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    El Maguey Restaurant

    4.1 (121 reviews)
    ModerateMexican
    Open 11:00 am - 10:00 pm

    El Maguey Restaurant Photos

    Business Info

    EL MAGUEY RESTAURANT ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Moderate noise
    Casual
    Dogs allowed
    Happy hour specials

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    Recommended Reviews - El Maguey Restaurant

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    Street tacos
    Is S.

    I heard from a friend that this place has great and authentic Mexican food. It was really busy on a Friday night. My friend and I got a table pretty quickly and both of us ordered the street tacos. Four tacos: chorizo, chicken, steak, and another meat. They contain the cilantro onion and radish as one would expect. There is a half lime and a small bowl of a green sauce. The tacos are pretty tasty but not particularly traditional. The sauce is as hot as ketchup, which is probably ideal for most of the customers. It has a nice flavor, sort of like a creamy tomatillo. I did ask for some hot sauce and the waiter brought a small bowl of something red. It was hot but not unbearable. There were chips and salsa on the table, pretty standard. The waiter was bustling, but he came by the table at least once every five minutes. No issues. The inside of El Maguey is normal for a Mexican restaurant in North Carolina. If you've seen one, you've almost seen them all. Overall, what I had was good, but I would say it's fairly Americanized. Worth trying!

    Large side of Black Beans
    Fred B.

    Today was my first visit to this spot ( though I have eaten at Palaenque in Kernersville, and numerous times at Kiosco in Greensboro - common ownership apparently). This interior is a bit on the upscale side - bright & attractive, soft lighting , with colorful paintings on the softly painted walls. Untypical Mexican music was softly playing in the background, almost a classical sound, nice! I came especially to try their version of Huevos Rancheros - a simple comfort food dish often turned into "food messed about" in this country, by both Mexican and non-Mexican restaurants alike. For the non-Mexican places the dish has become a fad brunch item, lending itself to even further wild variations! I was quickly seated, handed the substantial menu, and my beer order was taken - Dos Equis Lager, the large (25 oz) for $4.99! I ordered the dinner portion of Huevos Rancheros (3 over easy eggs rather than 2 - the over easy description is from their menu) with sides of rice and refried beans, and corn tortillas (looked like flour to me) as well as a side of black beans (portion was huge!) - gonna being taking some home for sure! The order was out in just at 10 minutes. The Huevos Rancheros was prepared pretty much in the traditional format - just fried eggs and a spicy rancheros sauce - no onion, no cilantro, no cheese, no sour cream, no avocado, no pico - nothing wrong with these items if you like them, but each moves it further from the traditional version. Unfortunately the eggs were not over easy and they were not resting on crispy tortillas! Only the overcooking of the eggs and the amazing lack of the tortillas were missteps, albeit rather large ones, for me anyway. The 3 eggs were cooked together and then folded over before the sauce was added - the yolks were cooked solid - part of the inherent pleasure of this dish is the mingling of the runny yolk with the still soft white and the spicy sauce - was denied that aspect as well as the missing texture of the tortillas! Overall this was a good tasting dish, but overcooking the eggs & the missing tortillas took it down a notch or two. The sides were tasty as well, much more than just starch fillers - beans were combo of whole and mashed. The service was exceptional, both my server and the manager checked to see if I was satisfied, if I needed anything. I will almost certainly return, though not for this dish - too much missing! But I'm convinced there is much that is good here - service. value, ambiance. Dish was a 3, all else a five, thus the four.

    Super dip and Dos Equis
    Sarah H.

    After a long day, husband and I were too tired to figure out something to cook for dinner, so we decided to go next door to El Maguey. We had two baskets of warm chips with salsa on the table before we could finish getting in the booth and two large margaritas moments later. Service was excellent and very attentive, and everything we ordered came out very quickly. The super dip was really tasty, and husband very much enjoyed the street corn. I normally get the ACP Texana (which is large enough for at least two meals) but tonight i decided to get the taquitos, which were also tasty. The food here is solid Americanized Mexican, very consistent, and the service is always great.

    Shrimp Cocktail
    William H.

    We have been coming here for years. The staff and management are friendly and always attentive. We have never had any issues with the food or service. Today I tried the Matzatlan Chicken. The flavors were all on point. 3 thin slices of grilled chicken with Sweet red peppers, crispy bacon and topped with a cheese sauce. It was accompanied by a side of rice, beans and lettuce with sour cream. I passed on the tortillas because I have to cut down somewhere. I love this dish but the chicken was a bit overcooked, probably because they are thin slices and come on a hot skillet. My daughter got her usual ACP which is always a big hit. My son got an ACP Texano which is an upgraded version with not just chicken but also steak, shrimp and lots of veggies. I stole one of his large shrimp and it was savory. My wife got a shrimp burrito and had no complaints. I highly recommend this place. The Latin music is a plus in the background, it's not loud or low, just perfect background music.

    Beef taco- beef was seasoned well & love that cheese on top!
    Kimberly C.

