I've been going to El Rinconcito for over a year now, so this review is long overdue. This is a great spot for affordable, delicious Mexican food--perfect if you're on a budget but still want a sit-down dining experience. I usually order the chicken tacos, and they're always incredibly fresh and consistently delicious. The sauces are especially flavorful and really elevate the dish. Today, my husband ordered the El Ranchero chicken, and all the flavors came together beautifully--rich, well-balanced, and very satisfying. This place is clearly popular, and it's easy to see why. Both the food and the service are consistently top-notch. On several visits, a manager has personally come by our table to check in and make sure everything is to our liking. That level of care really stands out and keeps us coming back. A must-visit on the Eastside! read more

See all

El Risconsito is one of the very few spots open through the late late night available for dine in on the eastside. Overall, I'd say the value is solid for a sit down location, but for tacos, it's pretty pricy and not particularly high quality. Would definitely opt for a taco truck or stand if I was craving Mexican, but if you're looking for a bite after some weekend shenanigans, this spot will scratch that itch. You order at the counter before seating yourself, but the staff will bus your tables. There's plenty of parking available and the salsa bar also has some fresh radishes and roasted(?) carrots that I found to be surprisingly well seasoned. Carne Asada Fries: Fries weren't as crispy as I'd like, but the toppings were solid. Beef was decently tender and they were generous with the amount of guacamole. It was my first time seeing beans on fries, but I thought it was pretty solid. Churros: These are definitely pre-made churros that get re-fried. I continue to be on the hunt for fresh churros in the Seattle area, but I wasn't mad at these. The custard had a nice mouthfeel and creamy sweetness, but the whipped cream was a little odd in that it didn't taste like anything at all. Mulitas: I wanted a little more meat in these, but they aren't bad. I like that some of the cheese crisps up a bit on the edges of the tortilla. If I was a little drunk, these would be elite. read more

See all

After a late night of working and studying, I was so remiss in watching the clock that I didn't realize how much time had flew. However, the thought of going to Taco Bell or McDonald's for the 5th time in a row had me feeling queasy. Luckily, I found this place in an assuming plaza off of 140th that I was surprised to see quite a few people at so late at night. I ordered the carnitas plate and tacos and was pleasantly surprised at the portion size and flavors. I'd highly recommend mixing up your meat orders and going for the taco special. Overall, a cozy diner that has a relatively simple menu, but comfort food. On weekends, even after the bars have all closed and your mother has locked you out of the house because it's past 2 am, you can count on this place to have some good street style Mexican food. read more

See all

Stopped in for a late lunch. Their portions are very big. We ordered a chile verde burrito and spilt the burrito and still had some left overs They offer 4-5 different salsas in a self serve area along with sliced fresh red raddish, lime wedges and pickled carrots and jalapeños. The burrito was tasty and there was plenty of meat and sauce poured over the burrito The prices are reasonable for their portions. They also offer "specials" Would definitely recommend trying this restaurant. read more

See all

Visiting from Texas. Great food, amazing churros, kind employees! Would definitely come back just for the churros.

The food is good, the prices have went up a lot lately. I still go there now and then just not as much as before when it was decent priced thank you read more

So good!!! My fish tacos were flavorful. We came around 5p on a Saturday. Not too busy. Parking is really easy with the strip mall parking lot. Total was $39 before tip for quesabirria, beans and rice, fish taco. There's a dedicated area for toppings and salsas too. Food came out quick. Recommend! read more

See all

Fast casual Mexican. Flavors are strong, food is cooked well. Nothing to write home about but you appreciate the value there. It's well run and I'll take it any day of the week. read more

This is an upscale fast food Mexican restaurant. Order at the counter and it is brought to your seat. There is a nice variety of foods to order and there is a serve yourself salsa bar. The guacamole comes with a generous amount of chips. We ordered a chicken dish without cheese that was tasty. The side of refried beans was also generous but a tad too salty. Maybe it was just the day. We would give this place another try. read more

