I love the El Chico in Pantego, it looks like a little Mexican town kind of reminds me of babes Chicken, with the way it is set up. One building is a Cantina with a full bar, there's "street" seating. And a couple of little rooms that look like they're inside a building that can be rented for parties, or just regular restaurant seating. The food here is delicious, it has really improved over the years. I love the Reana. It's such a wonderful, thick pepper, and they stuffed the enchilada full of shredded chicken. I also love the Horchata... They have several other rice based drinks you can get in the bar, but they are delicious. The service is always helpful. They are sweet and make great suggestions and are attentive to make sure you are taken care of. One of the group some a member of constantly has our meetings here because of such good service and food. Also, they have good specials. I highly recommend coming by for a visit read more

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Great place, very cool decor, great food choices and abundant servings- and a good waiter, all of this makes this place a fantastic place for a family get together! I specially Enjoyed the setting inside the restaurant like a Mexican plaza complete with a fountain! lol The food was standard Tex-mex, flavorful and fresh, and from what I heard , this restaurant has been around for a bunch of years (more than 20!) so that must say something for their quality and goodness... locals seem to really appreciate this place. Anyway we had a fantastic time and ate some good Tex mex! Enjoy! read more

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Walked in and noticed how it is set up like a small town in Mexico. They had plenty of seating. We were greeted and sat quickly. Destinee our server was very friendly gave us the run down. Everyone there had a smile and look like they really enjoyed working there. The chip and salsa was nice and kept us busy until the food came lol. The refried beans and rice were good. The enchiladas and quesadilla hit the spot perfect. read more

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I love the queso and the chicken enchiladas verdes. I came here with my family for dinner, and Italy was our server. She was attentive, welcoming and gave us a great experience. We'll definitely be back! read more

El Chico - Kaiju-sized rubber ducks in the fountain. Tragically not on the menu. - Mexican Near Me - Pantego, Texas

Small portions Thursday special Kid was running up and dwn stairs mommy was not keeping an eye on her kid .that kills the meal . The cheese sauce was not enough for chips .not going back F minus read more

El Chico - Mexican Near Me - Pantego, Texas

El Chico has been around a long time doing Tex Mex meals. We stopped going to El Chico's but recently we rediscovered them. I like the way El Chico's make enchiladas that brings me back. This location in Pantego has look the same forever. They needs an update inside is a little run down. I like the enchiladas and the crunchy taco. I think the have one the best tacos. Order the Laredo plate to get this combination. Chips and salsa plus a margarita go good together with this meal. The food comes out very fast. Too fast need to slow down a bit. I did not get a chance to eat chips and salsa. The service is okay the young lady server was a little shy and standoffish. read more

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We love this place! Prices are up a bit tho-4 tacos ( no sides)$20. A bit much. We will still patronize but less often . read more

Great deals on drinks and food! I enjoyed a margarita on the rocks and a sweet tea and some tacos for a great lunch during happy hour. read more

El Chico - Good food and drinks. Came around 2:30pm for drink specials and lunch to fill our bellies. - Mexican Near Me - Pantego, Texas

$11 for a premade margarita that is 90% ice.. crazy Being made to re-use the same straw for each drink.. crazy The faint smell of bleach and dirty rags.. crazy Having to wait 15 minutes for your tab when you are the only person in the bar.. crazy That manager that never does anything but feels compelled to come by your table and ask if everything is fine while changing nothing about the food or service.. crazy Your food is garbage, and your service is worse. And it would be great if you could hire some employees that actually speak fluent English given that this is a restaurant in America. No wonder this dumpster fire is always empty. read more

We used to go to El Chico quite often but after Covid we kind of forgot about them. Recently we decided to try them again and have been quite pleased each time. I really like just a good Mexican combo plate and The Juarez plate does not disappoint. The plate is a cheese and onion enchilada, cheese taco, crunchy beef taco, rice and beans. Along with great chips and salsa you have a great meal for a decent price. I'm glad that we rediscovered them and will be back for more. BTW, the house margaritas are pretty darn good too. read more

