Nothing fancy, but very good tacos, and friendly staff. They were surrounded by other open restaurants, but they were the only one with customers at a 'late dinner' hour, so I picked them. I am very happy with my choice. read more

The best thing I've had here is a chicken burrito. Everything else was bland. I had high hopes of a good tostada but what I got was bland beans on bland meat topped with heavy lettuce and a tomato that wasn't ripe and kind of hard. read more

Really good for a standard Mexican restaurant when you're craving one. The chorizo queso dip is great. Yummy guacamole. Margaritas are not watered down. Carnitas are tender and delicious. Fajitas are standard but good. I even like the rice and beans. Service can be slow. One time we had difficulty getting a special order but they worked with us in the end. Great place to go for margaritas and munchies!!! read more

Food is fine. Nothing out of this world, but yummy. You'll find all your standard favorites. Parking is sometimes difficult.

Not the best food or drinks. The margarita special had bottled sour mix but it was $2.99 so who's gonna complain. Chips tasted stale. Guacamole clearly had sour cream (which I despise) but maybe that's just a preference thing. But the arroz con camarron was pretty good and the salsa was tasty. Glad they were open for a late lunch. read more

Order the tacos a la diabla, with some limes, hot sauce and onions (no cilantro, because fresh cilantro tastes like lawn clippings) on the side. Couple Negro Modelos to go with them. Some of the best tacos I've ever had. read more

The only reason they for 2 stars was because like other reviewers said the chorizo cheese dip was very good. Sadly that was all that was good here. Started out with a shy waiter who nearly said two words and spoke so light I had to ask him again. Our meals where awful I ordered a chicken quesadilla the outside was burned and awful . All they did was throw the shell on the grill with cheese then at the last min put chicken in the middle. However it was stewed shredded meat so it made it soggy. Seemed out of place. My bf got the combo with an enchilada that was gross, the sauce on it was not typical, and a steak quesadilla equally as bad. He did comment that the tea was great tho. Great dip and tea but still will not be returning read more

Last year, I was in Durham for a long weekend to attend a wedding. I stayed at the Marriott directly across the street from El Corral. I made my way to El Corral for several reasons. I was hungover, hungry, and didn't want to cab it to another restaurant in either Durham or Raleigh. I'm not going to lie, I was pleasantly surprised. Super judgmental of me, but I didn't exactly have high expectations for Mexican restaurant located in a small college town in the bible belt. I will never make that judgement again! Great food and prices. Huge portion. Lots of cheese. Some of the best Mexican food I ever had. read more

Probably the worst chile relleno peppers I've ever had! Chips seemed stale and the dining area had a cafeteria feel to it. Not impressed at all read more

Food prices were excellent but the price for the pitcher of margaritas was high, the Texas gold pitcher.

I really like this restaurant their service is as courtesy as it gets and extremely quick. Especially at lunch. Kind of the standard Mexican fare. I can recommend the Pollo fundito I believe it was called. The ACP is also very good. Fajita Burrito is definitely a winner. You get a great amount of food. I almost always have left overs. Sometimes their sweet tea is a little too sweet but I just ask them to cut it with unsweet if that happens. You rarely ever have to ask for a refill on anything including chips. The margaritas are also a delight. You can also count on a quick turn around for to-go orders as well. Just a really good restaurant. We go at least 2 or 3 times a month. Parking can be a challenge as their are two other really popular restaurants, Meelos and Bleu Olive. So at peak times park across the street at the hotel. read more

The food is delicious and the pricing is reasonable. I have never had to wait for a table and the service is very quick. I frequent this place a lot because it is so close, convenient, and they serve the best margaritas in the Durham area. read more

Food is simply excellent. They use fresh ingredients and cook everything nicely. Even common dishes like fish taco or shrimp quesadilla are exceptionally tasty. The complimentary salsa and chips are a nice touch. I always come here when I visit this area...a hidden gem! read more

Visited for take out. . Restaurant wasn't busy yet had to wait about 30 minutes. Order came out wrong but took it anyway...i was hungry and didn't want to wait any longer. Got home ans began to eat. YUCK. I've had better frozen Mexican. They used to be so good. read more

