I have been coming here since it first opened at the old backyard burger place and it has been a family favorite. Today it was so disappointing. The food was ok but the fried taco on my combo platter was almost tasteless and the rest of the food was definitely a step down. The most shocking moment was when the waitress accidentally gave us two cheese dips, we began eating it, she came back and said sorry, she accidentally gave us too many. We told her that we had already eaten out of it, she smiled, picked it up and then took it to another table!! Seriously? It made me a little afraid to eat my food. It's still good food, just not near what it use to be and a seriously diminished customer service!! read more

The strawberry margarita tasted like a sonic slushee. I ordered a chimichanga I that was so drenched in sauce that I stopped eating it. My Mother got Barbacoa tacos which tasted like absolutely disgusting and then the server asked, "What was wrong with it?" And she said it just wasn't good, it's not what I thought & instead of comping or offering something else, he comes back and instead of apologizing or trying to make it better, it just seemed like he wanted to prove her wrong & while he explained it even more, he hands the check and just walks off... like that's not good customer service at all. He could've cared less. & also what place of business let's their employees vacuum while Customers are present trying to enjoy their dinner? Super loud and not appropriate. read more

Don't get me wrong--I LOVE the food here. It's delicious. No complaints about the food. HOWEVER. The mariachi singer who works here on the weekends--why? I'm sure there are some people who enjoy it, but most of the time, he's singing at tables and people look incredibly uncomfortable. Not only does he sing to people who are not enjoying it, but then he stands there and stares at you until you offer a tip. I don't want to pay someone for their singing, which I never asked for in the first place. It makes me not want to come here. It would make more sense if you just paid him to sing on the weekends and then had customers offer tips if they really wanted to. read more

This is the best Mexican restaurant in Lawrence. Order yourself a fajita burrito and enjoy the free queso!

When I am at El Potro, I know it is Thursday. My wife and I go in for their KU Burrito Thursday Lunch Special. We start off with the FREE queso, salsa, and chips with our water with lemon (mine with no ice). Several of the servers and Victor, the manager, know we like "no shell" which means no tortilla and that I like Borracho beans in a bowl on the side. You can see from the photos that the portion sizes are good. Victor is always friendly and comes over and talks with us. If you look up their menu, you will see they have specials of the day and they even have 99 cent tacos on Mondays after 4 p.m. although we haven't taken advantage of that special yet as we are at a different restaurant on Mondays. read more

The first time I went here, it was fine. Not outstanding, but not bad. The second time was god-awful due to terrible service from a waitress who, among many other things, spilled water all over me and then proceeded to walk away without a word. This third time was suppose to be a comeback, but it was disappointing to say the least. The food was rather tasteless and the service was lacking, as you apparently have to ask multiple people for the same thing at various times throughout the night in order to recieve it. But the best part was the man with the guitar. As people were trying to talk with the people they came with, he would come right up beside the table interupt with loud singing and playing whether you asked him to or not. All completed with a big sign on his guitar saying "works for tips." Which is great because, you know, people just LOVE it when they're pressured out of their money with up-close, disrupting entertainment they didn't ask for. read more

The food has always been excellent here and I really love the free queso and chips. However, the service is severely lacking. Most servers seem quite disinterested in being there (and I guess could care less about getting a good tip). The last time I was there, the area I was in had a handful of other tables seated and a waitress thought it was a good time to start vacuuming - not just once, but during various times throughout our entire meal. Our waiter talked to us about three times. Once for drinks, once for our meal order, once for the ticket. I will sacrifice free queso for a restaurant that gives a damn. read more

