Went camping up in Big Trees and we decided to extend our vacation and stay in Arnold for a couple of days. We had heard good things about the restaurant so we decided to try it out. Well, as you see by my rating, we weren't overly impressed. The food was ok but what irritated us was our waiter. I have never encountered one that was so rude and acted like he didn't want to be there. The women staff we're very nice and helpful but he was just plain rude. Maybe it was a bad night for him but if this is your normal personality....you may want to try another profession. Your restaurant draws not only your locals but people who travel through or like us, enjoy the ambiance of your beautiful town. We have been greeted by all businesses, making us feel that our patronage is always welcomed...until now. Hope it can be worked on...fast. read more

The food was excellent quality and the service was super responsive! We had the tilapia and bob's special. So good! With 4 beers our bill was less than $60. read more

El Vaquero Authentic Mexican restaurant is very good food. If the weather is warm we like to eat out on the patio. You will not get cloth napkins, but you will get great service. read more

New resident in Arnold. Have ordered a dozen times for pick up. Friendly family run establishment. They work hard to get your order done quickly. Food is good. We typically order the tostadas, super wet burrito with carne asada and chili Relleno. Always good and great service. read more

Sub par Mexican at best! Two stars because the waiter was great-no complaints with him! The food was not good! We had locals, waiting for a table, saying that this Mexican food was great! Get out of Arnold people and you will find great Mexican food! The carne asada was thin and tasteless and the green sauce that they use to smother all of the dishes with was gross (among other complaints) . Very disappointed. read more

The Cowboy - very good Mexican food deep in the Sierra. We had a fajitas-type dish that was called something else; a dish with scrambled eggs, cactus and chorizo; enchiladas, quesadillas and tamales. Kudos for a cabbage salsa that was served with the chips. The only thing preventing a four-star rating is surly service. read more

Had a group of 16 this time and were seated right away, our drinks and chips and salsa came out fast and were great again. Of course I had Carnitas again and it was great as usual. We all had fast friendly service and good food. Looking forward to going back! read more

Excellent food I had the combination Chili Reno and carne Assad taco. Mark had some kind of chicken garlic gravy sauce stuff he loved it Great service and friendly staff. Very very small place. Can get loud in there. But will definitely go back read more

Wonderful mole poblano. Wonderful chile verde. Amazing that there's a Mexican restaurant this good in Arnold! read more

This place is BOMB. I've been to arnold 3 times in the past 3 years and never had food this delicious and so full of taste ! Oh yeah and also affordable! 4 adults, one toddler and a few beers the total was 86. Win win ! Must try if you're in town ! read more

Good quality Mexican food and good service. Nice little seating outside. Lunch specials are a good deal. We had a great experience here for lunch after hiking at Big Trees. read more

Thank you so much for taking care of our Rehearsal dinner needs on 08/15/2014! The service on catered food was great! The food as always was authentic Mexican food that taste great. The only thing that would have made this transaction easier was use of credit card. But it's a little town, not in the big city anymore, right. Thanks again read more

Food is excellent and worth stopping. But watch the waiter he overcharged us. By the time we caught it we were on the road. Second time in this area we were overcharged "MATH HARD" read more

Consistently good Mexican food. We got takeout tonight to bring back to our cabin and enjoy on the deck. We adore their tortilla soup and chicken enchiladas with red sauce. We have also enjoyed their tacos and taquitos. Everything tastes homemade and portions are good. We've been coming here for about 5 years now since we found property in the area. Access to quality Mexican food is important to us! With so many businesses going out of business in the area and changing hands, this has been reliable. Give it a try! read more

Great meal. I ordered the 2 item combination plate, a Chili Verde burrito & shrimp enchilada. A little while after giving my order, I started to wonder if my order was going to take a while. I then realized two things, I wasn't in the Bay Area anymore & things thankfully don't move in a "hustle & bustle" fashion, secondly the staff was very personable. To top it off, the food was very flavorful. I only wished I hadn't eaten so much so I could've saved room for dessert. They have one of my favorites, deep fried ice cream & the special was a crusted Philly cheese cake w/ ice cream. Looks like I'll be back, maybe soon since read more