Great food, clean restaurant, good service. Fajitas were great. Margarita was strong. No wait, food came promptly. Easy location to get in. Def would recommend. read more

El Corral uses seemingly "friendly" service to cover up the real experience, which is that this restaurant is grotesquely overpriced. A Fajitas Texanas for nearly $16 and you get four shrimps, 5 overcooked, super thin "strips" of "steak", and 5 pieces of chicken. They make it appear they are giving you a lot of food by also handing you a plate of iceburg lettuce and a slice of tomato. The portion of rice and beans has been cut down to half over the last 6 months. Ok, I can get on board with trying to overcharge gullible patrons, but here is where I draw the line: the friendly service everyone is raving about is a bunch of passive-aggressive people who smile at the gringos but seethe underneath. It's weird, when the waiters/owner ask if you need anything, then you have their "permission" to tell them what you need, but if you ask for something when they have NOT given you "permission" to ask, their eyes flash behind their fake smiles. Get a load of this: my husband ordered a chicken taco, and THEY made the mistake of bringing out a beef taco. When we politely told them about having ordered chicken, not beef, oh man, you should've seen the waiter. In a very creepy manner, he stood there with a frozen smile on his face and said about the taco "These are beef tips." What? Yes, the meat is beef, we ordered chicken. Then he stood there for 5 more seconds with that frozen smile on his face and said again "These are beef tips." Seriously, I think what was happening was that he was seething underneath and trying not to explode so he was repeating something to keep from exploding. He then said "Now you want chicken?" What do you mean NOW we want chicken? We ordered chicken from the get go. My husband has never said the word beef tips in his life. We said "Well, we ordered chicken from the beginning - it's not that we are changing our order." He stood there and started chuckling and shaking his head the way you do when you can't believe someone has done something stupid. But you see the irony in this, right? HE made the error, but felt we were being demanding gringos for politely pointing out he had brought us something we had not ordered. He stood there and continued shaking his head and laughing under his breath, and both my husband and I felt VERY uncomfortable. Anyway, watch out. Only when they give you "permission" to ask for something should you do so, otherwise they'll be muttering under their breath. On a previous visit, the table next to us had handed the waiter a coupon when it was time to pay for their meal and that same waiter walked away looking irritated. I think they seriously feel as though they are doing US a favor and have this sense of entitlement that we should just go in and not ask for any "favors" such as "getting the order correct" or "using coupons that they themselves distributed in fliers." I remember saying to my husband last time "Well, we better not use a coupon here because that guy really didn't seem to like it." So don't fall for their "overtly" friendly demeanor when they're in fact laughing at us. I'm serious, go to a place that appreciates your business. If you read other reviews, the people who have rave reviews of this place have never had to see how this business deals with mistakes they make. I assure you, when the time comes to correct a mistake that they made, their true colors will show. Read any review where the customer had to talk to the waiter outside of the time they give you permission to ask for something - the waiters and owner will treat you like an idiot. They seriously don't care. I encourage people to value their money enough to give it to a place that appreciates their business. read more

We consider this far and away the best Mexican restaurant in Durham - maybe in the Triangle. The food is good, seems to be fresh (not Micro-Mex); the service is friendly and prompt; the drinks are good; aand they have a couple of great Mexican beers on tap. My wife is from Arizona and El Corral makes her feel very much at home. Moreover, we have taken Mexican friends there and they always give an enthusiastic thumbs up. read more

Service was terrible! We went to El Corral on Friday night with my niece and nephew. All they wanted was chips with cheese. There wasn't one on the child's menu so we ordered the Adult nachos with cheese. The order came and there were only 17 chips on the plate with a little bit of cheese. I asked the waiter about it and he just said this is what you ordered. So we asked another waiter who came by and he went and asked his manager. He came back and said that was a regular order. My husband and I both tried to tell them that for that amount of money this was not right. They just shrugged their shoulders and walked away. My husband told them we would not be back. When he went to pay the bill and manager asked us how was our meal and my husband said not well. She just ignored him and didn't say another word. I would not recommend this restaurant to anyone! read more

