Me and a colleague came here for dinner during our work trip to Raleigh. I haven't had truly authentic Mexican food since moving from the San Francisco Bay Area a few years ago, and this brought me right back. The entire staff were very friendly and welcoming. But the food....wow....Fresh, flavorful, and delicious. My colleague normally hates eating out because he's extremely picky, and even HE was complimenting them non stop the entire walk back to the hotel and ranting why we found this gem on our last night and not three nights earlier. Last but not least the price.....Night before we made a quick run to subway 2 blocks away. Had 2 subs, each with a drink and side came to $37.00 We had 2 full meals here, Veggie Fajitas and combination plate (1 enchilada, 1 burrito and 1 chile releno) got some chips and amazing salsa to start and paid $25 plus tip. This should be a no brainer. This place is an absolute GEM! Thank you and we will be back. read more

El Dorado Authentic Mexican Restaurant - Mexican Near Me - Raleigh, North Carolina

I'm a huge fan of Mexican cuisine and this spot was recommended by a close friend. I started with the salsa and chips. What I love about this one is that it had a little spicy kick which was nice. I added the Chori-dip and as a huge fan of chorizo, this did not disappoint. I decided to add the mango berry margarita and I may have sipped it too fast because I didn't taste the tequila and before you know it, things were feeling really nice lol So of course, I ordered another to go with my cheesesteak meal that came with steak, onions, peppers, rice, refried beans and tortilla. My bartender/waiter was super cook and I'm certain I made him laugh after I started getting the giggles and with all of my mmm this drink is good! Sounds. The ambiance was your usual laid back vibe, just here to eat some good food and have some good drinks. read more

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Great food & service, wasn't expecting much because of the reviews but it was excellent, staff nice, quaint little place

Very good food and well priced too, especially their lunch specials. Not small and skimpy lunch specials either. It was super busy at lunch which kinda sucked but you sorta expect that too. read more

The quesadilla fajita was delicious and rice was just right! Their cheese dip was perfect for the chips they served and I poured it over my quesadilla. Yum! read more

Came here for a quick lunch and got seated right away. The server did a great job with keeping about 4 feet away from me while taking my order and placing things down on the table. They bring out chips and salsa to start. I decided to get the half enchilada supreme lunch which came with two enchiladas (I chose chicken) and chose of rice or beans (I chose beans) they also had $2.25 small house margaritas. The food came quick and the server was attentive. The little margarita wasn't enough to get a buzz but was enough to fill me up with my meal. Definitely like this quiet spot and their prices are cheap. read more

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Good place to grab some Mexican food in the Brentwood area of North Raleigh away from the hectic Capital Blvd and New Bern Ave area. It's your typical Mexican restaurant. Good, but nothing special that necessarily sets them apart from the many other places to get Mexican food in the area. The location is convenient if you want to avoid some of the busier areas around. It's located in a shopping center that is not hectic at all. It's right near the post office. There's a good amount of parking as well. On my visit to El Dorado I ordered the Lunch Taco Salad with chicken and it was tasty, but again just a typical taco salad. This is not to say that it wasn't a good meal, but nothing that stood out to me or was spectacular. I do look forward to returning and being able to update this review, but overall I would suggest visiting! read more

El Dorado Authentic Mexican Restaurant - Taco salad lunch - Mexican Near Me - Raleigh, North Carolina

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Been around forever. Still as good as I remember!! It's in an older shopping center but don't let that fool you!! Check it out!

The food is good the service is okay but just pay with cash everytime i use my card here there always extra charges or someone adds more to the tip. When you call to see why there no one available that speaks English. The food is good but I'm looking for a more honest restaurant read more

I have a soft spot in my heart for the El Dorado. My dad, the king of the coupons, started brining us here when I was younger because they would often run coupons for buy one get one free entrees. Several years later, those bargains still exist at El Dorado. The decor is pretty lacking, and the staff is hit or miss depending on when you visit, the food however is always excellent and at buy one get one free you can't beat it. They have one entrée that's around $9 that includes one of everything. Whenever I've gone with my brother he always orders that with the buy one get one coupon, it's enough food for 3 or 4 people with us taking some home as well. $9 for two of everything on the menu? You can't beat it! read more

El Dorado Authentic Mexican Restaurant - Mexican Near Me - Raleigh, North Carolina

This place loads it up during take out! Very large servings. My family literally had meals for days after spending $25. Highly recommend their takeout during covid. Many rice and beans. Be sure to get the queso and salsa. The serving is so large it must be worth what it cost to make and it is delicious. read more

Nice cozy dine in, our waiter was quite cheerful. Ordered the Fish tacos and Combo#23 from their menu. Ofcourse there were endless nacho chips and salsa!! read more

