The salsa was thin, like tomato juice after you shake up the can. I could taste the onion, the cilantro... What was missing... Pepper, cumin - anything to jazz it up. I ordered the enchiladas Jalisco with chicken. Again. The verde... spice free... The cream sauce was decent. Tasted like I would expect an enchilada to taste in Iceland from someone who has never had actual Mexican food. The first hint of pepper was a bit of ancho in the red sauce. But even it was under seasoned, under spiced, and not something I ever want to eat again. The service was excellent all things considered! read more

Been going there for as long as they have been in OH, even multiple buildings. The cheese enchiladas are the best also the carne Asad burritos! read more

The food was excellent! I ordered the chicken chimichanga. The chicken was either pulled or shredded, just how I wanted it. The chimichanga tasted great. The service was excellent. Even though I had to return my Arnold Palmer drink twice, because something was floating in the glass when I stirred it, my server did not lose his patience or did he get frustrated. He worked with me to get a drink that didn't have floaters in it. The restaurant was very neat, tidy, and clean. I sat in a booth with overstuffed bench seats. It's been my experience that most places more than a couple years old have those overstuffed seats that are flat and bottom out when sat on. Not at Esteban's! The seats were very nice. I enjoyed my lunch and if not for the problems with my drink, I would have rated it a 5-star experience. read more

Esteban's Mexican Restaurant - Chicken Chimichanga - Mexican Near Me - Oak Harbor, Washington

This is our to go place for some good Mexican food before the movie! The plates are hot, the service is perfect ( Fernando is a rock star), the dishes are delicious and no matter how busy they are you get you main dish under 10 minutes! read more

Excellent in every area.....Food, service, ambiance and generous portions. Our go-to for Mexican!! read more

Going out for dinner with my Grandma on Thursday 24 August 2023, we decided to go to Esteban's. Arriving a few minutes after 5 p.m. we found a handful of cars already in the lot and walked inside to be seated. There were still two booths open, one of which we got. The cushion of the booth seating was comfortable and the upholstery smooth. Chips and salsa were served after we were seated, the chips of which were warm to the touch and the salsa was medium spicy - both had good flavor. Looking over the menu, my grandma went with a salad and I went with the Chile Colorado. The workers were helpful in seating us, taking our orders, and payment. Serving size for each item was large, which was nice to have leftovers for the next day. The meat in the Chile Colorado was tender and flavorful, rice well cooked, and beans smooth. My grandma enjoyed her salad and the serving size as well. Even with most of the booths and a few tables full by the time we left, the noise did not become too much. read more

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I am very pleased with this restaurant and I cannot wait to go back! Being a Mexican from Arizona I am very picky about my Mexican food and I wasn't sure how Washington would be. We ordered the enchiladas with chicken, ground beef, and shredded beef which had 3 different sauces. The flavor of the sauces and the creaminess of the cheese was amazing. I loved the fresh guacamole and sour cream on the side which I put on top of the enchiladas. Next time I'd like to have cheese enchiladas with these sauces because I really loved the cheese and creaminess. The chips and salsa were great too! Hot and fresh chips with yummy chunky salsa. Our server was great, very friendly, and made sure we got everything we needed. Thank you Esteban's! I will be back very soon. read more

Esteban's Mexican Restaurant - Mexican Near Me - Oak Harbor, Washington

Went after work for dinner. Appears to be a locally owned family run establishment. Parking was a bit tight in the lot because of the popularity. Warm inviting restaurant with good Mexican ambiance. Clean and well maintained. We had the chicken fundido and chilli Colorado. Both really well flavored and not over spiced. Chips and salsa were excellent. Chips were baked without much salt. Salsa was South American style and of average spice. The meat in the chilli was perfectly cooked and high quality. Service was just right and friendly! We washed it down with pacifico and Cadillac margarita. Well made , perfect strength. Modest prices. We will be back. Try it you'll like it!!!! read more

Esteban's is always super friendly and helpful. The restaurant is comfy, typical family place, they do get festive sometimes. The food is really good and everything is fresh. The beer though!!!! It's so ice cold! Got a brain freeze on my first pull. It was awesome. Come try it out! read more

Esteban's Mexican Restaurant - Fish Tacos!!! Yum! - Mexican Near Me - Oak Harbor, Washington

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The food is absolutely amazing!! The servers are also super-duper nice, and they always remember us when we come in. Their prices are also really good for the quality of the food, and there are very generous portions. Very family friendly atmosphere, and I would definitely recommend it to anyone who likes authentic Mexican food. read more

