Pleasantly surprised by the tasty tacos at this tiny restaurant. There were a few parties dining on a weeknight at an oddball time. I can only imagine what it's like at busier times! Warm tortilla chips and fresh salsa were offered while waiting for our entrees, but we didn't have to wait long. Everything came out super fast and the portions were crazy big! I got the carnitas tacos and the mild salsa as my topping. The pork was cut into chunks and placed in the soft shell tortilla with a sweet but tangy sauce. Three small tacos with double shells, beans, sour cream, and some great rice were all included in the meal. My friend got steak on his tacos and that was also perfectly flavorful! I wish it was warmer out so we could have sat on the patio and enjoyed some drinks. I will be coming back in the spring with friends to sit outside and bring our own wine or beer! read more

Good food but it is overpriced. Pretty small portions for a big price. Our waiter was very nice and the service was quick.

Looking at the other reviews perhaps it was just an off night, but they didn't impress me at all. There was a few mix ups with our order which they fixed, but at those prices for Mexican food, I feel like they should have gotten it right the first time. There's several Mexican food places in the immediate area that are just as good so I feel like if you are paying for service you should get it. For example, we asked for extra napkins (we had kids at the table), they brought us only one. They never brought us plates for the chips and salsa, which means we ended up with salsa on the table, we asked for extra lettuce and they brought us hardly any, I'm uploading a picture of that. The portions were good though so that's why I gave a 3. read more

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It's been 10+ years since the last time my wife and I were at El Meson and were looking forward to going back. We were disappointed with both the time it took to get our food and the food itself. Four tables got their food before ours despite getting there before all of them. Thankfully our kids (12 and 8) were patient, but it was frustrating. I ordered a steak burrito and pork taco, my wife ordered a veggie quesadilla, my daughter for a steak burrito and my son ordered cheese nachos from the kids menu with a side of chicken. The food was surprisingly bland. Prices were ok, however my son's was a joke. He literally got about 5 big tortilla chips with microwaved (at least it appeared that way) cheese on top. We got some chicken on the side and it was $13. They are a bring your own establishment, which a definite plus. Be careful with the free tortilla chips, you should know that it's only the first bowl that is free. Careful with the tortilla chips. First Bowl is free all others there will be a charge. read more

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I have been going to El Meson for years. I know to get there early on weekends to avoid a wait. Complementary chips and salsa arrive at your table as soon as you sit down and they are the BEST. Wonderful menu offers wide variety of choices and their weekend specials offer anything from delicious soups to quesadillas, shrimp or steak. Food is always consistently good. I love Quesadilla de camarones, their house salad is beautiful and the dressing is amazing, can easily be shared. In the summer the outdoor seating is in a beautiful flower filled garden with trees and umbrellas. The owner and staff are friendly and efficient. Be sure to bring a bottle of wine or sangria as it is a BYOB. read more

Great Mexican food in a nice setting. Outdoor seating available. Staff is pleasant and attentive. Food is not overly spicy so you can actually taste the natural flavors, but if you want hot sauce, just ask! Large portions, I certainly didn't leave hungry! read more

A great Mexican restaurant in the Freehold area. Plates are large and lots of options for different salsas. It is a little pricey but there are few places in the area that have such a wide menu. Come with a large group and enjoy everything they have to offer on the menu. Don't be afraid to try some of the hotter salsas on the menu! read more

This local Mexican restaurant has been around for many years and it still remains consistently excellent. The specials on the weekends are outstanding. The service from the long-standing wait staff is excellent and the owner Joaquin is always present overseeing the entire operation. It's a BYOB no pretensions just good food and service at reasonable prices. I've been going there since the beginning and I highly recommend it. read more

Excellent service and great endless chips and salsa. The shrimp enchiladas is outstanding especially with the verde sauce. read more

