The term authentic is bandied about so casually that it loses its meaning: merely claiming to be authentic doesn't make it so, nor is making guacamole proof. What matters is the food, and the food in El Mejicano is authentically superb. On Monday 11/10/25 I had lunch at El Mejicano, and I was deeply impressed by its food. Authentic? I've been to Mexico four times, each time to a different state, and each state has its own food. Authenticity comes from the person who cooks the food, and the food here is fantastic. I was served chips and salsa, which were quite good: the chips thick, the salsa a bit spicy and flavorful. I've had chips and salsa many other times, and the ones here were quite good. Then I ordered pozole. I had pozole in Mexico twice, once in Jalisco, once in Oaxaca: those two were different from one another (authentic?) Very good, that they were. This pozole in El Mejicano was delicious, pork in a red sauce, chockfull of hominy and pork pieces, with complex flavors. Not spicy, but genuinely tasteful. I couldn't finish it (and had it for lunch the next day). Adding to my delight, my lunch included two tostadas; I added bits of salsa because that's how I like them. Service was attentive without being overbearing. [[HIGHLIGHT]]The ambiance was delightful: a modern eclectic soundtrack added a layer of pleasure.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] El Mejicano is a gem, and I intend to eat there again. I highly recommend it. read more

El Mejicano Tex-Mex Grill - Pozole and tostadas - Mexican Near Me - Denville, New Jersey

Recently stopped by El Mejicano for their brand New Mexican Brunch menu! They're serving it up 7 days a week, starting at 9 AM. The menu features all the Mexican classics, and their chilaquiles are quite possibly the best we've ever had! Most of their menu items are made fresh in-house, like their thin but crunchy tortilla chips and spicy but not too hot salsas! [[HIGHLIGHT]]The restaurant is beautiful and cozy, and you can sense the true Mexican pride from moment you walk in.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] Alberto and the team took the best care of us. Check out our full visit here: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DIjY--kRzox/?igsh=d2w5MWc3bTNhaXpk read more

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delicious! we will be returning. great location, service was exceptional and [[HIGHLIGHT]]nice vibe[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]].

This was a to go order (80% of meals from here have been take out). Ive been coming here for a number of years -3/4 times a year. I was there in March 2026 and felt the portions were smaller and the level of complexity and detail were far less. Tonights order (6/2026) was a disappointment to say the least. The nachos were the BEST around. I ordered beef, no beef. They used to have lettuce, tomato, jalapeño. Nope. The portion size of chips as lacking and mostly just nacho cheese on top. There was no salsa was included in the order. The chips with the order were 6 chips wrapped in plastic. The tortilla soup, no tortilla And next to no cheese. The quesadilla was tasty but very salty and the cheese barely melted. The steak fajitas.....I learned in the past to pay extra for the skirt steak. It was always well seasoned, all meat and seared on the outside pink in middle. Tonight the steak was grey, bland and lots of fat and gristle. The flavor was just not there and the quality was poor. The tortillas were miniature. I mean I picked it up and laughed. Three bites it was gone. The guacamole side used to be a full little container, tonight it was half full. Grey green and tasted less than fresh, made much earlier today I would imagine. We ordered a burrito and got a burrito bowl (no tortilla). The bowl looked nice and fresh. But that was another error in the order. Really disappointed to see this place lose it's quality. the prices have gone up (which I understand in todays world) and I have no problem paying it when it's good food. I always tip on my take out orders. Tried to attach photos but wouldn't load. Bottom line 80+ bucks for dinner for two with this quality, I won't be coming back again. Maybe it was a really off night, but it doesn't excuse portion size changes or old guac. read more

We love coming here both for the food, as well as the friendly and hard working owner. Do not sleep on their breakfast either!

