I'm not a huge fan of places that have "their way" of doing things... and the minute you come in with a change (or request), they freak out and they REPEATEDLY come back with a million questions. Let's get DEEEEEP into this one.... THE LOCATION Easily found on Parker. Close to Custer but probably one block north-west of the Parker/ Custer intersection. PARKING Adequate self-parking. No need to pay or valet!! HOURS The hours SUCK. Most of the time, they close at 9pm. Weekends, they close at 10pm. I guess that's a little better but it would be nice if places went back to pre-COVID late hours. Maybe 10pm during the weekdays and 11pm on weekends? I'm not sure what their hours were (prior to COVID) but it is what it is. THE STAFF Friendly but I feel like we had a new guy. Maybe? Maybe not. He seemed very socially awkward. I'm usually cool with wait staff and never talk down to them. (And I promise I didn't on this particular night)... but my patience were tried with his constant whispering and CONSTANT need to keep coming back to the table for every detail. But I get it... he's probably new(?) ... or at least I hope he was. I still tipped... WELL, I might add. Despite the experience and despite screwing up my order test. Again... This guy was socially awkward... like really socially awkward. It was almost like this type of job was not for him but he's trying it out anyway. THE PLACE Kind of a fun/ tropical/ South American/ Cuban/ Florida/ Elvis vibe. You just have to see pictures to see what I mean. It's like the place SEEMED LIKE it was there since the 80's and they just kept building and building upon the decor. FOOD SELECTIONS Adequate. There's something on the menu for everyone. THE FOOD Ok here's where things went left.... Again, I'm laid back. But when it comes to my chimichangas, I'm verrry particular. I asked for a chimichanga with JUST ground beef on the inside. I stressed "just ground beef and nothing else... no cheese, no beans... just ground beef". Extra crispy. A side of queso and a side of chili. This waiter came back at least three times to confirm my order and to ask about a sauce that they serve with every chimichanga. I repeatedly (but nicely) said I didn't want the sauce. Then his manager comes over to confirm the order and AGAIN tell me about a sauce THAT I DIDN'T WANT. "No thank you. I don't want the sauce on top of my chimichanga." "No thank you. I don't want the sauce on the sauce." "I appreciate you letting me know about your sauce but I really don't want the sauce." My wife orders shrimp tacos and added: avocado, cilantro and onions on the side. THAT became a whole ordeal because it doesn't come the meal and it took THREE visits to the table to say there would be an up-charge. (We are still being nice but kindly saying "We don't care about the up-charge".) The food comes out... neither of us enjoyed our side beans. They messed up my order by putting refried beans inside my chimichanga (I neither complained nor did I send it back). The food was just ok. My wife had black beans that she spit into her napkin. I never saw her do that and I joked about what would have happened if this were a first date. The chip, queso & salsa were good! I think my wife enjoyed her margarita. OVERALL The food was edible. The service was horrible but I'm trying to chalk that up to beginner's jitters. We likely won't be back as regulars. We'll try again down the road. This is probably my meanest review for a place that didn't deserve it and I apologize. In todays post-covid world, it seems like everything is process-oriented. Everything is written out for folks to follow.... A-B-C... and as soon as adversity or change is introduced, people seem to panic. Especially millennials. It seems like if stuff isn't regimented or detailed, there's unnecessary chaos. And I don't get it. Maybe 15-20 years ago, it wasn't like that. People went with the flow, they thought outside the box, they improvised, adapted, and overcame. Not today. My frustration with this review is that a simple dining experience didn't have to be as complicated as they made it out to be. And of course, someone is going to read this and say, "Well YOU guys changed up your orders with special instructions." YES! WE DID! We didn't ask for duck wings or wagyu beef. And I feel we were pretty reasonable in our requests. In any event, it's probably better to go places that aren't so hell-bent on being regimented. "Well maybe the guy was new and he kept coming around because he was trying to get your order right. Maybe you guys are being too hard on him." MEH. Like I said- the assumption was that he was new. We still tipped him and we never once made him feel bad (directly or indirectly). I'm just pointing out that it was a bit excessive to come to us to ask or go over every detail... more than once. Anyways... that's the review. Not the best review but they all can't be winners. read more

Pretty good i can't complain Mexican food, Mexican food a lot of times. This one was pretty good. I just ordered tacos, so nothing special.

I love the crispy beef tacos! The rice and refried beans were delicious. Everything was hot and fresh.

