I've been a big fan of El Potrero since they opened. The food and service are always top-notch, and the decor creates a colorful setting. We had cheese enchiladas and shrimp fajitas, and they were both fresh and well cooked. One suggestion: Offer a half-portion of fajitas. The shrimp fajitas are my favorite thing on the menu, but I hesitate to order them because I know I can't finish the whole thing. I think a smaller portion would increase sales and allow guests to try a greater variety of dishes. Thanks! read more

This place goes well beyond bad service. At this point the staff is pretty much openly hostile to the customers. An hour before closing time, the servers are neglecting all of the tables so they can move furniture around and clean up. It's super disruptive and rude. Then about 15 minutes before closing they all the sudden become your best friend as they constantly come by your table to hint that you should leave - saying things like "anything else you need?". This is not just one instance. We've had this happen several times, and hear the same complaint from other people. We still come here, but often choose the Fenton rd location instead - to avoid the abuse from the Swartz creek staff. And there was one time where they really out did themselves when our waitress came over to let us know that we were the last customer and that they wanted to go home. This was 15 minutes before closing time. I assume she was the night manager. read more

My son treated me to lunch at El potrero today. The food was so good. Service is always good. The people are friendly and efficient.

The food is good but somehow we always get seated in a dark alley next to the kitchen. Last visit we thus requested a table by the window - in a section where there were empty tables and they were clearly seating people. The employee suggested that her server table allocations were far more important than us enjoying our meal. So we left. Maybe her arithmetic will be easier with zero in the numerator lol. Plenty of other Mexican places in town. read more

Felt the food was not good. Tried a different dish with shrimp and so few baby shrimp drowning in fried onions and cheese so much so tortilla was soggy, like wet dough which I could not eat. Rice was very dry and tomatoes were so green that they were hard. Service was ok waitress was a bit hard to communicate too. Margaritas I ordered Small friend ordered large his looked smaller than mine and not 24oz. He commented to waitress! They also were very weak. Ambiance was ok. Price for food service not great. read more

Ate there tonight food was hot, service good other than that would not recommend the Swartz creek #4. Ordered steak fajitas came out with tiny bites of steak and had to dig through vegetables to find any steak. Then with order came 4 ounces of cheese asked for more wasn't enough for one let alone 4. She brought me 2 small cups and then on bill was charged $1.50 for each one. Wife had taco salad and had to look down in the shell to find the salad about 3/4 filled. We both said we would never return nor recommend to any of our friends. read more

Housekeeping very good. Ambience very good. Attractive menu. Friendly helpful staff. Bar beverage measures questionable. Order bottle beer to be sure of measure. Food was edible but below par. Overall impression? I won't return; too many other better Mexican restaurants in the area. read more

I had a 16 oz Blue Moon at lunch Thursday. Was charged just over $8 - totally nuts. Food was good.

This Mexican Restaurant is the best! Hands Down!!! The food is delicious looks delicious and you get quite a lot! The restaurant is very very clean and nicely decorated and the staff are very attentive and kind. I ordered the Nachos Grande! Omg! The best nachos that I ever ate. read more

Salsa for chips horrible chic dish chic lots of fat tough even the lemonade no good embarrassment to the Mexican community And I'm being generous with the one star read more

not only did it take TWO HOURS for me to get my food, there was a ROCK INSIDE MY BURRITO. I'm being generous with the 1 star. read more

El Potrero - a close up of a plate of food - Mexican Near Me - Swartz Creek, Michigan

Nothing but meat on our tacos! Nothing came to the table how it should have been! Chalupa with just lettuce! Awful! Never again!

Three friends of family arrived in town for New Years. They wanted to eat local and chose El Portrero in Swartz Creek? I tried to dissuade them and convince them they chose WRONG but, they ate their anyways!?! That night when they came home after eating at El Portrero, they said they made a MISTAKE by eating there. Half the food was BURNT. The other half was RAW!?!?!? The next day two of the three were SICK with GOOD POISONING. Also, hey El Portrero - fix your roadside sign? Either display actual words or take down the leftover letters and leave road sign blank??? read more

The service was good but the food was just okay, nothing special. A bit pricey for what it was. The interior is very cute (despite how disgusting the women's restroom was) but it's under construction on the outside which isn't very appealing. They need to update the sign too as it's rather faded so I drove right past it. read more

Been there twice lately around 1:30 pm and service was great and the food was delicious. I think they have some of the best guacamole in the area and it's very reasonably priced. Definitely going to become a regular here. read more