My chum and I impulsively decided to mosey over here for an early lunch this past Friday. Neither one of us had been to Denville in ages, though I definitely remember frequenting Carver's next door back in the day. The interior has a Mexican kitschy vibe - a lot of bright colors and festive decorations all over the place. The place was pretty empty when we got there, and we had our pick of seating options; my chum is used to the finer things in life and immediately went for one of the booths. I chose to roll with the brunch menu, which is reminiscent of one you'd find at any standard American restaurant, but with an understandably ethnic twist - rather than, say, bacon and eggs, you're looking at beans and chorizo. Unique, but not so drastically different that it's going to scare off more cautious eaters. I went with a chorizo, eggs and potatoes dish, the specific name of which escapes me (I wasn't able to find a brunch menu online, so that's some constructive feedback for their webmaster). It was pretty tasty - I thought the chorizo was solid, flavorful and pared well with the scrambled eggs. I wasn't as enthusiastic about the potatoes, which were a little undercooked and greasy. I left most of those on the plate. My chum went with the chicken enchiladas (and wanted it noted that she was impressed with the available meat options for that particular dish) and enjoyed them. Nothing was earth-shatteringly amazing, but it did its job by and large. The price point was EXCELLENT. When my chum gave me the amount of the bill, I honestly thought for a moment that it was just the price for my portion of the meal. The generously portioned entrees are around $11 or so, which is great and arguably the strongest selling point of El Mejicano. The service was decent until the tail-end of the experience. Our waiter stopped by on a regular basis throughout most of the meal to check in, and our food came by pretty quickly. For whatever reason, the waiter went MIA right around when we finished our food so we were looking around the dining area for assistance for 15 minutes or so, I'd say. Someone else ended up clearing our table and getting the check for us, so maybe we were merely victimized by an ill-timed shift change or something. But it was a little odd, especially given that there were almost no other customers on the premises. The bathroom could use a little TLC. It was clean and smelled fine (which is the most important quality of any bathroom) but there were some obvious improvements needed. Notably, the paper towel dispenser was literally missing a piece in the front - thankfully it didn't affect your ability to obtain a paper towel - and the lights abruptly turned off whilst my chum was using the facilities. At the end of the day, this is a pretty mediocre restaurant. Would I avoid it like the plague? No, definitely not. Would I go out of my way to stop by again? Eh. There are plenty of comparable Mexican places in the area, but if cost is your primary concern then this might be the establishment for you. read more

El Mejicano Tex-Mex Grill - Brunch dish; chorizo, eggs and potatoes. - Mexican Near Me - Denville, New Jersey

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My clients wanted Mexican for lunch so they picked this place for lunch. They called in all the orders and I picked it up. When I got the items things started to spill and didn't get better when I left. I ordered the shrimp fajita lunch special and it came with a drink. When I got in the platter was jumbled because it spilled a bit. I dug in and the fajitas were just ok. I wasn't feeling the flavors. The rice was the best part of the dish. All in all I had a decent experience. read more

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[[HIGHLIGHT]]Ambience is really nice.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] Place was empty so you would think the service would be fast but service was so slow it was painful. Food was okay. Guacamole was a big disappointment. Flounder tacos were not good. Fish pieces were all mashed up and full of liquid. Best dish was the Birria quesadilla. read more

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I finally got around to ordering from here and I'm so glad that I did! The food is delicious. I ordered the chile rellleno, chicken tamal and guacamole. I'm taking off one star because the takeout bag leaked all over my car. I think it was the tortilla soup that leaked, but it was such a mess, it's hard to tell. They should wrap the leak prone items in plastic baggies. [[HIGHLIGHT]]Next time, we'll probably eat at the restaurant. It is adorable inside![[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] read more

On Cinco de Mayo, My coworker and I decided to try this place since we were stuck at work. I ordered the tacos DE carnitas and she ordered the tacos de bistec. Both with traditional toppings of cilantro & onion. We ordered queso fundido to share and also tres leches cake to share. It's was 1 hr wait for pick up but with reason since it was cinco de Mayo. When I arrived there were approximately 2 tables there and no employee to be seen. I finally got my order I went back to work. We started out with our tacos and the tacos were OK, the meats were a little bit on the dry side but edible. I had ask for extra lime but I guess she was busy she forgot to put it in the back. Then we moved on to our queso fundido. This was the most disappointing part of our meal because it was literally nacho cheese with bits and pieces of chorizo. I have been used to the queso fundido being melted Mexican cheeses with chorizo not nacho cheese. The dessert was supposed to be tres leches cake what it ended up looking like a grilled pound cake slice with condensed milk. It was more breakfast looking dessert. The tacos are decent so that's what saved my review to being a 3 star. For future I know not to order the queso nor the desserts but overall the tacos if she gives you extra limes & if you take on the traditional way it would be good enough for a work lunch. read more

El Mejicano Tex-Mex Grill - The front of restaurant - Mexican Near Me - Denville, New Jersey