Another local spot serving up great tacos late at night! They have a big menu with lots of different tacos and meal deals. I got the carne asada and al pastor and they were super tasty. Their meats were well seasoned and paired great with the tortillas that they make in house. The food was also super affordable as well! This is epitome of a late night bite - good food, cheap and easy to eat. Tacos: Carne Asada and Al Pastor Tacos read more

El Rinconsito - Bellevue - Taco - Asada (Steak), Taco - Al Pastor - Mexican Near Me - Bellevue, Washington

Stopped by El Rinconsito around 10 pm for a late dinner. The place was super busy and pretty noisy, but service was quick and smooth. We had to order at the counter and find our own table. We got 3 fish tacos and 4 chicken tacos. The fish was fried and crispy with good amount of slaw, and the chicken tacos were juicy with solid seasoning. Liked them both. Great spot for late-night eats. read more

El Rinconsito - Bellevue - Chicken Tacos - Mexican Near Me - Bellevue, Washington

See all

Perfect resteraunt. Food is great. Service is good Vibe is as expected it's dirty but it makes the food better read more

If they're connected with the Alderwood location...it would make sense why I love these businesses! And it would speak volumes about the quality and service of them both. I got the 5 Tacos combo and wifey got the 2 Birria meal only. Al Pastor (I think its actually adobada) and its always been amazing! Their birria was good and every place is slightly different. I like it here because the consume isn't as oily/fatty as other places. You know the kind that can be good for cars. This one packed flavor and was perfect. I usually toss in the chopped onions and cilantro into the consume. So glad to see this place expanding and the manager talked with us telling us other locations opening up soon...love it! Love the touch of staff interacting with customers bringing that feel of unity. read more

Fantastic Los Angeles style Mexican food , really tasty and authentic. Friendly service, facilities.

Great Mexican food, and seems authentic (though I am not an expert). They were even making handmade tortillas! though I don't think the enchiladas I got came with them. I got the enchiladas plate - I really like that you can choose a different filling for each of the 3 enchiladas. The tongue was most expensive, but also the best - very tender. The plate came with rice and beans, which made the meal overall quite filling and satisfying. I did appreciate the salad bar too - the salad and pickled carrots were tasty, and getting some different salsas was fun. One of my friends got a pollo asado plate which seemed very good value - only 11? dollars! I will probably try that next time. read more

We came here to redeem some free tacos because of the Sounders game we had gone to the day before. They allowed us to pick from 3 different meat choices so we got chicken and spicy pork. We liked that the salsa and condiments had ample ones to choose from. The tacos themselves weren't bad either. The manager walked around and checked on the different tables a few times during our visit to make sure everything was good. read more

El Rinconsito - Bellevue - Spicy pork tacos Chicken tacos - Mexican Near Me - Bellevue, Washington

Even though an instance of a fast food Mexican chain of restaurants, El Rinconsito - Bellevue turned out to serve really good Mexican classics, using deliciously marinated meats, fresh vegetables, and an awesome salsa bar. Translating to 'Little Corner' in English, El Rinconsito - Bellevue is one of fourteen locations operating in Washington state, with the first in Kent opening in 1997. The set-up is similar to other fast food places: you stand in line while perusing the menus above, and then place your order with the cashier, pay, then find a seat. After a few moments, the food will be delivered to you. This gives you time to grab salsa and accompaniments from the salsa bar. I followed the advice of my dining locals and ordered the Enchiladas Mexicanas platter with choice of meat $14.98 (I chose buche, which I THOUGHT was pig head, but ended up being pig stomach (tripe)....big difference...was wondering why none of it had muscle fibers...just tender, slightly chewy offal). I still liked it (and now can say I've eaten pig stomach). It was covered in green sauce, with corn tortillas folded over the generous amount of meat, with shredded lettuce, diced tomato, and chihuahua cheese crumbles. It came with a good dollop of refried beans, and some decent mexican rice. None of it was too heavy, and I ended up not needing any of the salsas I had grabbed from the bar. One of the salsas was orange so figured it was the hottest, but later realized all of it was pretty mild, with the pico de gallo being the hottest (since it had pickled jalapenos in it). My daughter's taco plate came with a drink, and she wanted me to try the mandarin Favorito brand of soda. It was good..couldn't tell if it used cane sugar instead of corn syrup, but since made in Mexico, assuming so. Was trying to decide if better than Jarritos...couldn't decide. The restaurant will bus the reusable plates, so it was easy to leave once we were done. Everything was fast...this would be a good place for a quick lunch. From their website: "Our tasty recipes prepared with quality ingredients at reasonable prices". I completely agree. It was great. read more