El Dorado Authentic Mexican Restaurant - Combination 23 - Mexican Near Me - Raleigh, North Carolina

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Great chips and salsa. I enjoyed the tacos de carne asada, and a piece of flan. Awesome food, Awesome experience read more

Came here for dinner. Nobody at the front to seat us right away, so it was a little confusing, but we were here on a Sunday evening so it made sense there wasn't a lot of help on staff. Chips & salsa were brought out promptly and refilled quickly along with our drinks. Great prices on both food and drink. Specials are between $6.50-$7.50 for the food and my bottled beer was only $2.60. Our food came out fast! Portions are HUGE! We left stuffed! Food was average, but for the price pretty darn good. Would come back. Cheap meal for a family. read more

El Dorado Authentic Mexican Restaurant - Interesting guy - Mexican Near Me - Raleigh, North Carolina

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Very causal ambience with tasty yummy food. Love their vegetarian (vegan) dishes every thing fresh you can taste the homemade feeling Generous portions with good price. Highly recommended for dinner or lunch. read more

El Dorado Authentic Mexican Restaurant - Mexican Near Me - Raleigh, North Carolina

Pretty decent food at a decent price. Smelled a bit of bleach walking in. Only a couple of tables occupied. Waited for a few minutes to get the wait staff to notice us, so that was a little irritating. Our waiter was nice, but there was a bit of a language barrier. I don't speak Spanish well, but our waiter had trouble understanding us, which kind of made things worse. I ordered the arroz con pollo, which normally comes with soft flour tortillas. It arrived without them, so I had to ask. My partner ordered the rellenos, and he loved it. Bottom line is that the food is good, but the service is lacking. If you aren't in a hurry, it's not bad. read more

Never ever go to this place!!! I place a catering order like a week before and they got my name and number and told me they would call me the day of the actual pick up. Turns out I HAD TO CALL THEM and when I called the one of the guys who worked there gave me an attitude and there was an altercation. That's then when I talked to the guy I placed the order with and he acted like he had completely forgot that I ordered what I ordered. Anyway, I thought everything was good & the guy & I agreed that I could come at 4:00 P.M. to pick up my stuff even though the restaurant would be closed during that time. Well, I show up and what do you know? I wait there for 10 minutes and called them about 10 times ... no answer. I just ordered from another Mexican restaurant and it was no problem for them and they told me my order would be ready within 30 minutes & had great customer service. Never go to this place. Horrible customer service and whoever's running this business doesn't know how to. read more

Decent. Cheap. Yummy food. My waitress didn't speak great English but that is hardly a barrier to getting food here. Service was very, very quick even during the middle of the lunch rush. Food was out within 7 minutes of my ordering. Loses a star for the dirty-ness of the exterior. I know it isn't really their fault but it made the place seem really sketchy. read more

Such good food but order is ALWAYS wrong! When they don't have what you order they just give you whatever they have instead of asking you if you want something different. I ordered delivery chicken and rice and got chicken and beans, I can't eat beans so I called back and the woman on the phone said she would give me a free order of rice with my next order instead of fixing this one. She said they didn't have any rice today then turned around and said they just finished making the rice. I feel like I'm being lied to. I spent $25 on delivery to my house for this meal and it fell so short. I can't handle when the restaurant you order from knows they did something wrong and they won't fix it. I would not recommend! PS..second time this has happened by the way. That's why they get the one star. read more

Best authentic Mexican food in the triangle! It looks like a hole in the wall, which is always a good indicator of some tasty Mexican food. The queso is perfectly creamy and delicious. The salsa is fresh and has a little bit of heat. The guacamole is a game changer. The rice is perfectly perfect. I always order the chicken chimichanga dinner and it never disappoints. The service is fast and friendly. This is officially my favorite restaurant around. Again, it doesn't look like much, and it's actually in a dicey area off Capitol Blvd, but I will continue to choose this place over the abundance of choices all around it. It's a true gem. read more

So so at best. Various sections of the restaurant smelled like combinations of feet, outhouses, and bleach. We had a group of four, and for some reason my fajitas tray came out first, by itself with no tortillas, plate, fixins... and then nobody else's food came out for another 10 minutes. No idea why they would do that. Our server was sweet and got a good tip and she's the reason for the 2 stars instead of 1, but honestly, we won't be back. read more

I started going here when they opened back in 1990 (I think). This place consistently has had the best Mexican food in Raleigh. Other places that had good food have come and gone but El Dorado has stuck around, and the only explanation is that their food is superb. If you are in Raleigh and you want Mexican, go here. 'Nuf said. read more

This place has been around forever and the decor and poor lighting says the same. However, this place has the best salsa. Menu items are above par as far as deliciousness is concerned. Eat local! read more

This is probably the best Mexican restaurant in Raleigh! the food is so good and fresh and the variety of menu options is crazy! We love this place. Sometimes just come in with friends for appetizers and pitchers of margaritas (top shelf). read more

First and foremost, the service was incredible. The menu had a lot of options which is always bad for me because I normally want to order/eat everything. I chose the fajitas as my main dish. DELICIOUS. Nothing worse then waiting on appetizers or in this case chips and salsa, but no worries here. The waitress was on top of her game. The queso was a little thin, but bursting with flavor. Definitely recommend this place!! read more

El Dorado Authentic Mexican Restaurant - Mexican Near Me - Raleigh, North Carolina

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Always a good choice. Food is cooked well and service is always wonderful. Not overly expensive which is welcome in these times.

