An excellent Mexican restaurant. The portions were massive and the food was delicious. I loved my beef fajitas and my wife loved her carne asada. My only quibble was that the fajita did not come with either sour cream or cheese. read more

Pleasant local atmosphere, friendly fast service, good food, big portions fair price. Will definitely come back

Amazing! We took our order to-go, and even after a 35min car ride the food was still amazing! Next time we will stay for a full experience. The people we talked to were very nice, and the restaurant looked very cozy and inviting from the doorway where I stood to get my order. Try them today! read more

When we are in the area, this place is a MUST! Love the menudo and the margaritas! The service is great too.

Great service good food we will be back soon. I wish it wasn't so far from where we live

I will start with the bad first ,, food is very bland, taco shells were hard and seemed stale. I was very disappointed as it tasted more like precooked fast food. The staff was friendly but as stated in other reviews very slow with service. It was nice to watch all the birds on the feeders outside the windows. So overall not a good experience. If you don't mind bland food then this will be an ok place for you. I will probably not return. read more

This restaurant has consistently been one of my top favorite places to sit and enjoy good Mexican food FOR DECADES!! Their beans and rice are PERFECT, which is so important because it comes as a side on virtually every entrée. I absolutely love getting tacos there because they will make them with flour tortillas and fey them just right so that they are light and crispy. Their Strawberry Margaritas are the best! I normally don't like anything with tequila but whatever brand they use mixed with the triple sec and strawberries is so delicious that I don't even notice the alcohol taste. Go for their lunch specials and treat yourself to a $6 margie! The view from their upper deck booth seating is truly special. If you can call ahead and reserve or wait to have one of those spots, I recommend you do so once in a while. Especially at Christmas. My husband and I took our kids with us on date night when they had the Christmas lights up. The kids were so thrilled and we had the best family meal together. This place is special. Trust me. read more

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We had a wonderful night at dinner. This is the spot to come to after a long hike. Food was great! Not sure why they only have 3.5 stars. They deserve a solid 4.5 :) Jessica was our waitress. Excellent service. We loved that the owner (Tony) came out to hang out with everyone. Great vibes! We will be back! read more

Been a satisfied customer for decades. I've watched both the restaurant and the family grow over the years. Tony is always present to make sure that things are running smoothly and his customers are happy. What's not to like? Consistently great food. Friendly service. Beautiful setting with a nice view of the mountains. Always packed for good reason. read more

It's been several years since I've eaten here. Wasn't impressed then but I thought I would give them another chance. I arrived alone and hungry for lunch. Was seated promptly and brought chips and salsa right away. I ordered a tostada on the lunch special with guacamole. The food was edible but not much flavor at all. The guacamole was gross so I ended up just pushing it to the side. Overall, it's okay if you aren't expecting the best Mexican around and just want a quick meal on your way through town. But I wouldn't go out of my way to go here. read more

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After a long and truly amazing day in Yosemite we looked forward to relaxing with our go-to Mexican comfort food and a margarita. We were bit let down by both the flavorless food and sad atmosphere. The atmosphere was one of clattering plates and harried staff as their wifi was out and there was no music to drown out conversations from nearby diners. The view out window of a small hill had an eery blue/green tinged light shining on misc knick-nacks. Chips were brought with a liquidy pico de gallo that didn't taste at all fresh. Tortillas accompanying the fajitas were cold as if coming from days in a fridge. One was inedible, as it was crumpled, hardened and stale. We left much uneaten and didn't take leftovers. The strong margaritas thankfully helped decrease the clarity of a disappointing experience. read more

Oakhurst is a small town down south from Walnut Creek it's a town in the Yosemite area nice area to visit El cid is probably one of few Mexican restaurants down there it's ok the help is fantastic people were real nice but the food it not that bad not that good . But if you are you down that way it's a nice stop for some ok Mexican food and great staff read more

Hadn't been there for a while so figured we'd give it another shot. As always it was so noisy that I couldn't hear the people at my table with me. The food was salty and the salsa had no flavors. However, as always, the albondigas soup was so good. read more

Agreeing with a lot of the reviews on here ; this was sad. Food was edible , but definitely nothing special , bland , & not worth their prices . Service was extremely slow. Ordered guacamole for chips & didn't receive it for 20 minutes . Our server was nice & I honestly felt bad for her, as it seems like a management problem more-so than her fault. Go somewhere else . It should never take an hour & a half to complete a meal at a place that wasn't busy for a party of 2 . This really killed the vibe of an amazing day at Yosemite we had before this meal . read more

