What a pleasant Tex-Mex place in the Lakewood neighborhood. We tried this family-friendly place with our friends on a Sunday early afternoon. The service was super good. Our waitress Lucy was so pleasant and kind. Their chips are served warm with their house-made salsa sauces. Their brunch cocktails have generous portion (Mimosa on the regular wine glasses, instead of champagne flutes, for example), which my friends loved. The steak fajita, their taco salad, chicken enchiladas and the chicken burrito grande were all great. Will return for sure. read more

Good Mexican spot in East Dallas. I like that they have red and green salsas for their chips, their tortillas are great, the owner is usually manning the host stand so service is top notch, and the three times I have been the place has been packed. With routinely good food made quickly served by friendly staff in a cool vibe spot, what's not to like about El Vecino? read more

El Vecino is our go-to for Tex Mex! While it's always crowded, the service is quick so the wait is never too long. My husband and I always it intend to branch out when it comes to our order, but we ALWAYS go back to the Fajitas Picosas- half chicken half steak. These are seriously the best fajitas, topped with yummy queso and crispy onions. We clear the skillet every time. The margaritas are also very tasty-- the el caliente is my favorite because it has a bit of spice. read more

El Vecino - El Caliente margarita - Tex-Mex Near Me - Dallas, Texas

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Great service. We were offered the Salmon plate as the Chef special for the day and it was delicious. It was light and savory, I would order it again if it were part of the regular menu. Always fast and kind service. read more

El Vecino - Salmon dish of the day and Chicken fajitas - Tex-Mex Near Me - Dallas, Texas

My wife and I have been enjoying El Vecino regularly for several years and is always consistently great. From the friendly greeting at the door as we walk in, the prompt seating by the host, the fast service from the server as our order is taken and brought out, the food is great no matter the item on menu we choose. The server is always attentive without being intrusive. Of course this is a Tex Mex place so expect the usual crowds on Wednesdays and weekend nights. A great place for Tex Mex and has won awards each year. Enjoy. read more

Great food. The salsas are yummy. Great service. Even when there is a wait they offer you drinks from the bar. Nice atmosphere. Cute neighborhood spot. I want to catch their brunch next time. read more

Happy hour. Awesome. Food. Awesome. Service. Always great. Weekly specials. Awesome. It can get packed depending on the special. Just be patient. Good thing the bar is next to where you wait! read more

Great service, wonderful atmosphere and excellent food and margaritas! I will definitely be going back on my next trip to Dallas. We went for lunch. read more

Delicious food & great service. Ample parking. Quick to be seated. The rice & beans were my favorite part of the meal. Chips & salsa were excellent read more

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I came here with my grandfather, and we loved that it was amazing. The food service was really great, really friendly really Nash and easy to order. I would definitely come here again with my grandfather and some friends. It was a little bit small but besides, that was perfect to the tacos and tacos out. read more

We arrived on a nondescript Wednesday night, and it was packed! That's always a really good sign that the place has a little something. We were told it would be a 40 minute wait for 4, but the bar service was fast and the waiting space was plentiful, so it would be a pleasant wait. She had a strawberry margarita that was both tasty and generous on the alcohol. I had a beer and before I could finish my beer, it was already time to be seated! Chips - excelente Salsa Verde - excelente Orange Salsa - MUY excelente We had El Ultimo dip and kept the chips coming. Three of us had versions of plates with enchiladas on it. They were all very tasty, and the rice and beans were done right. One of us had street tacos. They were very tasty as well. Service? Meh, but maybe we got a guy on a bad day? We did have to wait quite a bit on refills on beer, water and soda, and the empty margarita was never noticed. We were handed a check without being asked if we were done or if we wanted dessert (or refills of drinks). It just was generally a feeling of "please leave because there are a lot of people waiting." We were there to celebrate though, so we politely told him we were ordering dessert and I was having another beer. The flan was rich and had coconut flakes on it. Very well done. The churros were churros...nothing special but the kids of course scarfed it down. Definitely will be back when Tex-Mex is on the brain...and it is often! read more

Our go-to Tex Mex spot in Dallas! Everything I've tried on their menu is great and consistently delicious. I've taken numerous first timers here and all have said it's the best Tex Mex they have ever had. Staff is friendly and engaging. Love the atmosphere/decor and location is great. read more

El Vecino - Combo fajitas with a seasonal prickly pear margarita. - Tex-Mex Near Me - Dallas, Texas

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Service was great and speedy the waitress was very nice but the food tasted like white people made it

What a nice surprise! Fresh, authentic Mexican food - excellent food and service. The enchiladas and salads were on point!