The food is always hot, good, filling, and reasonably priced, and that's why I recommend El Dorado . The decor is very plain, and the staff can come across as less than friendly, so those are more important than the food, you need to go elsewhere. If you happen to be there when the live Mexican trio is playing and singing then you have a pleasant surprise. read more

Have been getting food from there for years. It's always good. Old school mexican cuisine. Even though they forgot my side dishes (beans &rice) would still order from there. read more

Very good mexican, not tex mex, with great salsa and queso. It doesn't look like much, but honestly, if you walk into a mexican restaurant and it does look like much, you're about to eat some really mediocre food. read more

Pretty tasty food. Retried beans are really good. Huevos con chorizo had a nice heat to the sausage. Chips were warm and salsa was a great medium. Only downside was the whole place smelled very strongly of bleach, but you really don't notice it once you have some food in front of you. read more

El Dorado Authentic Mexican Restaurant - Huevos con chorizo - Mexican Near Me - Raleigh, North Carolina

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phenomenal food every single time. their margaritas are awesome. the service is comfortable they treat me just like my family does when i stay there. the chori pollo is great, burritos are great, i have never had a bad food item there. read more

Horrible service. Very very salty food. I ordered a simple combination: bean burrito, spinach enchilada, rice and beans and more salsa, as we nearly finished ours with the chips. We waited over 10 minutes for the food - it came out warmish and the cheese that was melted on the top had turned back to solid - the plate was clearly done awhile ago, then left to sit by the waitress. With 3 other tables, I'm not sure what was occupying her time. What actually came was a potato burrito, cheese enchilada, rice and beans and when I asked again for more salsa it eventually showed up... after I was done eating. I wasn't going to send the food back, considering my friend would have been done eating by the time the waitress fixed her glaring mistakes. Not that we actually finished our food. It was just too salty. I used to go here frequently because it was good food served very quickly, friendly service and reasonable prices, so I thought I'd check it out again. Not sure what happened in the past year, but I definitely won't be back. read more

My wife loves the pollo loco. We have eaten here for years. It is what it looks like a funky old Mexican place in a shopping center. It is always in various states of remodel. I have had almost every item on the menu and there are very few things I won't order. Try the carne asada and the jumbo margarita. One of Raleigh's hidden gems Food is good, service is ok read more

Been coming here since 2009. No problems. No "stale chips". No "stale beer". Polite servers, good food, older place. It's quiet, and perfect for those of us with kids. Lots of room, kid friendly. Funny how people complain read more

This is probably the most authentic Mexican in Raleigh! This is the third time I've dined here. The food is consistently delicious. Try the beef tamale and shrimp fajitas! read more

El Dorado Authentic Mexican Restaurant - The beef tamale looks simple but packs a punch of flavors! - Mexican Near Me - Raleigh, North Carolina

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We have been eating at El Dorado since we moved here from Texas in 1991. For many years this was the only Mexican restaurant we went to . For the best authentic Mexican food --- THIS IS THE PLACE TO GO. We have never had a bad experience with service or food. We like Tex- Mex -- but really enjoy good authentic Mexican too. I would recommend this restaurant! read more

I love this place!! The food is AMAZING YUM YUM YUM!!! I've had the best experience ever and definitely coming back here again soon!

Service was OK, but Mediocre food and an strange smell in the dining hall prevents me from giving this place a recommendation.

I got the chicken enchiladas with refried beans and rice and it is so good!!! They brought my food out quick and everything was hot and yummy! The hostess was very informative when I had questions about the menu and her tone was warm. Highly recommend! read more

This is a tough one... Food is good and very authentic, and prices are great. I really have no complaints about the food at all. The atmosphere is not great, though. The restaurant is in a strip mall, but it really looks like a small pizza shop, especially Inside. I didn't have the guts to try the bathrooms. I had a hard time communicating with the staff, I think if I spoke Spanish it might have been easier. That said, they did get my order right. I think their kids work here at night, there were some teens mopping floors (and I'm not talking 15 or over). I would have given 3.5 if I could, but went with a for strictly for the authenticity of the food. read more