If you are looking for good Tex-Mex with large portions and a great price tag, look no further. I highly recommend the Chimi combo and Cinco Enchiladas. The Chimi combo comes with a deep-fried chicken Chimi with a wine chipotle sauce(which is to die for) Definitely the best sauce I've at ay any TexMex restaurant, ever! It also comes with a grilled chicken fajita tostada( chalupa), an old-fashioned taco(puffy taco), and rice for $15.99. The Cinco Enchiladas come with 5 different Enchiladas: Avacado with a green Verde sauce, a cheese Enchilada with the wine chipotle sauce, a bean n cheese with Rachero sauce, a Chicken Enchilada with sour cream sauce and beef with a salsa sauce and rice and beans for $13.99. The rice and beans are OK, but if you add some of the complimentary salsa to it, it helps. Overall, for the price and good service, I give it 5 stars. The decor is also fun. read more

El Chico - Bottom: Chimi Combo with Rice, Old fashioned taco(puffy), Chalupa(tostada) Top: Cinco Enchiladas - Mexican Near Me - Pantego, Texas

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Went here after church. It was really nice. Food hot fresh . Takes while for service waitress slow. read more

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absolutely ridiculous. made a reservation for 12 with $100 deposit. they keep $50 as a fee. it does not come off your bill. if you choose to have a large party, just show up, avoid the theivery. beyond poor customer service. and the waiter spilled extremely hot food on my 80 yr old father who was a weekly guests until today. will never go back. read more

WARNING TO FAMILIES: THIS RESTAURANT ALLOWS SMOKING INSIDE. My family (including an almost two year old kid who is prone to contracting Croup), my in-laws, and our friend and her family all came together for dinner at El Chico in Pantego. I'll start with the positives: food and service were excellent. There were a couple mixups in our orders; but to be fair, we had a fairly large party. Now (sadly) on to the negative: after we'd settled in, placed our orders, and had already received our drinks and appetizers we noticed that suddenly and strongly smelled of cigarette smoke in the restaurant. It didn't take long for us to see that a couple seated down the hall from us were smoking inside! Assuming this couldn't possibly be allowed, we spoke to the manager who informed us that they did indeed allow smoking inside the restaurant... To be fair, the restaurant staff was quick to offer us a table farther way from them. Although they hesitated when we first asked (thinking the person would refuse the request), the manager did go ask the patron if he'd be willing to stop smoking while we were eating there. We had a lot of kids as well as at least a couple people with asthma or other lung issues in our party. Needless to say, we were very disappointed to find out this restaurant allows smoking indoors. We would not have come in the first place if we had known ahead of time. There were no signs on the entry doors, warnings online, or anything that would've notified us ahead of time that smoking was permitted here. Given the fact that the restaurant's website, Google listing, and even menus highlighted this restaurant as kid and family friendly, I'm shocked at this allowance. I'm not even sure if smoking is allowed inside a regular restaurant in Tarrant county... In any case, this restaurant either needs to clearly list on their entry doors and website that they allow smoking or they need to stop allowing it if they are going to market this place as family friendly. You can't have it both ways. I'm giving this restaurant two stars since they did provide great service and good food. Otherwise, it would've been one star because, again on principle, I must leave a negative review and make sure other families are aware before bringing their families inside. read more

Always a fav in this city. You can walk right in, and you're immediately helped by a server to get seated or place a to-go order. The salsa has been the same great recipe for years, and that's why my family has love this place for generations. Used to go here as a kid after church, and now mine love it, too. The enchiladas are simple with spaces to choose from: carne, cheese, or sour cream. Refried beans are a staple when many places are no longer serving these. They accommodate with large groups by using a special room. The bar is small and cozy with plenty of TV area to watch games and such. They always have the lunch specials posted, so it's easy to choose without having to use a full menu. Be back soon. Bon appétit guys! read more

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This is basically a neighborhood Tex-Mex restaurant. It has been there a long, long time and needs a little bit of work on the decor. However I am going to comment more on the food. In my opinion, this food is very good and reasonably priced. They also have some very good specials. Specifically want to comment on their tortilla soup which is excellent and I highly recommend! Service is also good. read more

Last time I ate here was 31yrs ago. El Chico hasn't change much, the service and food was excellent. I had the lunch burrito with beef, chili and bean inside-smothered with cheese con-que*so. Sides of beans and rice were good. read more

