El puerto has always had really solid food - I remember coming here 15+ years ago and loved it then as well as now. It really needs more attention as one of the best fast casual Mexican places in cville. No frills, just good cheap Mexican food. I've had a few things from here but typically find the enchiladas and burritos are my favorite. Their rice and beans are spectacular and seasoned better than anywhere else in cville and have some kick to them. The chips and salsa are similarly great. I ordered horchata as well and got a HUGE cup and it was delicious. I haven't had their tacos, but as there are plenty of amazing taco trucks in cville that I would probably just come to el puerto for non-taco offerings. Guadalajara was my childhood go-to for Mexican and it saddens me that it's become completely overpriced with small portions and bland undercooked food. El puerto on the other hand has quietly continued excellent service, food quality and prices for years on end. I will pick el puerto over guad any day of the week! read more

El puerto was phenomenal! The margaritas were good, not very strong unless you get the jumbo 27 oz (which I would recommend as it's only $3 more than the regular). The queso was flavorful and thick. The shredded chicken quesadilla was good, though it didn't have enough cheese on it for my liking. Service was great as was the Diet Coke. read more

food was yummy :) , very polite waiter , positive and happy atmosphere and ambiance! (they also had redbull) read more

El Puerto - Drink - Mexican Near Me - Charlottesville, Virginia

I came here for some Carnitas and Modelo's. Very authentic Carnitas, and the Modelos were ice cold and served in a very frosty mug! The tomatillo sauce I asked to accompany the Carnitas was the most perfect blend of spices for this dish. This isn't just a great eating place if you're in the area, it's a destination place! read more

Plenty of parking in the lot out front. The staff is super friendly and helpful. I order pick up from them on DoorDash a lot. They are prompt and I always have been addressed within less than a minute of walking through the door. I have special requested my dish a couple times to remove an ingredient I didn't like and they have always been super accommodating. Very decent for the price! read more

I realized that my review for El Puerto is old so I had to go back and try it again! I'm happy to report that it still is a 5 star restaurant!! The food was great! Hot and delicious and delivered fast! The get extra points for the quality of ingredients that they used! One of my companions got a shrimp burrito and the shrimp were large and perfectly grilled! They were such nice shrimp! And not overcooked! We all commented a few times on how nice the food was and how much we enjoyed it! read more

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Quite possibly the most solid Mexican restaurant in Charlottesville. I've been to all of them besides the newish one by the gas station downtown. Blows all the local Guadalajara's out of the water!! I've been coming here for over a decade and they deliver on flavor, portion sizes, quality ingredients and quality execution every time. Seems like real ground beef and we know not everyone does that. All staff members are attentive, kind and polite. They've kept their prices right since the pandemic and they even have a 5 tacos for $5 special on Mondays. Quaint interior but not any more quaint than most Mexican restaurants. Excellent establishment!!! read more

I really enjoyed my meal here. I got tilapia, and it was cooked perfectly and tasted fresh, not frozen. The salsa was very mild, but I prefer it that way. It was almost pasta sauce consistency, which was odd but not awful. I didn't use the restroom, but the restaurant was clean, and the atmosphere was friendly and lively. It didn't look like much from the outside, but looks can be deceiving. If you crave good solid plates of food and kind service, this is a good place to go. read more

Charlottesville has had a death grip for Mexican restaurants for a very long time in Guadalajara... no further El Puerto is not only a reasonable replacement for Guadalajara, but in fact is far superior to Guadalajara Much more authentic tasting in all the flavor aspects in the food with great ambience, wonderful service and much more reasonable prices We dining out for Mexican and Charlottesville please stop here at Barricks Road a dining experience for East Coast Mexican read more

I've been to El Puerto numerous times over the years, but I'm writing my review today after a truly extraordinary experience. I hadn't eaten since breakfast, and I was ravenous when I finally arrived at El Puerto. To start, the server brought out our complimentary chips and salsa, which were delicious. Each chip had a perfectly light amount of salt that complemented their natural flavor. The chips were the right thickness, being able to support salsa without snapping yet not being too thick to comfortably enjoy. They were cooked well, with no extra oil or grease tainting their natural texture. The salsa was fresh, with a crisp, fresh flavor that shone through the chips that accompanied it. Within minutes, I had demolished almost an entire plate of chips and the salsa that came with them, and I was ready for my main course. My dish of choice from El Puerto is the burrito jalisco. While at a first glance, this dish seems to be nothing more than a large burrito slathered in cheese, a closer inspection will reveal the care and attention that went into that burrito. For starters, the burrito jalisco is only $11, making it one of the cheaper options on the menu (although pricing is all-around very fair). For that price, you get an absolutely monstrous burrito, very much worth the cost. The vegetables in the burrito are well-cooked, enough to where the flavor shines through without the vegetables losing their natural crunch and freshness. I ordered the chicken instead of the steak, and it was well-shredded, juicy with lots of flavor. I'm not entirely sure what else was in the burrito, but it was all well-blended and created an excellent mix of flavors. Onto the cheese, slathered in, on, and around the burrito. This sauce is a white queso, and it's so much more than cheap nacho queso that other places use. The queso on the burrito Jalisco has a beautiful medley of flavors - the cheese, the spices, and some fresh tones that are revealed after the initial tasting. When eaten alone (as I sometimes do), the sauce is like a small side soup dish delivered with the burrito. When combined with the burrito, the sauce and burrito work together to create an all-around wonderful dining experience. I never go into El Puerto thinking that I'll finish my dish, and yet somehow, I always do. The sauce is wonderfully light, allowing me to eat as much as I want without feeling bloated or overwhelmed. Yelp is letting me know that I should comment on the ambiance of this establishment, so l'll make a few notes. First, I should note that El Puerto is in no stretch of the imagination a fine dining establishment. Yes, the food is there, with exceptional quality and presentation, but the decor fits a different design. The walls are covered in pretty decorations, including capes with bright colors, and other similarly designed objects. It's very open inside the restaurant, with lots of light and freedom to move around. Personally, I love the environment, and l've always enjoyed going to El Puerto. UPDATE::: I tried the cheeseburger. It was much better than expected, the bread was excellent. The patty was a little too well-done, but it tasted fine. The fries were excellent! read more