[[HIGHLIGHT]]food, service, cleanliness is top tier!![[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] I came here for dinner one night and ordered the carnitas burrito and it was amazing! FULLY packed and yet none of the messy bits falling out of the other end! My fiance had THE BEST birria tacos shes ever had! the service here was also really good too. the servers would check on us a good amount of times and the food came out at a reasonable time. read more

One of the great things about downtown Denville is the broad selection of culinary cuisine that local businesses owners provides to members of this community. A while back, I stopped at El Mejicano for a veggie burrito for my daughter and was intrigued by the menu so I returned back to explore the menu and ordered outside my norm of burritos, tacos, or fajitas. While a burrito or taco would have been a great choice, happy that we stepped outside the box when ordering. While I ordered online the last time, I had a few questions about the menu, so I opted to call in the order this time around. When I called, I was told up front the wait would be an hour and we were so looking forward to our picks so the hour wait was not so bad. First order was the Arrachera (Marinated skirt steak, grilled to perfection. Served over grilled onions. Accompanied by rice, beans, tortillas and your choice of soup or salad) and picked the the tortilla soup as a side. It was a solid pick and was a winner! Second order was the Garlic Butter Shrimp (Sautéed jumbo shrimp with garlic, onions, tomatoes and cilantro. Served with rice, beans, tortillas and your choice of soup or salad. This also was a home run dish that far exceeded our expectations. With these two dishes, we ended up creating our own surf and turf combination and split the two meals to create a great combination plate the left us stuffed. The dishes come with rice and refried beans but can be changed to rice and black beans if you so desire. We did one side of each and both were tasty! I thought I took a picture of the final surf and turf plate prior to being devoured, but it's not in my gallery so I'm not sure what happened. Needless to say, it would have been a great picture. I will add that if you go to their web page and click menu, a description of all their meals are on there giving you a good idea of what you are ordering if your not familiar with the names on the Menu. I found this very helpful and assisted me in this review. In posting an honest review, the only hiccup in the evening was the food was not ready as promised. After showing up after an hour, the food was not ready and we waited another 20 minutes to get our food. Realizing that the food and hospitality industry is struggling across the nation during this pandemic, I am sympathetic and realize things happen and clearly this was nothing intentional. While a 20 minute wait was not horrible, the smells emanating from the restuarnt were amazing and did not help that we were hungry. Needless to say, when the food finally came out, we knew it was freshly prepared and was not waiting around. El Mejicano offers both indoor as well as carry out service. We opted for carry out, but many people chose to eat in and all safeguards for indoor dinning appeared to be in place and would definitely consider an indoor dinning experience. Many people have posted reviews in the past and it is clear why this restuarnt continues to be a popular restuarnt in Denville. Will be looking forward to future meals from El Mejicano in the future. Pictures of burritos and store front were from back in November but wanted to share them once again. A little bit if snow has fallen since the picture was taken, but plenty of street parking was available when picking up. read more

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Always amazing! Our go-to for Mexican food. Burritos, fajitas, fried quesadilla (empanadas), and more have always been amazing! The chips and salsa they provide are the best I've had locally! Service is great. Everything is fresh! Support this amazing local business! read more

Our company ordered a lunch catering delivery yesterday. Food was fantastic; everyone loved the taco bar setup! Just one suggestion: with all the chips you get with the taco bar, maybe add more of the appetizers to the trays and take out the chips that they were placed on thus getting a bit more food for the $$$ spent. read more

El Mejicano is my favorite Mexican restaurant!! I didn't get to grab a picture because I was too busy eating it, but their tortilla soup is AMAZING! This time around we got shrimp fajitas and shrimp a la diabla. Both dishes were delicious! This restaurant follows all of the CDC guidelines, and I felt completely safe eating here. I definitely recommend you stopping in!! read more

El Mejicano Tex-Mex Grill - Shrimp a la Diabla - Mexican Near Me - Denville, New Jersey

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Used to love this place. They used to have very well made mexican food with high quality ingredients. Until the last six months. Not sure if new owners or new management has taken over the restaurant, but they've lost our business. The quality of their food has gone down hill tremendously and their prices have gone up. They're sizes have also dwindeled. Don't expect authentic mexican food. More like Quobo's. read more

Do not go. Overpriced at half the cost. Took out cheese enchiladas. Still looking for the cheese. Absolutely unlike any I've ever had. When I called I was told if I brought back two I'd get half my money back. read more