See all

I've been eating here for decades, and honestly I've never changed my order. 3-4 carne asada tacos with a fountain drink. The salsa bar is fantastic, and I'm addicted to the pickled carrots. Food is always ready fast and the restaurant is always clean. Do not wear clothes you aren't OK throwing directly in the wash when you get home, you WILL smell like roasted meat and onions. Leave your nice jacket in the car read more

Their carne asada burrito is hard to beat but recently it's been hard to get since carne asada has often not been available at lunchtime. I'm guessing they are suffering the same beef price and availability woes as the rest of us. Hopefully things improve. read more

This is a very generous dish, and very delicious. I was not expecting the size I have to admit. I chose it because I am not happy with the tacos bundle which is going on, where you have to take a soda that I am not drinking. Yummmmmy. And the service is always always friendly and a very efficient. Gracias. read more

El Rinconsito - Bellevue - Pork in Chile Verde - Mexican Near Me - Bellevue, Washington

Authentic food, reasonably priced. Casual dining place with little to no ambiance but place seems to be clean. read more

El Rinconsito - Bellevue - Current menu - Mexican Near Me - Bellevue, Washington

The food is amazing, comparable to mexican home cooking. Highly recommend their carnitas plate.

Every time I come here the tacos sit in a puddle of grease. Last night I went in and got a carne asada burrito and the entire burrito was filled with refried beans with a touch of rice and a few pieces of meat. Why. Disputed charge read more

El Rinconsito - Bellevue - A "carne asada" burrito - Mexican Near Me - Bellevue, Washington

So recently, our order from here, maybe two or three weeks ago on a Sunday I got myself some Menudo. I ordered it from Uber eats and when I got it, the tribe was very thin and I never had like that before and it was very nasty and bland as well too, though I was very disappointed that it would taste it like that right there and I only got one piece of the tribe that was regular size and not super thin cause it made me lose my appetite so I will not be ordering from this place read more

All I got to say is VIVA LA MEXICO! very good quality of food, especially their tacos. Clean restaurant prices are okay. It's a very fast and quick bite type of place. You will not be disappointed. So I go there every now and then. Customer service could be better. The ladies that work there usually active. I do want to ask them on a date but all I want is just to see if my order's ready lady. So they should really teach their staff to properly condone themselves. I especially want to point out mister pedrito, Juan, Jose, Pablo pancho and Javier that are working in the back doing a great job feeling. All of the Bellevue, this is the best aquarium, just because of those ninja turtles. Don't worry, guys. Ice is not coming because if I It's not you, then.We will not have tacos like this read more

The food here always hits! I love all the El Rinconsitos, the food is always flavorful and the portions are good. The only thing I will say about this particular location is that the portion is smaller, relative to other El Rinconsito branches. The staff is always nice and ready to help. It's like a diner vibe, but very inviting and great atmosphere to just sit, eat, and gossip with your friends! read more

El Rinconsito - Bellevue - Burrito Plate with Spicy Pork - Mexican Near Me - Bellevue, Washington