My husband and I really wanted to go to another Mexican restaurant but unfortunately it was closed. So our second choice was this restaurant as I wanted Mexican food. The margarita which was a Cadillac was really good. My husband and I both had chili Verde burritos. They were pretty good but the beans and rice were just OK. We had a little trouble with the service we had to find somebody to get us more water and then get the bill at the end. Not the best Mexican food I've had. read more

Service was pretty bad. Asked for water twice before the waitress finally brought it to us. The tacos are terrible. The soup was actually really good. The rice tasted weird and the beans were fine. Lots of better mexican food to be had in my opinion. read more

(Skip to indentation part for just the food review) I've been going to this restaurant since about 2011 every time I've visited bass lake/Yosemite. It's been about 4 years since I've last been in the area and I stayed in awahnee this time not knowing how close I was to the area I grew up visiting! Driving over to do a hike in Yosemite everything started to look familiar and then when I passed El Cid I told my boyfriend that we had to stop by since I used to love coming to this restaurant after a long day at the lake/hiking/snowboarding. We did a hike in Yosemite and on our way back we got: Chips and salsa - comes with your order!! Honestly this still slaps so much, I used to be able to pound like 3 orders of these, the chips are nice and crispy but not the type where they are too hard ya know. The chips are also seasoned in some yummy chili/lime seasoning I think. The salsa has some heat on it too with jalapeños inside Chile verde dinner plate - im glad I got this because it comes with a side of abondigas soup (or salad) and that soup is SO YUMMY! The rice and beans are great too and the chili verde sauce is b o m b. So good to mix in the tortillas the meal comes with to get that sauce in every bite :). The pork itself is good but nothing too special, not that tender or anything but the sauce was seriously so good. El cid burrito - my boyfriend got this and liked the fajitas in the burrito and the mushrooms, he got it with chicken and said the meat itself was a little dry but the sauce on the burrito and the moisture from the veggies were great They are doing take out right now and our order was done in 15 minutes on a Friday night! read more

El Cid - Chile verde dinner plate with rice and bean sides and side of albondigas soup - Mexican Near Me - Oakhurst, California

Met my girlfriend for lunch today. Our waitress helped me pick out a few vegan options, took our order and left. She brought back our water and food. We did not see her again until she showed up with Togo containers, we didn't even ask for. Told no thank you, but please order me a shrimp cocktail to take home to hubby. She never asked if we needed anything or refill our waters. I had to go ask a busboy for hot sauce as our food tasted so bland. Even the hot sauce wasn't hot. We got home and there were only four shrimp in the shrimp cocktail and it too was very bland. I asked my girlfriend how she felt about the food and she agreed, very boring. This is not what type of service or food we ever have. Not planning on going back. read more

This place is a gem! Don't be fooled by its appearance. We were visiting Yosemite for a few days and staying at Tenaya. We had driven by this place a few times and it looked like a dive hole in the wall but other reviews encouraged us to try it. Lovely and BIG place! The patio looked super fun. The staff was super friendly and really on top of drink refills. We ended up going twice this place was so good! The dishes we tried were, enchiladas suisas, shrimp enchilada, taco, nachos and bean and cheese burrito. Portions are generous, prices reasonable and food is yummy! Plus you get soup or salad with your entree. Wow! I really wanted to try the flan but I was too full. read more

Yes, this was the closest option to our lodging, which often means a lackluster restaurant, but I was pleasantly surprised. While definitely on the Americanized side of Mexican food, there were touches that felt a bit more authentic. Service was friendly and super speedy. They didn't rush us, but we were served quickly and could have made it out of there in probably thirty minutes if that had been our desire. Impressive, given it was busy at dinnertime. The interior is not anything exciting and a little dark, but fine. We had the best seats in a windowed back room featuring views of a cute little courtyard full of cacti and a gang of entertaining hummingbirds. Warm seasoned chips and fresh pico de gallo-y salsa were placed in front of us as soon as we sat down. Though neither was spicy, they were flavorful, and our group went through 4 baskets. We never actually ran out, rather the server immediately brought us more as soon as we got low. The menu is large, includes burgers and other American fare. and breakfast is available all day (YAS). Portions are generous. I ordered the machaca plate (with eggs), and thoroughly enjoyed the meat and fresh veggies. It was more-ish, though again not spicy. The included refried beans and rice were average, but tasty enough. I had a bite of the chorizo omelet, which was borderline over seasoned, but overall good. The El Cid sauce (we requested a side of it just to try) is oddly sweet, but sort of yummy. If this does not sound like your jam it's only another five minutes to get into Oakhurst proper, where you'll have many more options. For me, this ended up being the best place I dined while visiting the Yosemite area. read more

