Thank you for the great customer service. We ordered food for a 6/27/2020 offsite baby shower. After picking up the food about 12:45pm, and getting it to the baby shower location, we realized our order was wrong. So we returned about 1:30pm, and I must say, management had the correct items ready for pick up and were very apologetic and did not charge us for the correction. We appreciate the apology; and the rice and extra salsa that was then provided. By the way, the food ordered was delicious! **The 4-star rating is for the customer service from the 2 gentlemen at the hostess stand. read more

Did I miss something here? Wasn't this place supposed to be good? I'd give it a 1-star rating but I will go with 2 because I didn't get sick (yet) from it. Where do we start... The chips are obviously bagged and brought in, served cold. The salsa is basically tomato sauce with a few pieces of onion and cilantro. Not much flavor. Not hot. Lunch was a beef enchilada (boring), a beef taco that was basically ultra ground beef, very greasy and flavorless. No cheese, no tomatoes, no lettuce, just a shell and some beef. The guacamole tostada was literally just that. And I won't judge it because no avocados are in season anywhere in the world. Period. And the queso we ordered had no flavor. Literally it tasted like they melted velvetta and threw in a chopped tomato piece or three. No jalapenos, no onions, no seasoning, just melted velvetta. We didn't even finish it. And you can't say I didn't order the right thing... It is a Mexican restaurant with little else to offer but variations of enchiladas, quesadillas and tacos. Maybe I missed something. Wasn't this place supposed to be good? Isn't the original location in Dallas always busy? I am confused and probably will pass on this next time and hit up the myriad Mexican restaurants near by instead. (At least the service was great...) read more

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We loved this visit to the El Fenix. The hot sauce was as good as any you get for free at other Tex Mex places. I liked the cheese sauce better than most as it actually tasted cheesy, not like old yellow water! The chips were even hot when they came to the table. I had some really good enchiladas and my wife had the big taco salad. The food was not greasy and was served very quickly. The steak in the meal was incredible and actually tasted like it was fixed over an open flame. The service was very fast and friendly. We will be back when in Arlington! read more

OK, Yes, El Fenix is not.."New fusion Tex Mex, fancy, glitter and gold", but after 80 plus years in business, they must be doing something right. In my life, have I filled my gullet up with Enchilada Wednesdays, original margaritas, chips and salsa, and a lot of regular food fare, including my all time, "go to' Special Mexican Dinner, but tonight, (especially after I weighed myself, and realized that my diet is not following the plan in my head), I glanced off the regular sections of the menu for the first time, and started looking at the rabbit food options. What? Looking at rabbit food options in a historical, Tex Mex institution menu? Did I have to pinch my self to wake up? Did I enter the twilight zone? Was I dreaming? I really wanted my Special Mexican Dinner, but for some reason, (Yes, the failure on my diet), my eyes were looking at the rabbit food salad selection, and also looking at all the great food that was being delivered to my fellow dinning room companions, I became fixated on a "healthy" alternative. OK, not a enchilada, taco, burrito, tamale... (OK, you get it), but this incredible rabbit food option had ingredients that sounded more healthy, and had Tex Mex sounding names (chorizo, Queso Fresco, avocado, jalapeno) in the description. Well my stomach lost, brain won, and I ordered the Mexican Cobb Salad. Yes, it's rabbit food, and as a 6' 4" 240 male, ordering a salad at a Tex Mex restaurant, while everyone else was ordering and enjoying my favorite Tex Mex dishes, I did not want to be laughed at, or my waiter snickering at me for ordering a rabbit food dish, for such a big guy. Now...of course, I had to order an extra side of jalapeno ranch dressing, (OK, its rabbit food, but no man can eat dry rabbit food). Salad comes out, and I must say, that was the best salad I have ever had. All the ingredients, dressing, chicken, chorizo, etc, DELICIOUS. Rabbit food at El Fenix? Really? Yes sir. Great salad, great service, great Ice tea, (Not really, but I am on a diet), and I have now found my favorite Tex Mex option at El Fenix. I did have the chips and salsa (yes love the salsa) but no fresh corn and flour tortillas, (Crying). Don't be scared. Don't worry about others. Try it. You will love it. Stay hungry my friends... read more