    Food was pretty good. I ordered takeout and got a CHEESE ENCHILADA and BEEF TACO with RICE. I also ordered a QUESADILLA. I had requested shredded beef in the taco but ended up with ground beef. Wasn't to happy about that, but it was still alright and seasoned well. They included some free CHIPS and SALSA and the chips were fresh and so was the salsa! Wish the salsa had more of a kick, but still enjoyed it. The enchilada was probably the best I've had since moving from California. I'm starting to accept that Mexican food just isn't the same here. I think I tasted some queso in there, which bummed me out, but it was still good. The quesadilla didn't include sour cream or guac but I loved it! Had my own sour cream at home so was good to go, but heads up that they don't come with anything.

    The decor is grate

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    2 months ago

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    24 days ago

    Service is excellent. Food OK.!!Ambiance Mellow. Wait staff excellent. The fish (fried) taco is divine.

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    1 year ago

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    2 years ago

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    3 years ago

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    1 year ago

    Literally the best Mexican food in Winston. Great and fast service. Owners have done a great job with the place. Best queso I ever ate.

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    2 years ago

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    3 years ago

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    3 years ago

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    2 years ago

    Delicious food with fast, friendly service! The atmosphere is welcoming, always clean & the noise level is reasonably quiet.

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    2 years ago

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    2 years ago

    Clean, fast service, good food and friendly staff. A great place to go on a work night or any other night! Highly recommend!

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    7 years ago

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    3 years ago

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    3 years ago

    We love Nico he is an awesome waiter and why we return. Delphino is also a very nice manager who always greets us.

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    7 years ago

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    2 years ago

    Food is not that great! Service is good everyone is nice but their food just isn't it. It is not authentic Mexican food.

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    4 years ago

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    4 years ago

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    4 years ago

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    7 years ago

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    4 years ago

    Great neighborhood Mexican food. Servers are very friendly and they make great margaritas!

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    3 years ago

    I Got food poisoning from a shrimp chicken and steak grande quesadilla with the shrimp not being cooked thoroughly

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    4 years ago

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    7 years ago

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    9 years ago

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    4 years ago

    Always fresh, good, fast service. I live near the restaurant have been here many times usually take out. Good value highly recommended.

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    8 years ago

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    4 years ago

    There food makes me drool, like i love there salsa its the best salsa out there i could drink that stuff

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    5 years ago

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    7 years ago

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    7 years ago

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    10 years ago

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    9 years ago

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    5 years ago

    Patio Dining? 2.99 29oz draft beers? Looks like your advertising needs some updating. Beers cost 5.49 and patio does not exist.

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    Page 1 of 4

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    El Jarrito - Steak fajitas

    El Jarrito

    4.3(31 reviews)
    16.7 mi

    First time experience. A good down to earth eatery. Came in hungry leaving pleasantly filled. Place…read moredoesn't look like much from the exterior. Surprised when walked in to find fuller than expected and to see the good amount of foot traffic. Think they do good take out also at least this Wednesday after 5pm. Lots of people (for the smaller size dinning room) having conversations and good laughter. I am liking the vibe at this time. Was expecting more rural , quieter feel. Menu has ample selections. My basic dish provided bountiful serving of refried beans so along with the taco and enchilada feel pleasantly satiated. Meat seasoning and texture were pleasant. Very impressed with the staff, hard working, efficient and wait staff pleasant and personalable. Toyed with giving this place 4 stars just based on the staff. I would come again if in the area and hungry. This place might have been a Dairy Queen or the like in a prior version. Has plenty of windows. So based on my 1 time experience I would recommend this place for down to earth times with down to earth people and environment. BTW the locals must think good of this place as observed and by the volumes of people served while I have been here for the last 45 minutes+.

    This small spot was a bit of a surprise, though there were some pretty good reviews, mixed in with…read morethe not so good ones - in fact, 19 of the 25 reviews were 5 star! It is a small place, and frankly the inside is more than a little rough, and it is not the cleanest spot I've ever been to. It is located just off of S. State Street in the "downtown" area. But the food is generally decent and the service has been good as well. The salsa is very, very good, though I did get stale chips on one visit. I've been here several and have tried the California Burrito, the Pastor Torta, and the Carnitas. The burrito was well sized, I chose shredded chicken. The well filled flour tortilla was covered with a very tasty cheese sauce with a sprinkling of pico de gallo. The burrito did not contain French Fries as is the norm for this item! The Pastor Torta was also well filled with al pastor, onion, jalapeños and a Mayo spread on a sub like roll - this was a very nice sandwich. The Carnitas were nice done with some nice outside crust. The pork chunks were not plentiful, and there was a very small amount of guacamole salad and a few slices of jalapeño. Though it came with rice and beans, this was one of the smaller Carnita plates I have been served. I might drop in if in the area, but this is not a destination spot for me.

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    El Maguey Restaurant - mexican - Updated May 2026

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