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How sad the state of this restaurant. I live in NOLA and always look forward to coming to this location. The first Tex-Mex food I ever had in my life was it in El Chico's and I remember it so fondly. I've tried this location a couple of times and it's been OK, no serious issues. But today? they were severely understaffed and believe me I know how hard it is to find good staff right now. The food was OK, not nearly as good as the last time I dined there, which was about six months ago. The sauce it was on point, chips nice and fresh, but the rice was watery and the charro beans hardly had any flavor. I got a combination plate and it was just okay. Greasy Chile relleno and a beef enchilada. . Why am I so dissatisfied? The queso reminded me of the canned queso you get at the grocery store. Absolutely no flavor, thick and cold and gross. and almost $10 for it. . But the worst? The top shelf Margarita I ordered which has so much sour mix and it was unbelievable. They served me my margarita in a very large tea glass. I would estimate that it had at least 10 ounces of sour mix in it. There was no flavor of Cointreau, barely any flavor of tequila. I stopped the floor manager and told him about it and he admitted he had made the cocktail. So he comes back and he makes it again after me telling him that there was entirely too much sour mix and I just wanted a short drink. Here it comes again, and he is so flustered and running around like crazy and it tasted EXACTLY the same! He then asks if it was okay and honestly before I could answer he said 'okay, good , enjoy.' I took two sips and wasted about $15. I don't think I'll be back to this location because it has deteriorated to the point of me not being willing to spend anymore money there. I work entirely too hard for my money to eat cheese dip that taste like it came out of a Sysco can from a ballpark, and a margarita that had an entire bottle of sour mix poured in it. I've always loved El Chico but this broke my heart. read more

We had never been here before, and came in on a Friday evening. Everything was wonderful! We did the fajitas and Ritas deal- for $25 we got 2 tortilla soups, fajitas for 2 with beef and chicken, and 2 house margaritas. The soup was the best chicken tortilla I've had- the broth was thick and delicious, the chicken was perfect and had a great char flavor. The beef fajita was deliciously salty and tender. The fajitas came with plenty of toppings and tortillas too! The margaritas were great- they didn't taste like they had alcohol, but we could feel a little buzz, so that was good! The service was also great, our waiter was attentive and the rest of the staff (managers?) also checked in from time to time. Overall a really fantastic experience and we will be back! read more

This was a great Mexican restaurant. We were doubtful because of the 3.5 rating but then I saw a Spanish review of 5 so I thought it would be pretty good food and it was. Great chips and salsa and everyone liked their plates, except the tamales. Service was great. The ambiance could be improved but that wouldn't keep me from eating there again. read more

Food was great, drinks and margaritas tasty, service very good and attentive. They still have the relish with pickled onions, carrots and jalapenos upon request with tortillas. Definitely will be going back read more

I just ate a great meal here. Looks like new management has come in, cleaned up and cleaned house. The enchiladas were very good with the same flavor profile in the gravy I remember from childhood. Good beans and rice. Will be back more frequently. read more

Literally the best Mexican restaurant I have ever been to. The chips are nice and Warm and the salsa is perfect. Make sure to order corn tortillas with your chips and salsa!! They are amazing. I'm obsessed with the puffy old fashioned taco and hands down they have the beat beef queso enchiladas. The staff is literally like a 5 star Service. Your drink will always be filled right away. They are so nice and comforting. Great location! read more

Whyyyyyy Why do we keep going back? They've been closed for the 'Rona, and reopened today. We ordered simple enchilada dinners and 2 margaritas (because they only serve marga and bottled beer now ). It ALL sucked. I know, be nice - it's the Rona. I AM being nice. It tasted horrible so saying it 'just' sucked IS being nice!!!! read more

We changed up locations today after church. The ambience is fantastic! The food was great! I will definitely give 5 stars to the service. Anabel was a fantastic server! Definitely coming back to this location. read more

Horrible experience. Seated my family (with an infant) in the bar and then seated smoking tables next to us and asked us to move. We carried all our own drinks etc and they threw away the apps on the table without asking, never brought silverware, water or plates. Margaritas was disgusting and food was cold and chewy, no one ate their meals. On top of it all, when we were walking to the new table (carrying a baby and our drinks) a server yelled profanities that we were in their way. Management needs to do a major retrain of all staff. read more

100% recommend!!! Nothing negative to say about this establishment. It has ... Excellent Food! Outstanding Service! Serene calm atmosphere, definitely not loud or disruptive to those there for a nice dinner after a long day. Also a nice bonus...their prices are competitive. Please support this business. It is the ONLY one (IMO) that continues to provide such incredible outstanding family friendly service all the way around! Especially in the Arlington area. It is hands down my MOST favorite place to go. read more

Our friends brought us here on this Saturday afternoon and we got a table right away. The waiter was friendly, helpful and provided great service! Our food was delivered fast and tasted delicious! After eating, my niece wanted to play the machines up front and I had to get change from one of the waiters for her to have quarters. While she was playing one game, he came over and used his own tip money to win her a stuffed toy out of the other machine! Super sweet and thoughtful of this young man to do that for a little girl he didn't know. Great customer service and great employees overall! read more