Just had another bad experience with the South Cooper location in Arlington. This is 2nd with delivery and we've also one that we picked up ourselves - this is all within last 16 months. While their standard Tex Mex is average to and affordable, me and my wife both really like their tortilla soup better than any of the others we frequent regularly - better than Pappasito's, Uncle Julios or Gloria's, however they DO NOT PROPERLY QUALITY CHECK their "to-go" orders. So when we want soup we order from this location. Today we ordered soups, salsa, tortillas, sopapilla and appetizer duo-combo. The one item that keeps getting missed on all our mishaps is the broth which is what you need to properly enjoy tortilla soup. Since we forgive them for prior mishaps and have been doing better, it happened again today. I personally spoke with the Store Manager, Trang Nguyen and their shift manager, Manual Rodriquez. Both offered no practical solution except for me to drive back up to the store and get fresh soups made. #1 at this point I would not trust them not to mess with re-order and #2 I'm not driving 20 minutes across town after a day's long worth of work. They both blamed the delivery driver and said they spoke to the person who packed the meal who swore the item was added. Ok, I'm not buying this one - what reason in the world would a delivery driver do with chicken broth? The answer, there is none! I tried to get them to give me a refund or send me a gift card for the full meal - that would not make it 100%, but would at least show some sincere empathy and apology for a household who has supported them for over 20 years. So, looks like we will be going elsewhere for tortilla soup going forward considering this has happened on multiple occasions. If you go order delivery or pick-up check your order before accepting it - I promise you if you don't there is a good chance you will be disappointed. Due to multiple mishaps, I've now decided to take it to the next step and have a call into their corporate office to see if they are willing to listen and take action. Shame on this particular location for lack of professionalism and care for those who keep them in business. read more

Not a bad location. I always forget that we have an El Fenix so close. I always like the light and crispy chips and fresh salsa. Surprising, there was not a ton of people. I was able to be seated quickly and got fairly quick service. My server was super nice and informative. She offered good suggestions which was appreciated. The cobb salad was really good. Super filling! The chicken tortillas soup was really good too. read more

El Fenix - Cobb salad - Mexican Near Me - Arlington, Texas

Good is alway hot and chips are fresh. Fast service and prices are equal or above other Mexican restaurants.

We ordered using Favor. My daughter ordered the bean and cheese nachos, which she enjoyed. My son and I ordered the cheese enchilada plate, which left much to be desired. The cheese was virtually non-existent (see pic). The queso on top lacked flavor. We won't be ordering a delivery from them in the future. read more

El Fenix - Mexican Near Me - Arlington, Texas

As always the food is amazing. Michael there's a great server. He has an amazing personality and fun with the kids. I hope he's around for a long time as we come here often. read more

We had dinner here last night and it was the worse mistake ever. It was so bad that once we finished eating here we drove over to Chuys!! Everything seemed store bought. The chips tasted like they were from a bag. The salsa and queso like they were from a can. The margaritas from a pre mix that you could buy at Walmart. I seriously don't understand how they are still in business. It was our first and last time eating here. read more

Our family has enjoyed a number of meals at this restaurant. The food is always fresh, well-prepared, and arrives in good time. The service is excellent because the servers are very attentive and remember what we ask for. We will continue to dine at this family-owned restaurant because of the quality and service. read more

I came here one night during National Margarita Day. I only came to have a few margaritas. The margaritas was decent for the price $2.99 (a special for NMD). It did take a while before the waitress/bartender served me. I overheard another family next to me complaining about the service here also. I didn't eat here so I can't review the food but service definitely needs improvement. read more

El Fenix - Frozen Margarita with complimentary chips! - Mexican Near Me - Arlington, Texas

They always forget something when you call in an order. But the food is good and love their chips and salsa!!

