The food is always very good! Anthony is my favorite waiter, he always makes me smile and his service is great

Two years ago, I would have given this place rave reviews, but the service and food have become increasingly lackluster. I have had to wait long periods of time for my bill during most of my visits, and sometimes I have had the wrong things put on my bill, and then had to wait for it to be removed. If you do stop by, though, I suggest ordering off the a la carte menu. Not only will you shave a couple of bucks off the already-reasonable prices, you will avoid the whole "Oh my God I ate the whole thing" issue that comes so often after being served a huge plate full of beans, rice and enchiladas. The 32-ounce margaritas are also a great deal at about $8. For better Mexican food in the area, I suggest El Toro or Teresa's. read more

Great authentic Mexican food at excellent prices. I have been coming here for 8 years and the food is always the same great stuff. Lunch menu is cheap and comes out in around 5 minutes. read more

Awesome authentic Mexican food and killer bar full of all your favorite drinks. Staff is always nice to me and my family and I can count on a smile when I walk in and another when I depart. I love the beef chimichanga. Best I have ever had. read more

This is simply one of our favorite Mexican Restaurants. Good drink prices, good service. Con, when the restaurant is busy it can be loud. Food is as authentic as you will find in America, for Mexican food. read more

My favorite place to go for Mexican food. Wonderful salsas, amazing staff, and even better margaritas. Great for people with young children, since they get you in and out right away. I am a very tough customer to please but I don't think I have ever left here disappointed. If you are there for lunch, the lunch taco salad and margarita can not be beat! read more

This is one of the go-to places for my husband and I. Prices are reasonable and the food is good. The most of the options are pretty standard for Mexican places in a similar price range, but it always tastes good. I'm especially a fan of their salsa. The service is consistently quick and friendly. read more

My go to non-traditional Mexican restaurant. Spend the extra money and order the La Paradilla, it's an insane heaping of meats and veggies served with tortillas, toppings, rice beans and a quesadilla. Some of the best pork you'll ever eat. read more

Food is reasonably priced and very authentic. The margaritas are good, but pretty chain restaurant-ish. You better have some idea what you are getting because the menu is pretty much all in Spanish and the workers don't always speak English either. read more

Service is great and super speedy. I get the same thing every time, Beef Chimichangas. They're so good I'm afraid to ever try anything else. I don't think I will. read more

This restaurant deserves a five star rating because the service is simply outstanding, the food is consistently flavorful and the price is very reasonable. One can argue all day about what comprises authentic Mexican fare, but if you just want mildly seasoned, hearty-portioned plates of standard south of the border yum, this is the place to go. Can't speak for other El Loro locations, but the one in Crystal is a winner! read more

Love this Mexican spot! The fajita portion sizes are big enough for two to share just order extra tortillas. The queso fundito is cheesy greatness. Margaritas are hit and miss tho. But with 2for1 during happy hour it's all good. read more

This place is pretty good for authentic Mexican cuisine, and their prices are very fair. However, the service can be spotty at times, and the servers speak very limited English, so it's not unusual to be served a dish you didn't order -- or a dish missing some of your specifications. read more

Very disappointed in this place! The moment we walked in there was no warm greetings, the waiter was on his phone, The food was super salty. If I could I would give them no star! read more

We used to love this place but it sure has gone downhill! We were here on Saturday afternoon and it wasn't too busy. We were seated promptly and received our beverages right away. After that is all downhill. We were a party of four adults and two kids. Two people were served their food and the rest weren't served for at least 10 minutes. The kids ordered corn dogs and they were brought macaroni and cheese and French fries. We told the waiter and he left them on the table and a couple minutes later brought a corn dog on a plate. The kids didn't eat them because the meat was "white ". The street tacos were a huge disappointment. The enchiladas, rice and beans were good and I enjoyed the chips and salsa, but sorry to say that the El Loro we used to know no longer exists and we won't be returning. read more

The service was outstanding so give stars for that. The food was good but have had better Mexican food in the past without a doubt. Very busy place, with very friendly staff. read more

I love this place. My wife and I eat here regularly and have never had a bad meal. The service is fast and food always comes out hot. The biggest indicator of how good they are was when my daughter's birthday came around and we gave her the choice of where we'd go she instantly chose El Loro. read more

El Loro always provides good food at a decent price. Each time I go in there it seems they've expanded the restaurant, which is nice as it then feels less crowded. Service is friendly and prompt. Their ranch dressing that they serve with the chips and salsa is amazing! The lunch menu has smaller portions than the dinner menu which are still very filling and the prices range between $6.00 and $10.00. I always leave feeling stuffed and satisfied. read more

My wife and I used to love this place. But the past 3 times we have gone I'm not sure what's happening. We were there last night ordered dip the lady looked at my wife with a mean glare and didn't respond and just left, it never came so we ordered it again through another person , it came pretty quick after that. Our food came which was good but my wife's order was way off and wasnt what she ordered. The server told me my tortillas were on the way. The the tortillas never showed up. I think were pretty much done going there. Sad to see what was once a great place go so far downhill. read more