El Meson - Mexican Near Me - Freehold, New Jersey

This place should have been fantastic, it's been around for ages and it was packed with people. The decor and ambiance feels festive and nice. The reason for the low star review is that the food is really awful. The soups that were brought to us were minimally put together - the vegetables were all uncooked and tossed into the broth right before serving. The chicken was also tossed in afterwards as it had an entirely separate and bland flavor vs the broth. Mexican soup should be something special and this was seriously lacking. When preparing enchiladas, I would love for the flavors of the meat and cheeses and sauces to blend together into a harmonious ballet of flavor. This is not the case here. The meat inside the enchiladas were way overcooked and clearly cooked separately. It tasted like the meat was thrown in and the plate was put into an oven or even microwaved before being brought out. I will admit that the guacamole as well as the salsa and chips were absolutely fantastic. There is a glimmer of hope I have for this place if they can figure out their absolute failures with cooking food. The last major issue I had with this place was the speed of service and overall quality of service. Our beverages were never refilled and our food took almost an hour to come out. This is understandable sometimes when a place is busy to maintain overall quality of food preparation but when the service is slow and the food is bad, this becomes an issue. Advice to folks, there are so many fantastic restaurants to explore - I urge you to check them out and if the word on the street is that this place has significantly improved their food (and service) maybe check it out in the future but for now - I give it a thumbs down. read more

this place stinks. i got the fajita combo i'm not sure if i got mexican or chinese food, and ripped me off on top of it. got to texas mexican on main or fonda on south. avoid this place. read more

El Meson - chinese mexican food save your money. go anywhere else in town. - Mexican Near Me - Freehold, New Jersey

Just ate at el meson this weekend. After waiting for over 40 minutes we finally got seated. The waiter was rude and in the middle of taking our order walks away. He then returns and doesn't say why he walked away or apologizes for walking away. We ordered soups as appetizers and after 38 minutes we started to ask where our soups might be. All of the waiters said it will be right out well that was 20 minutes after the right out. No apologies no manger nothing other than ughh what now from the waiter. Soup was bland not taste. For an item that is probably pre made it took forever. I asked for more napkins the waiter gave me one. It took forever to get more water and when our food finally arrived it was just ok nothing special. Burrito was ok, rice was dry. It's not the same el meson. Staff is rude And food is subpar. Too it off with notes on the table that day we would appreciate tips in cash. I would appreciate good service and quality food. Neither of which I received. Go to Texas Mexican across the street better food and friendlier staff. read more

As an avid Fajita consumer, I was a bit disappointed. They do not use traditional seasoning for Fajitas, but a special "brown sauce". It was lacking the flavor that I was expecting. Not bad, just more bland than I'm used to. However, I did love the addition of vegetables like squash and broccoli. No "cheese dip" here. That was disappointing for the kids. They did have a skillet queso, but doesn't go well with takeout. I would have given this place 4 stars, but there were no complementary chips and salsa with our to-go order and the price for kids meals was a little high. 10 bucks for a cheese quesadilla? 3 kids, 4 adults, $120? It just doesn't add up. read more

Had to pay for water. Food was okay but no great shakes. They had no mole sauce! Juanitos in red bank is still the best Mexican I've been to in the area. read more

Terrible service. 2nd time here and it was a train wreck. We were seated, given chips and salsa, drinks and then our server disappeared. 15 minutes had gone by and I had to find someone to ask for a check as I never got to order any food! In addition, it was obvious that they increased their prices for Cinco de Mayo. Stay away from this place. There are plenty of options in Freehold, NJ to get great Mexican good. Galactic disappointment. #trainwreck #dontwasteyourtime read more

Been coming here for years! Amazing food and always friendly staff that go out of their way for you. The owner is extremely friendly and the wait staff never changes. I've brought both family and friends here through out the years and they always rave that this is the best Mexican food place they have been too. The food is always consistent and delicious. It feels like home when you are there and if I could I would give it more then 5 stars! read more

This is a cute place on a nice corner on Main St. in Freehold....the outdoor seating is an added bonus for the warm weather. Unfortunately the food was not good at all. Pork tacos were dry with hardly any additions to the meat, shrimp quesadillas had weird vegetables like broccoli and spinach added...huh? The soup was a bland broth with vegetables - nothing Mexican about it at all....I've had tastier food at chain restaurants....oh, and on top of all this, it's extremely over priced.....Mexican food should be flavorful, fun, and inexpensive - none of that happened here - I won't be back. read more

