Absolutely the place we keep coming back to. The food is so flavorful and fresh, with more authentic dishes than other restaurants in the area. The seafood fajitas are a favorite of ours, and this time the pork Trompito, what an amazing presentation and flavor!! Plus they have all day happy hour, which makes this place even more incredible. Their jalepeno margarita is balanced and not too spicy. Another detail we appreciate, we've never had stale chips here before, always crispy. The service is always on point and attentive too! read more

El Centenario Mexican Grill - Pork Trompito - Mexican Near Me - Grand Rapids, Michigan

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Horrible management , overpriced and they let kids run all over the restaurant . Avoid at all cost

The arroz con pollo was delicious! Flavorful and cheesy, this is enough for 2-3 people to share. The restaurant was clean and the service was friendly and quick. read more

El Centenario Mexican Grill - Arroz con Pollo - Mexican Near Me - Grand Rapids, Michigan

The food was good and very quick in coming. I almost didn't have a chance to enjoy the chips. For me the chips needed more salt and the salsa was fairly bland, needed to add in hot sauce and that is always a crap shoot. I had the Birria Taco dinner, the portion was very good size, three tacos grilled onions, rice and beans. The tacos and consume was good. I think the beef could have braised longer and there needed to be a touch of seasoning. Overall I thought everything lacked salt. Rice and beans were fine, pretty standard fare but all food was very hot when it got to the table. I would return and try something else, the menu is huge so it would interesting to try something else. Service was very good and friendly. The only thing that was lacking were people, I certainly had. Quiet dinner as there was no one else in the dining room area I was in...but it was a Tuesday evening. read more

They are super fast with their to go orders. I usually place mine on the phone while I'm making my way over since it will be ready when I get there (less than 10 minutes). They also have a punch card loyalty where you purchase 10 meals and get the next one free, love that! The to go guac is pretty small for the price but still good. Everything else is always delicious, as you would expect from an authentic Mexican restaurant. They also have a lot of things and different combinations of things on their menu, which I would have to try someday. Love the food and service from El Centenario! I haven't dined in yet but I would love to just to enjoy the decor and the happy hour! read more

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The service was okay, they weren't super busy so we were seated immediately and everything came to our table in a timely manner. The food wasn't anything to rave about, we've had better at other Mexican restaurants. I asked for a Paloma, and was given what I think was just a plan lime margarita on the rocks. I was less than pleased. My fiancé ordered a piña colada, and that was less than great too. We were less than impressed with our experience, considering we payed $60 for dinner and drinks for two people. The environment was fine and everyone was polite, we just won't be returning because we're disappointed, especially because we had never been here before, and we decided to give it a try for my fiancé's birthday dinner. read more

We got takeout here, which was ready for pick up in about 15 minutes. I didn't have to wait too long for someone to come to the front of the restaurant and grab my order. We ordered a beef chimichanga and chicken burrito/enchilada/two taco combo which came with rice, beans, chips, salsa, guacamole, sour cream, and lettuce. The tacos fell apart by the time I got home, so they were not very appetizing (bottom part of the shell got soggy from the heat/steam). I'd probably rate this place somewhere around 3.5 but rounded up to a 4 since I felt takeout service was fast and the prices were very reasonable for the portion size compared to a number of other takeout options (some of which sell burritos at 3-4x the cost). The burrito was probably on the smaller side of how I personally make them, though. The combo was alright in taste with the sauce hydrating the chicken, but I ended up adding hot sauce I purchased in Mexico since I prefer spice. The packaged toppings were nice to add on, too. I preferred the chimichanga but I'd say that's true across the board. There were endless combo options listed online to choose from, which it seems a build your own option may be easier for. Seems like they have a huge menu! read more

El Centenario Mexican Grill - Mexican Near Me - Grand Rapids, Michigan

Absolutely terrible. Had went with my friend we waited extremely long in line probably 40 minutes. When getting seated we weren't even given menus or anything until 10 minutes later which had old salsa on it. We weren't even given seated around 6:25 no waiter came up to us for anything until 7:09. Ridiculous! By then we had just ordered some drinks but we weren't even given absolutely starving. After not even getting our drinks after 40 more minutes we left. Terrible read more

Service at bar was good. Ordered individual tacos aka street tacos were 3 for $10 and were really good on corn tortillas. Very clean and seems new inside. Will return. read more