This was the most bland "Mexican" food, "Tex-Mex" or whatever you want to call it I've ever had. This includes frozen TV dinners. First off I should have known something was amiss when I noticed typos on the menu. The El Fenix Plate description starts as such: 1 cheese enchilada with chili con carne sauce.(period), 1 cheese enchilada with chili con carne sauce. Yes the same thing listed twice. Making it seem like you're getting more maybe? I thought this until I tasted them and realized more of these cheese enchiladas would actually be a bad thing. The best way I can describe these is they tasted like....well nothing. Unless you consider melting a package of Craft singles together and mixing in a chopped Roma tomato something. They literally tasted exactly the same as the tamales, the refried beans and the rice. Not exaggerating here! The salsa needed more heat to say the least but that would have involved investing time and money in chopping and adding some jalapeños. The chips were room temp but ok besides being all crumbs once you ate the first three from the top. In an attempt to discover something I could taste I requested some guacamole as a chaser for every remaining bite. Half of the 1 star goes to the guacamole. It's decent. I did have to ask for a second thimble full however. The other half of the star goes to the service. VERY fast. We had our plates of tasteless caloric matter in, I kid you not, less than three minutes from the time the sweet young lady walked away with our order. Of course this is easy when you flop a couple precooled Velvetta wraps on a plate and ladle some....stuff?....on top. The place was packed much to my amazement in hindsight. They must have thought Taco Casa was closed because I can honestly say next time I would pay $30 there for twice the food with twice the taste. read more

The chips and salsas are excellent here and I also liked their cheese enchiladas that came with tasty rice, beans and guacamole. The waiters were nice and friendly and service was reasonably fast. I will come back for shrimp enchiladas. read more

Always a go to family restaurant when I come to visit from the northeast. (Can't find Mexican food that's good up there.) The most recent visit my mom order the chimichanga when she got it she noticed it was small and asked the server if it was there right size. She said yes with hesitation. Later on in the meal the manager came over (we didn't even ask to see him) to ask how the food was because he heard the size of the chimy wasn't what we have had before and my mom described the size of the chimy and he did say that was not correct and offered to make her another one. She declined because she was full. We were very great full he did that ! We love the food here and will always continue to go back. read more

It's our place to go Friday night's. Not a fan of some things they offer but everything is served PIPING hot & salsa is good. Queso very good too & tortillas real good. I like their cheese enchiladas with queso in place of chili! Guacamole is usually very smooth but sometimes a little salty but still good. Puffy tacos very good too! Tea hits the spot always! read more

The veggie quesadilla was really delicious. The atmosphere was relaxing and the service was prompt. I would definitely go there again

Food was not good and the service was okay but if your going for the food I would advise you to go somewhere else. The drinks were the best part about the restaurant. read more

Very nice place to go for supper. Service is spot on and quick. The fajitas are my favorite but I like to try something different each trip.

I'm going with 3 stars / "A-OK" with some caveats. For ME, it's actually probably a 2 star / "Meh, I've had better." But, if you want OLD SCHOOL (read: kind of bland and boring) Tex-Mex, this might be a 5-star for you. The service was FAST. I was in and out for lunch in under 30 minutes, from the time I sat down, until the chips & salsa and tea showed up, to the meal getting there, getting the check, and leaving. They have a well oiled machine in that regard! The food itself, though... Tex-Mex has evolved a lot over the years and they've stayed with their old recipes, which leave me wanting for more. BUT, if you really like the "old ways" of doing Tex-Mex, give El Fenix a try! By the way, on Wednesday, they have now expanded the Enchilada Special to also include Beef Enchiladas or Chicken Enchiladas. (I never cared much for their Cheese Enchiladas, so that was a nice change!) read more