Love this place. Chips and salsa plus their creamy spicy ranch dip are perfect starters. I live going for lunch. Service is unbelievably quick and they are attentive to refilling your soda, etc. One of my favorite is the lunch chimichanga with chicken, fried. Never can decide between rice or beans, both are great. Enchilada's look really good to. And the Chicken Taco salad is fantastic! Great place to drop in with friends for s fun and flavorful bite to eat! read more

Great family run (at least it seemed) Mexican restaurant. The menus were a bit torn up, but the selection was enormous and the food was ready insanely quick. Tons of food on every plate. Soft drinks are $2.10, but that's normal for this kind of restaurant. Great and would recommend. read more

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This is our default restaurant when in Crystal. We also love Chipotle but here you find a much greater variety of dishes and the portions are very generous. I always order an extra salad because it is very fresh and tasty, no dressing necessary, just a little guacamole to bring the flavors together. Fajitas are so big we always bring a box back home with us. And the salad and beans that come with every dish are never ending. Very attentive and friendly staff, they acknowledge us as soon as we come in the door, they make us feel as welcome friends. Prices are very reasonable for the amount of food you get. read more

I love El Loro. Our family has been coming here for more than a decade. In fact, we go here enough that the servers usually remember what we order. The service is always great and the food always delicious. :) read more

This used to be one of my spouse's and my favorite places to dine. Their food is delicious and prices very reasonable. However the service has SERIOUSLY gone down hill the last couple of time we have been there. Hardly any of the staff anymore can even speak a word of actual english, so they messed our orders up, which when we asked them to then fix the manager had a tizzy about, and came over to make sure it wasn't us who was causing the issues. read more

If explosive diahhrea is your thing eat at El Loro Our family ate there recently and by the time we got home we were all violently ill. We called to speak with the manager, had to leave a message. Never recieved a call back. Perhaps they will enjoy a visit from the health department read more

El loro's is my go to Mexican restaurant. I have tried many things on the menu and am pleasantly surprised each time. The staff is always happy and visit the table often to check and see if anything is needed. It is a great place to go to catch up with friends or out for a family dinner. By far one of my favs. read more

I've been dining at El Loro in Crystal since it opened probably around 5 years ago. I've also dined several times at El Toro in Robbinsdale, it's sister restaurant. Both restaurants used to be so good with fresh, delicious Mexican food made with quality ingredients. Unfortunately, things have degraded over time. Portions have gotten smaller, things aren't so fresh anymore, and the past 3-4 times I ate at El Toro, I got sick. But that's a different restaurant . . . . I ate at El Loro on a Sunday night. Besides lacking service, we got a partially uncooked shrimp on our parillada platter (it was grey on the tail, which all good cooks know is an egregious error). Can we say foodborne illness? I also got a softshell taco melt in which the cheese was not melted at all. I could still see the individual shreds. The tomato I got was mealy and the guacamole was dry/brown in spots. The white dipping sauce for the chips looked kind of old, since it was kind of congealed on the top. There was also water on the sides, which made it look like it had separated. Like I said, the portions have gotten smaller over time. The parillada, which is $25, used to be huge! So much food! It has definitely reduced in size, which is disappointing considering how much it costs. That coupled with the lack of freshness in the ingredients really disappointed me. Even if these problems hadn't happened, there was still icing left to be put on the cake! I had a coupon for $5 a $25 or more order. When I went to the register, it took the man a while to ring it up. I was wondering what the problem was. When I got the receipt to sign, it was almost $2 more than it should have been with the coupon discount. I asked him about this. He told me that the deduction he put in was really $3.50 because the restaurant gets taxed for all of the receipts, even coupons. He also said that it costs him $500 every few months to print the coupons and advertise them. I am sorry, but a $5 coupon is a $5 coupon. I was really irritated! That tax money and the expense of printing coupons is the restaurant's expense, not the customer's. There are so many people who don't notice this bait and switch. I can't believe someone would do this to their customers, most of which are probably loyal (not anymore!). This whole affair was just wrong and unethical in my eyes. I know it's just $1.50, but it's just wrong! (Also, don't ignore the added taxes on YOUR bill because of the lesser coupon deduction.) A "bad" economy should not be a scapegoat for deceiving customers and lowering the quality of food and service. El Loro and El Toro have gone from being my favorite restaurants to my least favorite as of right now. I can't say I will ever be back to either one again, and that is unfortunate. RIP good authentic mexican food in the Crystal/Robbinsdale area. read more

Service is terrible and the food wasn't good at all, overcooked and poorly put together. Won't go back. I heard good things about this place, but was a waste of time and money. read more

This has become our favorite place for Mexican food in the Twin Cities. Their chips and salsa are fresh made and delicious. When they are gone, they bring more with a smile. I highly recommend the Tacos de Carne Asada, they are delicious! They have no problem with substitutions (my wife is a vegetarian). The service is fast and the price is great. Often $20 or so for two people (with a beer or two in there), which is amazing. As for drinks, the Texas Margs are good and you can buy them by the pitcher for bigger groups, and they have Negra Modelo amongst their beer selection (somewhat hard to find amongst Mexican restaurants). We frequent this place at least 2-3 times a month. read more

