We've been to El Tapatio multiple times now, and every single visit has been consistently amazing. We actually drive about 30 minutes from Eugene to come here, and it's 100% worth it every time. The food is always fresh, flavorful, and some of the best Mexican food around. We've tried a variety of dishes and honestly haven't had a single miss. What really sets this place apart is the service. Adrian is hands down one of the best servers we've had anywhere. He's attentive, personable, and makes the entire experience feel effortless. You can tell he genuinely cares, and it shows. The entire staff is welcoming, friendly, and on top of everything. It's one of those places you don't just go to, you look forward to coming back. Highly recommend. We'll absolutely keep making the drive. read more

Took my mom out for her birthday tonight. This is always such a nice place to have a beautiful atmosphere the staff is so nice and the service is quick. The food is so full of flavor and portions are perfect. Always a favorite. read more

El Tapatio Mexican Restaurant - Picadillo burrito (closer) and carnitas burrito - Mexican Near Me - Cottage Grove, Oregon

We ordered: 1) chili verde - 5/5. Pork was perfectly cook. Verde sauce not too salty. And 2) fish tacos - 5/5. Grilled fish was well seasoned and not overcooked. Staff super nice. Wonderful find off of I5. read more

El Tapatio Mexican Restaurant - Fish tacos - Mexican Near Me - Cottage Grove, Oregon

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Best sit down Mexican place we've eaten at anywhere in a long time. Fantastic quick attentive service as well. Chips are served with fresh salsa and a hot refried bean dip. Portions are generous. Very nice garnishes. Choice of Mexican style rice or cilantro rice as well as refried beans, whole beans or black beans. The carne asada was fantastic as well as the carnitas plate. Highly recommend. read more

We have been here so many times that I can't count. That alone should tell you how much we like this restaurant. This time I had the Grande Combination with a shredded chicken enchilada and shredded chicken tostada and, of course, refried beans/black beans and Spanish rice. So good! This time we came with relatives from out of town. Twelve of us in all. Everyone enjoyed the food they ordered, the fun Mexican decorations, and we all had a good time together. The wait staff even came out with a large sombrero for my 90 year old Mom, brought her a large slice of cake, and sang Happy Birthday to her. We were able to sit and enjoy our time together, without feeling rushed. Just as an FYI, they do charge an automatic gratuity for large groups. read more

Beautiful decorated interior. Ordering was easy. The food was delivered fairly quickly. We were given a basket of nacho chips & two dips: salsa & bean. DH the Chili Releno Combo, which came with rice & refried beans. The food tasted very good. I ordered Enchilada and a taco. I thought they were good. Restrooms were immaculate. We waited quite a long time for our bill to arrive. The food was quite reasonable in price. read more

Favorite Mexican restaurant in Lane County! Big beautiful building, great service, and the best food! They even have a bar side and do karaoke on certain nights. They always make sure you have chips, beans, and salsa until your food is ready. read more

Excellent chips and salsa, the freshest guacamole prepared table-side and yummy Molcajete.

Four of us ordered guacamole and dinners. Two of the four were fantastic. My son and I both had versions of the same thing that were really subpar. He got a large platter, which included shrimp diablo. I got pollo Diablo. Both of us were NOT impressed. It was like I got half and onion cut up, half a chicken thigh, and a bunch of mushrooms, all smothered in 2 1/2 gallons of spicy ketchup. It was horrible. Very little chicken, and ketchup was splattering everywhere. Seriously, spicy ketchup. I hate less than half and then just ate the rice and beans. Only bad experience there in four visits. Pull that dish off the menu, or work on the recipe (and really, lots less sauce!!), and they'd be better off read more

Genuinely incredible. Our waiter was one of the kindest people in the world, constantly offering us more water and checking in. The food was so insanely good, with such fun things like the steaming chicken and veggies on the pan and them making the guacamole at your table. The theme of the restaurant was so cool with beautiful booths and ambiance and a great vibe. Overall this was a hidden gem and everyone should pull up because it was amazing. read more

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Excellent food and very good service. Love that they have little individual pizzas for kids. I actually like them myself a lot the pizzas.p

I was surprised by how much I enjoyed eating at El Tapatio! We were visiting from out of town and were spending the day in Cottage Grove, OR. Initially, I didn't have high hopes because when I sat down to look at the menu, I realize this was a chain. However, I was wrong. We had a late lunch at the restaurant around 2pm and ordered: -Chimichanga -Enchiladas suiza (chicken breast) -Steak fajitas The food was 10/10 delicious. The service was friendly and attentive. The decor and ambience were nice. Restrooms were very clean. Overall lunch for 3 people came out to be ~ $75 I would recommend this place for lunch or dinner and I'm looking forward to eating here again in the future read more

Favorite Mexican food in the area! Often, mexican restaurants in Oregon all tend to taste the same, but El Tap stands apart. Great service, ambiance, drinks, and food is always quality. Chips, salsa, and beans are complimentary as you take your seat. Dont even have to ask for refils as they are brought before asking even during busy dinners. We make the drive from out of town and come back time after time read more