Great spot. Great service. Love their fajitas but the flour tortillas are mini sized, smaller than the size of my hand.

Really good food, I wouldn't say amazing, but it is good. Prices are fair and they run great specials on both drink and food. The service is also very good. I've been there 5 or 6 times and never had a complaint. The ambiance is not swanky by any means, but it's comfortable, clean, and well maintained. My only (somewhat) beef is that if they're busy and you try to hang out in your booth too long after you're done eating, they will ask you to move to the bar so they can seat someone else. I do get that since hungry people are waiting and if I was a waiting person I'd be all for it. read more

I love that we have this restaurant in our neighborhood and everyone who works there is very welcoming! The food is delicious, the salsa, the chips and a fun environment! Price point and quality of food is good. A place we visit weekly! read more

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Great new Tex-Mex restaurant that really stands up against the other Tex-Mex spots in Dallas! My family (dad, stepmom, brother, and little sister) and I went to El Vecino for lunch near the Christmas holiday, and we all loved it! Since it was our first visit, we decided to share the poco de todo platter (steak nachos, brisket quesadilla, chicken taquitos, guacamole, queso picoso, sour cream, and jalapenos). Other than the queso, which, while it grew on me, had kind of a weird taste, this was a great way to start our meal. Everything was delicious - even my 11-year-old sister liked it all (she stole all the taquitos). Everyone got something different and liked what they ordered. They have your basics: taco salad, fajitas, enchiladas, tortilla soup, tacos, etc. They also serve breakfast all day (huevos rancheros, chilaquiles, enchilada omelette, steak and eggs), which I LOVE. But - and this is where they got me - they also have great classic Mexican dishes (many from the Yucatan and Veracruz regions! Red snapper a la veracruzana (fish a la veracruzana is so delicious - I almost ordered this), chicken breast rolled and stuffed with huitlacoche (also known as corn smut or Mexican truffle - it's fungus that grows on corn; it's a delicacy and it's delicious), chicken mole, etc. There are so many things on this menu that I'd happily order. But my brain said "STOP" when I saw cochinita pibil. Cochiniti pibil is a Yucatecan dish traditionally made in a pibil (an earth oven) in which the pork slow cooks for hours in banana leaves with orange juice, achiote, garlic and other spices. It's like Mexican pulled pork only way, way, way better than any pulled pork I've ever had. El Vecino probably doesn't use a pib to cook their cochiniti pibil, but it slow cooked in a banana leaf. And it's delicious. Delicious. It's served with mini tortillas, poblano rice, beans, and a little bit of a pico). Delicious. That's all I have to say. (I shared it, and it was a good portion to share if you're not starving. It's a lot of pork.) Everyone liked their food so much that we couldn't say no to dessert. Cajeta (goat milk caramel) filled churros with whipped cream. To say they were delicious was an understatement. We almost fought over the last bites even though we were extremely full. (And I'm not even a dessert person.) We were so impressed by the food, but that didn't stop us from noticing the GREAT service (our waiter was awesome, and the manager stopped to welcome us as well) and the beautiful decor. It was simply a great meal. One I hope to repeat when I next visit my family in my hometown! read more

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The food here is always yummy.. We have visited several times. The wait staff have always been friendly and accommodating. The atmosphere is warm and inviting. We are so fortunate to live so close. read more

Great neighborhood Tex-Mex. Always good, decent drinks, friendly service. The only problem is that there is usually a wait for a table. Lol. Good problem to have. read more