Amazing SPICY enchiladas! BUT also super disappointing guacamole :( It was cold as if it was pre-made earlier in the day or frozen and had no spice! For the price of the food and the authenticity of the restaurant , I'd expect some decent guacamole! read more

Yummy! Yummy! Yummy! In my tummy, tummy, tummy! We've been meaning to try this place out for a while now. Every time we passed the place it's always packed. We went on a Monday evening and was seated immediately. The food was delicious it's a very authentic Mexican cuisine. Absolutely nothing tasted bad! The service was great too. The employees were helpful and made great suggestions about the menu. We will certainly be returning!!! read more

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I ate here several times when I was working nearby. One time there was an issue with Uber Eats or Door Dash where the driver didn't pick up our office's order after over an hour. The owner personally resolved our issue, had the food remade fresh, and drove it to the office in his private vehicle. He told us to ask for him any time we wanted to order and he would be sure it would be done right. That is customer service! Then there's the food! The best chorizo I have ever had. Everything is fresh and well flavored. I love it there! read more

Food is so yummy! Highly Recommend Churqueso appetizer. Ask for the Molcajete ...it's not on the menu but it's delicious for sure and be sure to ask for Luis the server ...funny and informative and definitely entertaining. Even talks with his hands!! For desert be sure to try the chimichanga cheese cake read more

I went here for lunch and ordered the chicken tacos. The service was wonderful, as they seated me immediately and took my order quickly. I received complimentary chips and salsa with my order, although the chips and salsa are nothing to write home about. Tostitos makes better chips. The chicken tacos came with onions, cilantro, and sour cream. Without the sour cream, they were bland, with the sour cream they were good. The rice was good, with a mild flavor. The beans were tasteless. The service, however, was quick and helpful. The atmosphere is nice, as there is indoor and outdoor seating. I think this place probably has better entrees than the one I ordered, because it has a lot of potential, so I will have to come back to try out a different entree next time. read more

El Meson - Chips and salsa - Mexican Near Me - Freehold, New Jersey

I love El Meson so much that out of all of the restaurants in NYC and on the Jersey shore I chose El Meson for our wedding anniversary dinner. It was between El Meson and Per Se. But I crave El Meson all year so El Meson won! I have to update them to 5 stars. My criteria for 5 stars is it has to be the best of it's kind. It has been my favorite Mexican on the East coast for years. But until now I was not sure if it was the absolute best. Last year the spices seemed to be modified for the neighborhood. But this year there was a mix of Mexican families at the restaurant, and many different nationalities as well. The spices were back to normal. (though after a stomach biopsy I should not have been eating spicy food but you only live once!) The specials are always well, special. The pictures of the nachos may look like regular nachos but they had this really awesome addictive sauce. I can eat normally now but when we went I was still pushing it. Unlike the only Mexican restaurant that I awarded 5 stars to for it's authenticity and uniqueness and extensive menu for NYC , that restaurant compared to El Meson would be 3 stars but for NYC it is a 5. El Meson deserves it's 5 stars. Though when the head chef is off you can taste it! (which may be the reason for the mixed reviews) El Meson is not home style which on the east coast there seems to be 3 types of Mexican restaurants. There is the Rosa Mexicano type that is not very authentic, overly expensive and high end , and then there are a few really good home style restaurants that are authentic but not high in quality or style. Last there are tons of little dirty Mexican restaurants in Corona and Sunset Park that have little more than tacos and burritos. El Meson is none of those. It is a real authentic Mexican restaurant with a real chef not just a good cook. The food is authentic and a little high end compared to those home style restaurants but not fake and tasteless like the Rosa Mexicano type of Mexican restaurants. This is the perfect Mexican restaurant on the east coast, I have a friend on the Jersey shore who is full blooded Italian, comes from a rich and some what well known family , is very picky about where she eats and will not eat Mexican unless she is in Mexico. El Meson is the exception. And we were offered discounts at the hotel we stayed in if we brought back nachos. Yes, it's that good! read more

