First off, Rey the owner, is very friendly & appreciative. He goes to every table greeting customers The food is authentic and flavorful. Everything is delicious. Love the homemade chips and guacamole! Try the banderas bowl read more

Best tacos in Hawthorne. I usually order the traditional carnitas. Always overstuffed and juicy. The order comes with rice and beans and I can never finish everything. People are very friendly. read more

El Gallo - Tres Tacos (street tacos) - Mexican Near Me - Hawthorne, New Jersey

Inconsistent food. Sometimes good and sometimes bad. Way oervpriced.cut your prices and improve consistency and you will get more customers.

Coming here for years. The best! Great Food, Atmosphere, Everything is amazing here at El Galo. What are you waiting for!!!!

First time eating here! The reception was awesome. Love the decor and artwork. The food and service outstanding! Absolutely delicious! We'll be back and bring friends. read more

What a lovely little gem! Hubby & I were looking for a quick bite after a local event & we couldn't have been more pleased to have found El Gallo! The place was so clean (extremely important to us) and Ray greeted us with a big smile. The portions were plentiful and everything was very well-seasoned & flavorful! Hubby had a beef burrito w/sour cream & guac on the outside. I had the chix & shrimp burrito, refried beans, rice, cheese, guac & sour cream INSIDE! Delish! We are rarely in that neighborhood but whenever we are, expect a visit! read more

Ordered off Postmates and they had a buy one get deal going for a few of their dishes. The burritos came a bit smaller than anticipated but maybe because it was BOGO. Either way, it was good overall but taste wise it could've been seasoned a bit more. The tres leches was surprisingly good. read more

El Gallo - The spread. Burritos are a tad smaller than I thought they would be but overall a good amount of food - Mexican Near Me - Hawthorne, New Jersey

Great food, large portions, nice owner. Had both take out and dine in and everyone loved it.

Over the weekend, the street is closed off so the restaurants and the bar on this block can set up an outside area for dining or drinking. The crowd at the bar could get loud! The tables were spread out enough, and the staff all had masks on. Masks are required to wear inside. My wife had the burrito carnitas. The pork is savory and tender. She cut it in half and has lunch for tomorrow. The chips were nice and crunchy. The salsa and the guacamole were both very good. I tried tres tacos; carnitas, steak and shrimp. All three were delicious. I didn't have any leftovers. The side of rice and beans was also excellent. I didn't ask for or get any limes. Luckily, I had my own, but make sure you ask if you don't have any. They have a few different flavors of jarritos and coke. The flan was extra sweet and caramel flavored. The food here is delicious, the staff was friendly and the prices are reasonable. Great local spot! read more

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We had take out of Taquitos, enchiladas mole and a veggie quesadilla. All was somewhat bland and no sides with the quesadillas was a surprise. Not great for the price read more

Ordered takeout from El Gallo as a first time customer at this restaurant. The inside of the restaurant is very casual and clean with no frills. I ordered a chicken quesadilla with the Vegan cheese. I didn't care for the cheese itself but the chicken was very moist and flavorful and the tortilla was very crispy. My husband ordered a burrito with chipotle honey chicken and it was delicious. I would highly, highly recommend it. A small bag of chips and salsa came with the meal and they were great. read more

Highly recommend! Food is amazing. We have ordered from them many times and never disappointed. We also used their catering service and everyone enjoyed the food so much they were asking for the menus - which we happily shared! Rei the owner is the best! read more

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I was there once for the fist time for tacos and I was very disappointed, the meat was dry and chewy, Not enough onion and cilantro, the salsa was good very tasty. I went for a second time thinking this time will be better and wrong again. The place is ok, clean and organized but the food is not that good, and I was hoping for a really good Mexican joint in town. I wish this place the best but I rather drive to Passaic for real authentic Mexican food. read more

Great BYOB Mexican restaurant! I've had lunch and dinner here and every time has been delicious. I love getting the Puebla Burrito, which comes with a flavorfully rich and aromatic mole sauce on top. My friend loved the Tacos Bandera (breaded chicken with chipotle-honey sauce!) and I often see other tables ordering the Sizzling Fajitas that always look irresistably good. If you have room for dessert, I also highly recommend the fried cheesecake! Finally, the staff have been very attentive and caring during each visit, oftentimes earnestly asking how anything from the food to the service can be made better. I am looking forward to many more meals (and drinks!) at El Gallo! read more

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The ordering experience couldn't be better. I placed an order via Yelp and it was delivered within 20 minutes. I've never had such an amazing delivery experience. I wish I could say the same for the food. My husband ordered the steak tacos (it comes with complimentary chips, salsa, rice and beans), and I ordered the empanadas (2 per order). We were super excited to try our food, expecting an explosion of spices and flavors as expected in Mexican/ Spanish food. The presentation of the food was great, nice and clean. But when my husband took one bite of his tacos and he said it's horrible. There wasn't even salt on his steak tacos. My empanadas were bland as well, but the salsa definitely helped. The chips weren't salted either. I gave 3 stars because of the super fast delivery, but the food only deserves 1 star. They can definitely use some more spice/ flavors. read more