Food isn't very good. Place has a weird smell and the tables had some strange liquid on it. Service was okay. The person who seats the tables was cold and kinda rude though. read more

Do you ever see. Mexican restaurant & think to "what's different?" Oh man please dont underestimate El Norte! Not all Mexican food tastes the same & this spot is proof! Let me start by saying enchilada platter, beans, rice & bag of fresh hot chips & salsa is a must! You can choose 6, 8 or 10 & mix match! Cheese, beef or the very best sour cream enchiladas. The salsa! If only I could make it myself!!! Perfect amount of garlic, perfect bite! Enjoy one of Planos very best, you will not be disappointed. read more

El Norte Mexican Grill - I love that you dont have heartburn after eating here! Just the right seasoning & always fresh ingredients. You will be hooked! - Mexican Near Me - Plano, Texas

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Great food. The service was awesome. I usually door dash but was so glad I came in to try it.

Great place!!! Patio was beautiful outside and carne asada tacos are tasty. Cold beers WITH cold mugs!! Definitely will be back!

This is our go to place. We have been coming here for years. Everyone in our house has a favorite on the menu. The salsa is delicious and so is the food. read more

El Norte Mexican Grill - Already started eating but this is carne asada tacos. Very good! - Mexican Near Me - Plano, Texas

Amazing Mexican food and it's a authentic Mexican experience the food is to die for I would rate it higher if I could 11/10 read more

El Norte Mexican Grill - "Sunset" Chicken Flautas Our Famous Sunset Chicken Flautas - Mexican Near Me - Plano, Texas

Avoid the Carne Asada, The meat was fatty, grizzly, unchewable for humans. My dogs, however, did manage to get through it. The rice and black beans were Ok, nothing distinguishing. It was a takeout order. The service was fast and friendly. read more

This was a place I tried through Door Dash. What a disappointment the food was pretty bad. Chimichanga was soggy, chicken was minimal, Luke warm and flavor was bland. My wife ordered the Gringo Enchiladas and they were also bad. Flour tortillas, little flavor, chicken was like from a can. Hard to believe you can mess up simple Mexican dishes. I have no plans to revisit this establishment read more

I've eaten here probably over 100 times over the past 15 years. I've been twice since the original owners sold the restaurant, and sadly, yesterday was my last visit. The service was great, but the quality of the food has diminished. I had chicken taco salad, and my wife had chicken enchiladas. We both commented that the chicken looked and tasted like it was left over and reheated. We each ate about half of our food and left. After so many years of being a GREAT restaurant, it was kind of sad. We'll be searching for our new go-to Tex-Mex place. read more

We have been eating at this restaurant since Mark opened it over approximately 35 years ago. April 30, 2024 All of our favorite tastes and top quality ingredients were in our meals and margaritas. May 29, 2024 We ordered the same dishes and were very disappointed in the quality. June 2, 2024 (with our Brunch Group of 10 people who have eaten here frequently) our dishes no longer contained top quality ingredients: the chips now taste like flour, not corn; the seasonings are now bland, and the food was very runny. We know food is expensive, but we eat here for the quality that has always been present until now. Please return to the top quality ingredients and flavors that had stood the test of time. Linda M. read more

First of all, amazing service! We were greeted from the very beginning and were well taken care of. The food and margaritas were wonderful. We had the queso, raspberry margarita and the Saturday mathura special. Definitely will be coming back! read more

El Norte Mexican Grill - Raspberry swirl margarita and Herradura Rocks Top Shelf margarita - delicious! - Mexican Near Me - Plano, Texas

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This review is a little dated. By about a decade. And I've only eaten here once due to the distance where I live. However, ever since I've tried to replicate one of their signature dishes: Pork Montana To have a dish still have this much of an impact on me after 10+ years truly says something about the place. A slow roasted pork shank, with a honey-chipotle glaze. When brought here it was insistent we all get this dish. Even called ahead to make sure there was enough for the 6 of us. And I'm so glad we did. We dubbed this "Meat candy" it was so good. Please, for the love of Mike and all that is Holy, try this. If I'm unable to have this dish again without having to travel on an epic quest back to El Norte, at least let you have this in my stead. read more

What a gem of a find! The food is incredible and the service was fabulous (thank you Justin and Adrian). We love the stuffed jalapeños. They are huge! The combo plates are huge and provide a lot of options. Chips and salsa are so good you might find yourself eating so many chips you will have to ask for a to go box for your entree! Worth every penny and the 30 minute drive. read more

El Norte Mexican Grill - El Norte Mexican Grill entrance - Mexican Near Me - Plano, Texas