The best part of our dinner is we didn't have to wait long to be seated. It's Wednesday dinner time and the restaurant was busy still we were seated quickly, and that is where my positive experience ended. It took a while before anyone came with drinks, or even acknowledged our presence even though we were sitting right at the front door being bumped every time a waiter went by. My husband and I both thought the chips and salsa were terrible no salt could fix, and thank god the cheese dip was free and I didn't have to pay for the room temperature bland slightly sour dip. That being said the dip was still warmer than my food, I ordered the deep fried tacos as did my husband, his was barely warm and mine was cold. I mean the meat was as cold as the lettuce on top and I could stick my finger in the beans cold. I would've complained but by the time our waiter came by to "check" on us my husband was done eating, and he just asked if we needed a beer whilst his hands were loaded down with dirty dishes. Needless to say I will not return nor would I recommend anyone to this place! read more

Worst service. Sat at the bar took 10 minutes to get waited on. Food was tasteless. Strawberry margarita was terrible

I enjoy this restaurant very much. The service is great, the food is wonderful and the beer is not bad I recommend the soft fish tacos.

The food is just meh, not horrible but not really any taste either. The service is hit and miss with this last time being the worst, the waitress dropped and salsa on the table like we were an inconvenience. Not drop like oops, dropped like I hate my life and and I hate this job, here you go. Won't be going back. read more

food is excellent. always hot and flavorful. very good wait staff. love the free wueso too.

I visited El potro mexican cafe at 3333, s iowa st, in lawrence, ks between 12-1 pm on 9/9/19. Plenty of parking spaces at the side of this brick building with multi color restaurant lettering. Once inside, immediately greeted and taken to a booth. Tables and floor appear clean. The place is huge with seating for a large crowd. Several paintings and Tvs on the walls. The restroom is large one and is clean. The place is doing good business with large lunch crowd. Order of okra enchilada (with chicken and okra inside) was taken immediately. Basket of thin chips with regular and very hot sauces (after special request) was brought immediately and main order was on the table in less than 5 minutes. Ice water glass. Okra enchilada dish is good, while okras themselves are rare combination and did not add to the taste. The customer service is good. The bill came to $8.75 inc tax. I think price is right on the mark. I would give this establishment an overall rating of 3*. read more

My wife and I ate here a few weeks ago, and would have rated it a high 4 stars. The dinner was great. We ate here yesterday. Her dish was mediocre, and mine wasn't want they advertised. I ordered their special 'Carnitas Michoacan', and the meat was big dry chunks of pork. It has not been cooked enough to render the fat, so had pockets of gristle and fat. There was one piece of pork that was cooked right, sort of buried in the beans, so I think they ran out of the special, and just threw some pork on the plate. I didn't eat it. Disappointed.... read more

For Mexican food this place was really good. Free queso was nice and it tasted great. The salsa was amazing and not too spicy. I'm a wimp. I enjoyed the El Potro Sampler and Jeremy had fried tacos. They are busy tonight but it's Mother's day. There are several empty tables. Service was a little slow but they were attentive. Their floors however are a complete disaster. They look like they haven't been cleaned all day and look like all the table crumbs have just been swept off the table to the floor. read more

El Potro Mexican Cafe - El Potro Sampler - Mexican Near Me - Lawrence, Kansas

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Delicious! Friendly and quick service! Very clean! The gentleman that walks around singing and playing guitar does a wonderful job and is such a lovely man :) We've been to just about every Mexican restaurant in Lawrence and this is our top choice! PS. If you are trying to pick a Mexican restaurant for supper, DO NOT GO TO LAWRENCE SALTY IGUANA! That place is very unsanitary and disgusting! read more