Great Quesabirria tacos. Service was super fast and kind. After I ate I felt sooo good. Worth the drive. Prices weren't too steep. The inside felt nice and good ambie read more

El Centenario Mexican Grill - Quesabirria - Mexican Near Me - Grand Rapids, Michigan

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I'd heard a couple good reviews of this new Mexican restaurant on 28th Street and was craving some Mexican food recently. It's right next to Ihop, where the old Saucy Crab used to be. We were seated right away around 7 pm on a Sunday evening. The menu is massive so plan for some time to check it out! I usually get burritos or enchiladas at Mexican restaurants, so I was happy to see the enchilada suprema dish, which comes with one of each enchilada: chicken, ground beef, bean, and cheese, aka an enchilada flight! Nate ordered the burrito al carbon, a steak burrito covered in cheese sauce. El Centenario has a full bar and cheap beer! According to the menu, your first two baskets of chips and salsa are complimentary, then you can buy more after that. Our food came out quickly and looked really good. Unfortunately my enchiladas seemed a little cold, like almost room temperature. I would have liked them to be hotter. It was great to try all of them. The chicken was my favorite as the meat was tender and not dry. The sauce was flavorful but I think next time I'd try the enchiladas suizas as I didn't love the red sauce. I had a few bites of the burrito al carbon, which was really good. The steak was seasoned well and the cheese sauce was decadent. I'd definitely come back in the future to try more dishes from their huge menu, or maybe just get the burrito al carbon because it was that good. read more

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Went to eat on a Wednesday night. Easy to get seating. Bright restaurant with quick service. Chips, salsa, and margaritas arrived quickly. Arroz Con Pollo was good with a MASSIVE serving size. Good stop on the road and would go again. read more

El Centenario Mexican Grill - Arroz Con Pollo - Mexican Near Me - Grand Rapids, Michigan

After being away for a couple of weeks, we returned home to find a new Mexican restaurant had opened in the space formally occupied by "The Saucy Crab". In fact, this location has had a storied past with a number of restaurants (the first was Bennigans) setting up shop here only to close. That trend will end because if my first visit here is any indication, El Centenario will delight diners for a long time to come. This new restaurant is designed with many seating areas that surround a nice bar. We were quickly seated and informed their grand opening will be November 26-26 so we were at a "soft opening". Soft or not, this place is operating on all cylinders. Chips were fresh and the salsa was excellent as well. White cheese was also ordered and enjoyed. The menu is huge and is probably 10 pages or more. I'm looking at it like a "wall of bourbon" you see in some bars. I want to try everything. Besides typical dishes like burritos, fajitas, tacos, etc., there are many, many dishes with seafood, steak, chicken, carnitas, etc. that look very tasty. My fajitas were really good. Chicken appeared to be diced instead of larger chunks. No issue-just different. Dish was tasty and did not have the "dried out" taste you get so often from either being overcooked or not freshly prepared. Whatever "simmer" sauce they used really brought out a nice flavor. My wife ordered Taquitos Mexicanos. She was nice enough to give me a taste and all I could say is "wow". Will probably order this next time. Enjoyed the friendly service and will be back in a few days with out of town company. Cannot wait to show off this new gem. read more

El Centenario Mexican Grill - Restaurant interior - Mexican Near Me - Grand Rapids, Michigan

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We stopped here yesterday after landing at Ford International Airport. It was easy to get to and had plenty of parking. We hadn't been here before and it was busy, which is always a good sign. We were greeted right away and even though it was busy, still got seated right away. The wait staff looked to be a well oiled machine and were communicating with each other all the time which was great to see. The menu was really extensive and a bit overwhelming, but everything was categorized and our server was really great and gave us some suggestions with the drinks and menu. We ordered the combo sangria and traditional margaritas, and our server suggested those frozen...and they were delicious!! Chips and salsa were delivered quickly and we ordered guacamole to go with it. All was as expected. For dinner, my husband got the Victoria Special. He said the chili pablano was really good and the chicken was good, just a little unexpected since it was pounded really thin. There was also tortillas and a fresh salad with lettuce and tomatoes with his dinner. I had the shrimp tacos which had the traditional double corn tortillas, onion and cilantro. It came with refried beans and rice. A squeeze of lime and there were pretty tasty! The meal didn't disappoint. During our time there, the staff recognized a couple of birthdays which was fun to see. The live band was gearing up and doing some sound checks. We found out they have love music starting at 9 pm on Saturdays and karaoke too....can't recall when our server said that was. We definitely would come back again on a Saturday for the live music and drinks and would come back for dinner as well! read more