Went to dinner with a very large group of people. This was my first eating experience at this restaurant. The service and food was great. After sitting down and attendant brought chips and salsa to the table. Shortly after a waiter took our drink order and once drinks were brought to the table she took our order. I ordered bean/cheese flautas as I'm vegetarian. They were outstanding!!! What was most impressive, there were about 30 people for dinner. Our food came out at the same time and each of us received our individual bills to pay. Did not even have to ask, just came to us! Those of us playing by credit card were informed of the credit card service charge. Definitely worth a stop. Clean, staff are friendly, attentive and food is decent. read more

Food was very bland, not much flavor. chips and salsa was even boring. Staff is unfriendly and seems to be bothered by you. Went early not busy but really had just fair service.. wont be returning. Its too bad they used to be great but now, not so much. read more

I eill say, I am a regular here and for good reason. The food is always on point. There are other places but most do not have the great sit down atmosphere they have here. I always get something different and am never disappointed. Highly recommend to try atleast once. read more

Esteban's Mexican Restaurant - Carne asada fries. So good I took a mid attack picture! They where perfect!! Highly recommend! - Mexican Near Me - Oak Harbor, Washington

Service and food have always been top notch. We eat there very often and have not been disappointed.

Celebrate your birthday! Excellent food! My boyfriend is addicted to the seafood burrito. Delicious salsa, margaritas and many other items on the menu read more

Esteban's Mexican Restaurant - You get the hat and they make you a nice little dessert for your birthday - Mexican Near Me - Oak Harbor, Washington

Had a large group and we arrived nit realizing they closed in 30 min. The owner and the staff were very gracious and served us. They were awesome and the food was great. Carne Asada tacos and deluxe burritos were the favorites :) read more

Menu is unclear, and they were inexcusably rude to my wife about it. So we wasted money and never got the food we wanted. There are enough other Mexican restaurants in this town, it's not necessary for us to spend money here. read more

I want to love this place ....but between the indifferent wait staff, slow service and just "ok" food ....it's a 3 stars at best. This has been the case the last five times (at least) we have been here. Bummer! read more

The food and service are good. It is our go-to Mexican restaurant on island. The last time we were there a couple of weeks ago, the waiter spilled an entire glass of water on me. All I got was I'm sorry. They should have at least corrected that since I walked out of there with my leggings soaking wet. Thank goodness I wasn't wearing white pants or it would've looked like I owed on myself. read more

Always GREAT service !! Very friendly and super fast. We have always been happy with everything we have ever ordered. Shredded beef anything is excellent!! One evening my order was wrong & he brought me the right order plus the wrong one to take home so my husband could have it for lunch the next day. They are awesome I don't miss eating there. read more

One of the better Mexican restaurants in Oak Harbor. Friendly service and good atmosphere. read more

Esteban's Mexican Restaurant - Carnitas Burrito - Mexican Near Me - Oak Harbor, Washington

You must have the chile colorado! It is so good like soul food for up north. Rice and beans hold their own. But that chile colorado sauce and tender beef my mouth is watering...And did I mention they have the best chips and salsa in Oak Harbor??? read more

I had Estebans for the first time tonight, i won't be returning. It's the classic pre make all the dishes, freeze them and heat ready to order.. the plate is always scolding hot and the food is warm and dry. The chips had an old oil flavor and were over cooked. $79 for mediocre food isn't worth it. read more

Best guacamole and salsa on the island. I eat here every time I'm sad and it makes me feel better.

The quesadilla with ground beef was alright. Carne asada was another $2 and I think it would be worth the upgrade. Plate portions are very large. The rice was a bit dry but had good flavor. I really liked the beans and ate the remainder with the fresh chips. Some sour cream, guacamole, lettuce and tomatoes were piled in the middle of the plate. Would have liked to have a bit more. Their salsa served for the table was very good. Lots of flavor and a good kick as well. read more

Esteban's Mexican Restaurant - Quesadilla with ground beef - Mexican Near Me - Oak Harbor, Washington

We found this awesome restaurant several years ago and if you want a delicious Mexican meal, look no further. Their Cadillac Margaritas are the best in town! If you love Mexican food; you will absolutely love this restaurant! read more

Food from this place is uniformly delicious. All the servers are very friendly and I really like the man who I believe is the owner. Worth a visit but a little pricey. If you don't eat there every night it's a nice splurge. read more

Food was good, chefs need to do better in the back. Very disappointed by this and disgusted that it was in my food. read more

Esteban's Mexican Restaurant - Carne asada fries with plastic inside of it. - Mexican Near Me - Oak Harbor, Washington