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Came from California to visit family and this was the first stop. The first thing we had was the queso dip and man was it amazing! We also had 2 orders of shrimp tacos and enchilada suizas, it was so good best I've ever had! The margaritas were also a nice touch. The staff is super friendly owner is really cool and our server Melanie was great, she had some good jokes. read more

El Gallo - Mexican Near Me - Hawthorne, New Jersey

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Good fresh made margaritas, good guacamole, good service and reasonable prices. Personable staff, ample parking in lot. read more

The tacos were so delicious!! Chicken and beef tasted fresh, well seasoned and cooked perfectly. Especially since we got a special delivery to our bank in Newark :D Everything had great taste!! Even my family enjoyed the leftovers and tasted 10x better the next day! read more

Great service, great food. Carnitas is on point. Manager very helpful in making suggestions.

The Yelpers got this one right 5* all the way. My wife's Chicken Quesadilla was filled with chicken and very tasty.. She liked it alot. I had the Hawthorne platter 1 Soft ground beef taco and 2 carnitas enchilada's with rice and refried beans,. All 3 were very good. The salsa that came with the free chips was awesome. Ray the owner was very sociable.We would go back in a Manhattan minute!!! read more

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Sorry I really wanted to like this but I couldn't. The meat seems of lower quality and I had to trash most of it except the rice which I did like. read more

Had another great meal and delivery experience with El Gallo tonight! I switched it up and ordered the Burrito Bowl, which was delicious and a large portion so I'll be having left overs! My husband ordered the Hawthorne platter which was also awesome. Definitely our go-to Mexican delivery spot! read more

El Gallo - Burrito Bowl!!! So good! - Mexican Near Me - Hawthorne, New Jersey

It's Wednesday and out for Pre-Thanksgiving dinner for once instead at the bar like so many years before and the place is empty at prime time! Of course, Good for us finding a table and getting our meal quickly. Now I picked this place because of its rating and everyone was happy with their meals giving 3.5 to 4 with dishes including the Taco Salad Bowl, Hawthorne plate and I ordered Tacos as that's my thing these days. Started with Guacamole, Salsa and Chips that were nice and two baskets later were ready to order. This is a BYOB which I like and with some Top Shelf Tequila and a El Gallo supplied Sangria the party started. Roadside Tres Tacos- Ground Beef Tacos, Steak Tacos and TexMex Taco were my choices and at best I give a 3 including my compatriots rating and that combo of opinions is what the rating was based on. My first bite of each Taco was parched dry with no real flavors/spice jumping out at me. To make the Taco's palatable I needed to add salsa and guacamole. It appeared to me the meat on each was cooked in the morning and reheated, a problem indeed. I would not go back for Tacos but it appears the other options fare better. Service and server were good and friendly, clean overall with street parking. read more

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First time here and we did takeout. Upon waiting to enter the building I saw so many people going inside. You know a place is good when you see a flock of patrons. We ordered two meals to go: two of the Hawthorne. Three customized options each with rice and beans. So much food for less than $20 each. We also got a appetizer of guac and chips. Kind of pricey for $12 but they did give you so much to make it better. Would definitely come back. read more

It may be a far cry from authentic Mexican food but this place sure does Mexican-American better than most places I've experienced. Make sure to get some of their nearly perfect quac or queso (I like to add chorizo). They're super generous with their homemade chips. My wife and I had leftover chips to last us weeks. I've tried a number of their dishes and regardless of the meat or bean choice I made, it was cooked perfectly and was seasoned well. read more

I ordered nachos from this place thinking it was the Cuban spot that was once there. Food took about 10 minutes, and the meal was solid. Very happy with real guacamole, sour cream, and there was a lot for a good price so I was able to share :) Can't wait to try other menu items. Also, friendly staff ! read more

El Gallo - Nachos - Mexican Near Me - Hawthorne, New Jersey

The food was bland! Somehow the pico de gallo didn't even have flavor. Our group ordered 2 burrito bowls and 2 quesadillas. There was not a single hint of flavor in any of it. We tried this place out because it's local and we wanted to support a small business. We would've spent less money at chipotle or qdoba and at least had food with some sort of flavor. We do intend on trying this place again because maybe they had an off day when we went. I do hope they find their way to the spice rack and throw some FLAVOR AND PASSION into the food. read more

Decided to check this place out for a late lunch/early dinner and was not disappointed. They have a solid menu, cute little dining room, knowledgeable servers, and of course delicious food. It's also BYOB and I think there's a liquor store next door. Street parking was pretty easy to get a spot. Our waitresses started us off with complimentary chips and salsa and even refilled them for us after we downed the first round. Nice touch! I went with the chicken quesadilla and my bf got 3 tacos - chorizo, chicken and steak. They let you mix and match which is good! The tacos also come with rice and beans. My quesadilla was so delicious - cheese was perfectly melted and the chicken was very fresh. Also a pretty decent portion size, I ended up taking half of it home. Served with sour cream, guac, and salsa. Prices were fair for the quantity and quality of the meals. They also do a taco Tuesday special which I can't wait to check out. Definitely will be back here! read more

