Authentic Mexican food in Howell,seriously? Yes, finally! I felt like I was back in SW Detroit in Mexican town...Great food! The decor could use some help but the overall food experiece was great. Great prices too! read more

It seems like everything on the menu tastes the same. The service is OK though. Drinks are OK. The lights are always flickering when we've gone here, I'm under the impression that the lighting is not wired properly and this worries me. If you go here you will see what I'm talking about. read more

I've been to allot of Mexican resturaunts all around the country, but this place is hands down the best. From the Margarita's (which I get on the rocks, with patron), to the burritos verde (excellent!!). And the service is lighting fast (of course I always come at odd slow times), I only ate six chips and my order was on the table piping hot. They have a very wide selection for a Mexican resturaunt. I always get the same thing, but if everything else is half as good as the burritos verde this place would be off the charts. Even the rice and beans (ya know that stuff you never eat) is good. Once again I'm stuffed, I ate to fast, because it was just so good!!!! read more

Awesome food service and portions. By far the best mxican food in the area. Portions are large and you always have left overs for later. Servers are awesome and always willing to assist you thank you for a great place read more

This place has really great authentic Mexican food. Servers are attentive and the food is delicious. I enjoy ordering off of the a la carte menu so I can mix things up. Very reasonably priced as well. read more

Good Mexican grub...especially for Michigan (lived in Texas a few times). Good, fast service. Good kids menu for fussy ones.

Strands of Hair in both rice and tacos the other day!!!! Yuck I will NEVER be back there. The manager handled it poorly, and didn't even want to take it off the bill! It has completely ruined Mexican food for me. Completely disgusting and I don't know how this place has 4.5 stars. Don't go here. read more

Very fast and friendly service. I haven't had anything here that I didn't like. The fajita burrito is amazing

As far as Mexican goes food is ok but mediocre. Service is very good though. There are more authentic options in the area like Border Cantina which taste better and give larger portions. read more

Love El Patron!! The service is always amazing! Try the Chicken Fajita bowl

One of those "everything looks and tastes exactly the same" kind of Mexican, but oh-so-Americanized restaurants. Cheap, but bland and sloppy. Yuck. read more

Not a fan The salsa was like tomato juice. No solids to cling to the bland chips. Nothing on the tacos but shredded cheese and a few strings of chicken. Could not wait to pay and leave. Good reviews for this place had to have come from the owner or people who have not eaten for weeks. read more

Pleasantly surprised with this restaurant! Fast service, never had to ask for a drink refill! The meals are huge, great bang for your buck. I got the chicken quesadilla and it was HUGE! The complementary tortilla chips and salsa were good, but can almost be too much because the meals are so big. If you are looking for good Mexican food without having to leave Livingston County, this one is a winner! read more

I was treating myself to lunch during a long day of errands, tried El Patron because of glowing reviews here. The raucously loud music made it impossible to relax and enjoy my lunch and book. So . . . Negative star for deafening noise, 2 stars for tolerable food, 3rd star for friendly service and clean cheerful decor. The food is Ameri-Mex at its finest - hot, fast, cheap. There are over a hundred possible choices, so obviously it cannot all be made to order, not even made the same day. Most of it bland and tasted like it came from cans. Salsa seemed to be canned tomato sauce with a few dried herbs stirred in; even the generous addition of Tapatio sauce I poured in barely added flavor. Chips were commercial grade from a bag (at least they weren't greasy!), but served warm and tasted good. Rice and beans suspiciously HOT (in temperature). "Suspicious" because the only way to get food that hot and served within 5 minutes of ordering is to MICROWAVE IT. Salsa verde on my enchilada was good, but too sparse. Shredded beef tasty but too hot (microwaved!). Guacamole was delicious and made that day, although ice cold instead of room temperature. It was the best item of my meal. Summary: You won't starve, but you won't experience much flavor either. If you want actual tasty Mexican food, trek to Pablo's Panaderia in Lansing. read more

I have only been here once and was not pleased. Doubt I will return. Ordering a beer should be a simple step. Same with ordering soft taco dinner. Both were not. Staff were friendly read more

Good Mexican, my wife's favorite in town. I prefer Los Tres Amigos, but El Patron is probably more authentic Mexican.