Great food & great service! Probably one of the best Mexican restaurants I've been to & I eat a lot of Mexican food. Restaurant is clean and comfortable. read more

The taco salad was mediocre. Lots of sour cream and guacamole, but the ground beef was odd tasting. I did not like the seasoning. The service was very slow and inattentive. It took forever to get waited on and then later to pay for the meal. There were kids screaming and crying. It wasn't a pleasant environment. The prices are reasonable. Maybe it will be better if we try again. read more

We have been coming to Estebans at least twice a week for years, what blew our minds was the owners daughter started over charging us, we had become so use to not looking at the menu, we always new what we wanted, so the daughter took advantage of that and started over charging us ! They push alcohol like crazy! I once told the daughter that my husband has diabetes please don't ask him if he wants another margarita ! She continued to push another margarita ! We have had a couple of problems with the daughter, she doesn't write you're order down and because of that our order was wrong many times!!! But don't tell her that she will just get pissed off and walk away!!!! She does a lot of eye rolling and giving of her 19 teen year old advice ! and her parents take her side We will never eat there again ! read more

By far my favorite mexican place on island, if not ever. Love their Enchiladas and margaritas. I've become quite a regular here and am always looking forward to going again. The staff is friendly and welcoming which makes the food taste that much better! read more

The lady who was hosting kept calling me lady like "you ready to order lady?" it was just super weird she did it like 5+ times. Anyways the food was bomb as always but service is always hit or miss read more

Solid Mexican for island life! Love their chicken enchiladas. Margs are always amazing! Service is friendly, helpful and attentive!

We ate for our last time as a family at Esteban's tonight. The service was scarce, only visited for order and first drinks by our waitress (never for refill, check-in or even for our bill). The cheese dip which is usually a family favorite has now been turned into a diluted / soupy sauce (tastes like milk). This is probably a good cost savings for the kitchen, but likely not a good business decisions for customers to enjoy and keep buying. Sick tummies are not unusual with my family, but it's occurrence tonight was a marked note on the poor night out at Esteban's. read more

I've probably eaten here at least a couple dozen times over the last 25 years. It has been our go-to Mexican restaurant in Oak Harbor. I had a 2 item combo today, and the tostada had great shredded beef, but aside from lettuce and beans, that was it. The beans must have had enough moisture from the cooking pot that they soaked the tortilla to the point of being inedible - literally couldn't gt it on the fork because it just disintegrated. I expected a little tomato maybe, and thought for sure it would come with sour cream and/or guacamole, but no, none of those. The rice was ok, as was the chicken tamale, even if they were both rather dry. I noticed the sign at the register in front that said that cash was preferred, and I get that no business likes paying the credit card transaction fees, but I was shocked that after I looked over my bill, and then handed my credit card for payment, that when the receipt came back for signature, an extra fee had been tacked on with no explanation except the line item "surcharge". So I deducted that amount from what I had been planning to leave for a tip, which because the food was below what I have come to expect from Esteban's, was already going to be less than the typical 20%. read more

Service was ok. Food was ok. Shrimp mostly tasted like the butter they were cooked in.

I was just sitting next to Karen G the review prior to this one, Karen G was very rude!!! The staff is amazing as is the food. Esteban's is winning if this real life "Karen" never patronizes them again. Keep up the amazing service and food! This restaurant is awesome read more

Meh. Chips and salsa are pretty good, but the food came out too quickly for me to believe it's even remotely prepared to order. The grilled chicken taco salad is a half-sized tortilla bowl full of shredded iceberg lettuce and some sad little pieces of tomato that was nowhere near ripe. No sauce, no seasoning, and the chicken was draped over the top. It wasn't marinated; the seasoning was powdered Sazón or similar shaken on it. The rice and beans were on the bland side (much improved with a little salt) and the mole sauce was a bit too sweet. We had bloating and a "phlegmy" cough within 15 minutes of leaving. Whatever they use to cook the food will remain a mystery. I won't be back to find out. One and done! I'll stick to El Caz when I'm in OH. (We also had the "grumpy old man" waiter mentioned in a previous review. He brought food and drinks, checked in 60 seconds after we started eating, then we never saw him again. In and out in 30 min. Might be a new record!) read more

This Mexican place starts out with the classic free chips and salsa. It had a great atmosphere and decor. Then came the burritos. For being one of the cheapest options on the island, the proportions were huge. The flavor of the burritos was far from lacking as well. Overall, the food was delicious, the service was good, and my boyfriend and I were able to enjoy a great dinner without hurting our wallets too much. read more