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This is an overrated and overpriced restaurant. The food is barely mediocre-so many better, more authentic, cheaper places for Mexican! I've never been to a Mexican restaurant that charges for seconds of chips and salsa. It's a small amount, but that's what makes it more annoying. The mgmt. needs to make that extra buck? My friends and I have been there quite a few times just to enjoy our own bottle of wine and hang out. Not once has the food impressed me. Neither has the service. The waiters are bored and tired. Frankly, I share their sentiment. Bored and tired of El Meson. read more

My husband and I came for dinner around 6pm on a Saturday. We were sat quickly on the covered patio (there may have been a wait for inside) and the staff was attentive. The food was great and we'll definitely visit again! read more

El Meson - Chicken quesadilla was very filling - Mexican Near Me - Freehold, New Jersey

El Meson has always been one of our favorite Mexican restaurants for years and still is so good. We have never had a bad meal here. Just a tip though the first bowl of salsa and chips are free then they charge $2.99. I ordered the combo meal a salad and a quesadilla. My mom ordered tacos and my dad ordered the combo enchilada and chili relleno one of my dads favorite dishes. The chili relleno was very spicy. If you come here you wouldn't be disappointed minus the chips and salsa read more

Food and service are great. Nice place and always busy. Only downside is I think it's a bit overpriced foe Mexican food, but there's no where as good in the area so.... read more

First of all - Jambalaya Crabcakes with melted cheese? All I can say is that the mexican chef (I think 'jefe' if my Spanish serves me correctly) has some juevos rancheros. A cajun dish mexican style. I thought I was gonna have a rooster fight in my stomach after that, but they were actually fresh and quite tasty. The tostada salad that the wife got and the enchilada did not disappoint. I got the enchilada with steak which was juicy and nice and thick for a carne asada slab meat, which some places cheap out on and get really thin. Unfortunately, I stuffed my face with the warm chips and the salsa before we got the appetizers so couldn't finish the meal. Definitely recommend it to everyone in the area. Also, this place is BYOB so pick yourself something nice across the street at the liquor store. read more

We were there last Sunday afternoon for lunch. Although I am a local, I must admit it was my first time there. Based on all the glowing reviews here and the strong pushback I got on my Facebook page when I suggested we were unimpressed, I have to assume there was a new cook on the line that afternoon. It just wasn't anything I thought merited the hoopla. So what went wrong? There were only two other busy tables when we were there, so it was neither loud in a bad way or festive in a good way. It was just low-key, which is fine. Our server was attentive and friendly, so no complaints there either. It really just came down to the food and whether we deemed it good value for the money. Our verdict? Not exceptional and sorry, but it was overpriced. Three adults and one child for nearly $80 for lunch? Ouch. Minus the latter's chicken fingers and fries, our orders were rather standard fare: tacos, carnitas, and enchiladas. The chicken in the tacos and the enchiladas was moist but bland, as if there hadn't been any seasoning. The same with the beans and rice. No heat, no kick, no "wow!" moment whatsoever. I will give you the chips and the salsa served with them though. They were great. I'm sure I'll go back eventually because friends insist our experience was an anomaly. I just don't feel the urgency, based on last Sunday, to make it sooner rather than later. read more

Was driving through town and was craving Mexican for dinner so we stopped in. The atmosphere was nice and looked to be popular. The first thing we noticed were the prices!! They were very high. About 15-20% too high. I almost suggested leaving except that we had already been served the delicious looking chips and salsa. Well, the salsa WAS delicious, but the chips were very hard as if they were stale. Our meals were quite average. Nothing bad, but nothing spectacular. Basically you can get over priced mediocre Mexican food here. Service was average. read more

El Mason is my jam. Every time I make it back home to New Jersey, El Mason is my first restaurant of choice. Whether its for a weekend or a holiday visit, my family and I always make it a point to go for dinner. I enjoy that its BYOB, where you keep your drink of choice in their conventional fridge and that the waiters tend to you when your beer is empty. The place is a tiny bit pricey but it is always a fantastic dining experience. I go for a #6 (3 enchiladas) chicken, steak, steak with verde sauce every single time. I noticed that they recently put in a second bathroom which is necessary with their high volume traffic. read more

Best Mexican restaurant in the area! Top quality, large portions, friendly staff! Must try if you love Mexican food!

