The cantina attached has great drink prices and good appetizers. My restaurant experience was incredibly disappointing. Ordered chicken mole and the mole sauce was light and sugary like barbecue sauce. There wasn't even a hint of chile in the flavor. any average chef who had never seen a pepper in their lives could probably stumble into a better mole sauce than this. Additionally, the chicken itself was lukewarm and an extremely small amount, less than 1/4 pound in all. The chips we got with salsa were stale and cold. Shameful and ridiculous to charge $17 plus tax for this. I almost done and dashed I was so disappointed. read more

Pretty good food, good service, good prices. I love gourmet Mexican food, and this was more like a regular Mexican restaurant as far as the food goes. I was happy that they didn't overcook my Carne Asada though. Salsa was ok, chips were good. read more

Pretty good, standard mexican restaurant fare. I like the plates that come with tortillas. Shirley Temple was good.

We ordered the sarape nachos to share between the two of us. It was delicious. I asked for extra guacamole and they brought me the biggest little dish I have ever seen. Also, the service was extraordinary!AND the raspberry margarita was really good, and giant. read more

We've been here twice and really enjoyed the food and drinks. Keep it up. We will be coming back for ceviche and avocado margaritas!

El Sarape is my favorite place to dine out in Shelton. The service is quick and very friendly. I love the atmosphere and the food tastes great. We were having such a nice time we lost track of the time. They were so polite, they never mentioned it, that they were closed and we were the only ones left in the restaurant. This is why we come to El Sarape again and again. read more

DOLLAR TACOS! Best Mexican food I've ever had around here. There are a few options in the area so you've got to keep an eye out for the real deal. The staff is friendly. Salsa is amazing. Menu is full of classic standards and of course...DOLLAR TACOS!!! You can tell when someone cooks with thier heart and this is it. Be back soon! read more

after visiting the cantina and making 2 phone calls to verify my reservation for the fire-pit table (to celebrate our friends birthday) at 5:30 pm on Friday.....was assured We had the area reserved. Arrived at 5:20pm only to discover the table was full of patrons, who had just received their meals. I explained to the bartender I had reserved that area and was told, "no one told me anything but I can put a couple of tables together for you. We declined, the majority of our party left and 3 of us ate in the restaurant, very disappointing and the food was cold and mediocre. If you don't care about your customers, be sure to ignore their reservations. Won't be returning. read more

My understanding is that most of the poorer reviews were written before they hired new staff. I will say this: best Mexican food I've ever had. Hands down and I've traveled all over the country. The enchiladas Sonora was DELICIOUS. Coupled with a blue moon 20 oz draft it was wonderful. Well done! read more

We really like this restaurant. The portion sizes are really good. The food is really good. The service was excellent. Both the non-alcoholic and the alcoholic drinks were very good. The prices were reasonable and both my husband and I left very satisfied. They definitely deserve all the stars. My husband had fajitas and he was more than happy I had a combo meal and I was more than happy I asked for an extra set up which was guacamole pico de gallo and sour cream which was supposed to be an extra charge and they gave me that for free which was very nice. Very good restaurant. read more

Tasteless chips and salsa, waxy cheese and enchilada verde with no green sauce. No one working who cared. My last visit there. Used to be good quick tasty food - I don't know what happened but there was nothing good about this last visit. read more

Never again. I don't think the cooks understand the meaning of WELL DONE. Had my carne asada come back to me WELL BURNT. Food is a no. Customer service is great. read more

We go there often and always have good food and great service. Edie and Eduardo do a great job for us. Every time friends and family come to town they want to go there. read more

We went there a few time when my husband craving for Mexican food. The food was okay, nothing so special. Good service, but could have done better. read more

New place on olympic highway under guise of puerto angeles formerly el sarape its absolutely awful... Rice old. Shrimp overcooked. Would never go again service bad.... Got flour tortillas when asked for corn... Absolutely awful. They have no clue how to make camarones ala diabla. My fiance got sick from poor version of chile relleno. Please dont go staff look like they just got out of bed jeans t shirts was awful. We are from london and california never seen anything so awful u will get sick. Not many decent restaurants in Shelton but happy teryaki is decent. Sushis fresh people nice hole in wall ambience bad but we wish we hadnt spent fourty dollars there. Also they charge 6.75 for a watered down margarita w super nice plastic from dollar store. enjoy!!! read more