This place is your typical Tex-mex midwestern Mexican restaurant. The food is usually pretty good, and they do bring a free cheese dip to your table which is a perk. I've tried the shrimp and jalapeño cream cheese enchiladas, the flautas, and the cheese and onion enchiladas. All were tasty but nothing really to write home about. They seem to have the same "margarita special" any day that I go, which is about $7 for a large margarita that definitely tastes like it's been made with a sugary mix as opposed to made fresh with the typical few ingredients. Again, not bad but not exactly anything special either. While the food is typically consistent, the service is hit or miss. I've been here several times and have found that my female servers are usually friendly and fairly attentive. I expect a server to at least pretend to have some interest in my experience at the restaurant. Unfortunately, many of the male servers I've had, for whatever reason, have been borderline unfriendly and have provided poor service. The host and/or hostess also is usually gruff and less than welcoming. I'm usually greeted without a smile or hello and then ushered to my table with a curt nod or hurried "come on" gesture. On my last visit, for instance, I was told the wait would be five minutes for my little party of 1. Yet I sat at the bench directly in front of the host stand for closer to 15 without my buzzer going off. After watching several people come in and be seated before me, I was tempted to get up and leave when the hostess realized I still hadn't been sat and that my buzzer apparently wasn't working. This wasn't a big deal to me, except that neither the hostess or manager who sat me apologized for this mistake or even gave me a second glance. In summary, if you're enticed by unlimited free chips and salsa and complimentary cheese dip and aren't looking for anything out of the norm- you've found your new neighborhood Mexican restaurant. read more

My wife and i decided to stop in for dinner after a movie, i wish i had kept driving. First off the menu was covered in guacamole and the table we where seated at was dirty, not being one to judge to soon and after some work with a napkin cleaning up a bit we sat back and ordered our dinners. Well service was ok but the food that was delivered to our table was better left in the kitchen it had no flavor to speak of and had no spices that where even remotely south of the border, we left with no go boxes and full plates on the table. We should of known when they served the Margarita in a Beer Mug ? 3 stars for the server & only One star for the food .... read more

Disorganized. No greeting upon arrival. Had to ask if they were seating and helped get everyone in line. When seated brought out over salted salsa. Took order, food came out fast, wrong, and both hot and cold. Fajitas were wrong, the sides hot but no sizzle just a gust of cold air from the meat plate. Wait staff over loaded and never brought a refill on the drinks. Not worth the effort of finding a parking space. read more

We love coming here. Food is always amazing!! Staff is super friendly and attentive. Restaurant is clean and inviting.

We went there on a weekend and it was very crowded. We had to wait for about 10 mins before getting seated. Great price and good portion of food ordered. We ordered veggie quesadilla which came with side of Mexican rice, beans and guacamole ! I would have liked the tortillas to be little more crispy and less soft. Best part was that the tortillas chips were served with salsa and queso unlike the other Mexican restaurants I have been to :) read more

I had relatively fair expectations coming in, and I will admit that this was not my favorite restaurant. The decor was no very good at all, the wait for seating was long, and the food was mediocre. I had tacos which were good but not great, and the salsa that came with the chips tasted like ketchup(I could find far better salsa at the supermarket). My friend got a chimichanga that was soaked in a ranch sauce and it was not fried. The highlight were the staff who were very kind and helpful. I would not visit again except for maybe the margaritas, which seemed to be a big draw for the college kids. read more

My dad and so like eating here and we always both get exactly the same thing. Try their jalapeño cream cheese enchiladas!!

Food wasn't bad at all but the service, or lack there of was the worst!! We ordered an appetizer, 2 entrees, and a kids meal. It took 4 requests and 15 minutes to receive the appetizer. When the meals came out, 2 of the 3 were wrong. Great place to eat but be forewarned, expect to leave frustrated read more

I was trying to get to another restaurant, but realized I had made a wrong turn and saw this one and pulled into the parking lot. I read the reviews, not normally a place I would try based on the reviews, but hey, I was here. As noted, hot sauce and queso provided at no charge and acceptable, not the best I have had. Had thought about fajitas, but when zucchini was listed as one of the veggies, decided against that. Finally decided on a plate with a chicken al carbon taco, cheese enchilada, and pork tamale. I ate some, huge proportions, but it reminded me of my early experience with Mexican restaurants- hot, hot plate, hot, hot (microwave hot) food, and a lot of sauce. I prefer well seasoned meat with added flavor from pico, cilantro, etc., a lighter fare of Mexican without the sauces. It was crowded, so it does appeal to a lot, but just not the type of Mexican I like. read more