Do not eat here. Hands down, the WORST SERVICE I have ever had. My sons meal was incorrect twice (asked for no tomato or sour cream, kept coming out with both). When he finally got something correct (he had to order a completely different meal), the rest of us were already done eating. I asked 4 different people to speak to a manager; the 5th one finally told me there wasn't a manager there. No apology, no offer to comp my sons meal, and our waitress acted like we were bothering her. Beyond awful; I strongly recommend you go somewhere else, I know we will. read more

Excellent beef tacos, fair prices, and great service. What more could you ask for? Best local Mexican restaurant in my opinion. Oh, and don't forget to ask for the homemade hot sauce! read more

Good atmosphere, we are from SE of here 30 minutes and wish we had something like this. I had the waiter recommended Pechuga Tapatia and my wife had Carnitas. Both were very good, salsa and if you ask hotter salsa are excellent we thought. Fast friendly service. $25 for lunch and beer for 2, I will be back if out this way read more

Food is barley average. The $20 pitcher of margarita didn't have any tequila in it. Don't waste your time or money. Drive down the road to tres amigos. read more

Over priced C- grade food. I went in for tacos but decided to try the chicken with pineapple and shrimp. The tiny shrimp and the onions were under cooked and the tough outer peel of the onion was part of the mix. The onions were cut in a half hazard way and not appealing to look at. The pineapple was canned and tiny, with no color and most of these tiny pineapple bits were about one third core. I love pineapple and shrimp and onions so this was a big disappointment. My water wasn't refilled. The waiters are courteous and asked how my dinner was, except that when I let them know, they didn't do anything about it, including the manager at checkout. read more

The waiter was slow to say the least. When he did show up he would drop our stuff on the table as he walked by and never say a word. Our cheese dip was only brought to the table when we inquired about it. After asking again for him to check on our food it came out cold and very greasy. The waiter was bad and the food was not very good either. read more

We had dinner here tonight for the 1st time! Delicious food, great prices. Decor is cheesy, but it is neat and clean. 1 appetizer, 2 dinners, 1 beer, 1 soft drink, 2 desserts - $40.28 bill. We will go back - again and again! Noticed they had a frequent buyer lunch card, at the register, to earn a free meal. read more

We have recently moved to the area and were delighted at the quality of this restaurant. We come here all the time and love it. The food is always great and served quickly. The margaritas are very good and the price is awesome. If you're looking for authentic and good Mexican food, this is the place. I have tried almost everything on the menu, and I can honestly say that I recommend it all. We always ask for Daniel as our server, he is great! read more

I ordered a combo plate which was supposed to have a burrito, enchilada, and a chalupa. When the order came, instead of a chalupa I got a tostada shell with retried beans and lettuce. I asked the waiter about the order and told said that I believed they made a mistake. His reply was, "This isn't Taco Bell". Well, he's right, I've had much better service at Taco Bell. It was pathetic that they would cheat a customer like that and be so nasty about it. Considering I worked in a Mexican restaurant for two years while going through school, and my sister-in-law is Mexican and a wonderful cook, I think I know the difference between an enchilada and a tostada. By the way, their meat filling is greasy, scary to look at up close, and IDENTICAL TO TACO BELL. No wonder they charge more if you order the same dish with chicken! The "beef mixture" is definitely not all beef; it's some kind of blend. Skip this place and continue down the road another mile and you'll find another Mexican restaurant. read more

This is the best tasting Mexican food in Livingston county. The service is friendly and fast but I don't feel rushed. Free chips and salsa are definitely a bonus. And, if you go on your birthday, they take your picture with a sombrero on then post it on the restaurant wall. Awesome place to eat! read more

The best Mexican restaurant and food in Howell! Quick and friendly service. Delicious food with fresh, flavorful taste. Stylish decor that make you feel comfortable. This is the place to go for your Mexican fix. Great deals through the week, too! read more

This is my favorite mexican food in howell, probably the quickest service you can get, and the food us pretty good.

