My elderly mom and I frequented this restaurant up until one of the male workers was rude to me. The food has always been good, but rudeness is unacceptable. I don't spend my money where people are rude and unprofessional. I won't be back. read more

I am a bit late writing my review, but definitely still wanted to acknowledge this restaurant and have a remembrance of our last meal together... I ate at El Amigo back on December 23, 2014 with my dad, my sister and our friend/"cousin" Jeff. I rode up north with my dad to visit my sister for Christmas and to give her the presents we had for her to open. We were all hungry and decided on El Amigo per their suggestions. It's a cozy little hole-in-the-wall type place, which is right up my alley. We sat in a booth near the windows. I had a nice feeling of nostalgia come over me, being back in the Region and it being Christmastime. I don't remember what all we had to eat, but it was very good. I know I ate more than my share of beans and rice and was extremely full and satisfied. I believe I had a tostada, too, if memory serves. I remember the staff being accommodating when it came to substitutions and they made good recommendations. We also chomped on the fresh chips and salsa they put on our table. I believe there were two (maybe three?) different types of salsa. My sister and I were having a friendly argument over which salsa was hotter. Living with Jeff for so long who did not do spicy and certainly no garlic, my sissy's palate wasn't used to spice anymore and she made me laugh waving her mouth no matter which salsa she tried. I tried a Pacifico for the first time and they brought me a mug with it. They also kept us filled with water and pop. Sometime toward the end of the meal, Jeff made us think he was getting up to get a refill on his pink lemonade. I actually never even noticed he was gone from the table. The check, or so we thought, came and when Dad went to pay the bill, we realized it was a receipt accompanied by some mints. Jeff very kindly and sneakily, went up and paid the entire bill without us knowing. We were all laughing at how stealthy he was. I guess I get a kick out of that sort of thing after witnessing many fights over who would pay the bill when I was a bartender. This ended up being the first and last time the four of us all went out together. Our plans of repeating it and making it a tradition were not to be. Jeff suddenly passed away not even two months later, and my sister joined him about two more months after that. While I wish we could do it again, for sure, one thing that keeps me going is remembering that day and what fun we had. We all really enjoyed El Amigo. I don't know if I could handle going back anytime soon since it would be without them, but if circumstances were different, I would like to eat there on a regular basis. More than decent meal for a good price in a welcoming and comfortable setting with great service. Perhaps you can make your own family memories here. I know I did. read more

El Amigo - Pacifico cerveza at El Amigo III. - Mexican Near Me - Portage, Indiana

This is a little hole in the wall in a small strip mall. The food is great! Closest to Tex-Mex that I have had outside of Texas. Our waitress was a very sweet high school girl who was new but right on top of everything we wanted. read more

I love the El Amigo in Valpo a lot more. But this one isn't too bad. Our favorite the bistek con rajas wasn't as great as the other place. Cute festive decor and friendly staff are included. read more

This place likes to ignore the phone when you want to place an order. It will either ring forever, or they'll take the phone off the hook to give you a busy signal. This happened THREE times now. THREE. I thought to myself, "They're probably busy, I'll go there and order my food in person." Guess how many people were in there each time? Just one! Only one customer! Parking lot was bare! Then I got to thinking... It's not that they don't feel like cooking your food, it's that they want to ignore your phone order to get you to go there, and since you're there.... you might dine in.... which will give them TIPS, TIPS, TIPS CASH $$$$$. No thanks! I like eating at home! read more

El Amigo is a great taqueria. My boyfriend and I went for dinner last night and were pleasantly surprised. I ordered a chorizo sope. The actual sope was delicious. It was made from fresh masa and was light and fluffy. It came standard with sour cream, avocado, and cheese. It was nice to not be charged extra for those toppings. I also had a chile relleno taco. It was very good and tasted fresh. Finally, I ordered one enchilada en salsa roja. It was good and the sauce did not come from a can. We have found our go-to taqueria. We will definitely be eating here at least once a week. The food is tasty, fresh, and so affordable. Just a note...the tacos come topped with lettuce and tomato so if you want onions and cilantro, you have to ask. read more

Great as always! Came here last night after racing at Steel Wheels down the road. It was my birthday and I was so excited to have my birthday dinner here Staff is wonderful and always smiling when we come in Super cute decor too My husband and I actually ate at El Amigo on 30 on our first date Guacamole is soooooo good too! read more