Not good food. The salsa is like pizza marinade and have a sign outside for a certain flavor of margarita and do not have it. The sign was over a month old we were told. Thank you. read more

Great Family Mexican joint. FREEE QUESO DIP! Can't beat that. Very good fresh margaritas. Food is great. Love the new reno. This is our go to Mexican place in Lawrence. Great for kids. Don't hesitate to give it a shot. read more

This location's food is better than the one in Bonner. Plus the restaurant is twice the size! Went here for a work lunch and I wasn't real thrilled about the choice because I have been to the other one a few times and just wasn't impressed, but the service was fast, the waiter was very friendly and helpful, and the food was good. I ordered the Ranchero Chicken burrito. It had a chicken based gravy on top. It wasn't my favorite but it wasn't bad. My co-workers' food all looked great and they were very happy. Each one of us got something different as there are literally over 50 lunch options! I will go again. read more

My girlfriend and I only went here on monday night because of a fantastic review that we read on here, mentioning how Victor, the manager and staff were absolutely fantastic and provided the best service in town. Well, im here to warn you that if you are a college student (or in that age range) that you WILL be discriminated because of your age and you WILL receive the worst service of your life. normally i would never make such a harsh statement about any establishment but since my extremely dissatisfying visit i have since posted on multiple social media accounts asking for peer reviews and EVERYONE MY AGE HAS HAD THE SAME EXPERIENCE. To start, we were sat in a booth near the front door, and after over 10 minutes of watching servers walk around i finally stopped one and asked where my server was, after about another 5 we were greeted with waters and chips, but no menus. after another 5 or so minutes a seperate staff member brought us menus and this is the crazy part, i kid you not it took over 30 MINUTES for our waiter to return to ask if we were ready to order! i didnt even get to order our margartias yet!!!!! ive worked in the restaurant business for over 4 years now so i calmy expressed my dissatisfaction to him and mentioned how the two tables next to us (who were adults) had both been sat after our arrival and both were FINISHED WITH THEIR MEALS. after all of this we finally got our food, which was actually quite fantastic, then, wouldnt ya know it i had to flag down my server and ask for our checks 10 minutes went by before we got the WRONG BILL at this point i asked to speak to a manager. Victor came by along with 2 servers and a host, i explained my poor service to all 4 at the same time and each one then took turns saying sorry with no remorse or resolve whatsoever. DO NOT GO TO EL POTRO UNLESS YOU WANT TO BE DISCRIMINATED BECAUSE OF YOUR AGE. the funny thing is i tip over 20% everywhere i go because im a firm believer in karma and still left my server 20% even though he probably should have been paying for my meal. read more

Subpar TexMex. Largely bland and a penchant for drowning everything in cheap, runny queso. Not bad food, just not good.

Worst service in my life! Was greeted by an angry guy in a blue long sleeve shirt who was really disrespectful.

I love the new location. The food is even better at this new location. My friends and I love this place so much we go every Monday night. The staff is super friendly. It's always busy, but never a long wait. Love the chicken soft tacos and the churros. The free queso is amazing! My friends and I always fight over it. read more

Tasty food. I love to eat here. I'm a sucker for good Mexican food, and this has that in spades. Definitely worth going if you're looking for Mexican food. This place has a great taste and helpful staff. I've only had, perhaps, one occasion where we had to wait for a while on help. Definitely a place to check out. read more