I like to try different Mexican restaurants, and El Mejicano in Denville was pretty awful. The shredded chicken quesadilla had absolutely no taste. There was no kick or flavor to the salsa and chips or with guacamole. Honestly, it was really bizarre--the food absolutely lacked flavor and spice. I will go back to eating at Don Jose's in East Hanover--I can count on their food to taste the way Mexican food should. read more

Really good Mexican food and a standout in Denville! Everything here is delicious - breakfast, tacos, entrees, guacamole. I even loved their entry in the hot chocolate contest! Great service and a good atmosphere, but if you're ordering out this is a great option too! read more

I try to be positive with reviewing establishments, and I will focus on what we experienced last night. Live in area and came for dinner for the first time. Staff were friendly and attentive which is why 2 stars but unfortunately the food wasn't much to speak about. We ordered the guacamole app which for $9.99 was a small portion with 3 chips and bland. It felt like out of a container. The tortilla soup was luke warm and my salad was shredded lettuce like what's placed on top of a sandwich with a to go dressing container. We both ordered the chicken fajitas which the chicken was tender and the portion was nice but lacked any seasoning. The sides were lumpy luke warm rice with again no seasoning, beans that I think were supposed to be refried but instead were just juice and no beans and corn tortillas. The bill was $50 and honestly we will not come back and I feel bad but if you are going to offer a product against other places in the area then I think the focus should be authentic food and this was not it. read more

Had randomly picked this place for lunch with a friend and it turned out be such nice and cozy restaurant! Decorations was beautiful and the restaurant was kept really neat and clean. I'd ordered Vegetarian Gordita and i must say it was delicious, not spicy at all and was just perfect for me. They've great options for vegetarians like me! You must check this place out if you're in Denville! I would recommend this to anyone! read more

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Where to begin... decor very nice. Eclectic which I like and reminded me of LA since I'm from there. 1st disappointment... you guys ran out of horchata... my heart was crushed! We got thr chrese fondue and this was my 2nd disappointment... you brought out the cheese but no flour tortillas... so I had to ask for it. Needed more chorizo as well, didnt really taste any. I ordered shrimp enchiladas with the green sauce and oooh sooo yummy. Also i love the portion or the rice and beans because some places give way too much. You gave perfrct amount... I gave you an extra star because you guys did have flan and the flan was amazing. I would definitely go again. Please have horchata haha read more

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Tortilla chips fried fresh. Flavorful guacamole. Quality ingredients. Food prepared with care by people nice enough to tell me that their mole sauce isn't vegetarian. Will be back. read more

El Mejicano Tex-Mex Grill - Naked Veggie Burrito (a veggie burrito bowl). Sadly, the picture doesn't it justice. - Mexican Near Me - Denville, New Jersey

Worst Mexican food I have had. Food was very bland. I ordered tacos dorados with beef, it said it would come with avocado on top but it was missing it. Overall very hard to eat a taco when everything is on top. Queso dip appetizer was not good and had no flavor. The atmosphere was sad for a Mexican restaurant. Restrooms were out of paper towels and looked very unkept. There was only one waitress in the front. She had to keep running around from table to table (not that there was many people inside) and doing take out orders. I felt bad for her she was friendly and just doing her job, it's not her fault the food was so bad. Will not be returning, I warn others who want to eat here to not. read more

El Mejicano Tex-Mex Grill - Tacos Dorados - Mexican Near Me - Denville, New Jersey

Extremely mid establishment, I had the enchiladas and tres leches but come to find out the "tres leches" was just texas toast cut in half and drenched in cinnamon milk. The enchiladas were very small considering ordering from the lunch menu and even then they came out bland. You'd have to drag me to come eat here again. read more

Very nice place with a lit of parking. Pricing is very reasonable. Service was pleasant and timely. Our beef burrito was large with lots if ground beef. Breaded chicken cutlet was good with sides of refried beans and rice. The black bean soup was also good albeit a bit salty. If in the mood for traditional Mexican food in a non fast food atmosphere, I would come back. read more

El Mejicano Tex-Mex Grill - Breaded chicken entree - Mexican Near Me - Denville, New Jersey

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This is my favorite Mexican spot in the area! For me, it's more comfort food that warms your belly than anything, but the quality and value is consistent here. Frequently, we get Enchiladas in green sauce, fajitas, and wet burritos. We also are big fans of the kids quesadilla with pulled chicken for our toddler. We do take out more than anything, but our orders are always prompt ans accurate. The only thing on the menu that we shy away from is steak-based dishes, because I don't think they take out well, but any pork, chicken, or shrimp based dish gets 2 thumbs up. read more