Oh El Vecino, how I love thee! Let me count the ways. There a wait? No problem! You can grab a delicious margarita at the bar and by the time your sitting, you'll be feeling it. Queso. You want brunch? They have a pretty good brunch menu, with the only knock going to the chilaquiles. For something so simple it's just not great, so let's ignore that one. Now it's lunch time? While there are the typical delicious staples my favorite is the tacito salad with chipotle ranch. It's a delicious stack of beans and cheese and juicy shredded chicken topped with lettuce in a crispy delicious bowl, and it's always a good choice. And then, dinner! My favorite thing, the thing I can't tear myself from ordering each time is the mole. Mole enchiladas or chicken in mole, both are amazing (if you are a fan of mole on the sweeter side like me.) It's all the flavor with none of the bitterness it can sometimes have. The servers are always nice and attentive, and while there may be a dinner wait on popular nights once you are seated they are always efficient. Plus, everyone I have ever taken here has left loving it just as much as me, so its a crowd pleaser! What's not to like? read more

El Vecino - Pollo en Mole, not pictured are the cute tiny tortillas - Tex-Mex Near Me - Dallas, Texas

Ate here today. Great food, great service easy walk from the lake at white rock. I had street tacos steak, pretty decent wish they had some sorta salsa I could throw on them to make them awesome but they're still worth getting. I also got a chocolate churro which I really enjoyed a lot. It was in the awesome category. The waiter and host were super friendly. I will definitely be back for more! Update: went back to try some other dishes, the enchiladas are not great the plate was super hot like burning hot and the meat inside the enchiladas was barely lukewarm. The shrimp enchiladas tasted super fishy, I've never had fishy shrimp before. Had to deduct a couple stars for that. I recommend you stay away from the enchiladas. read more

El Vecino - Chocolate churros. These were delicious the chocolate was injected into the center of the churro. - Tex-Mex Near Me - Dallas, Texas

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Clean Restrooms were clean Service was fast and good and friendly. Wait wasn't very long. Food was amazing and the portions were large. They do have flautas, but they are not on the menu. They are delicious! Everything is yummy! It was my birthday and they gave me a special treat! read more

El Vecino - Melt in your mouth. Two filled w Carmel, two filled w chocolate. Warm and delicious! - Tex-Mex Near Me - Dallas, Texas

Amazing amazing service. Wait for the food was fast. Food was delicious. pleasant , soft lighting , and good music.

Best local Tex Mex. Great food and service. Always a wait at peck times. Moves fast

Food was bomb af Margaritas are strong low key I feel like they're were tryna get me fucked up lmaooo Nah but fr tho this place is so good :3 read more

Going in, I really did not have high expectations. I thought it would be some mediocre restaurant in old East Dallas serving barely passable Tex-Mex. I was wrong. The food is very good, not quite Meso Maya, but very solid Tex-Mex in a city that has literally thousands of Tex-Mex choices. This restaurant fills a void in that particular East Dallas neighborhood and I predict it will be successful for a long time as long they keep doing what they are doing. We started with Ultimate queso that was really good, maybe not quite to Mariano's level but very tasty ($7.95). Chips were not greasy, although we needed more. The portions are big here so we decided to split the Big John Platter ($14.95) that has a crispy taco, tamale, two enchiladas, and rice and beans. Wow, everything was really, really good. We loved the sour cream enchilada, one of the best I ever had. Chicken was tender and flavorful. The cheese enchilada with chili con carne was the best I ever had. The tamale was also excellent. It was the perfect dish to share and we both left full but not stuffed. Margaritas were good. I had two. The second was stronger and better. Our server Armando was friendly and really seemed to care that we had a good time and good food. We'll be returning for sure. read more

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Always friendly service and good food. But the margaritas are . Highly recommended.

