Convenient location right off the bypass. El Arriero always provides good food at reasonable prices. The margaritas are also quite tasty. We've always experienced fast and friendly service every visit. I've been seated in the dining area and the bar area, they also have a patio (weather permitting). read more

Food was excellent. Margarita tasted great. I sat at the bar and had great friendly service.

As in previous reviews I've posted the food is still inconsistent. We order the Veggie Fajitas, all it had was mushrooms, green peppers and onions, it was smothered in oil despite us requesting very little to no oil, very unappetizing in appearance. There is no excuse for not having a variety of vegetables on hand to serve a proper vegetarian fajitas dish. Also apparently the cook doesn't know how to cook vegetables without oil. The service was good, the waitress was excellent. We were here for the last time Friday May 10th between 5:30 and 6:00 pm We will not be returning. read more

Absolutely delicious. In here did our first time ever, service was prompt, extremely clean, and the food is amazing. What more could you ask for? Edit: Alex was our server and was great at his job and slayed! Give him a raise! :D read more

El Arriero - Mexican Near Me - South Bend, Indiana

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Tried the Molcajete for two and it was delicious. Chicken, steak,bacon, chorizo, shrimp, cheese, nopales, jalapeño, sweet onion, tomatoes, green peppers served in a lava bowl with two plates of rice, salad, salsa, beans and tortillas. Truly enough for three or four. Not too spicy hot A carnivore delight! read more

El Arriero - Molcajete for two - Mexican Near Me - South Bend, Indiana

My parents visited this restaurant yesterday, and let me tell you, the service was beyond disgusting. The waiter they got stuck with was unnecessarily rude. When they asked to be seated, the waiter said the place was too busy, and they do not take reservations. Seeing that there were empty tables my dad asked if they could sit there. The waiter responded with something like, "Sure, but good luck getting anyone to serve you. We're short-staffed today." The interesting thing was there was another family who came in after being seated. It's crazy to think that someone so unpleasant was hired to work with the public. Honestly, if the waiter is that annoyed with customers, who knows what kind of crap the cooks must be dealing with. Would you really trust the food prepared by a restaurant who hires people like this? read more

Food has been decent in the past. Tonight it smelled and looked good. It wasn't very busy for a Friday night. Unfortunately not one server could muster eye contact or a glass of water for 15 minutes. Who doesn't feel for business owners and service workers struggling with staff shortages? In fact, I have developed a deep appreciation and a level of patience I never knew existed. But rude, unfriendly, indifference toward patrons? Hell no. The man next to us waited for silverware while his food got cold. When NOT his server was disrupted from ignoring us for 10+ solid minutes, he never looked up. No ,"I'm sorry, will be right with you", "Can I get you some water while you wait?" I would have taken the finger to acknowledge our presence. I'm writing this review sitting in another Mexican restaurant. Too bad we drove 20 minutes out of our way to leave pissed off. read more

Turn on the air!! It's the middle of summer, humid and it's 75 degrees in here !! Add food and alcohol, feels like 80! Turn on the air. Second request. read more

I ate here at 8:30pm, restaurant was quiet. Restaurant is in a small plaza with a tabacco store next door and truck stop across the road. I was Served and order taken immediately. Their Sangria was delicious and strong. The Shrimp Fajita was the best and most authentic fajita i've ever had. Menu isn't expensive at all. Overall experience was 6 stars. I will be coming back here! read more

El Arriero - Mexican rice, lettuce, tomatoes, guacamole, and sour cream for Fajita. - Mexican Near Me - South Bend, Indiana

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Service was hit or miss often. We used to eat here frequently but after two family members got food poisoning...nope! The margaritas (with house tequila) taste like Windex. read more

El Arriero looks like one of 100s of little Mexican restaurants in big and small towns across the country. I generally love these places because the food is basic, authentic, and filling without a lot of useless frills. El Arriero was a okay for a quick stop on the way home from a long road trip, but it wasn't what I was looking for; a little too commercial for my tastes. Light on the meat, the sauce was bland as was the cheese and everything was "watered down". I finished my burrito, but I was hungry. It is easy off/on the freeway. Lots of parking. And there are fast food places nearby if everyone can't agree on the food choices. The servers were disinterested at best. And they weren't busy. Better than Taco Bell if you want to stay from fast food, otherwise I would recommend you go with what you know. read more

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Do not overlook the shrimp cocktail on El Arriero's menu! They don't skimp on the amount of shrimp in this wonderful tomato based dish loaded with avocado, cilantro and jalapeño! It was THE BEST shrimp cocktail I've ever had (and I eat this quite frequently). read more

The food is always wonderful and with so many great choices it is never boring! Highly recommend, even if you just get a takeout order!