Don't come here and expect a 5-star feel. It's laid back, family owned, and authentic Tex-Mex. Food is solid - my favorites are either the pork tacos with corn tortillas, or the crispy ground beef tacos. The hubby loves the chicken flautas and the sour cream chicken enchiladas. We both love their signature jalapeño sauce - spicy and flavorful. I crave the salsa. Heads up - it's a tad on the spicy side for those of you with sensitive palettes. Also, the queso is award winning for a reason. Tip: add a scoop of ground beef to the queso......yum!! The bar is small, but you can still get a tasty margarita with good tequila (Don Julio is my fav). Service is nice. It's totally laid back (reminds me of Mexico), and kind of forces you to do the same. The music cracks me up: it's covers of 80s rock bands in Spanish - I love it!! Don't come here if you're an aggressive asshat who demands prompt service with a fake smile so your ego gets a few strokes - you'll ruin the chill vibe that I love about this place. So head to Chuy's for me, would ya? read more

Has always loved this place!! I highly recommend the fajitas. The queso is also unmatched to anywhere else.

This restaurant is one of my go-to favorites. Not only is the food amazing but the owner (new) really cares and responded to feedback. I've been coming here for years and recently posted a review shortly after the new ownership took place and he responded and took action. The next time we visited and since the feedback has been actioned. I love El Norte and our local community does too. I always see a familiar face when I go. It's a great restaurant, great atmosphere, and great people kind of place! read more

Ingredients aren't quality; restaurant is dirty, the salsa is mostly tap water, and their cooked food is very inconsistent.

First time visit tonight. Chicken cooked so hard could not eat it. My fork would not even penetrate. My wife's steak was also so hard she couldn't chew it. Highlight was chips and salsa. Ice tea good also. Again first time and last time visit. I love good Mexican food and this was terrible. Paid bill and left. read more

El Norte is a Plano staple - good old family-run, standard Tex Mex with amazing queso. Like seriously some of the best queso you'll find anywhere. (For queso on steroids try the El Head Honcho!) Chips are thin and crispy and don't really need any additional salt. The salsa is finely pulverized and, to my palate, slightly sweet-spicy. Everything else is typical Tex-Mex. We've not had anything we don't enjoy, though no dish is come-back-to-die-for special (other than the queso. Really, order the queso). What El Norte offers is predictability, good lunch and daily specials, plenty of kitchy spaces to sit and enjoy a meal with friends. We've eaten here for 15+ years and it's never really changed. There's something to be said for that. (PS - the line to get a seat can be pretty serious around prime meal times, so maybe eat slightly early or late, or consider asking for the first available. You might just get seated immediately on the patio.) read more

My sister wanted some Mexican food before heading back to the frozen north a few days later, so we came here. We were quickly seated and had our drink orders taken. A few minutes later we ordered. She had the combo Fajitas and I had the Chimichanga with chicken. We both really enjoyed our dinners. Even better the next day were the leftovers (for me). Service was top notch! Will be back soon! read more

I'm getting sick and tired of these restaurants slacking on delivery orders. I mean what the heck is going on? I ordered queso which they charge $8.25 for and look at the picture of how much was there. A picture is worth a thousand words. Added them to my list of restaurants not to order delivery from. read more

El Norte Mexican Grill - 1/2 full small container queso for $8.25 - Mexican Near Me - Plano, Texas

We went to El Norte Mexican Grill and it was different the taco salad was ok, just thought that a taco salad should be different. Not salad dressing, but it was. Just different. read more

El Norte Mexican Grill - Taco Salad - Mexican Near Me - Plano, Texas

This place has been around forever, we have been going there on and off for 20 years. I feel like the food quality has been slowly going downhill and we aren't going as frequently as we used to. Our last visit was disappointing. The menu is huge, but you should just stick to the basics.... tacos or the enchiladas. Even those are just ok. The real star is the Honcho Queso... a queso blanco (white queso) with taco meat and some pico in it. Eat it quick though, because once it gets cold it loses it's appeal. I have gotten this to go before, I don't recommend that... the microwave did not do it any favors. I did not like the brisket tacos at all... they are swimming in BBQ sauce, which just feels wrong for a brisket taco. 15 years ago I would give it 4 stars. Now, just 3. Not in any hurry to go back. read more

Great Mexican spot. Way better than my oldies such as On the Border and Uncle Julio's. The enchiladas were great, only thing is they weren't filling and were small compared to other enchiladas I've eaten before. Other than that I will be back! read more

My husband and I have not been here in a long time. We visited for lunch the other day and remembered why we stopped going here, but unfortunately this was the worst visit ever. We had the 2enchilada lunches. I chose chicken with sour cream and chicken enchilada verde. The chicken was flavorless and had the consistency of cat food. There as no verde mixed into the chicken, the sour cream sauce was just sour cream. The rice was cooked white rice with uncooked tomato paste mixed in! Unfortunately a waste of time and money. read more