The food is overall very good and comes out very quickly! However, it takes a extremely long tim to get someone to come over to take your oder, and even longer to get someone to come back to bring your bill. The wait staff is very nice, but they are very understaffed. If you're looking for a relaxing night out and aren't in a rush this is the spot for you. read more

What happened to this place?? I used to go here a couple times a month when I lived closer, our family loved it. Food was awesome, service was great and I always knew I would end up taking food home. Admittedly, since we have moved, we only make it here a couple times a year. We went her tonight and I got my "usual"... chicken nachos and the #18 meal (a taco, a burrito, rice & beans). SOOOO disappointed. Chicken nachos, half the size as we used to get, not half the price. When our waiter set it on the table I honestly he had split it up onto 3 plates as there were 3 of us and this was the first of 3 plates. But nope, only one very small plate. They came on an oval plate that was about 10" long and 5" wide. We used to share this between the 3 of us and not be able to eat much more than half between all of us. Tonight, the 3 of us each got about 4 bites and they were gone. There was barely any cheese on them and I there was so much watery juice on the plate the very first nacho I took was wilted already. We took the cup the white sauce came in, as we had mixed it with the salsa earlier, so it was pretty much empty and poured the "juice" from the nachos into it. It filled the cup and there was still quite a bit of juice on the plate. Yuck. To be honest, these nachos were the number one thing I would ever recommend here. I have even ordered them to go quite a few times, just to satisfy a craving. Would no longer recommend. My Meal... the rice was good, as usual, but the service size was less than normal. The beans were ok and I got about the same as usual. My taco was fine (at best), and after looking at the burrito, the nachos looked huge. I don't know if these guys were running low on food, but there was less than 1/4 cup of cheese on the taco, burrito and beans, all together. I believe the burrito was on a soft taco tortilla (that is how small it was) and was about as big around as a roll of quarters. The taste of the food was alright, but given the quantity vs the cost, not worth it. Given the fact that I have had all of these item in the past and compared my previous experience versus tonight's experience, I can honestly say I would never go back here again. Not worth it at all. Adios El Loro (insert sad face here). read more

The manager will find ANY excuse not to honor their own coupon! Service is friendly, but lacking. I finished my margarita before my husband even got his. Asked for more salsa for this chips and never got it. Been disappointed by this place too many times- they've lost a customer. read more

I'm a big fan of Mexican food, so I'm a stickler on some details. El Loro was okay. Nice staff. You get the typical chips and salsa, and they give you a sour cream dip. The chips were okay, and I thought the small amount of salsa was fair at best (I would rate a 2/5). I had the fiesta burrito (steak, chicken, and shrimp) which I thought was pretty good (3.5/5). However, I like refried beans which were not included with the meal, so I had to order a side order. To be fair, I am pretty critical on my beans. These tasted like they were from a can and blended to a pulp 2/5). The tortillas were well-made with good texture. Finally, the flan was pretty good (3.75/5), good texture, cooked right, with pretty good flavor. read more

We have been regulars for 7 years! The food has always been speedy and delicious! I believe there are under new management/ownership recently and pricing has increased on most items, especially the numbered entrees. It will still be our favorite mexican place! read more

The service here is absolutely horrible. Won't be coming back to this restaurant. Seemed very unorganized and we never got our tab or refills on any drinks. read more

Love the SALSA, and the white sauce they also give you with the chips However, the menu has about 40 items to many ( its all the same stuff ). They have tons of people working their but only your waiter will be able to help you. So somethimes you have to wait. Food comes SUPER fast! I have started to avoid the Shrimp dishes there really rubbery. The drink menu has strange pricing, read more

The Fajitas for two are the best fajitas I've had around town- the freshest meat and veggies and enough for 3 people. The chip dip is good, but doesn't compare to the white chip dip at Acapulco Restaurant. read more

Best Molcajete!! Wow! And service was awesome too. This is our go-to restaurant just northwest of the cities. Never had either bad food or bad service. Food portions large and tasty, good food all around, and they're generous with their sides. read more

Decided to get El Loro tonight for dinner kinda last minute but at a relatively early dinner hour of 6:30. We stopped in and my wife and I decided to go to the bar to grab a margarita and order take out. A guy approached us after we sat at the bar and offered us the special margarita. My wife asked for a small regular margarita. A woman bartender approached use and made a comment to the guy in Spanish making fun of us which he laughed at. She said to him to put it nicely that we don't comprehend him. She started to ask about flavors she wanted so my wife had to repeat her order. When we did order take out we only ordered one entree with a few sides. I ordered a steak burrito. The woman bartender repeated my order back to me correctly. Of course when I got home it was wrong. Chicken. Very disappointing. El Loro also has changed its tomato salsa and it is not as good. Way too many restaurant choices to accept rudeness and screw ups. read more

I've been here quite a few times and the food is always good. I never leave hungry, and the prices are super reasonable. I would recommend this place to anybody. read more