My fiancé and I walked into the restaurant and the lady at the front desk asked how many without a greeting. She then took us to a dirty table, I politely asked to be moved to the next table. She placed the menus and cutlery at the edge of the table with the nastiest attitude. There was no friendly greeting upon entry or expectation set that the hostess will be with us shortly. My fiancé said let's go and we walked back to the front where she was laughing with a co-worker. He mentioned to the guy that he didn't like her attitude and we walked out. To the owners/managers, please hire courteous employees. read more

This restaurant is by far my favorite Mexican spot in South Bend. I usually get the fajitas specials or the steak rancheros both are so good and filing. Not to mention affordable. They have different specials everyday and if you get the fajitas for two, bring 4 to 5 people because it will feed an entire family. Pic below is the regular lunch fajitas special for $5.99. If you haven't tried this place you should. read more

El Arriero - a plate of food on a table - Mexican Near Me - South Bend, Indiana

Poor service, order was incorrect, management is only one that can ring up order to pay and she was off property and had to wait 20 min. When we question our bill she yelled and swore at us. read more

Food is bountiful and tasty! We love the fajitas- big enough for two adults to share--unless one is really, really hungry. Janet read more

They do not keep posted hours, there were several people in restaurant but told the already did last call and we weren't even looking for alcohol. It was 8:30 on a Tuesday, manager was Gerry rude. read more

Always great food and service! Our favorite Mexican food spot in the south bend area!

We used to frequent this restaurant quite often before the pandemic and have ordered to go a few times to try and support this local restaurant. We ordered Chicken chimichangas and Las Yolandas (see pictures). The order came with the cold condiments on top of the hot meal which caused the lettuce to wilt and the sour cream to be hot. We called to complain and were met with argumentative reasons why the food was served the way it was. Previous to go orders weren't served this way. Unfortunately we won't be ordering from them again. read more

El Arriero - Chicken Chimichanga - Mexican Near Me - South Bend, Indiana

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We get takeout here a lot (weekly) and while their food is ok, one thing it is NOT is consistent. One week, the tacos de azada is great with lots of meat and the right amount of toppings. Other times, there's barely any meat and they load it up with ridiculous amounts of onion and cilantro. One thing that IS consistent is how they constantly screw up take out orders. Shame on me for not opening every single container to check but typically I order 4 tacos. Sometimes there are 4, most times there are 3 and tonight I received only 2 (but paid for 4). My wife always gets the chiles verde. Most of the time, that's what she receives. But it's 50/50 that they will forget the tortillas. I really want to give this place my business because it's right around the corner from where I live, but I can no longer accept this service. The food is ok, but when I get half of what I order, it's hard to be enthused with mediocre food. Just for reference, we've gotten takeout here probably 20 times, and on at least 7 occasions, there was something wrong with the order and on 2 occasions they really dropped the ball and left out half the order. If there's no other options, I would suggest this place and don't get take out. They can't short your order in person read more

Met my daughter here for lunch. Service was bad. We had a waiter and a waitress in training. Neither were very attentive or friendly. We also had issues with the food. My mom ordered a chalupa and received a tostada. When we asked, the waiter stated it was a chalupa. I thought a flat shell with beef and other taco fixings was a tostada. No? My dad had a gristly steak. I had carnitas which were also fat and gristly. My daughter ordered soft tacos that were refrigerator-cold. My husband was the only one who didn't complain with his steak fajitas, and said the flavor was good. Salsa wasn't that great either. Prices were low, but overall a very disappointing experience. read more

First visit to the newly opened restaurant, it's located in a small strip mall just a few minutes off the Toll Road and US 31 bypass. Sort of a no-mans land! We were pleasantly surprised by the understated, yet definitely Mexican flavor of the decor. We were seated in a roomy booth in the bar area, which had 4 Tv's tuned into different programming. Our server greeted us promptly and offered up some chips and salsa. We had a half order of freshly made guacamole as an appetizer. I ordered the seafood chimichanga and my husband the enchiladas ranchero. The guacamole had just the right amount of jalapeño to complement the jumbo margarita I ordered. The food was served promptly and was very tasty. Service was good and attentive. We will be back . read more

El Arriero - Jumbo margarita to wrap up this crazy Monday - Mexican Near Me - South Bend, Indiana

I had been wanting to try this place for a while but with Covid we were pretty much eating at home all the time. We tried it last weekend and now I'm mad at all the times we ate at Hacienda instead. The food is amazing and they are vegetarian friendly. The staff is really nice and the restaurant is very clean. We ordered take out and it was hot and ready in 20 minutes. We are going back today because we liked it so much. Give this place a chance to wow you! read more

Came in for lunch on a Sunday for the first time. I really enjoyed the chips & white queso dip. I ordered lunch off of the "ala carte" part of the menu. Ordered 3 tacos & a side of rice. The rice was a little dry but tasted good. I liked how the tacos were wrapped separately in foil because I knew I'd be taking one home. To me, the tacos had an authentic Mexican flavor, not real spicy at all. Soft flour tortilla shells with beef, lettuce and cheese. I added a little of my dip to the taco to spice it up a little bit. The frozen strawberry margarita was perfect & I look forward to coming back and trying some other things on the menu with my husband. Pricing is very reasonable and server was pleasant. An overall nice experience. read more

El Arriero - Frozen strawberry margarita - Mexican Near Me - South Bend, Indiana

Could barely get a drink while sitting at the bar, asked for a minute more to place our order and she never came back to us. Sat there an hour and finally had to ask for our bill, which she never gave me only said the cost. Paid with cash and walked out!! read more