I just went to eat there. My boyfriend and I been there a few times. The service was great. The food is good. But today after a very rough day at work went there to eat (I was starving) and I always get veggie enchiladas. I took my own cheese and sour cream (soy base) since Im don't consume dairy. I have done it before and never got a problem with it at any restaurant including this one. And the (what I believe is the manager) came over to our table to ask me what did I put in my food. And I explain to him he said that the smell was very bad, that it's smell like someone go bathroom in the dining roon and smell all over the restaurant, that the people was complaining about it. I didn't really saw anyone complaining but I just smile and ask for to go boxes. I was in tears b/c I already had a bad day. And this guy could be a lil more polite to me and adress the 'issue' some other way than comparing MY FOOD to bathroom smells and making faces. Making me feel embarrassed and horrible. I definitely will not come again. Thanks for the awful experience. read more

I have grown to love this place. It may be a tad more expensive than other Mexican restaurants in the area- it's really good. Great portion sizes. Their cheese dip is good, service is quick, food is consistent. It's a friendly neighborhood atmosphere too. If you're from Durham...be prepared to run into someone you know. read more

I was in between 3-4 stars. Was this the best Mexican meal I've ever had...not necessarily. Was it a meal I enjoyed and ate every bite of...yes definitely. I like the spacious booth seating, the chips and Salsa were different, the salsa was more ragu/tomatoey but was unique and definitely a nice change. I think there was a hint of oregano in it. I had the shrimp al Diablo and hubby the Carne asada tacos. Portions were generous for the price. My platter came with about 23 shrimp...extremely generous amounts with a nice spicy Chipotle type sauce. I subbed black beans for refried and it went well with the rice and meal which also came with warm tortillas. Beans and rice needed some salt which is fine as I think a good restaurant knows salt is an easy add and not everyone wants things on the saltier side. Once I added a tad bit of salt I found myself in food heaven and made my way through my whole meal. Hubby polished his off too and we exchanged bites and both agreed we would be back. His margarita was a frozen one and delish and definitely not weak. The owner, Rafael checked on us once and made sure we had been taken care of which shows he cares and definitely earned points for that. We appreciate a face to an establishment and will definitely support this one! Overall a solid Mexican joint that left our belly's happy. read more

love this style of mexican. waitress was not great, but we got there late at night. enjoyed the meal. the margaritas were a bit watered down, though. read more

Eeek! Bland and flavorless. The food plating and presentation was sloppy and stale. Lettuce was wilted, bean paste looks and tastes like it came out of a can. They have to improve- no spice. Had the steak fajitas. This felt like a pub without the bar. The service was very friendly and wait staff was attentive. read more

Went for lunch. Service started out well. As the lunch progressed, service became slow. A member of the party asked for hot sauce that took several minutes to arrive. We also asked for another basket of tortillas which were slow to arrive. Another member if the party's meal was incorrect. Now onto my meal. I asked for a chicken and cheese quesadilla. Chicken and cheese ONLY. I made that quite clear. The server never said to me that the shredded chicken mixture had onions and peppers in it. They charged me $.50 per quesadilla for this shredded chicken mixture. I sent it back and asked for chicken and cheese only, again. This time it was brought out with grilled chicken. Ok fine. When I received my bill, I couldn't figure out what all of the up charges were. They charged me another $.50 per quesadilla for the grilled chicken and then charged me $1.00 for sour cream. They charged me a dollar for sour cream! When I complained, their response was as if I should have known the shredded chicken mixture had onions and peppers in it and that I would be charged for the sour cream. I asked him to show me this information on the menu and he was unable to. He also would not take any of the up charges off of my bill. I was so furious by this point I just wanted to pay my bill and leave. read more

Ok so they won't blow you away with creativity, but they do what they do very well. Ingredients are always fresh, chicken is never dry, etc. As many others have mentioned, their queso is fantastic. El Corral is simply consistently good and very clean, which can't always be said about other Mexican places. read more

Muchas gracias for an overall satisfying and enjoyable dinner. Thanks too for the surprise of the appealing ambiance amid what seemed like a superficially unexciting strip mall setting. Chips and salsa with local IPA were great, and the kitchen didn't skimp on sides of rice, guacamole, refried beans et cetera. Fajitas were good and would have been even better with just a bit more sizzle and a more tender cut. We'll give 'em another try next time... read more