This was the Mexican food of my youth in Lubbock. I was surprised to find one open on maps. The rating was a 3.5. I believe overall it deserves a 4.0 the price and friendly staff are higher. The food was good not great. It's not Pappasitos. It's also not $30/ pp. great atmosphere for family fun! read more

I was pleasantly surprised by this place. We have driven past it so many times and finally stopped by for dinner. The patio was great (and empty) this evening and the weather was perfect for it. The food was really good - I had the Blanca enchiladas with spinach & chicken. The kids meals were good with several options. Prices were reasonable. The waiter was great and even ran after us in the parking lot when we forgot our credit card! We will definitely come back. read more

Amazing service, thank you to the kind owner for letting us stay to late, God Bless you guys!

I like going here and the food is good and pretty reasonable. What I don't like is seeing a busboy wearing his pants all sagging and there is 8+ inches of his underwear showing. That is down right unappetizing especially in a restaurant. So gross! Clean up your act El Chico. read more

Great prices, deals everyday, Great food and an amazing fun atmosphere. :) Wednesday is my favorite deal with the chz enchiladas and black beans read more

I have been to this location ever since I can remember. My parents brought us here almost every week for their Tex-Mex fix. It is probably where my love of chicken enchiladas started. Over the years I have stopped by to grab a drink and a quick bite since it is still fairly close to where I live now. Normally I sit in the bar area just because it is quick and easy to get served. They have a sangria margarita that I really love! The past few times have been decent and I really like the bartender they have right now. I would have to say you can definitely get out for under $25 or less if you are on a budget and especially on Tuesday's for their fajita special. read more

I would like to rave about the employees and Manager Mr. Vasquez at the Pantego, Texas location. I have been to this location several times and I am greeted with professionalism and a warm smile. Mr. Vasquez and his team work very hard to ensure each order is correct, hot and delivered in a timely manner. I will continue to support this restaurant as it gives the true meaning of dining with family. Keep up the good work. Mr. Vasquez you are truly amazing and have a great staff supporting you. See you next time! read more

I grew up in Arlington and somehow missed eating at El Chico in Pantego, despite passing by it for years. The GF and I finally stopped in and were pleasantly surprised. The interior is somewhat "divey" and slightly run down. But that is more than made up for by the service and the food. We both ordered chicken tacos and found the flavor and texture of the meat to be excellent. Many Tex-Mex restaurants serve bland meat and try to make up for it with the veggies. However, the cheese and veggies only made our food that much better. They did lose points on the sides. While the beans were quite good the portion size was pretty small. I'm not a huge of Mexican rice, but it was okay and there was a lot of it. The salsa for the chips was thin and tomato based; I didn't care much for it. We shared the apple pie and ice cream for desert. The ice cream was good, but the pie just average. It came out on a hot plate and was served with a boiling butter(?) sauce, although the center of the pie was only warm temperature. It also tasted store-bought. All in all, it was a pleasant meal. Our server was excellent and I had no problem tipping him 20%. We would recommend this location and will go back again if / when we're in the area. read more

El Chico at its best. Our family has been coming here for over 15 years. Thought if I was going to keep coming I'd finally write a review. Restaurant is in the heart of Pantego. Love the area of town. This stores main attraction would be its quality and consistency of food served and it's friendly management and staff. Prepare to feel welcomed as if you're a regular. The staff is very diverse. You can still smoke in the bar area. Place is kept clean. Hope you enjoy as much as we do! read more

El Chico - Mexican Near Me - Pantego, Texas

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Great experience all around! Delicious food, attentive service, and good portions. Before ordering, I asked if the cascable sauce was vinegar based and the server went to the kitchen to find out. She came back with a small bowl for me to sample. It was amazing so I ordered the cascable tacos. They were perfect! My husband enjoyed his enchilada dinner as well, and pointed out that his beef taco was "well stuffed." We were too by the time we left. Very satisfying. read more

Didn't realize they had updated hours due to COVID and when we arrived they still were more than happy to seat us they didn't make us feel rushed the food and service was amazing our server Alex was the best will definitely return!!!! read more

I love this location. I have been to multiple El Chico's in my life and this one is by far the best when it comes to food and service. Dylan & Erin are the best employees. They always make sure we are happy and satisfied. read more