I don't know why this area is devoid of a quality and consistent Mexican restaurant. This restaurant is no exception. The food varies from mediocre, to "at least it wasn't that expensive". When placing an order over the phone the staff was rude, and seemed annoyed that I was trying to order food. When I arrived the staff was nice, but when I got home my order was missing things, the tomatoes I had requested not be in my salad, were in fact, in my salad, the pork was dry, and chips were bitter. The salsa tasted good I suppose. I'm giving this place 3 stars based on other meals I've had here that were ok, but before going here again I think I'll just swing through Taco Bell since it's just up the road. read more

Pretty average on all counts. It's nowhere near as nice as El Potrero, it's sister restaurant, in downtown Flint. Very inconsistent in terms of food quality, ambiance and the service. It was fine, very average, but a bit disappointing, to be quite honest. The service was kind of sketchy, a little slow and our server, though outgoing and polite, was a little scattered and distracted. I had to keep requesting fresh tortilla chips and salsa, which never happens in a Mexican restaurant. The decor could use a little updating, which seems odd since this El Potrero location hasn't actually been open all that long. Weird. The food itself was a bit underwhelming. The refried beans weren't particularly flavorful and sort of tasted like they were from a can. Quesadillas were ok, but overly smothered in cheese. Tortilla chips were good, not greasy and the salsa was pretty tasty. read more

El Potrero - Chips n salsa. - Mexican Near Me - Swartz Creek, Michigan

Very disappointed tonight with our service, we've always had great service but this evening our waitress never came back to check on us at all unless we asked another server to get her for us. We had to ask other servers multiple times, which was very upsetting. When we asked for our bill and to-go containers she brought those back but no bill, I had to go to counter and ask for our bill from another server. One thing I can say good about our experience was the good was very good. read more

I played it safe. How can a Mexican place mess up taco well this place did it, pretty sure the ground beef was premade and then microwaved to be warmed up. They put mozzarella cheese on a Mexican taco. was not given salsa or any sauce to put on my tacos. Also got a quesadilla for an appetizer. Don't know how but somehow they made the chicken taste like tuna. I ate 1 taco and a piece of my quesadilla and that was enough for me I got up paid my bill and left just as hungry as I arrived -$44. Please people don't go here it's absolutely horrible food! read more

Food is great but service is below a one star. Sat and waited 15 minutes for service. Watched other tables get sat after us and get drinks and food in 5 minutes. Server took drink, appetizer and dinner order brought our drinks and was gone. 15 minutes later brought appetizer and was gone. Manager brought food out 10 minutes later and again, more tables that were sat well after us were paid and gone. Bare tender was waiting tables and filling drinks without missing a beat but our server was no where. He had three tables during our time in there. Asked for boxes and a bill and waited 15 minutes for him and he was mopping. Got boxes from a manager. Server dropped the bill and said "sorry for getting busy". When we looked at him he said "yes I'm busy" and stormed off. Worst service we've ever had here. Asked four times for a refill on a coke and water and never happened. Server is MIA the entire visit. read more

I was very impressed with the remodeling inside and out. The food was amazing and the serverwas fantastic ( Oswaldo ) I would recommend El Potrero Mexican Restaurant. read more

It was Labor Day weekend, Saturday around 6:00 and we'd been doing tasks all day - hungry for dinner. We walked out of Chipotle, passed completely on Taco Bell and then chose El Potrero when we changed our minds about trying to get something to take out. We'd been here once before and were happy with everything. We were greeted and seated quickly in a clean booth. Waitress was friendly & when we asked her what was good she suggested California (Chicken) Burritos. We both ordered them. She speedily brought us almost HOT chips and salsa. The warm chips were SOOO good! Never realized what a difference warm chips could make. Our California Burritos at $11.99 each were huge and delicious. My male companion ate his entire meal and I (female) ate half of mine. Love having leftovers for another meal! When we gobbled up all the chips, our waitress almost immediately brought us another basket of warm chips as soon as she noticed ours were gone. We were very satisfied with this second visit to El Portero. My companion didn't want to "leave hungry" and he definitely did not! We will be going there again next time we don't want to cook at home. read more

We always get decent cheap food on Tuesday here but the service is terrible. Expect long waits and it's hot as a oven inside, no ac or fans read more

Great food. Good prices and very nice people work here. Highly recommended. This is one of our favorite places to eat. I like that you can have a quite conversation with friends, relax with great drinks and wonderful food. The staff here are all as nice as can be, I can not say enough good-about this place. We love the El Potrero restaurant!!! read more