I' m a costumer of this restaurant from 2003, but this is the second time the owner was no the best costumer service; today particularly the alarm on my house sound during my time lunch at El Corral restaurant, and CPI call me, i asked the owner who know me and my family for long time as their costumers, if we can comeback to pay after i check the problem on my house less that 1 mile from the restaurant,but he just ask for the receipt, and i leave my family there, and back along to check my house, thanks God nothing happen. When i back to the restaurant i tell Him how i filling after saw his indifference for his costumers emergency situations,He don't really care. Also i told him that i prefer speak with him in person that social media, and He said the people though social media control everything but not. i told him good comments help, is the reason i put my comment here, anyway the food is good there, people are fist, and more for loyal costumers. If this happen with one employee i understand but with the owner? I don't recommend places where the people is not the first. read more

So glad El Corral is back. Best food in the area. Been eating here for 12 + years. Won't go to any other Mexican Restaurant!! Wonderful stuff, amazing food. Served fresh and extremely fast!! read more

Good Mexican food, best I've had east of the Mississippi. Lots of good perks: (1) 32 oz. Dos Equis for only $4.75, (2) free chips and salsa, and (3) coupons available at Kroger for $6 off if you spend at least $20. Food is very good, although we went for lunch one time and the lunch menu food didn't seem as good. read more

Food was good and fresh. Service was great. Restaurant clean. Prices reasonable. Two beers, two entrees, and dessert for $35.00. Would go again read more

We came on the recommendation of friends. It has a lovely atmosphere and usually good service. I love that they keep the chips and salsa flowing, but the salsa needs to be kicked up a notch or two. The food is just mediocre, regretfully. We had chimichangas the first time and fajita most recently. read more

Always order takeout food which is delicious. They wait time is only around 10-15 mins, maybe even lesser. Their shrimp dish- el-corralon is the best! read more

Visited El Corral on a Friday night, as it was very close to the Marriott Courtyard. Not much to look at, but the food and margaritas were great. The chicken fajitas were really good...great chicken and really good fresh tortillas. The enchiladas plate was good too. We got a half pitcher of margaritas which was more than enough for the two of us. The chips were good, salsa was very good, and we tried the chorizo queso as recommended by others, and it was delicious. The service was quick and friendly. We will definitely go back next time we're in the Durham area. read more

First impression was the place was very clean. The service was excellent and the food was great. The salsa was flavorful with just a touch of spice and I liked that it wasn't chunky. I had shrimp burritos and the shrimp tasted grilled without being dried out. The slices of avocado added a nice compliment to the shrimp and cheese. I will definitely go back! read more

Cheap, lots of high quality food, friendly staff, super clean restaurant, and when you order for takeout they are always SO quick. We eat here at least once every other week and have never had a bad experience. read more

This place has great ambiance, well cooked and well seasoned food. The portions are a nice size and the prices are comparably good. The staff is pleasant. What more can you ask for. OH, the fact that it has a 100% sanitation rating; you can't get any better than that. take your family and friends, it's worth it. read more

Incredible turnaround! I spent less than 5 minutes waiting for my food, which came out great. It cost me less than some fast food and took less time too! read more

My sister had a horrible service from this restaurant , she is vegan and usually brings her own vegan cheese and sour cream for her meal everywhere she goes and never has a problem, as most restaurants don't offer those options. My sister told me a member of the staff rudely critized her for using her products stating that they smelled nasty like bathroom, she told me he made her cry, so I decided to call them to let them know that wasn't acceptable( i called calmly asking for the owner). The owner Rafael responded and said what did I want and I told him politely about the situation, he raised his tone of voice and said he didn't have time for this and if we had a problem to go to the restaurant and hung up the phone. Disrespectful service to the customer!!!!!! We both are servers at other restaurants and know the importance of treating a customer respectfully.The worst part is that is coming from the owner. Will never return there and will make sure to spread the word to all my friends about this situation! read more

So I literally was ordering chinese food next door, and smelled the fajita and decided to eat here instead. Somehow in spite of the amazing smells, the food was bland. I'm sure there's something a little more flavorful elsewhere. read more

My favorite Mexican restaurant in the Triangle! Service is alllllllways friendly and the food is DELICIOUS! Love. Can't wait for them to open the newly renovated place! read more