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Perfect way to end a day at Yosemite! The chips and salsa are free, hot, and unlimited. Salsa is more like pico de gallo but the flavor was great. We started with the chicken quesadilla and didn't realize it was big enough to feed 2 people for a whole meal. The shredded chicken in the quesadilla had awesome flavor, we really enjoyed it!! Our entree was the 3 enchilada combo plate. We got chicken, beef, and shredded beef. We like all of them and loved the beans and rice. We were too full to finish it. Service was great and quick. read more

El Cid - Chicken quesadilla - Mexican Near Me - Oakhurst, California

Food was excellent! Came out quickly, and staff was very friendly. If you find yourself in the area - this is definitely worth it! Great food after a long day at Yosemite. read more

El Cid - Burrito - Mexican Near Me - Oakhurst, California

I don't give a ton of reviews. Actually, I haven't been moved to leave a review for years...until now. I know La Plazuela is the top Mexican food restaurant in Oakhurst. So I've always gone there instead of El Cid. On my way to Plazuela, I drive by El Cid every time and I see all the cars parked in front of the building and I say to myself, "I really should try that place." The issue is, based on what I've seen I assumed El Cid was a local version of El Toronto, and I was wrong...it was even worse! How is that possible?! I tell you what, just stop reading this review and go to La Plazuela. ...but if you must keep reading, I don't like killing restaurants. Just like us they're entitled to have a bad day. But that being said, here's what needs some love: - the tap water they serve is officially the worst I've ever had. Everyone in my party took a sip and all looked up at the same time with bitter beer faces. - the chips were stale - the soda had no fizz - the rice tasted off, as verified by everyone at the table - worst of all, the guacamole tasted like it was made by a chef in Wisconsin that never had it before and tried to 'wing it', only to create some of the worst 'handmade' guacamole I've ever had. - there were TVs on in the dining room with the nightly news, and just in case you brought your VHS cassette of the 'Great Outdoors' they had a VCR for you All that being said, El Cid is always busy when I drive by...so what do I know?? read more

Loved the food and the service was fast and amazing, I come here every time I visit Yosemite.

El Cid is one of the limited places to have Mexican food in the mountains in Oakhurst. The best things they have are the chips n salsa and the albondigas. I recently tried the tostada bowl with shredded beef and it was pretty good. I added rice to my bowl. Service is mediocre nothing amazing and nothing horrible. Ambiance is nice if you can sit by the windows where the bird feeder is. Margaritas are 7/10. read more

El Cid - Chips n salsa and the spicy salsa 10/10 - Mexican Near Me - Oakhurst, California

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5 stars for the hearty albondigas soup, chips and salsa, and friendly service. Rest of the food was mediocre, wish we had water refills but our server kept forgetting. read more

El Cid - Delicious. Large Albondigas Soup w 4-5 meatballs with lots of hearty vegetables. 3 enchiladas combo was ave. Very friendly and fast service. - Mexican Near Me - Oakhurst, California

This is a decent spot with good service. The food was speedy and simple, and the margaritas were yum. We had a kids quesadilla, shredded beef tostada and pork burrito. They were family friendly and prices were fair for a touristy area. read more

Was super hungry and on the way back to our hotel. Food was normal. Nothing to rave about but it did feed our hunger. The chip and salsa was good too. Free refills. The waiter was super nice to us. Would recommend after a long hike. read more

El Cid - Mexican Near Me - Oakhurst, California

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We came to this restaurant because it had a lot of good reviews. However, not only was the food not 'authentic' Mexican food as the reviews said, but our dinner was ruined by this LONG WHITE HAIR COOKED INTO MY ENCHILADA that I had to pull out from the back of my throat. The waitress did take the meal off of the bill but unfortunately they can't remove the traumatic experience I had, 0/10 would recommend. read more

El Cid - long white hair - Mexican Near Me - Oakhurst, California

Good food, large portions and friendly staff. Love the location. Best place to sit is by the windows to enjoy the view. Oh and the chips/salsa rock! read more