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I love this place, the food is amazing. All gluten free items on their menu are clearly marked. Great customer service, I would definitely recommend the horchata. So delicious. read more

I visit at least once I week since I moved here. I love the atmosphere in the bar-side of their huge building - nice and bright and airy. Elizabeth is a fantastic server - always friendly and goes above/beyond expectation. The daily lunch specials are a great value for how much food is served, and the chips with salsa and warm re-fried beans are delicious. Good beer selection on tap as well. read more

Wasn't crazy about the fish tacos. It has just a few in each taco and it wasn't grilled or flavorful, it was very plain and bland. Considering this is supposed to be authentic Mexican, didn't meet the bar at all. The taco tortillas were also very soggy and were falling apart when trying to eat them even though they were double layered. The sampler dish was just ok, would t order that again either. Even the margarita wasn't anything to write home about. Not enough alcohol in it, had to order a shot to add to it. The ambiance was very authentically Mexican but that was about it. read more

Probably some of the best customer service I've ever had at a restaurant. Prompt seating, orders taken and drinks delivered. Table side quac was fantastic, couldn't recommend more. Open late on the weekends! read more

Such a wonderful place for a savory lunch or dinner. The chips and salsa are delicious, the drinks perfectly prepared, and the menu is full of all of your favorites. Our waiter, my favorite, Pablo was very helpful, attentive and not hovering made it a complete joy. read more

The food is good and the staff is friendly. We have been going here for years and have been disappointed.

This is more service related than anything else...and it was BIZARRE! Today I placed an online order, as I've done many times before, following their prompts, ordering what they told me was available, and answering all of their "what do you want in this" "what do you want in that" questions. 15 minutes later my order was in my car and I was headed home. Sadly, the order was wrong (no biggie, it happens), but this is where the fun begins. I checked my order confirmation to verify that I did everything right, then called to let them know. I figured this would be a simple situation where they'd apologize and offer a refund or gratis margarita on my next visit, but instead I was met with immediate resistance. He insisted several times that they do not offer the particular item I ordered, that I should not have ordered it, and that basically it was a "me" problem. This was before we even discussed a possible solution. If I wanted to discuss a refund, I'd need to talk to someone else, but he would not tell me who or how to get in touch with this individual. I could tell this was going nowhere fast, so I said I'd call back and/or email the restaurant. A few minutes later he called back with a rude and hurried tone, and when I started to speak, he cut me off and said "can I finish", then proceeded to say he'd spoken to his manager and he's been authorized to give me a refund, I asked if they'd be able to reverse the charge on my card, and he replied "if you want your money, you have to come get it". When I got to the restaurant, I waited at the empty front counter for a minute or two, then noticed on the counter there was $12 under a shot glass (the exact total for my order, minus the tip). They wouldn't even give me my refund in person and instead left cash on the counter!!! I can't imagine the battle I'd be in had someone else taken the money....I'm sure they would have blamed me and said I should have not taken five minutes to get back . The whole thing was bizarre and appalling...especially for $12 and for something that was clearly their mistake. Many things could have made this easier on everyone: -make sure your ordering site is accurate. -if something is not available, call the customer and inform them. -when a customer receives food they didn't order, apologize and offer a solution. -don't treat the customer like your mistake is theirs, just fix it. If they had just apologized and even offered a margarita on my next visit, I would have said "not a problem, it happens! I'll see you on taco Tuesday!", but they didn't. They chose the difficult and grumpy route. The food was just "ok" to begin with, but we did enjoy their taco Tuesday event. Sadly, we will not be back. This town is way too small to treat locals poorly. read more

Great food & excellent service. The prices are great and the food is fresh and delicious.

I was quite impressed. I got my order to go. It was ready right on time and the service was great! Friendly and personable. I had the queso cheese and chips, albondagas soup and the taquitos as my main entree. The queso cheese was delish! The chips tasted fresh and the cheese was a nice consistency with really good flavor. The soup was full of flavor with a nice portion of meat and vegetables. Very balanced. The taquitos were really good. I had the chicken taquitos and they were filling and had great flavor. The black beans were fresh and the rice (which I do not normally like rice) was cooked perfectly (not hard and not overcooked mush). Truly a very flavorful meal with really nice portions. Great mexican food!!! read more

Ok here is the deal.I have been to a few of these restaurants. Sacramento was hands down the best missed the brunch by a few minutes but relied on my favorite combo meal. Not the second best was in cottage grove Not the one in Astoria so hit and miss sometimes it's good and sometimes it's not good luck now the one in Portland it's bad service and food unbelievable how bad it was.So there you have it. read more

Food was good, staff was great, but a girl came in with a puppy in her hands( there is a sign saying " Service Animals Only") they seated her. Wtf I will be calling the health dept in the morning. read more

Food and service was amazing! My kids loved the pina colada :) We were so happy we chose to stop as traveler to Portland! The restaurant was also very clean and inviting. read more

Second time eating here. Our power went out in the neighborhood so we made a family night out. I was sad cause power went out at dinner time and was craving a hot meal. THIS PLACE HAS NOT LET US DOWN BOTH TIMES!! The food is so fresh and so hot, it's amazing. We 9rder the Beef Colorado Burrito and the El Diabla Burrito with shredded beef. The meat is so tender, my fiance said his only complaint was running out of good food. The staff is amazing, they serve beans with the chips and salsa which is rare. It's a big, cozy lit, and have a separate bar area. All in all customer service 5 stars, food 5 stars, ambiance 5 stars, cleanliness 5 stars. Wonderful place in a small town!!!! read more

The food is just okay. Service is very good, but the food falls short. Won't be visiting again.