I do like the food at this restaurant. I've eaten here with family and friends a number of times, and recently have brought my wife here a couple of times and they have been able to accommodate her in her wheelchair. I assumed this would be the case last Saturday night when I came with her and my son. Granted, this was Memorial Day weekend, and we were willing to wait, and did wait for a table to open. As the table was being cleared, another gentleman came in and a different waitress asked him 'how many in your party?' He responded '13'. She said 'no problem, we will push tables together.' He said 'Well, we're not all here yet, there are only three right now'. She responded 'No problem we will go ahead and get you seated now'. Our original waiter came over and asked if we would be willing to sit out on the patio. Yeah, right. There are steps to get up there, and it is down to about 62 degrees out there already. He said well, we can try to accommodate you in a booth. No, that will not work. We headed on out the door. Lo siento, El Vaquero, pero mi familia y mis amigos se llevarán nuestros negocios a otra parte. read more

We stopped here for lunch and loved the friendly service, delicious food and nice outdoor seating. Will definitely be back the next time we're up here! read more

My hubby and I ate a late lunch now twice here at El Vaquero ( once in May & now in Sept.) and everything was authentic and delicious. A refreshing Sangria was how I started along with complimentary chips and salsa. It was lovely to eat on the deck during Covid and enough shade was provided by the colorful umbrellas. I ordered a the Sope ( thick hand made corn ) with chicken and chopped iceberg , sour cream, Pico de Gallo atop. Hubby had the Ajo ( garlic ) prawns which were also filling and delicious. The meal came quickly and Our waiter and waitress who were attentive refilling an iced tea or water as well. The refried beans were creamy with enough melted cheese and Spanish rice was moist but not mushy , that's the best measure of a Mexican restaurant in my book. We will continue to dine here. read more

Great Mexican food. Our favorite dish is their fajita tostado. The best I've had and I have ordered this at many restaurants. I just wish they had a full bar as I like to have a margarita with Mexican food. read more

We love the people and the food at El Vaquero's. Plus they have take-out which has been really helpful during the time of Covid!

By far one of the best places to get food in Arnold, chicken enchiladas were money and their green verde sauce was some of the best I've had so far. Jalapeño s weren't to spicy which is more my style and my girls loved it. And for a good price too! read more

We spend the summer in this area. We really like the food here. Good service, and reasonable. I love the sauces they put on the burritos.

Yesterday I came here for lunch. Ordered a combination plate with an enchilada and a taco. I specified carnitas as the filling for both, and the waiter repeated it back to me. After a while, my plate arrived. Turns out it was a cheese enchilada and a chicken taco. I summoned the waiter and showed him that in fact I did not get carnitas, I got cheese and chicken (and neither was good). He said he'd check with the manager and see what they could do. He came back after a while with a revised check, which I paid. They took the enchilada off the bill but charged me for rice (which I barely touched) and beans and the taco. That was NOT the way this should have been handled. I have been a regular customer, and I know the waiter recognized me by how he greeted me when I arrived. I won't be arriving again. read more

Great service, delicious food! I've been there many times and will go again. This is our go to place when we have visits in town. Love it

The food was very good. The 5 year old in our group proclaimed that the carnitas burrito was "really, really, really good." Dad had a combo which he also liked, but he thought the carnitas were a bit salty. I had pollo en crema which was good, but a little runny. All in all, a better meal than we were expecting. It hit the spot after a day packed with skiing, damn making at the river, and large snow sculpture making. Service was decent, but it was initially hard to get the 5 year old what she wanted. They kept steering us to the kid's menu. She knew EXACTLY what she wanted and even after us saying that price didn't matter, they kept trying to get us to do something different. Small glitch that should be ironed out. read more

First time in Arnold so I asked some locals for their recommendation when it came to "good Mexican food". The Clerk at the resort where I am staying recommend "El Vaquero" immediately. I live in Southern California where there are numerous Mexican restaurants located from Palm Springs to San Bernardino and from Yucca Valley to Temecula. Unfortunately, El Vaquero ranks in the lower 33% of the range of Mexican food that I have had the opportunity to consume. The rice and beans were generic (beans weren't anyway near the average). The cheese enchilada was also generic and bland. However, the bright spot was the chicken enchilada approached the average range. I have eaten "average" Mexican food that cost have the price of the bill that I was presented with at El Vaquero this week. That translated into paying about 14 dollars instead of 28 dollars for food that was below average compared to most Mexican restaurants in Southern California. read more