El Centenario Mexican Grill - Mexican Near Me - Grand Rapids, Michigan

Very fast and friendly service! This is a great family friendly place to visit! The service is great and quick! The food is very tasty and the menu has a wide variety of food and drinks! Their cheese dip is definitely one of my favorites! I can't wait to go back soon! read more

Pleasantly surprised by our meal at El Centenario. We were seated right away on a Friday night. We were greeted at our table right away and had our drinks in minutes. My frozen margarita was perfect. Our server was friendly and the restaurant was clean. You could tell this restaurant was brand new and it was very nice. Freshly updated and remodeled. Our food came quick and was hot and delicious. I'm so happy we tried this restaurant because now we have another spot to frequent on 28th St. read more

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Great seafood options. Very good torre de mariscos/seafood tower. Great drinks, try palomas, cantaritos and micheladas. And great service. I have always sat at the bar so have received fast service every time. Great music too. read more

Two of us went. One had Bistec Ranchero, another had...hmmmmm...chicken dish with cheesy rice. Both were done very well, with attentive service. Flavors good, with plenty that we needed takeout. Drinks are rather amazing. Happy hour 4pm to close with good prices on all (see picture). The happy hour margarita had plenty of alcohol, so not a watered down discount drink. No complaints. read more

El Centenario Mexican Grill - Happy Hour Drinks - Mexican Near Me - Grand Rapids, Michigan

This place was not crowded for a Friday night. Came here for the first time with some friends. The drink aren't bad. Food portions here are large, and I was impressed with the shrimp fajitas I ordered. The burritos looked gigantic. The rice and beans were just ok. The menu is huge and felt a bit on the pricey side. Atmosphere is nice though. read more

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eyes bigger than stomach ordered fajitas for 2 could easily feed 4-6 people wish i knew before excellent fajitas and all night drink specials great interior also read more

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The food was delicious! Our service we had was really great as well. Very cool interior and very friendly staff. read more

El Centenario Mexican Grill - Quesabirria tacos - Mexican Near Me - Grand Rapids, Michigan

I came here by myself on a Sunday night, was seated right away. As I looked around there were many Latin people in the dining room, which was a good sign. The walls were filled with murals that were brightly colored. I opened the menu, and I was really looking forward to trying some items. The menu was extensive! There was some of every kind of food. All of your Mexican favorites like tacos and burritos. There was lots of seafood options. I decided to try their signature dish, Molcajete, which is Steak, chicken, shrimp, chorizo, carne asada, bell peppers, onions, with queso blanco, all served in a cast iron bowl. The dinner started off with chips and salsa. The salsa was spiced well, but was watery. The chips tasted stale to me. My iced tea was basically tea-tinted water. I was going to tell my waiter, but he never came back to check on me before dropping off the main entree. The main entree was impressive. It came sizzling to my table, and it was a very generous portion. It smelled fantastic! I was only able to eat a small fraction of it (especially after eating chips, but you know how that goes). I needed to take most of it home. It was greasy, I waited quite a while for my server to come back to my table. I gave all the usual signs that I was finished. I put my utensils down and pushed my plate away from me. Still he didn't arrive. I was almost ready to get up to ask someone that I needed him, but then he appeared. I'd give the decor an A, the food a B, and the service a C. A little disappointing. Because of the great selection of offerings I'd be willing to go back, and hope that it is more consistent. read more

El Centenario Mexican Grill - Molcajete - Mexican Near Me - Grand Rapids, Michigan

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I was not super impressed with this place. Having read some good reviews I was hoping for a super good experience, but I was a bit disappointed. Our waiter brought us a basket of chips with salsa. The salsa was good, but the chips had absolutely no salt and I prefer salt on my chips. I solved that by salting the chips as I ate them, but that's a pain. I ordered three steak tacos, knowing that I would end up taking some of it home with me. I should have ordered just one taco, as that's all I ended up eating. I never did eat the leftovers that I took home with me because the meat was just too salty. I was so disappointed, I really wanted to like this new restaurant. I haven't given up though, we will go again and I will try something else the next time. read more

El Centenario Mexican Grill - Steak tacos - Mexican Near Me - Grand Rapids, Michigan

Visited for the first time since its inception- the alcohol drink menu was very reasonably priced, the food was amazing and the ambiance, though not to my taste was very nice. read more