It has been a few years since I have stopped in here. I am not usually in the area to dine. I have been looking forward to coming back for the food, I remember it was good when he ate here last. I just honestly can't remember what I had. I am shocked I have not checked in, and or have pics to show for. I must not have had my phone with me when we dined here. The service here was great then, and was great this time around. The only difference now, they are having to take extra precautions for corona virus. They were very attentive, kept the chips, and salsa full. Which by the way the salsa way very tasty. I hate it when you go some where and it is not good. I was impressed with the size of my chicken mole dish. It wasn't the best I have had. I don't think I will order it again, it wasn't terrible. I have definitely had worse. I know I have had good food from here a few times, so I won't write a bad review based a a dish, I semi liked. I am thinking the dishes I might have had would have been... carne asada plate, beef chimi changa, and steak fajita. I think we came here a few times in a row in one weekend a few summers back. I overheard someone from the next table ask for something that doesn't seem to be on the menu that sounds delicious which might be a dish in a pineapple. Wouldn't mind trying that out. read more

El Tapatio Mexican Restaurant - Chicken mole. - Mexican Near Me - Cottage Grove, Oregon

As you walk in you are greeted promptly and we were seated immediately. We had our chips and salsa very quickly. Our drink order was taken just as fast. The menu is full of choices that look great. The salsa provided with chips is fair in taste but could be better. The food we ordered was very good with plenty of flavor. The portion size vs price was also great. We will make this a regular stop when in the area. read more

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In town for track meet wanted Mexican food best service ever-refilled salsa-beans-water and drinks without even asking-dinner was great too

Celebrated my brothers 21st birthday here and the staff were attentive and quick to take orders for a large group, food came out at a reasonable time, and was great as always! Drinks were made well also! Would recommend read more

Everything was excellent ! On our way home to Washington on our trips, we go out of our way to stay in Cottage Grove just to have dinner and the best Margaritas at this very special restaurant. read more

Fantastic food having my wedding reception there this weekend the service is amazing and the manager was wonderful!

This is my favorite Mexican food in town. We have 3 different mexican restaurants, two are very good and the other is just so, so. This one is very good. Their drinks are strong and the beers are cold and all the food is very, very good. El Tapatio and Azteca Sol are both the best in town, you won't be disappointed. The carnitas is especially delicious. read more

El Tapatio is a great place to meet up with friends! Taco Tuesday is my fav, in the bar $2 tacos with 5 different meat choices. They have handmade tortillas and a do it yourself taco bar with great taco fixings. Get there early because it does get busy! Their drinks are great too! read more

I have not ate there in a long time, but I was never overly impressed with them to begin with. I met a friend for lunch today there though and I had to Pastore tacos with rice and beans the beans were dry and crusty the rice had no flavor and the tacos were terrible! I'm Hispanic I don't expect it to be like the food that I could make it home but my goodness they need to step up their game, it's not authentic Mexican and I didn't expect it to be perfect but I expected it to at least have flavor. read more

Not to busy for late afternoon on a Saturday. The restaurant was clean and very appealing. Food was awesome as was the drink. A little disappointed with the wait to get water, & order to be taken however definitely would go back. read more

Really tasty Mexican food and a cute place! Portions could be a bit bigger for the price tho and the front desk workers aren't always very friendly so brace yourself for that if you're getting takeout! Overall I would recommend! read more

El Tapatio was a fresh take on authentic Mexican food. I was able to try a sampler dish and their shrimp and veggies in a pineapple dish. Both are must orders! Service was quick and very friendly and during COVID there were no hiccups and the staff was very professional in their procedures. Ask for Adrian, wonderful server! read more

El Tapatio Mexican Restaurant - Jalapeño Margarita! - Mexican Near Me - Cottage Grove, Oregon

El Tap is a Cottage Grove staple for as long as I remember. The service is always top notch, fast and friendly. A few of the servers have been there for years and I like that consistency. Portions are large, like serving platter large, depending on what you order and their food is tasty. They do have some unique dishes that you won't find at other places in town as well as familiar favorites. Prices are definitely higher than other restaurants serving the same type of cuisine in town but, as with any restaurant, people will have their favorites and may be willing to pay more for that. They do have a good bar and I see it is often packed so that must be a good sign. I noticed they recently updated the menu and have some different daily specials for lunch. I would recommend lunch as prices are a little lower. read more