TW FOOD POISONING DISGUSTING AFTERMATH. Where to begin. It was the 2nd time id been here w my husband, baby, mother in law & father in law for dinner. We got there at 6-630pm. They were busy. We got a table within 5 mins. The problem 1st off is we all ordered & an hour later the place had pretty much cleared out so they werent busy anymore. My husband & I had a salad. We ate them, the bussers took the bowls pretty quickly. But we were still waiting for someone to bring us a booster seat, i was just sitting w him in my lap, & no one brought us more chips for our salsa. Then 3 plates of food came out. So my mil had a plate, my fil had a plate & my husband had a plate but none for me & the baby. Weird. I had ordered fajitas so i figured maybe they were taking longer but where was my enchilada plate for my son? So i asked our waitress & she told me she forgot & it never got made. She went & had them make it right away & said it was taken off our bill since that was her fault. She brings out the enchiladas for my son & im still sitting there w no food just an empty table in front of me so its really just a wonder how she didnt have the basic cognitive skills to notice everyone had food in front of them except for me & i asked her about my fajitas She had this "oh sh*t" look come across her face as she said something like "yes i put that in ill go get it" which was obviously a lie & by the time i even got my food everyone else at the table was done eating & the baby was fussy so i just put it in a to-go container & went home. It was also taken off our bill. TW Heres where it gets even worse. My husband had diarrhea all night & the next day (this was last night Saturday Jan 15 2022 & today) I ate when i got home but it didnt taste very good & i was worried since it was rushed at the last minute the chicken might not have been cooked all the way. The vegetables definitely werent cooked through so i threw it away & also got food poisoning for sure i was throwing up & also had diarrhea. Ps so did the baby. He had diarrhea too including today. So idk if it was the salad or the beans & rice or if the prep table is filthy but we are never going back there again. I am friends w a girl who tests our produce fields for bacteria & you would be amazed how many different types of disgusting bacteria she finds on our vegetation. Theres a reason lettuce gets recalled so often. Maybe they arent rinsing the salad good enough. My inlaws didnt have any issues just us. So it was either the salad, rice, or beans bc thats the only thing me, my husband, & the baby ate that my inlaws didnt. Cant believe i sat at a table for 2 hours w no chips, a dirty poison salad just to go home & play musical toilet w my husband. That was fun. Thanks read more

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Great service. The staff was very friendly and I felt they appreciated my business. The chips and salsa were very good. Chile relleno and beef taco were good too. read more

Slow and no service for 20 minutes. Food was average but over priced, salsa good. Once order was taken it took awhile to receive it. Prepare to wait read more

This is a place that everyone loves. They have the best homemade chips and salsa, and it's all complimentary while you are waiting for your order at your table. Very spacious and abundant seating. The food is always fresh and made quickly. Excellent quality and very attentive staff. Wide variety of menu items as well. This is a regular place to go to and always have an excellent experience. Thank-you El Cid! read more

Outstanding service, superb food, authentic and great atmosphere. Definitely will be back

Service was very friendly and fast. The strawberry margarita was good. If you want Mexican food in Oakhurst, skip El Cid and go to Plazuelas or one of the other places in town. read more

This was an excellent restaurant the service was really good, the prices were good for the meal we got. We're in town on vacation in California and will definitely be back if we're ever this Far East against. The beer was cold also read more

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Food: 4.5/5 This is some of my favorite traditional Mexican food in California. Their enchiladas, burritos, tacos, chips, and salsa are all amazing and keep the delicious taste of classic Mexican food. Service: 4/5 The waiters/waitresses are all very nice and give you unlimited complementary chips and salsa as appetizers. This place is usually packed almost every evening so expect a 25-45 minute wait! But they do allow reservations for groups of 6 or more. Decor: 4/5 Mix of traditional Mexican decor with outdoorsy/cabin feel which makes it a cosy little restaurant. The quality of the tables and chairs is okay, but everything else is nice. Menu: 4.5/5 One of the largest menus I've seen! Almost 5 pages of different combinations and plates you can get! The best part about it is that they cook everything on there to perfection! Overall: 17/20, Highly Recommended! :) read more

El Cids is an ok place to eat when your in Oakhurst. The food isn't bad and it's got a cool vibe to it. If your looking for authentic Mexican food then you might want to loook somewhere else haha but never the less the food isn't bad at all. Parking is always good and the service is always friendly and fast. The do get a little busy sometimes but the wait has never been to long. Go check 'em out read more

El Cid - Mexican Near Me - Oakhurst, California

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El Cid used to be the go-to, always consistent, and reliable place to go in Oakhurst for a hearty meal and good service. Not sure what has happened in the last few months (post Covid effects notwithstanding). Not one of our last 5 orders (one of which was eat-in) was correct, with either the wrong entree ingredients requested or sides like salsa, guac, chips, etc., completely excluded. Frustrating when you get the bag home and it's all wrong. The corn tortillas are now small and mealy. You can't even pick them up without them falling apart. So disappointing and sad to see this place that we've been going to for decades go downhill. Tony, where are you? :'( read more