A few years ago we stumbled upon this lovely restaurant on Cinco De Mayo when we could not get in any where. They were a newly opened business, BYO, with a locally owned liquor store within walking distance. Food and service was phenomenal. We have frequently been back with the same experience. Post COVID, we have not been able to go back until 2022 Cinco De Mayo. Walked in. No reservation. Sat immediately. Found out they had a limited menu which was disappointing but we stayed anyway. Staff was very courteous but super slow. Restaurant was not full and it took forever to get food. It pains me to leave a negative review because we have never had a bad experience here but to limit your menu on Cinco De Mayo and then to tell us you cannot add chicken to the kids Quesadilla is ridiculous. We will be sure to give you another try but please in the future do not limit your menu. Please!! read more

They should definitely tell you the margaritas are virgin. What a waste of money. The food was ok, nothing special.

The waitress was extremely nice, but I waited for my food for over an hour just to realize that restaurant lost our order. The owner never came to say anything to us and made the very nice waitress take the fall for the poor management. I understand the restaurant was extremely busy, but how does a restaurant lose an order for over an hour. read more

First time I had the Carnitas, It was so good I couldnt wait to go back Jesus was our waiter he was superb also. I went back again Jesus was our waiter again and he was great. loved the place great food and service. atmosphere is also good. read more

Salsa was rather tasteless and watery. Tasted like marinara sauce to me. Guacamole is awesome. Chips were good. Ordered the lunch potion shredded chicken burrito minus the beans. chicken is very tender, rice is nicely cooked. Definitely need to work on spreading the meat all the way through, half was loaded the other half was mostly rice. All in all not bad but not great either. I love that they have Mexican coke. Probably won't be back because the place is pretty over priced. The guacamole appetizer was 7.50, which is exactly what my entree cost. Sorry El Mejicano your prices aren't worth what you get. edit: now several hours later and I've had severe stomach pain for the last 2-3 hours read more

El Mejicano Tex-Mex Grill - Guacamole - Mexican Near Me - Denville, New Jersey

Friendly service, fairly priced, best skirt steak I have ever had.....BYOT for your margaritas! Jesus and his staff (including a guest appearance by Dad) were amazing. read more

Not a friendly place. Shooed us away from their window when we were looking for shade on a 90 degree day... Did not even get a chance to try the food. read more

The food is great. Some of the best Mexican in Morris County. Way better than Chico's down the street in Mt Tabor. read more

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Excellent food, the burritos we ordered were very good, we got steak, chicken and I got a spicy one, and the nachos were excellent. It was our first time - we'll be back! read more

Solid food. Super friendly staff. Hubby and I both got burritos - him the meat lover drowned with green sauce, me the shredded chicken half red, half green (Christmas style). The complimentary chips are warm and fresh, and the salsa is delicious. Will absolutely be back. Bastian was awesome!!! read more

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Food was extremely average, on cold side too. Serving sizes of rice and beans were very very small. No great flavors. Food was way overpriced for quality. All around would never go again. read more

We decided to do take-out from El Mejicano based on a recommendation from a friend and are so glad we did. The food was delicious. Every dish was fresh tasting and the seasonings were just right. The guacamole was one of the best around along with the queso fundido. I had the chicken enchiladas with green salsas. I love enchiladas and these were perfect. We also tried the fried quesadillas, they weren't what we expected but the flavors were good. The al pastor tacos with the traditional toppings were mouthfuls of joy. Looking forward to trying some of Abuela's recipes on our next order. read more

Thought I was being proactive by ordering online at 11am for a 6pm pickup. I finally got my food at 730pm. I understand it is Cinco de mayo but the restaurant had 0 clue and system. I do not blame the workers on this as it falls soley on the owner. He did come out at 610pm to explain they were backed up and would provide refunds but I decided to stick it out, though wish I did not. My steak quesadillas were more like cheese quesadilla with a few steak'ems sprinkled in. I requested no beans on any dish since my wife will not eat them and the nachos appetizer we ordered had beans. My wife enjoyed her tacos, as did my daughter, but now having a 3 year old eat dinner close to 8pm is unfortunate. The bad outweighed the good by far tonight and it is unfortunate since we were looking forward to dinner. read more