Wow. The best way to explain El Patron, is wow. Excuse my facetious tone, but THIS is Mexican food. Being born in mexico and raised in the US, nothing reminds me more of home than Mom's cooking, and on days where I can't enjoy her food, I go to El Patron. Mexican food made and operated by an all-mexican cast of employees who are all far too polite, in just the ways you want. I can admit, their English, not the best- but we don't go to Mexican restaurants to converse with the employees. Never once in my (honestly) hundreds of times in there; has my order been lost/altered/messed up; in any way shape or form. They can't speak the language, but they sure can understand it, considering I've never had a problem with it. What can I say that I haven't already? Their food- fantastic, Their service- almost flawless, the cleanliness- perfect. Germaphobes, hear the name of El Patron, because if they gave sashes for being clean, this place is Miss Universe! Fantastic. On some off notes- it's hard to communicate anything other than food with the employees. Sometimes payment takes longer than preferred only because of translation. Other than that. You have my kudos, El Patron. 7.4/10 read more

We met friends for dinner and based on her recommendation, I had the shrimp chimichanga which lived up to the hype. Crispy and flavorful, it was cooked perfectly. Served with sides of jeans and rice which were standard. The margarita was somewhat salty, with a low alcohol content but perfect with the chimi. The place is very traditional and not unclean, including the bathroom. The sopapilla with ice cream was a good finisher. I would recommend. read more

I lived in Mexico and learned to cook there so when I don't feel like cooking this is where I go...love it . try the Fajitas on one big sizzeling platter W/ chicken beef shrimp chorrizo....Wonderful stuff read more

LOVE their chicken fajitas, but that's all I've ever ordered there so I don't know about anything else - but if you want fajitas you won't be disappointed (although I find they don't give you enough cheese and have to order extra). Super friendly and fast service, I only had one bad experience where I bit on a bone that was in the chicken. Thought they might apologize or take something off the bill but they didn't. Also one time the music was deafeningly loud but usually it is fine. I think it depends on who is working or the later it gets the louder the music. I still give them a five star rating and would recommend them to anyone. read more

We love El Patron. The food is always excellent and is second only to the service. A half full glass is always refilled, the staff is fun and friendly with kids. Just a great place to get some real Mexican food. read more

Took my daughter there the other day and we both got sick from eating there. Will never go there again unless I want to be sick as a dog again. read more

Planned Anniversary Dinner 02/04/18 Our meal consist of 7 prime rib steak 1 chicken meal 1 pork meal 3 chicken strip meals Order was taken for prime rib, asked for preference how to be cooked. Prime rib served and appeared to be all the same, as well as having gravy on them also cold.(Who serves prime rib with gravy, instead of au jus) Server offered to heat in microwave. Declined to do that. Chicken and pork also cold. Did complain and was given 10% off steaks. YOU probably are saying why did you stay and eat. This was a pre-planned event with me and my family. We accomplished what we came there for, family time and celebration. (You can't put a price on that) We had come here for the past 2 years and could not have asked for better food and service. I have to say the service was excellent, Food atrocious!!! I called a couple of days afterwards and had asked to talk to the owner and was not allowed to do so, was directed to the Planner. She told me they were sorry and are trying their best to get things worked out at the facility. JUST SAYING !! NMG read more

excellent excellent excellent food, and service. They focus on keeping the customers satisfied and happy. Service is so fast .... Again, the food is always awesome. Love the beans also... Also gotta try the refried icecream... so very delicious read more

Been to several mexican places in the area, so far this is my favorite. Great service, seated immediately and chips/salsa/drinks in a matter of a minute or two. Decor is nice, place is clean. Food is good the couple times I have gone. Will be back some more to try other items. read more

This is an excellent Mexican restaurant. We have been regular patrons since they opened. The staff is friendly and attentive and the food comes quickly and hot. They serve unlimited warm chips and salsa when you are seated. The shrimp chimichangas are delicious. The cost for a meal is reasonable as well. The restaurant is always clean. read more

Food was quick, waiter was attentive, chicken ranchero was perfectly cooked and place is clean. Will visit again!

Right chips. Great salsa. Guacamole very tasty but very small. Vegetarian fajitas were delicious. Cheese enchiladas, rice and beans delicious. Good service. Busy at lunch! Tastes like California Mexican food. Yum! read more