Went around 7 (not realizing they closed at 8 until later) - staff was super friendly and didn't even mention it. All food came out hot and quickly, chips are thin and fresh and still warm! Large guac for $10 gets you 5 scoops, I'd say a pretty fair deal. Our group got the sizzling platter, chicken stuffed poblano, fish tacos and a beef chimi - everyone loved their food. Only comment would be that the enchilada sauce was a little curdled, even still it was tasty. Had a margarita sampler, would recommend all the margaritas but especially the raspberry and mango. The Blue Spider on the rocks was strong but tasty. We will be coming back to try other dishes for sure. read more

Free chips and salsa are always a bonus! Last Friday, We where sat at a table against the wall and the light fixture was directly next to my head and couldn't seat comfortably and asked to move to another table. Even though we moved the waitress still handled us accordingly. I had a chicken cheese mole on a hot plate. The vegetables that came on the plate where already burned into the plate and the chicken was a little tough. I will give it to the squash soup, it was very rich and perfectly cooked. read more

A good not-a-chain Tex-Mex Restaurant in the neighborhood. The Roasted Chicken Stuffed Poblano is something to die for. The Tacos and the Enchilada had some great flavor. The next best thing after the food is their service. Very pleasant and very professional! read more

Great place! We will be back! Queso is white, it looked a little clumpy when it was delivered BUT it wasn't! I shared the stuffed chicken breast with poblano peppers and cheese w the bff and it was enough to share at lunch. Very tasty! Cream sauce was good too... could have used a little more garlic but it was still very good. Margarita (house on the rocks) was really good. The mix was not too tart and not too sweet. Service was good... a little slow but nothing worth complaining over. We had a great experience and the food was really good. Oh and the hot sauce was my highlight!!! It was spicy and full of robust flavor! read more

This is one of my favorite places to go. I haven't had anything bad here. They have the most amazing jalapenos stuffed with brisket n cheese wrapped in bacon n queso for dipping! Yum! The chips n salsa have flavor! They have great tacos from brisket to traditional. Their specialties are to die for. Great margaritas and not small thank goodness! I love Antonio n his staff. Been coming here since I moved here n feel like family. They can get really busy during peak time but is so worth the wait! Love love love this place! read more

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Awesome. Right by my work and hit the spot. It's nice and peaceful in here and the food is great!! I love to go out to eat and this is my favorite atmosphere. Festive, yet quiet in the later afternoon before happy hour. I can take my time like I need to add Nd enjoy the atmosphere. read more

El Norte Mexican Grill - Super thin awesome tortilla chips! - Mexican Near Me - Plano, Texas

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Went in for lunch today I tried the fajita Monday special because when u go to Mexican restraunt fajitas are usually cooked fresh the best thing on menu but the meat tasted old and had been frozen it was not fresh I had a stomach ache after I ate here . I cook better then this . The chicken was rubbery and steak was bland . read more

Wonderful enchiladas, flautas and quesadillas. My family loves to order the enchilada family pack on DoorDash, and it always arrives correctly, hot, and well-packed. read more

We just went to El Norte for lunch. A waiter told us to sit anywhere. We chose a booth behind another group. A waiter came twice to the other booth and asked them if everything was ok with them. The waiter never took another step toward us to offer menus, bring chips, etc. My husband said we're leaving. I walked over to the register and talked with the waiter that ignored us and she looked like a dear in headlights and asked where were we sitting? That's just sad. read more

This place is a favorite with my Friday "lunch bunch", but I don't get it. The food is pretty pedestrian, the chips are often stale and the hot sauce has bordered on rancid a couple of times. My chicken enchiladas tasted quite bland and were unremarkable. Dry brisket tacos were a disappointment (although, after having BTs at Mia's, I don't know if any place can ever stack up) as well. Maybe I just haven't been ordering the right things (and we've always gone for lunch, never dinner), but this just isn't the place for me. read more

When we used to live in Plano; we would go to El Norte many times and have enjoyed it each time. We were in the area and decided to go here. I was very excited as I know the food here is awesome. This restaurant is older and has been in Plano for a very long time. Their chip and salsa is yummy here. The chips this time were a little on the greasy. I ordered the chicken nachos which were amazing. The chicken was flavorful and the perfect amount of food. If you want a very strong margarita, this location has no problem making it strong but if you don't like it so strong let your waiter know. The queso here is really good as we've had it here multiple times. This place has some good Tex-Mex food. If you're in the area, check out this location. read more

El Norte Mexican Grill - Chicken nachos - Mexican Near Me - Plano, Texas

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'Been a long time customer of El Norte; they are simply wonderful. Better than the same ole enchilada, with other great choices, too.