Average Tex Max a place to eat at if you live directly in the White Rock Lake neighborhood. I had the beef enchiladas read more

El Vecino - Beef enchiladas - Tex-Mex Near Me - Dallas, Texas

I really like the decor. It's industrial crossed with gothic and Tex mex. The staff were all smiling and happy to wait on our table. Edgar was our waiter. We didn't want for anything, he was so accommodating. As much as I love the atmosphere it really boils down to the food. Everyone at my table were pleased with their dishes. We had red snapper, enchiladas, fajitas and I got the nachos sucio. Nachos sucio are nachos topped with queso, guac, sour cream, jalapeños and your choice of chicken, fajita beef or a combo of both. While my friends enjoyed their food, I smiled and engaged in great conversation.... as I didn't want to spoil the moment by letting them know my nachos were not served crunchy. They were served soggy kinda like captain crunch cereal which has been in the milk too long. I think the kitchen fixed my plate first instead of leaving it for last. The chicken and beef were cold. The queso was cold and tasted like an off brand of velveeta. It's was watery and not very cheese tasting. It may have just been watered down too much. It just was not the dish 4 me. A dish I could not recommend to anyone. Now they do have a very good drink called "The V" it's blood orange, blue néctar tequila, limke juice and serrano. It's freaking awesome. If I were you, order two or even 3! I'm am certain after the 3rd one you would then be able to enjoy the nachos I was served today. read more

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My hubby got me #8 EL CUENCO (BOWL) from lunch time. I ate a couple days later at work. Diced avocados were not discolored at all, lettuce not soggy w diced tomatoes!!! What's the magic? Can't have enough good food from here read more

We visited this restaurant on our way back from the Dallas Arboretum after seeing the holiday lights. We reached the restaurant around 8:00 PM and we were seated immediately and the Chips and Salsa arrived almost immediately. The Salsa Verde looks deceptively mild but packs some real punch. We ordered Chicken Enchilada and Mexican Stir fry with Chicken. The Enchiladas were well cooked and was flavorful. The Mexican Stir-fry was something very different. Well seasoned grilled chicken breast sliced over a bed of sautéed vegetables. A place where the food is hot, hospitality is warm and the beer is cold. What else do you need! read more

Really good food, enchiladas are great, friendly staff and service! I recommend getting there a little early, as there is always a wait read more

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Just love this place, they really take care of their staff as they are a staple at El V and if you go a lot, like we do, the staff really make it fun! We tend to sit at the bar and Jose and Fern make great cocktails and always find a way to make room for us! Yat is a great server, you can tell he really loves his trade. I have to say there are so many challenges right now with the restaurant industry and El V has embraced the challenge with a great take out operation and quality control (orders are always right). Thank you for a true gem in EAST Dallas! read more

Wish I would of taken a photo, but the next time I come back I'll definitely be adding them. I had the Charlie Enchiladas they were amazing. I also enjoyed a Strawberry Mojito, which let me tell you they are not shy with their alcohol. WIN !!! Overall experience was great! Arrived here on a Saturday night for dinner, service was great and fast. read more

I came to El Vecino a little late (early this year) and I've been meaning to write a review for a while now. I go there almost every Wednesday because it's Enchilada Special Day. Chicken enchiladas are just about my favorite Tex Mex dish, and I honestly think El Vecino's are the best chicken enchiladas in town. They also make a delicious quesadilla with a cup of chicken tortilla soup. And they don't skimp on the sour cream & guacamole that comes with it like most restaurants do. The Lasana Mexicana (Mexican Lasagna) is out of this world & HUGE! I always end up taking some of it home. The service matches the food - great, with everyone smiling & helpful, & they always ask me if I'd like a tea to go (I usually drink iced tea). If you like Tex Mex, try El Vecino. read more

We dine here at least once a week. Service is top notch. Not to mention that it is always busy and the food a great and always consistent.

This is one of the best Mexican Restaurants in town. Eat there and order what sounds like a SaltilloPlate. Hmmmm. Where did I taste this before? At El Fenix back in the day before the family sold it off. I don't know to who but they are not doing a good job. It is my understanding that El Vecino's owner is related to the family that started over 100 years ago with their great grandfather's recipe that were originally introduced Tex Mex to Big D. Go on - you know you are curious. Go try El Vecino read more

Good food, but nothing special. Expect a little bit of a wait to get in. Service was fast but a little bit too fast. A bit loud inside. Not worth the cost when you consider the other options in Dallas. But still good TexMex read more

I love this restaurant. I go with family and I love the brisket street tacos. I 100% recommend this place.