Dinner 1/3/14 - Arrived @ 5:15 pm and there were only 3 other diners but by the time we left around 6:15 pm the place was packed with approx 40 seats filled. From initial greeting/seating and departure the service was very attentive. We ordered the Chili Relleno and 2 Tamale dinners. Everything was delicious including the re-fried beans which were fresh and flavorful. My dinner partner said she thought this was in the top 3 on Mexican restaurants she has experienced. Will definitely return. read more

This place is great, the food is delicious. Just loved my shrimp dish, my husband thought his burrito was fabulous. Reasonably priced. There was a wait for our food but worth the wait. read more

Great eccentric cuisine are usually get a super burrito no hot sauce either chicken or Porch when you go there go out of your comfort zone and try something different You will not be disappointed you can call in an order and pick up I sit out on the patio or eat insideThis little gem is worth trying read more

After a weekend of camping at Calaveras Big Trees, coming here for a wet burrito was like going to heaven. I had the best wet burrito I have ever had! I almost ordered the veggie, but decided to go for the Picante Shrimp burrito, and what a good call it was. Both the red and green sauces were amazing and medium spicy, the shrimp was very tasty and larger than expected, and the refried beans melted in my mouth. I would go back and stay at the inn across the street just so I could hang out on the deck at Vaquero's with some friends on a sunny Saturday afternoon. I didn't have any drinks, but next time I'm spending more time with a margarita in hand too! The service was also great, chips, salsa and pickled cabbage brought out right away. We were starving, so we were glad they took our order right away too. I can't wait to go back! read more

Omg this is one of the best Mexican food I have ever had !!! So flavorful...I had a combination plate with a Chili Rellano, Tamale and Enchilada and their Tortilla soup is the bomb !!!! You won't be sorry. All delicious...can't wait to come back up here!!! read more

This restaurant was good, but not great. The service was pretty slow, so if you are in a hurry, it probably isn't the place for you. The servers were all friendly and we weren't in a huge hurry, so that wasn't a big deal. You can dine inside or out on the patio. The patio is nice, although it is right next to the road, so you get a lot of road noise. The inside looked nice, too. We ordered the beef and chicken fajitas for two. It was OK. The meat was a bit tough, but it was fairly tasty. The tortillas were good and warm. The guacamole was good and the salsa was pretty good. They have a good variety of beers to choose from. For the price, it was a pretty good meal. read more

Vegetarians and Vegans visiting this area will be glad this place is here.. I know I was!! Beans made without lard and they were really nice about my requests. I had sopes without meat and was asked if I would like fajita veggies in place.. um yes! And a side of guacamole. Asked for no cheese on sopes and they didn't put cheese on the beans either without me having to say it. Nice staff. And really good food! My dad had tamales and hubby had huevos rancheros all of us were full and really enjoyed our food! There are not many places in the area that even have vegetarian option so I'm glad we stopped here read more

Worst Mexican food ever!! Service was awful. Save yourself the money and time. If you live in Arnold or are passing through don't stop here Just keep going. Owner need better management. read more

Good food and good service. The wet supremo burrito was delicious. Great outdoor area for dining and nice people working here. Definitely recommend this spot. read more

My family and I are up here for the weekend. Went here for dinner after a long day and hike in the redwoods and let me tell ya OMG! The best Mexican food We've ever had! Made us feel like home! Thank you guys for your service and we plan to visit very soon. read more

Love this place. We're regulars anytime we're in town

I went here with my family and they were extremely rude to us. It seemed like they thought their only job was to take your order and bring you that food. When we asked for another basket of chips, since they only gave us one for a table of more than eight people, our waitress rolled her eyes like we were stealing from them. After more than 10 minutes of waiting we still didn't get our chips so I waved down our waitress. She made clear eye contact and nodded at me and then went to a totally different table to serve them. After she was done she walked right back up that ramp literally looking me straight in the eye. She never visited our table after that so my dad had to go up to the little corner where they were all hiding to get our chips. After that point the dinner was unbearable and they were rude with every plate they put down. That was until the check came and they quickly changed their attitude. I regret giving my business to this place not only because of the service but also because of the food. Crunchy, dry rice and beans without any salt. This place was all around pathetic. Too bad it's one of the only Mexican food places in the area. read more

The food is amazing, especially their chicken fajita burrito! We order every time we come up to Arnold. Customer service is great, too. Highly recommend! read more

Best Fajitas I've ever had. This place is small but so darn good. The staff is friendly and the food comes out quick. I'm surprised they don't have more stars. We come every time we are here. read more