First, let me start by saying that my husband and I have gone here numerous times and taken friends and family here. This is a busy and popular place in Lawrence. We have enjoyed our meals in the past numerous times. Not crazy about the free salsa, but we love the 1 bowl of free cheese dip and warm chips. I will say a friend and her daughter and my cousin and his mother went there at our recommendation and did not like their Mexican selections at all, but they can do that review. However, last night was a bad experience. Before I go on, I should say, we have had fresh-butchered beef from my uncle's farm for over 40 years; we select the cuts with the packing house. We buy a side or a 1/2 of a 1/2 of a 1/2 at time. (1/2 of a 1/2 is different than a quarter of beef.) Thus, we probably have a better idea of what meat cuts look like than most. We both tried the "Ribeye Steak" listed on the menu. When the meal came, the steaks took up over half the plate. Ribeyes do not come in that serving size, but round steak does. Round steak, flank steak, and skirt steak are often used in Mexican dishes. Ribeye has marbling and a lot of flavor. Round steak is leaner and lower grade than Ribeye and certainly not as flavorful. Round steak sections are often connected by strips of fatty gristle. This is what we were served. Ribeye is generally served in a thicker cut. Our cuts were 1/4 to 1/2" thick - not ribeye. It was advertised with sautéed mushrooms. I found 1.5 mushrooms among the overcooked zucchini and onions. The side of rice was good. However, the meat was chewy and not well seasoned. The manager would not confirm that this really was ribeye steak. He said he would have to check on this. I think he knew, but, oh, well.... While some will say to only buy Mexican in a Mexican place, we have had good steaks in Mexico in Mexican places. The steak was chewy and not well seasoned so we brought the left over home for the dogs who appreciated it regardless of what cut it was. Before writing this review, my husband took the left over steaks to two butchers with many years of experience. They both agreed it was probably round steak and not ribeye steak. The manager did comp one of the meals after some amount of discussion. He refused to admit that this was the wrong cut of meat and he refused to confirm that this was a ribeye. Can you say false advertising on the menu; buyer beware! It would be hard for me to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that a fast one was being pulled, but my 40 years of buy sides of beef and having them cut to my specification and two butchers agreeing that what we got appeared to be a round steak gives me confidence to alert future customers that they won't get what they ordered. If by chance these were ribeyes, they were of the lowest grade, not cut in a manner consistent with ribeyes, and poorly prepared. read more

I have dined here twice and plan to go back. It is a busy place, but the wait is minimal. Food is great and at a reasonable price.

The Picadillo beef burrito meal with rice & re-fried beans was pretty good. We also ordered the Tacos Al Carbon meal (steak tacos), and 1 Taco Al Pastor (pork taco). The steak tacos were just okay, but the Al Pastor did not taste like an Al Pastor at all. On a positive note, they do make pretty good Coronaritas. Even though it was crowded, we were seated quickly, but the folks behind us waited for about 15-20 minute (Friday night). If you don't like loud restaurants, don't go here. In addition to the typical noise and screaming children, 3 different tables were celebrating birthdays. And of course, the waiters sang to all three of them...quite loudly. The female hostess was less than pleasant, but at least we had a nice male waiter. So, if you don't mind mediocre, over-priced food in a noisy environment (about 80-85 decibels, I'd guess), this is the perfect place for you. read more

Enjoy their food. Had a GREAT seafood enchilada there once, but it was only offered on special. Free cheese dip is nice.

AMAZING food and they on top of the customer service. We come here or order to go almost once a week or biweekly at times and Love it every time! The managers are hard work and the staff is friendly and prompt! read more

We had a large group of people so we called ahead of time for a reservation, which was accepted by a male who didn't speak English very well. When we arrived for our 6pm reservation, we were informed they don't accept reservations. They were somewhat flustered getting our seating together. We eventually had to ask for tableware since none was placed on our table. The food is kind of bland, but reasonably priced. Be prepared to ask for more chips, queso and drink refills. Staff were nice but appeared overwhelmed. Would eat here again. read more

I am from texas where the rivers flow of salsa and margaritas. I wasn't expecting anything special and I was correct. The margaritas were ok but nothing special. Salsa was most likely not homemade but not gross. Bartender was friendly and let us sit at the bar. Couple next to us were very friendly and we had fun talking to them. Not sure the standard of mexican food up north but all in all it wasn't horrible. But I have definitely had better. Better luck next time! read more