I used to LOVE this place. We used to go there at least twice a month or more. The food was always good and the service was great until they MOVED to the new location in OLYMPIA. My review has gone from a 4 star down to a 1 star. The new restaurant looks cool but everything else about this restaurant has gone down hill in my opinion. The old El Sarape was nice and relaxing. The new one is cold and loud. They have reduced the menu and the quality of the food has really gone down. Many restaurants cut corners to bring down their costs and this restaurant has done that. The food does not have the flavor or quality it once did. The service has been extremely slow since they moved and the waitresses in the bar area are extremely snobby. We used to get fabulous fish tacos here but they were removed from the menu. Our second favorite was the guacamole but now it tastes watered down and over salted. They used to serve a decent red wine (Columbia) but now they serve Livingston which is a low grade wine. When we asked the waitress why they didn't have any good wine she said it a "tequila bar" its not a wine bar. El Sarape used to be one of our favorite spots but now the only thing we like about it is the fireplace! read more

Not a lot of choices in Shelton. Dependable, good service, basic taco salad. Good chips and salsa. Stick with "bottled" beer, did not love the margarita. read more

My office is very nearby, so we eat here a lot. Good food, good service, friendly folks. They know us well enough by now to have a pretty good idea of how we like things, and that's nice to have (a small-town benefit!). I'm not a Mexican food expert, and I don't like things spicy, so I appreciate that I can get it how I like it. Some of my co-workers really like things hot, and they are always accommodated, too. read more

My favorite is the cheese enchiladas and my husband really likes the Tacos al Carbon. This is our favorite mexican restaurant in Shelton, WA!! read more

My wife & I were faithful patrons of this place for the past nine years. At times, service was not always the best, but the food has always been wonderful. Lately, however, the customer service and employee attitude toward customers has been downright deplorable. My health has been bad, so I am unable to get out much these days. My wife will go into town for takeout as a result, and now each time she visits this place she leaves feeling disrespected. The last time, she came home practically in tears. She never wants to return. As for their "rewards" program, they treat it as an inconvenience. Not a good way to promote your business! The owner really needs to take hold of this place and fix it. It was one of two decent Mexican restaurants in town. Now we will have to go all the way into Olympia, to Mayan, I guess. I love Mex too much to give it up. This is really a shame. read more

We went for lunch yesterday. The service was horrendous. The waitress dumped the menus on table and left without a word, ignoring our thank you. My daughter ordered her plate with chicken and got all ground beef. The waitress actually argued with us and was very rude to have to take the plate back. Not once did they come to check on us and actually did not even bring us our bill even though we were obviously done after putting our coats on. We eventually just went to the cash register and they did not offer bill. The lady just went up and rang up $60 with out inputting individual items. Calculating prices later, after our meals and tax, it would seem our 2 horchatas and 1 soda totalled around $15...My husband figures they just charged us for the sent back incorrect dish. Not one smile by the wait staff the whole time we were there. We also noticed that the patrons seemed to be segregated. All white people in the middle raised area, while the hispanic people were seated at the window tables around the perimeter. May have been random, but makes me wonder..... read more

Food there is always good. We enjoyed this restaurant for several years. Unfortunately service there has become Horrible. The gentlemen there seem to be polite and helpful, however, there is a female there that ive had nothing but issues with. We avoided the place for about 3 months, as i was tired of getting attitudes and avoidance behavior. Decided to give it another try thinkin maybe just my imagination. Tonight, I returned after 3 months, and same issues with same waitress(must be owners wife or somethin) It seemed to spread to rest of staff as well. Food seems pre-prepared, so all it is is heat & serve. So food is predictable. But service is Lacking. Not somewhere you wanna take Family or Business if you get the wrong crew. We were left alone for nearly 20 minutes with no one checking on us, & it was not bus.. As much as i wanted to just walk out without paying, Ive never done anything to anyone there. i finally got the bill. Nice place, Nice location, good food, Very Attitudinal Service. Use to luv the place. Not goin back. for quite a while if at all. read more