This place is a bit rough around the edges. The food is fine enough--or was before they raised their prices significantly. Based on my last experience I will be looking elsewhere for Mexican in the area. One adult and two kids each with a standard dish and a drink came to ~$50 before tip. Dishes can be made a combo with a drink for $1.50 or so. I placed my order, added a drink for each of us, and then realized I had been charged $2.50 or so for each drink despite ordering the combo. I brought this to the attention of the manager, who did the math and said, "it's only about a dollar difference,"--expecting me to walk away. No acknowledgement, no offer to correct it, no apology. I had to ask for a refund, and the manager was visibly annoyed. The guy that took my order was not friendly or helpful, and normally I would not care, but in asking me if I wanted everything on my torta, he added avocado for an upcharge of $2.99 without telling me about the charge. Nothing annoys me more than being overcharged. Between the prices going up significantly since our last visit about a year ago, the shoddy customer service, and lack of transparency, I will be looking elsewhere for Mexican in the area. read more

This is a good fast food Mexican joint! As soon as we walked in, it was lively and there were a lot of people here but food was fast to arrive. You order at the counter, take a number, and food is brought to your table. Ordered the 4 taco and drink special for $9.99. I liked that it came with a grilled onion and jalapeño! The tacos were a little too greasy for me but still really yummy. Favorite was the asada by far. Definitely a good late night spot for drunchies hahaha. read more

El Rinconsito - Bellevue - Asada, spicy pork, and quesobirria tacos - Mexican Near Me - Bellevue, Washington

Being from SoCal, I miss my favorite Mexican restaurants. I especially miss places like El Pollo Loco and Juan Pollo. So when I saw they were advertising Pollo Asado here, I had to give it a try. Here is my review: Pollo Asado 1/2 Chicken Plate is $19.28. The chicken was served with a very crispy skin, but appeared to have been flattened as if it were cooked in a press of some sort, and not rotisserie. Decent flavor, but was very dry. Plate comes with rice, beans and a side salad. Rice and beans were cold, and the salad was decent size, but had maybe a tablespoon on ranch dressing plopped in the center of it. Corn tortillas tasted home made, and were much larger than a typical corn tortilla. Very tasty. The salsa bar did not disappoint. Pickled carrots were delicious , and the chipotle and avocado salsa were very good. Staff were friendly enough, however, I did order a bottle of water, and when I noticed it wasn't brought out with me meal, I was told I needed to pick it out of the refrigerator in the lobby. I wish the lady at the counter had pointed that out at the beginning. Overall: 3 stars. I'll be back to try other dishes, but sad to say the Pollo Asado was disappointing. read more

See all

Taqueria El Rinconsito is a basic, fast-food like Mexican chain, except with better food. They have multiple locations throughout WA. You order at the counter, and they bring you the food. The restaurant looks like a fast-food place, so this is not quite a date-night place. Service was ok, with minimal contact except the guy at the counter and the person delivering the food. The salsa bar wasn't consistently filled. The scooper was missing from one of the buckets. There were plenty of pickled veggies. While they have the usual plated meals, we opted for street tacos. On the menu, they push hard for the combos that come with the Favoritos soft drink. Neither of us like sugary soft drinks, so we asked about ordering the tacos by themselves. Yes, it can be done. For the online ordering, it is near the bottom. Between the two of us, we tried Adobada (spicy pork), Asada (steak), Champinones (mushrooms), Pollo (chicken), and Carnitas (fried pork). All were $2.32 each except the steak at $2.93. None of them stands out, but it was a reasonably good meal for a low price. If we feel like having street tacos again, we will return. Maybe the salsa bar will be in a better condition next time. read more

El Rinconsito - Bellevue - 5 tacos plate - 3 Asada ($2.93), 2 Carnitas ($2.32) - Mexican Near Me - Bellevue, Washington