TexMex is something that often polarizes people. If you like your chips fried up fresh and a little greasy with a chunky salsa that's moderately spicy, you'll like the opener. If you like your cheese enchiladas smothered in meat chili; your taco's with lots of meat, well seasoned, stuffed so full the lettuce and tomato are on the plate then you will like those too. The Chili Rellenos are good too, it's been some time since I ordered fajitas, but the beans are good the rice is standard Texmex. Don't go to El Fenix expecting Mi Cocina, or some other upscale TexMex though. It's your normal TexMex fare, even if they added in Brisket dishes to keep up with the trends. Service is always great and the food is consistent. read more

I went for my birthday with my daughters! We had a great meal nice time. The only thing that I didn't like was how close the tables were to each other. The place is very crowded on Wednesdays, because of the specials and Happy hour! read more

You either like El Fenix or not, it's that simple really. I enjoy the simple and tasty Tortilla Soup here. read more

El Fenix - Chile Relleno - Mexican Near Me - Arlington, Texas

I was told about this place and decided to give it a try. The food was a but pricey, so you would think it would have been even a bit remotely good. No, my order was not completely right and wasn't even great. The food wasn't not my favorite. I will admit that because of the good reviews I did not have any doubts. I tried to calling and talking to someone about it but received not the best customer service. I do believe that the food would probably worked out better if it weren't takeout. Maybe I'll try this place again when dine in is an option but till then. read more

The chips are the best thing about El Fenix. The salsa at the restaurant doesn't seem like it taste as good as their brand in a jar. Maybe it just taste better at home! Our waiter tonight was Jesus and he was great. I don't know who the man that seated us and who checked us out was ,but he was horrible! He seemed to have some kind of attitude problem! Not welcoming or pleasant at all! First impressions mean a lot, thankfully we've been eating there for decades and he wasn't the first person we met. read more

Nice Tex Mex location in Arlington... good Margaritas. Nothing fancy here, just a typical chain, but Fenix has good salsa, a little sweet and the chips are good. The queso was very flavorful, and went well with the chips and salsa. Free parking outside... we did not eat here but had margaritas and they tasted good. I have eaten here in the past and have not been dissapointed... I look forward to returning for a meal. read more

This place is mediocre Tex Mex food. It has gone hill since the original owner's sold it. Service is always fast and receiving our is even quicker. Other than that there are better places out there for Tex Mex or authentic Mexican food. read more

I loved that the staff were wearing masks. I believe servers should be wearing masks when serving the public. I will frequent here during Covid read more

My 3 children and I went to El Fenix on a Thursday evening. We're from Houston and was visiting Arlington for a few days. We heard good things about El Fenix and so we decided to try it out. The food is traditional Tex-Mex. I ordered the tacos al carbon (2 beef and 1 chicken) plate. My son ordered the steak quesadilla. My oldest daughter ordered chicken enchiladas and my youngest daughter ordered off the kids' menu - the kids cheese quesadilla. The fajita beef in the tacos is very flavorful, but the chicken was so-so. The rice was not good. The refried beans were flavorful. We also ordered guacamole as an appetizer. For the portions, their prices are a bit high. The service was a bit slow. The appetizer guacamole we ordered was literally a small scoop in a size bowl you would serve salad dressing in...very small. You would've thought they went to pick the avocado off the tree for as long as it took to have it delivered to our table. Then, there was yet another long wait for our meal. We ordered the sopapillas for dessert and whoa...those were fantastic! Those alone are worth the stars I rated the restaurant. If not for the sopapillas, I would be rating it 3 stars. The dinner entrees we ordered were good, but I expected more richness in the flavor based upon the reviews, hype and prices. read more

My friend took me here on a date tonight. The staff were very friendly and helpful. Food was absolutely delicious . Some of the best in DFW in my opinion! Well flavored,soft,well cooked and textured. Absolutely delicious! Only the Refried beans could use a touch of salt but otherwise delicious! Highly recommend here for tex Mexican! read more