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We go to Valparaiso location frequently. It is awesome. This Portage location is horrid. The food was ice cold. The rice was hard, dried out, and served in minuscule portions. One member of our group was served the wrong entree. Tacos dripped grease. Tortillas are miniature versions of Valparaiso location. Staff never returned to table. An order was placed for a member of the party who had to run a guest home. We were then told the kitchen was closing early, because the boss left. That order was delivered in a to go container. If that was not ok, the order would be cancelled. This was a horrid meal. I will never return. read more

Visited on 05/31/2017. Ordered a dinner. Served incorrect item on first try. It was replaced. Dinner was served with refrigerator - cold refried beans and the smallest portion of dried- out and crunchy rice. Rice is my usual favorite. Not here. We placed an order for my son. He was forced to take another of our party home. We were told, after placing orders, that the kitchen was suddenly closing. The boss had left, so they were closing up early. His order arrived, packed as a to go order. Disappointing meal. Bad service. I will never go back. read more

I really wish this place was good. We live really close, and it would be so convenient to stop here every once and a while. The service is not good. The wait staff seems annoyed to have to attend to the tables. There is a lot of standing around. We ordered a bean dip. You can see a lot of the kitchen from the dining room, which is nice. They opened up a container of re-fried beans, put it in the microwave, and then came back in a minute. Not a big fan of the chips and salsa. The meal itself was alright. There are other REALLY good Mexican options in Porter County. We like El Cantarito, Santiago's, and Serranos. Give those a shot. read more

I had not went to this location for some time and tonight I did... yuck. The rice was dry and looked like it was from yesterday. The tacos were dry and did not seem fresh. The portions seemed very small compared to schererville or Valpo. I was shocked of how poor quality the food was. The kitchen closed before 10pm. The employee was dirty looking and covered in jail house tattoos. The service was also very slow. I'd pass the place up. The fancy plates can't fix the crappy food and poor service read more

Great food me my wife and son love this place. Good service always friendly. Best pork around. read more

El Amigo - Great food. Pork and chorizo is awsome. This is our favorite Friday night spot. - Mexican Near Me - Portage, Indiana

Place has gone down hill, ever since they remodeled and hired a bunch of white girls. (I'm white by the way) Our server knew nothing about Mexican food, couldn't write down our order properly, and claimed they didn't have most of the items, that they clearly do have, because I've been going to El Amigo for years. If El Amigo doesn't do something about they're servers, they are going to go out of business very soon. They just lost a very loyal customer. Also, that place was so cold, I had to quickly eat and get the heck out of there. read more

Passing through town and chose El Amigo. Absolutely fantastic fajitas and burritos. Gracious, helpful server. The place Busy with constant takeout. Delicious....a find. read more

This place is a joke. We ordered chorizo burritos, like we always do from the Valpo location, but from Portage instead. We got home to discover there was so much grease in them that it spilled out of the foil and plastic bag, onto the front floor of our car. We cleaned that up, brought them inside, unwrapped them and they were SWIMMING in grease. We soaked up all the grease on the outside of the burritos (took like ten paper towels to do so), cut into it and grease poured out. They were totally inedible. I called the place and literally after almost three minutes of it ringing they finally picked up and I spoke with Javier, the manager. He said that's what you get with chorizo and when I asked to speak with another manager he said he's the only manager on duty and if I wanted to bring the burritos back he would replace them. When I told him we lived 15+ minutes away he said oh well, he had to go make an order and needed to hang up. I then asked him who the owner was and he said he didn't know (he's the manager, reports to the owner, but doesn't know who the owner is...?). So when I remind him of that he says the owner is Norma and that her number is: 773-600-8680. I called and spoke with an incredibly rude person that got instantly demanding towards me on the phone. My guess was that Norma is not the owner, but Javier's friend and that this must be a common game he plays with customers. So, I call the valpo location and they answer after the second or third ring and confirm that the owner is Martine, and that he owns both locations. So I will be following up with him. Not only did we pay for $23 worth of inedible burritos but the cheese dip was cold and chunky and now some random person has my number and yes, they've already called me back on my cell so I'm not happy about that. Needless to say, we won't be back. Ever. read more