Moved to South Bend from Texas several years ago. Aside from the authentic taquerias on Western which I love, I've been disappointed by the Mexican (what I know of as TexMex) restaurant offerings on my side of town. I'll opt for Salsa's when I want the familiarity of a chain and a decent margarita selection, or La Esperanza for great food, or to hit that sweet spot in between my go-to lately has been Fiesta Cancun. Finally I got the chance to try El Arriero tonight after so many years. I was concerned by the low Yelp ratings of late, but we decided to try it anyway. Bullseye. Great food, great margarita selection, the service was attentive, and the skillet queso was the best I've had. The bar got my girlfriend's margarita wrong (I got frozen, she ordered rocks), but when the server checked back and noticed (!) the bar brought both frozen, he offered to replace it immediately. She declined as it wasn't a big deal, but my point is he noticed, quickly. My enchiladas and taco combo was just what I was hoping for. I thought I might eat half and take half home... nope, I did that thing where I ate so much I can't even yawn. My GF called it her new fave. I'm pickier so I might need one more visit to verify, but I'll be back too. read more

Last week went for taco Tuesday. Waitress/hostess corrected my Spanish, not in a kind way but very condescending. Today tried again. Was seated by very nice male, who also provided us with water, menus and table service. The female waitress from last week took our order, then picked up the forks etc. When she brought the food, I asked for silverware, she responded "you don't need them with tacos" and walked away. Well, my mom is Spanish, so I do know how to eat tacos. Further more, sometimes I like to clean my plate by using a fork and eating the lettuce etc that my fall out of the shell. Not sure she wants us to eat there. read more

This is usually our fallback place to go. Pretty good for Mexican food, but definitely not completely authentic. Cool, laid back place with good beer and food prices. read more

Save your hard earned money and dont bo ty her earing here. They wont appreciate that you did. I was out of town and came here for some authentic Mexican food. I ordered a meal with onions and peppers in the description, and recieved none when it came. I asked for guacamole on the side, that id be happy to pay xtra for, and recieved non. I asked for seltzer water, and recieved tap, and before leaving, left a tip, and the tip was refused. They sell 25 cent blowpops candies at the front counter, and they really want to behave as if they cant accept a tip, if it isnt high enough for them. Newsflash, your competition is right next door...we couldve gone there just as easily. I am a business owner of 20 years, and would never tell a costumer to keep their tip. It was not only rude, but very ungrateful. Very disappointing. Save your money. I couldve gotten a pizza pie next door and forfeited the almost $40 bill, or rudeness. I might even get the meal the way its posted (description) too. Just disappointing. read more

I love the look of this place. The fajitas are amazing. I did get some a la cart options and I was very disappointed. I like the margaritas, they have SO MANY flavors and sizes. Wish they had a bit more kick to em though. Wait staff is a little bit slow though. Perfect place for after work drinks or a quick lunch. read more

We have a new favorite restaurant! Service was good, staff friendly and helpful and the food was delicious! The Blue Burrito was outstanding and the chicken on rice dish my wife had was also top notch. Looking forward to our next visit. read more

I really wanted to like this place. It looks nice inside & outside. Got chips & salsa and the salsa had zero flavor, I mean zero. Food came out quick & hot. But it didn't have much flavor at all. Service was terrible. Once the food came out, never saw server again. Had to ask somebody else for refills on chips & drinks. Had to track somebody down for the check. Like another reviewer said, this place could do very well. It needs at lot of help in the kitchen & service areas, which I guess is everything. read more

Enjoyed this place very much. Incredibly friendly staff, wonderful drinks and the food was excellent too. We will be back.

For an authentic Mexican restaurant, this place doesn't have much flavor. I ordered the fajitas, which were cooked well, but needed a hot sauce punch to make them interesting. I don't know if the chefs are playing to bland American tastes, but they should really add some flavor to their dishes. And I'm not just talking about heat, I'm simply asking for seasoning. Also, I don't know if this person was new or not, but our server didn't know the menu very well and was a bit slow getting us our check. It's a nice looking place and the food was decent once I added a kick, but it's far away from home and I don't think I'll be making the extra effort to return read more

I used to go here quite a bit and got my lunches to go then they started giving me my food cold and the tamales they gave me were very freezer burnt and tasted horrible. I was very disappointed. read more

Great frozen Margaritas, and food. Clean attractive environment. Always a good experience :)

Really enjoyed this experience. They were fast and efficient and continuously brought chips and refills. I had the taco salad and while I am a big eater this was definitely filling. Highly recommend. read more

Very good food. I got the enchilada locas and it was awesome. The mango salad went so well with the salty grilled chicken and cheese. Small guacamole for chips tasted fresh af and had great color. Service professional was polite prompt and friendly; she was great. One step ahead of us so things were taken care of right as we were nearing that step. read more

got the enchiladas with the cheese sauce. really good. Salsa and chips were just ok. guacamole was a little bland. service was pretty good. really nice on the inside and looks like they have a nice little patio. read more