See all

Highly recommend the asada fries. They were crispy with a lot of toppings. I will say, I wasn't the biggest fan of the guacamole, and I also don't like pickled jalapeños but it was still pretty good. Their birria tacos are just the birria meat filling with plain tortillas, not grilled and no cheese. They have a toppings station where you can get limes, lettuce, salsa, and radishes and season your food. I honestly couldn't really taste the difference between most of the salsas, but they were all good! From what I remember, I would say the dark red one had the strongest flavor and my favorite was the light green. I think the overall cleanliness could be improved, and the waiters seemed too busy to talk to you unless you went up to them (they didn't give us utensils) but I would definitely go here again. 11/24/2024 read more

El Rinconsito - Bellevue - Asada fries, Taco - Birria (Shredded Beef), Taco - Pollo (Chicken), Taco - Asada (Steak) - Mexican Near Me - Bellevue, Washington

Came here for lunch and to kill some time while my car was being serviced. Unfortunately, it was lunch rush of a decent size. I almost didn't have a spot to sit and eat as it was that crowded on a Weekday afternoon. No kidding the line was out the door and there were two staff were taking orders. So go with one of my favorites of this cuisine - De mole enchiladas - mole enchiladas sauce, cheese, sour cream. A little over and a few extra dollars for a one of their "Favoritos" sodas. I don't recommend. They're like low level Jarritos, get a glass bottle coke instead if need be. The food itself itself was plentiful and filling, but lacked kick I've had from other Mexi spots, both around Seattle and back East which had great flavor. My impressions are that El Rinconsito is fast prep to keep up with the demand as well as the fact it's a mini chain as there are a few of these. So overall, an average Mexi style restaurant that relieve a slight itch for this type of fare. read more

See all

Last time I left a review, it was my 2nd time, and I predicted that I would return many times. Now that I've almost been here 30 times, I can confidently say that El Riconsito knows how to make consistently delicious food. We absolutely love coming here. Friendly service, food takes about 10 minutes to come out, and the asada tacos and enchiladas are staples here. This is our favorite restaurant in the Puget Sound! read more

Amazing mexican food Real mexican food, not the american processed mexican food Clean bathroom also! read more

THE best quesa birrias!!! the flavor and crispness is EVERYTHING. great service and lots of seating! read more

El Rinconsito - Bellevue - Combo Quesa Birrias & Favoritos Soft Drink - Mexican Near Me - Bellevue, Washington

2nd time getting this plate , they never disappoint, the food is always delicious and fresh . They recently remodeled it looks beautiful , I'm from California and this is the only place that can be similar, I love it here and it affordable . Staff is very friendly and it's very clean , when you go somewhere with the bathroom clean says nothing but good quality the value there own restaurant. I will recommend all my family and friends. read more

El Rinconsito - Bellevue - Arroz Con Camarones - Mexican Near Me - Bellevue, Washington

They gave my mom a rose for mother's Day! The food is great also, if a tad expensive, but that's just the way life is right now.

This is one of the best Mexican/TexMex place I have found In Washington. As a hispanic transplant from Dallas Texas finding a hood TexMex location has been hard, lots of Cali Mex here but TexMex is a harder find. EL Rincinsito hit alot of the back home feels I was looking for. Got the Barria Quesdilla, bean burrito and bowl of Mundo with a horchata to dink. Everything was delicious! There is a wonderful salsa/condiments counter with all the extras you need; cilantro/onion, lime, pico, diffrent salsas. The only thing I wish they had was free chips to go with it. Over all I highly recommend. read more

I don't see many quick service Mexican restaurants with such an expansive menu. It's a great place to go for a good variety and it was a nice touch to have the salsa bar. There were even limes on the salsa bar, which is always fantastic. Everything was good, especially the flautas. All the salsas and sauces went well with the meal, including a variety of spicy levels. Overalls just a good experience with lots of food. read more

See all

I love me some tripas tacos, and I know I can always come get some here when I'm craving it. And I like that they open late. Service is quick and friendly. Their tripas tacos have always been good, although they didn't make it crispy once, and I always get it extra crispy. Their quesabirrias are also delicious. read more

See all