When my parents lived in Byron we would make a weekly visit to the Creek location although the fluffy manager was the rudest guy in the food business. We went for the food nothing more. When I lived in Flint for almost two years and the downtown location was open I would go there at least once a week as the customer service was unbeatable. Now I live in Lansing, and my parents moved to Clarkston so I stop in on my way through to my parents to pick up food for the family. Tonight I stoped in to pick up and drive the 40 min to my parents from the restaurant. When I got there and opened the bags there was nothing but complete disappointment. They didn't give us our order but someone else's. I spent 2.5 hours calling from everyone's phone to try and get them to answer. It would either disconnect after so long of ringing, or give you a fax tone. I called again with less then an hour to close and was told by the manager unless we dug the incorrect food that we were given out of the trash and brought it back they weren't going to do anything about their mixup even after she fully admitted it was her fault. $50 + tip down the drain. Unless they wanted to deliver it there was no way I was driving the 40 min back at 9:10pm to pick up the correct food and bring the trash bag with me then make the 40 minute drive back to actually eat it. I'm just done. If I ever am desperate for it again I'll try the Fenton rd location as they can handle simple takeout orders but the Creek location just needs to go out of business with their shitty ass customer service. I also asked for the owner to call me and was told by the manager that she doesn't think he would but she would let him know... how do you run a business?! Depressing read more

I have ate here 6 times. 1st was seated and forgot about. Didnt even get drinks. Left after 40 min. 2nd and 3rd. Seen waitress 3 times order food bill. No extra is everything OK. 4 and 5 OK. 6th i went in to 20 empty tables and told there was a 20 minute wait. I won't return there again. Your 75% likely to get.shotty service and if your service is good. The food is OK. Not great not horrible just OK. If your like me you'd like to enjoy when you get out. Your more likely to be satisfied at McDonalds then here read more

This restaurant has gone down hill. They have changed their portion size to save money. The portions are now small so don't think your going to get full. I ordered a shrimp chimichonga and the shrimp was so over cooked and black. I took one bite and asked the waitress to take it off my bill. She accused me of eating one of them. I told her to look again only one bite is gone. Then she realized she was wrong and still continued to argue with me about the shrimp, saying they are understaffed. It took 40 minutes to get my lunch in the first place. They have just lost the business of a family of 4. A waitress should never argue with a customer. They are not in the position to do so. JUNK PLACE. DON"T WASTE YOUR TIME OR YOUR MONEY!!!!!! read more

Greeted immediately on arrival by the manager/owner. Who was very friendly and came by to make sure we were enjoying our meal. And the waitress was very kind and attentive. The food was excellent and the price was very fair. Will come back again when we travel back this way. read more

Extremely disappointed with the catering aspect of this restaurant. Ordered a package deal for 75-100 people and I ran out of food 32 people in to eating. I had at least 10 people come up to me several times and ask if there was more food. If you're going to have a package deal and advertise it'll feed x amount of people than you better make sure there's enough. Needless to say... I won't use this business again. read more

I needed a place on my way home from a show. Found this place and took a chance. what a pleasant surprise. Good food and decent prices. My server knocked it out of the park. Tiffany was absolutely one of the best in the business. The restaurant is about an hour from my home, but I will make that trip for some good food and great service. read more

*normal size cater pan for reference. the aluminum ones you put a turkey in lol. https://www.caffebaci.com/what-is-the-size-of-a-catering-full-pan/#:~:text=number%20in%20manufacturing.-,How%20Big%20Is%20A%20Full%20Pan%20Catering%3F,12.75%20Inches,-What%20Is%20A Well for starters the manager David at the Swartz Creek store is horrible and probably shouldn't be a manager. My kids mom asked multiple time if these were full pans or half pans. She was told that they were full pans. Come to find out, Elly here, sells a legit half pan, filled half way, and calls it a half pan. Which is actually halve of a half pan. 1/4 of a half pan is what you get when ordering a half pan. They consider a 1/2 pan filled about 75% to be a full pan. This is fine and dandy BUT you have to LET PEOPLE KNOW. These crooks call a half pan, filled most of the way, a full pan!? No where in the world of catering is a half pan, filled to any level, called a full pan; save caviar lol. But you get the point. there is no one going around buying half pans and selling them as full pans. Its BS and DECEPTIVE. 70$ 1./2 pan!!! So we picked up 50% of the food we thought we were going to get. ! half pan of crap cost 70$~!!!!!! Another store acknowledge that they have issues with the description but MANAGEMENT HAS DECIDED TO MISLEAD THE CUSTOMER Also, we had to PAY IN FULL ahead of time because if we had of know that we were getting half pans we probably would have cooked ourselves. If you are using them for a catering event or open house please beware that you are not ordering full catering pans. You are ordering what they call a fl pan which is a half pan. They buy the pans as half pans and sell then as full pans. The mom spent 385 for half pans of food and I had to go get another 200. All because they are deceptive in their descriptions. i WOULD CANCEL EVER ORDER WITH EL CRAPO AND ORDER FROM A COMPANY THAT ACTUALLY SELLS WHAT THEY AND EVERYONE ELSE KNOWS TO BE A FULL OR HALF PAN. If you order a half pan, your actually getting 1/4 of a half pan because to them a half pan is half of a half pan. A full pan is a full half pan. read more