Absolutely my favorite Mexican so far. I had the shrimp Fajitas. There were a dozen shrimp and they were BIG and cooked perfectly. The guacamole was delicious. The number 6 combo my friend hand was very good. He loved the fresh grated Mexican cheese on the taco and thought the flavors were good. Said the temp could have been just a little warmer. The burrito combo that my other friend had was very good. The chicken one was the best he said. We will definitely be back. Ty he service was fast and efficient. Give them a try. read more

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My o my o my o my!!!!! This was the goods! Jeepers I was in the mood for some good inexpensive Mexican food and beer and this place delivered! Went in, easy to sit myself at the bar, in a minute or two, had a basket of great tortilla chips and a fancy like bottle of salsa, delish!!!! And then got myself a happy hour special on a delicious ice cold dos equiis , this monster mug was so big had to use two hands to lift 'er up. And man was it awesome. On to the main course, unbeatable carne asada tacos (recommended by the delightful bartender). They were off the charts wonderful!!!!! Go here when stuck on 28th street, waiting for an early morning flight. And you know it's good Mexican food when you don't gas up the plane the next day. Win win! read more

Good tacos, yummy spicy margarita and private areas if you're with yer loud obnoxious friends. Had a great night and the queso birria tacos also very good. Will come back read more

This place gave me the worst food poisoning I've had in years.. I would appreciate if someone from management reached out. I lost a whole day of work because of it. read more

Service was ok. Food quality was very poor. I've never seen ground beef served as the "steak" option. Maybe one of the worst tamales I've ever had. Even the tacos were substandard. I never knew you could mess up simple tacos. read more

Good atmosphere and friendly staff. Prices are really really good , the decor is nice and fun . I ordered the steak queso fundido and it was amazing lots of steak and fresh nachos and for our entree we got the El trompito which is basically pork and it was nice , tasty and enough for 3 or 4 people in my opinion . Mango and original margaritas were really good and pretty strong read more

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Friendly and eager staff serving a large, typical American Mexican menu. Honestly, both times I've been the food came out almost *too* fast - give a guy some time for chips and salsa! Food itself is average I'd say, but the menu is so large I'm sure it would take a while to figure out what their best dishes are. I'd go back to try something different! read more

If you like Velvetta cheese for your rellanos and enchiladas then you'll like this. Not real cheese...

Food, service, and margaritas were amazing great place to come if you get a chance!!! I'll be back for sure. They also have many Happy Hour specials go explore and enjoy!!! read more

El Centenario Mexican Grill - Fajita quesadillas - Mexican Near Me - Grand Rapids, Michigan

Outstanding food and service. Tasted very authentic. We will be back! Great addition to easttown. read more

We went there yesterday for the first time in several months. As before the service was quick and efficient. The food was very good and was ready in a short time. The portions were large. A very friendly and welcoming experience. read more

Happy Hr Margaritas were VERY good. Salsa - smooth and fresh tasting! Food was awesome - authentic Service was great!!! Beautiful authentic art and very nice decor. The restaurant is busy every time we come by, so decided to give it a shot - GLAD WE DID! read more

Service was very fast. Setting was comfortable. Our food was out fast, hot, and fresh. The food was very delicious, and the prices are very fair. The only minor critiques I have is that the music was a little over the top for the atmosphere, and the server could have been more attentive. read more

El Centenario Mexican Grill - Quesobirria - Mexican Near Me - Grand Rapids, Michigan

Although I placed a lunch reservation two weeks in advance, and phoned the day before, they did not have a table ready for us and pushed 3 tables together in the bar while we waited. The wait staff was incredibly slow and inattentive, though the restaurant was nearly empty. We were ignored for several minutes while three staff chatted less than 10 feet from our table. The server was also so lazy, he passed plates down from one end rather than walking around the table - there was plenty of room. Yes, we had to pass other people's plates. This was a retirement luncheon, and it was not a pleasant experience. The food was mediocre, but the staff were just this side of awful. Not terrible, but certainly didn't make us feel welcome or like they appreciated our business of 10 people. Lazy, inattentive, unprofessional. Not going back. read more

Th food and service is so bad ! I have not ever had such bad tasteless Mexican food! This the worst Mexican restaurant I've ever been to ! Don't waste your money! read more

The food was soooo good and the margarita was the best I've had in a long time. You get so much for your money here!