El Gallo - Quesadilla Entree - Mexican Near Me - Hawthorne, New Jersey

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For some reason I find the Mexican food in New Jersey underwhelming. But this place always deliveries ! I have had everything from the burger to the enchiladas and have never been disappointed. The best part is it's byob !! read more

My buddies and I had 3 options on where to eat last weekend in downtown Hawthorne -- Mexican, falafels, or pizza. We chose Mexican because we saw they had great reviews and you could never go wrong with tacos.... But dang, we were sooooo wrong. We ordered 3 tacos each of the following meats: chorizo, shrimp, steak, and chicken. EVERY taco we ordered came with cheese, lettuce, and tomatoes(this isn't Taco Bell). Not one taco tasted good. We tried convincing ourselves to say it's decent, but it was just soooo bad. It lacked seasoning, the tortillas weren't fresh, tasted like they were packaged, no cilantros... And the worst part-- we didn't even get napkins, utensil, and hot chili sauce. We also ordered wings and that was pretty awful too. BBQ wings tasted like sweet baby rays sauce(which is good), but the Buffalo wings were booooooty. I wanna give them another try if I'm ever in Hawthorne area, but for now... They're gonna have to hold this L regarding my opinion because this is the worst Mexican restaurant I've ever been too. read more

We ordered take out from this place a couple of times and overall it was not good. The first time we ordered a burrito bowl and it was mostly all rice, very little chicken, beans and cheese. The second time we ordered two grilled burritos and again all rice, no cheese and very little pork. It was bland and boring. Not worth $19 for a burrito! Not sure how this spot has close to 5 stars. read more

This South Texan in New Jersey approves!!! A Mexican food Enthusiast for the past 25 years... this place is LEGIT! The green chicken enchiladas are amazing all white chicken meat. The tomatillo sauce has tons of flavor. Also have tried the beef fajita tacos (2 thumbs up!!!) The beef was marinated to perfection. This is the first legit Tex-Mex I've found in 9 years of living in Bergen County! My husband is a vegetarian and loves the veggie quesadillas, nachos without meat, and the chips and SALSA!!! Amazing service, you can tell you are supporting a local business with heart! read more

First time trying El Gallo and I was impressed! Needed guacamole for a last minute party app. Called them and within 10 minutes I had 2 pints of guac with tons of chips and salsa. Everyone at the party raved about it wanting to know where it was from. I am excited to try more things in the future. Staff was also so friendly and helpful! So glad I discovered this hidden gem! I will be back! read more

Authentic! Delicious, fresh ingredients. Loved the fish tacos and the guacamole was among the best I've had. It's Popular in town! Wish they had Margarita's! read more

Great food! Great prices! The size portions are bigger than most restaurants. El Gallo has become one of go to places for Mexican food. Definitely recommend. read more

This place is great! I'm new to NJ and was looking for good Mexican food. I lived in Texas for 15 years, so I'm accustomed to really good Mexican food. El Gallo did not disappoint! It's not the best Mexican food I've had, but it's the best I've had so far in this area. I'll definitely be coming back. read more

Excellent food & service. The owner Rei works hard to take care of his customers. So happy El Gallo is part of Hawthorne.

First, the good parts. The wait staff was friendly and attentive. Seating was quick and reservations are not needed. The Jarritos was as sweet as always, and we were allowed to bring our own container of sour cream. The watery white substance that all restaurants (including El Gallo) are using and calling sour cream is a waste of $1.04. Now the not good. We ordered two dishes that we often get, that in the past have always been very flavorful and satisfying. I don't know how the chef did it, but the person managed to remove all possible flavor from our meal. We rarely use salt and apparently neither did the chef. Or any other spicing for that matter. The soft tacos are not hand held. they fell apart after the second bite. There are no and have ever been any condiments or hot sauces on the tables, austerity has it's limits, but they would not have made up for the blandness of the food from the start. On a positive note, now my wife and I get to try some of the other Mexican restaurants in the area.... One last thing; stay away from the 3rd booth from the front, unless if you like un-cushioned seat springs jabbing your bottom. read more

This place is really top notch. The place itself is intimate and the servers are very attentive. Food comes out quick, hot and tasty. If I just had to post a con I would say that the guacamole needs some work. Everything else is pretty flavorful but the guac is bland as can be. I plan on returning to keep trying different menu items read more

El Gallo - Steak Quesadilla entree - Mexican Near Me - Hawthorne, New Jersey

Small place with 4-5 booths and a few tables. We were the first dining customers but later on a few more customers walk-in. It seems like they do a lot of take away and delivery. Service was outstanding, Ariel was very friendly and on top of everything. They serve free chips and salsa as soon as we sat down. It's a BYOB and you can bring your own Tequila and they will make Margaritas for you at least that's what the menu said but we didn't bring Tequila . I had the steak fajitas, my wife had the steak quesadillas and the kids had the chimichangas and carne asada. All our food were very tasty and very fresh, the fajita steak was very soft and not chewy. You need to try their flan it was out of this world. They need to invest on ventilation because after a while the entire place filled with smoke. Overall a nice small place to get authentic Mexican food with very reasonable prIces and very generous portions. We will be back.! read more

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