I was extremely impressed with the service I received by our server Jasmine. She was nice, friendly and funny. I will definitely return because of her!! read more

We had an amazing lunch!! Great deal and delicious!!! Excellent service too! The food was ready in short time and the wait staff took great care. Thank you El Potero!! read more

Hands down great Mexican food goes to El Potrero. They have decent prices, HUGE margaritas at a great price, amazing food and friendly staff. The decorations inside and all around the restaurant are actually from Mexico (my waiter informed me). It is beautiful. You feel like you are in the middle of Mexico it makes you even afraid to drink the water. LOL. But the water there is okay, we won't die from it. =) Love to come here as often as I can! read more

2nd time I've eaten here in last month. Ordered the same plate both times, tonight it came out with an additional sauce and cheese on it. Poor service tonight, great service last time. Beside the inconsistency food is very good. Place could use a good cleaning...area around booths pretty dusty and gross. Good cold draft beer, good Guacamole. This place is two steps behind being awesome. I'll be back a 3rd time to see how it goes read more

The pico de Gallo is really good. The chips and salsa were delicious, fresh, and endless. A little noisy for my taste , but that's due to the huge bar, they got going on. The Servers were very good at their jobs and that we nice. to many times you can't even find a semi remotely Happy server. They also knew the menu very well. The prices were cheaper when they first opened. Kinda waited awhile for the food but it was busy so that's understandable, and it really wasn't that long. read more

El Potrero - Mexican Near Me - Swartz Creek, Michigan

This is certainly a true Mexican restaurant with great food! My mother and I always split a Three Cheese Enchilada Dinner, which is my favorite dish. It's absolutely delicious! The takeout is quick, and the employees are super friendly and helpful. I definitely recommend! read more

This used to be my favorite Mexican restaurant in the area because honestly the food is amazing. But the management here is absolutely disgusting and needs to work in a job that requires ZERO customer service and interpersonal skills , because this guy has none !! Went tonight and ordered a regular dinner for my little sister and an appetizer for myself as my dinner . Asked for a refill on our chips and was told there would be a charge ..... I've never experienced an extra charge for more chips at this location before so i asked why. (Mind you the manager was waiting on us because our waiter was new and needed help ) and he told me because only one of us ordered a dinner they had to charge for chips , so i asked "since when ?" And explaining i come here great frequently and have never experienced this and he told me "it's always been like this " and I informed him i was just there two weeks prior and it wasn't like that, THEN he changed the story and said "well the rules changed ." So I asked when that rule was put into place and then he told me "you can contact the owner , but you don't need to have an attitude!" So instantly i being the CUSTOMER become upset and let him know I'm not upset over the policy but upset over his awful attitude and he shouldn't be treating or talking to customers in such a rude manner. He then got all defensive and said he'd give me another basket of chips . Well that's not the point . The point is you're acting like a fool over a basket of chips!!! It's not like we came in and each bought a $1.00 Taco and proceeded to eat 9 baskets of chips!! Our bill was around $20 for the two of us, and this fat ass wants to act like we're robbing the place blind over a basket of chips !? NOPE. Done with this shit hole! I'd rather eat Taco Bell cat food beef then deal with that idiot ever again . I WILL BE CALLING THE OWNER!!!! read more

Lupé G. Took the best care of us! She followed all current safety protocols and helped us enjoy our wonderful night. Great food, great hospitality! I will always come here for her great service. read more

My wife and I eat here a couple times a month. The food, prices, atmosphere and staff have always been great. I don't like that they have taken the different hot sauces off the table though. I like to experiment a bit with my chips read more