Such a disappointing experience, I honestly don't know if I'd ever return to an El Fenix again. I decided to stop there after a fun day with my two children (ages 11 and 14). After being seated, in a booth held together by duct tape, it took a long time for our waitress to even appear ... so long that I was about to go up to to the hostess and ask her if our waitress knew she had been sat. We skimmed the menu and realized it didn't contain the kids menu for my 11 year old. When our server finally came around, my daughter asked her for a kids menu, which clearly stated it was for kids 12 and under. She took our order and then came back, and what I felt was rudely stated, informed me that my daughters meal would be $7.99, $3 higher because she wasn't a kid. I felt offended - treated to be cheap and a liar, neither of which I am. It took away my appetite, tbh. Our bill followed our food almost immediately - leaving us feeling rushed. Our drinks got mixed up. Restrooms had toilets that needed flushing and toilet paper all over, even though they weren't very busy. Rude service, dirty environment, subpar food. read more

It was busy when we went, but our waitress was nice attentive and delivered our food in an excellent amount of time, the food was absolutely excellent, the service was excellent, and the atmosphere was great as well, 10/10 def going back again. Tip well earned. read more

While I always prefer El Fenix and is usually our preferred Mexican restaurant i was a bit disappointed on the last visit. Combo fajitas of chicken and beef $14.95 were good but the meat was a bit sparse I only got 4 pieces each and plenty of onions and not many peppers. Like i said, good but a little skimpy on the meat. Wife got chicken nachos and again very stingy with the meat. Taste was good though. The chips were on the small chopped up side like you get at the bottom of the bag. Our waiter very attentive but was a little bit overboard like she was auditioning for the tip. All in all it was still good and I will be going back. Also had a large schooner of ice cold beer. Frosty cold glass and beer super cold and great. read more

Thanks for the great food. Enjoyed it. Server was over the top! Love it when people go the extra mile.

I haven't been to this restaurant in a couple of years even though I live right by it. The last time I was there the food was gross and the service was terrible. Today my husband suggested we give it another try, and I was pleasantly surprised. The food was good, even my EXTREMELY picky son found something on the menu that appealed to him. Our waitress was on point; our glasses were never empty and she checked in on us several times (but not so many that it was annoying) to make sure we didn't need or want anything else. If you are looking for decent Tex-Mex food in a laid back atmosphere then I suggest this El Fenix. Based on today's experience I will be back again. read more

El Fenix - El Fenix history. - Mexican Near Me - Arlington, Texas

Been going to El Fenix for years. Service is good and food as a whole is tasty and good. Staff always friendly. But I have noticed recently ( last two times ) that the amount of taco meat they put in the soft tacos is barely enough to matter. This is ridiculous. I compare this to another Mexican restaurant we go to where they put so much meat in the soft tacos that you can make a meal out of just eating two of their tacos and not even having any sides . Their price point is just as good as El Fenix. As much as we have enjoyed El Fenix for the last 30 years we will take our business to a competitor. read more

this place is beyond amazing, the waitresses are so attentive and do a very good job. will definitely come here again. other places i always get seated late, or my order takes forever. or waiting to order my drinks will take forever. My waitress really restored my faith in the waitering industry. i think her named was Autumnn she did so good of making sure i had everything i needed. if i wanted more soda. and even introduced me to a new plate i never tried before. cant wait to go back again. read more

Just what you'd expect from an El Fenix. Great good, great prices, great service, and a great environment. We love El Fenix. It's our go to place that the whole family loves and no one complains about! read more

I would give this restaurant a negative review if possible. The last three times we've tried this location it has been horrible. I ordered the Brisket Nachos tonight. The cheese was old and it had been microwaved way too long. The Brisket had a wang to it. When I brought it to our waiters attention his reply was " it looked alright when I brought it out." Mind you, I had only eaten maybe 4 or five chips from the " Nachos." I asked for the manager, but after 10 minutes or so I felt sick and left. This particular location has gone way down hill. We will not be back. I am still nauseous and sick from what little I ate. Please make sure you're health insurance is paid up to date before you eat at this location. Update: ( 4 hrs after my original review........ Let me edit this... it's been 4. Hours since we ate. I immediately felt nauseous. Now 4 hours later it's uncontrollable diarrhea & nauseous still. I will be calling corporate. This feels like food poisoning. read more