The service is pleasant but SLOW. The food doesn't rise to mediocrity. We went on a Sunday afternoon the place wasn't crowded but we waited a half hour for food that came luke warm .a pet peeve of mine is when what's described on the menu isn't what on the plate . My dish did not come with the promised beans and came with vegetables ( hard and cold) where none should have been .Never again not worth the time or the money. read more

This is one of my favorite Mexican restaurant great food excellent service, friendly and good prices. read more

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I've been hearing about El Meson from friends for YEARS. I finally ventured down the street, I am VERY happy I did. All the times I have gone to El Meson now have been when they weren't very busy. Service is always quick and prompt. We always start with a vegetable quesadilla, they have two kinds, BOTH are amazing. The enchiladas are great and the Fajita salad is AWESOME. Whatever magic dressing they use is so tasty, and I love the way they cook the steak! (my 6 month old enjoyed the flavor too!) Delicious, authentic, mexican cuisine! read more

Had the steak burrito through doordash. Very fast delivery which was probably because the steak had been sitting there cooking all day. It was terrible, so old that it was crunchy. For that price? No thank you, never again. read more

We basically echo another poster's sentiment that it had slow service, extremely poorly seasoned (as in it was terribly bland) food, and extremely overpriced. I ordered a vegetarian meal, which was described as a taco salad and quesadilla with 'sauteed mixed vegetables'. The entire dish was uninspired. The vegetables turned out to be some steamed broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, mushrooms, and tomato. I have no idea how these were considered 'sauteed' or even how they fit into a Mexican dish at all. I had been expecting a variety of peppers and onions sauteed with some well seasoned sauce - but no. Even the rice had no seasoning and was overcooked. The taco salad had a vinaigrette dressing (not exactly what one expects on a taco salad), and the quesadilla was a warm tortilla with cheese and more steamed broccoli in it. I basically ate the taco salad shell, a few bites of the lettuce, and the cheese tortilla (after taking the broccoli out of it). Gross. My husband ordered a meat dish and was similarly unimpressed with the seasoning and overall lack of flavor. At about $20 a plate, this is totally, completely, not worth it. We are both completely puzzled over the high praise on here. read more

Have been going here for several years, but now it has taken a turn for the worst. I ordered a beef burrito and my wife ordered a beef fajita. We waited 45 minutes for our food. I received a chicken burrito instead of beef, but was so tired of waiting, I decided to eat it anyways as I had had them before and they were very good. This one was a lot smaller than they used to be and the chicken was very tough and dry. My wife's beef fajita was even worse, it arrived on a cast iron skillet, but was not sizzling and instead of peppers and onions, it had carrots, broccoli and cauliflower, WTF? Who puts those kind of veggies in a fajita? It was also covered in some type of gravy, nothing that tasted Mexican. On top of that, the chips served when we sat down were burned. Won't be going there again, I'll stick with Aby's in Matawan. read more

Sit inside or outside. It doesn't matter. I would sit in the parking lot if I had to. Great service. Everything is super fresh, comes fast and is divine. Order the lava rock. It is one of their specials. It isn't always on the menu. Ask for it and it will be delivered. The lava rock is a combo of shrimp, beef and chicken, vegetables and cheese (optional) served in a molcajete. It is enough to feed 4 people. I'm drooling just thinking about it. read more

Love love love. Service is always spot on and the food is authentic as it gets. Black bean soup is amazing! BYOB is a total plus. Been going for years and will never stop! read more