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A lot of our friends like this place, but for me it is a little dirty and the food is just ok. There are better Mexican restaurants in the area and cleaner. read more

We came to el amego after multiple failed attempts to go to other restaurants. The reviews were very mixed, some saying it was amazing and others saying it was terrible but we took our chances, seeing as we really had no other choice. And boy am I glad we did. Though at first I was skeptical of the somewhat dirty interior and almost lack of customers, the food was actually way better than I was expecting. It came out pretty fast and tasted fresh. The service was nice and very accommodating. My family is mostly vegetarian and they switched things around for us and took our requests to accommodate everyone's needs. read more

One of my Favorite Mexican Spots! Great food, Great Service, and large portions. It's a little expensive for Mexican Food but we'll worth it. read more

This hole in the wall restaurant was really good. We went for lunch & the service was great. The cheese dip was so good!! We ordered the steak quesadillas & the steak & cheese were so good & we loved the rice. The waiter was attentive & did a great job making us feel comfortable & satisfied. So glad we stopped here and ate. read more

I noticed on many reviews it talks about how dirty the establishment was, I can say I've been in a handful of times now and it's been clean during my experiences. The food is great and the servers are always very friendly and in a great mood read more

TERRIBLE!! There is a reason this place has NO CUSTOMERS ALMOST ALWAYS ! And only one waiter - the same person at anytime. The food ,the service just awful. and if you sit in the back next to the kitchen you can see in the kitchen &how dirty and unsanitary it looks& probably is. El amigo in Valpo is totally different everything there is absolutely great . Don't go to the portage one ughh. read more

I've been here a few times. It's not quite as good as the one in Valpo, mainly because it's inconsistent. Food prep, portion size, and service quality all vary from visit to visit. The hot salsa is good. I like that they have both Jarritos and horchata. read more

Love the burritos! Pork is the best! Much better than other spots in town!

The place was dirty....service was awful...my food was okay but my friends was over cooked and you could tell they microwaved a lot of the food. I left here never wanting to go back again. read more

This is a great local place for Good Mexican Food. the service is great everytime I visit and the food selection is good. Everything I have tryed has been very good. I will return to El Amigo read more

Thus place is very good. I love the Bistec ala Mexicana and The Nachos with chorizo, beans, guac and tomatoes. Ecerything else on the menu is great as well and so are the prices. The pico de gallo is the best I've ever had. I've been coning to this El Amigo and the Schererville location for years and I've always recieved really good service. read more

So awful!!!!! This used to be our favorite place to go but something has changed. My husband said he's given them plenty of chances getting lunch there and it was terrible each time. The steak is fatty, grizzly and not as flavorful as it used to be. I took my kids there forgetting what my husband told me and was quickly reminded. I couldn't take a bite without pulling something hard and fatty out off mouth which tends to ruin your appetite not only for me but for the people seeing me do this( not that there was anyone else stupid enough to go there). They completely screwed up my kids orders. They all got burritos. When he brought them to the table he didn't know who's was who's. Not only that but they ordered no beans in two of them and they both came with beans. It took my boys like 3 bites before they hit the beans. They brought new burritos with no beans but it was still missing the others ingredients. No one ate because it was nasty and completely screwed up. I was charged for the burritos I sent back and also the burritos that came back still messed up. I spent $50 for 3 people to eat and we left very hungry. Never ever ever again will I step foot in this place. We used to go here like every week up until about a year ago when we moved and I don't know if they have new owners or new cooks but they definitely have gone cheaper on the ingredients and are running that place into the ground. Do not waste your time or money. You will leave aggravated and hungry. We pulled more out of our mouth than we swallowed. So bad! read more

Hadn't been to El Amigo in awhile, just got takeout for the family. The person who took the order was incredibly rude, & when we got home we discovered they didn't pack everything we ordered, though rest assured we were charged for everything. The food we did take home was literally inedible, just soaked in grease & slopped into containers like garbage. We are all vegetarians & ordered things that were supposed to be meat-free, but stray bits of meat seem to have found their way into our food anyways. Needless to say we will not be returning. read more

