bartender and kind of clueless on bar service. read more

Brought steak without a knife- meat is very fatty- menu says tender? It was Carne Asada read more

El Cerro Grande Mexican Restaurant - Finally brought knife - Mexican Near Me - Wilmington, North Carolina

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Used to love eating at this El Cerro Grande location in Mayfaire but not anymore. I got food poisoning from them the other day when I went for dinner. read more

WARNING FOR ANYONE WITH A FOOD ALLERGY. If I could give this place zero stars I would. My family came here for the first time and we will never return and we need everyone to know about our experience here as a future warning for anyone with a food allergy. We explained to our waiter that someone in our party had a wheat / gluten allergy (celiac disease). We asked if the chips were safe from cross contamination by being cooked in a separate oil as soon as we sat down. We made it very VERY clear to him that there was a wheat allergy at our table. He nodded and acted as if he completely understood. We also talked to a second server / hostess who we confirmed our allergy with. She checked with the cooks to ensure the chips were safe from CC. Then we placed our order. We were told the grilled shrimp tacos were safe from gluten. When the food arrived at our table the server left. Our family ate half of the grilled shrimp taco and then the two servers came out and exclaimed that the shrimp had been grilled with flour. Again, this was AFTER they dropped off the food at our table and our celiac family member ate half of it! At that point we were given several different stories as to how this happened. No one seemed to understand English at that point! I asked to speak to the manager who wasn't there so they called her on the phone. I explained what happened and was told that the grilled shrimp was not normally cooked with flour. So at that point I was completely confused! What in the world was going on here? We still don't know. There is absolutely ZERO Excuse for any restaurant to put servers on the floor who lack basic knowledge of food allergies for the safety of their customers. It was obvious from the moment we sat down at our table that we communicated the wheat allergy. I have worked in restaurants for many years and there is absolutely no excuse for what happened to our family member while eating here. Celiac disease is not a wheat sensitivity it is an allergy that can set back the health of the individual for months just by having a crumb of the potential allergen. There is always risk for Cc but this was blatant lack of training and complete disregard for the safety of others. We will never recommend this restaurant and every single person we talk to will know about what happened in this place. BE WARNED. read more

Let me start off with that I love El Cerro Grande. The food is usually good and I've been going to this restaurant for about 20 years now. But, when it comes down to take out, this usually brings a host of other issues. Such as food/condiments missing. Given the wrong food, etc. Today is just another fact of this. The order taker took everything down correctly as ordered and was shown on the ticket. But once again items requested where missing as they have been before. So the question remains, who does the QA prep before food leaves the kitchen?? As this is also an issue in the restaurant but is easily fixed. But that is not as simple when one leaves expecting to have their food and items ordered when they get home to enjoy the meal with the family. So El Cerro, PLEASE fix this. If there isn't a QA person in the kitchen, then get one. Or at the very least coach the one you have. Cause this is beyond annoying and has been happening for a very long time and would have thought by now this would have been fixed as I have complained about it in the past. read more

Good food, relaxed atmosphere. We came on a Saturday over Memorial Day weekend so your mileage may vary. I would recommend. read more

El Cerro Grande Mexican Restaurant - Mexican Near Me - Wilmington, North Carolina

I'm sure on any other day the service is great and food is prepared well. Our service was awful I asked for an ice tea never received it. We had to ask the cashier for service after 20 minutes waiting. Trust me we did everything to let them know we were ready to order. We flagged other staff, placed the menu at the end of the table, and nothing. Totally ignored. Was it because we had a party of 5 and one had a walker, or because they lost a table for two to accommodate our party? Then came our meals, I ordered the appetizer combo and when I got it everything was over cooked (deep fried) to the point of burnt. Then we had to wait for our check and when we finally did I went to pay the bill and the cashier didnt even acknowledge me until I had a question. read more

The food is delicious but the customer service from the majority of the servers is horrible, I've gone a few times in the past couple months and every time the service is insanely slow and our servers is rude and ignores our table. It's hard wanting to keep coming here because the food is so good but the customer service is insane. read more

It is what it is. Don't expect amazing food and don't be surprised if your chicken taco, or whatever leaks water when turned. Nothing terrible, good prices, decent service...dont sit at the bar unless u like espn deportes and copious amounts of soccer. You get what u pay for. 1,000 things on the menu that are all basically the same thing and margaritas made with sour mix...not super authentic. A lot of locals think it's authentic because a lot of the staff speaks spanish...its not. Salsa is a picante, but I like picante. Good place to take a date if u met up and reized u got catfished read more

My friend and I recently visited Wrightsville Beach. We stayed at Station One Condos. Picture it, we are lounging on the huge couch and we smelled Mexican food! Clearly it was a sign that we needed nachos. We ordered and they were fantastic. A little heavy on the jalapeños but we picked them out. Our delivery person was nice and wore a mask. The food was delicious. I hope to repeat this vacation next year. read more

Absolutely amazing food and great service!! Came to this place while on a trip at the beach & will continue to frequent this place every time I go down there for a trip. read more

El Cerro Grande Mexican Restaurant - Michelada - Mexican Near Me - Wilmington, North Carolina

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