I thought I would give this restaurant a chance but got home and had no tortillas for my fajitas and the food was blah. Absolutely no seasoning. The prices charged were also higher than any menu found on the internet. The cook was outside talking on his cell phone and they weren't even busy. I won't be back. read more

Nice little place food is on par with most Mexican restaurants in area. Good portions for what you're paying and service is descent. As I said its on par with other Mexican restaurants in area. If you go it's a nice little place but nothing extraordinary. read more

Pretty good Mexican food! The interior has more decor than you'd expect looking at it from the outside (strip mall). The service was very good. Cleanliness was a 4 out of 5 (sorry, I'm picky, but 4/5 is perfectly acceptable). I heard that they make 'tongue tacos' and I don't know if that's a sign of authenticity or just something gross. You decide. I had enchiladas and I was happy. read more

I have been going to this place for years because I do enjoy the food. I have to say that I will now be choosing another place for Mexican food, I just can't stand the rudeness of the staff. I know they remember me, as I am there so often. I guess I would appreciate a please and thank you since I've spent so much money there... read more

I had heard El Amigo was good cheap fast, authentic Mexican food. While it was in fact fast and authentic Mexican, it was not cheap. Same prices as upscale restaurant, so I would not come here again. I'll go spend that kind of money at a better, cleaner establishment. The food was just okay. Nothing wonderful and small portions. read more

Stopped here tonight because our first choice Mexican place was closed due to holiday. Simple order, 2 orders of nachos. 1 with just steak, cheese and sour cream, the second just steak and cheese. Specifically said "no beans". Get the order home, open the first box and there is sour cream cheese steak and BEANS! Second box just cheese and beans! No steak on the second!! But we were definitely charged for steak on both. My advice.. Check your order Before you leave! Otherwise you'll be throwing away all your food. We even called to tell them what happened and they had no care at all. I will never go back! It only got 1 star because it wouldn't let me continue without it read more

I tried two dishes from the seafood menu and they were absolutely TERRIBLE!!! I thought twice about eating there after noticing the precooked tortilla chips and salsa left uncovered and within reach on the bar for anybody coming to the counter to breathe on sneeze on or even poison if they wanted. The portions of the kitchen that were visible were NOT clean, yet the menu was enticing enough for me to take a chance. Now let's get to the awful seafood. I ordered what was basically the Mexican version of Oysters rockerfeller and Mexican Gumbo with crab legs. The oysters were bitter, tell tell sign that they're old. I could only tolerate two (after I added my own fresh cilantro and onion). The third one I tried left an aroma in my mouth and nasal passage that reminded me of passing a ranch on the highway. Yes it literally tasted like s***. I nearly puked, had to spit it out! The broth for the Mexican gumbo was good however the crab legs were in a separate package. The meat from the crab legs was dried out (another tell tell sign that they were old). And the one that stil had enough moisture for me to eat tasted like soap. The only reason I gave them one star is because I couldn't give them negative stars. They should have given ME $30 to eat this s***. TERRIBLE, AWFUL SIMPLY THE WORST EATING EXPERIENCE I'VE HAD IN PORTAGE IN. I'm actually considering taco bell because I'm still hungry. That should tell it all. read more

Over the years I've been told that the Portage El Amigos food quality and service was getting bad, but I was always treated fine so I continued ordering my food there until yesterday, I am so disappointed, I use to eat here often about 3x per week for years but that has change to never again. I ordered a burrito with extra avocado and when I got home, not only did I not get the extra avocado but the vegetables were old and wilted as if the burrito was laying around for a while. I called and spoke to the manager whom I greeted earlier when I was ordering my food. I explained that the burrito seem old and did not include the extra avocado that I was charged extra for. The manager's only offer that was repeated to me over and over again was this; the next time I order a burrito the manager would make sure that I get my extra avocado. No mention of please return the burrito and we will make you another one, or let me refund the extra money I charged you, or even I'm sorry you're a great customer let me make it up to you. Instead I got the next time I order a burrito the manager would make sure that I get my extra avocado. The manager kept repeating this over & over again when I was trying to resolve this potential health problem (old food). I got so angry that I was treated with such poor service and over charged for extras I did not received that I hung up the phone, threw away the burrito because it was old and I did not want to get sick and told my family and friends who ordered from a different place that I/we will never eat at the Portage El Amigo again. read more