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I was so disappointed with my meal. This was my second time coming here, and I ordered the same thing as last time -- burrito jalisco. But this meal was not enjoyable as I remembered. The meat was rough and far too salty; it was so overpowering I couldn't finish it. The cheese over the burrito was also extremely overpowering. My burrito was absolutely DRENCHED in cheese, and it felt like I was just eating cheese and lettuce the entire time. Maybe I ordered the wrong thing on the menu because the person I came here with enjoyed their meal. Overall, they have a lot of different food options for very good prices. The service was speedy and kind. I would probably come here again and order something different. read more

El Puerto - Burrito Jalisco - Mexican Near Me - Charlottesville, Virginia

Came here for lunch with my fiancé. I got the burrito Jalisco and it is exactly what I want in a burrito - big, covered in queso, with meat, rice, and veggies inside. Plus at only around $11 it is very fairly priced. The side of queso we got with our chips is pretty standard for any texmex place, which is still delicious. The only reason I'm giving this place 4 stars is because the salsa might be the worst salsa I've ever had at a restaurant like this. It basically tasted like ketchup and we didn't even finish one small bowl of it. Don't know if it's always like that but it was god awful. Everything else was great though, fast service, standard texmex atmosphere, well-priced, but hopefully they get their salsa recipe fixed. read more

El Puerto - Burrito Jalisco - Mexican Near Me - Charlottesville, Virginia

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This is a dependable restaurant with solid food. I always enjoy stopping in here. The service is fast and friendly, and I haven't ever waited long for food here. Everything I've ordered has been a good meal, and I am happy to return here for some great and affordable Mexican food! read more

El Puerto - Chilaquiles Deluxe - Mexican Near Me - Charlottesville, Virginia

This place is great! Best Mexican food in little old Charlottesville! The service is fast and efficient and the staff always pleasant. They even make recommendations that are off the menu just to mix things up for you. read more

Oh my gosh!! SO good!! Fantastic customer service too. I took my food to go, but the restaurant is nice inside with comfortable seating and decor and like I said, really attentive staff. I can't remember the number of the combo, but it's an enchilada, Chile relleno, rice and beans. Seriously amazingly good! This my go to restaurant when I come to town from now on! read more

El Puerto - Beef enchilada, Chile relleno, rice and beans. - Mexican Near Me - Charlottesville, Virginia

We got fajitas for two and it was a great deal for a delicious meal. The service was friendly and quick. My favorite part was the margaritas The restaurant is small but it has a cozy vibe. I would definitely go again. read more

El Puerto - Fajitas - Mexican Near Me - Charlottesville, Virginia

This is an incredible local restaurant. The portions are huge, the price is good, and the service is great. Highly recommend!!

Exactly what I'm looking for in a Mexican restaurant: affordable, big portions, friendly service, warm chips and salsa (on the house), plates right out of the oven, and ALL the combos. No nonsense. read more

A solid, cheap local lunch spot for Mexican food in Charlottesville. Both of our lunch specials were $7.99 and were huge. This is probably one of the best valued meals that I've had in a long time. The portions are large and the service was quick and friendly. We were in and out in half an hour. My enchilada and burrito both had beef inside and tasted like standard Mexican food. I wouldn't say there's anything special about what we got at El Puerto but it was cooked well. They also give out complimentary chips and salsa. read more

El Puerto - Special no. 6 and no. 12 - Mexican Near Me - Charlottesville, Virginia

Came here for lunch and our group ordered mostly off the lunch menu. It was busy at lunch but service was still good. I ordered shrimps with rice and vegetables, it was tasty. My lunch mates enjoyed their various dishes as well. Price was very reasonable, portions were good, and overall the ambiance was no fuss and felt authentic. We enjoyed our meal, thank you! read more

A great bang for your buck! You get a lot of food for a low price. The food was not amazing but it was pretty good. It definitely made us full. The shredded beef enchilada and the chicken quesadilla were our favorite dishes. read more

El Puerto - Chicken quesadilla, beef enchilada, Tacos de Carne Asada, Enchiladas Rancheras - Mexican Near Me - Charlottesville, Virginia

No frills mexican place with AWESOME food and great prices for the portions! I was so happy with the carnitas dish I got- the pork, though a little salty, was super tender. I had to hold myself from eating the whole plate because I knew I'd hate myself after! The burrito jalisco was also HUGE for just $10! Could definitely stretch it to 1.5-2 meals. The queso poured over it really made it such a tasty dish! Service was super friendly and helpful, they were willing to split a check between 2 couples with no issue. We also got a round of cocktails, a jumbo margarita and a jumbo TEXAS margarita (which includes a tequila sidecar). The drinks were just meh, they could've won an extra star had they opted for fresh ingredients instead of a neon green mix! My drink looked like mutant blood, it was glowing! read more

One of my favorite spots to eat in this city:) They have great dinner specials and huge portions (2 meals worth) I've had vegetarian tacos, vegetarian burritos, and chori-pollo from here (picture) and every meal was been so satisfying! A side of refried beans and rice comes with the meal. Decent margarita too. Located behind CVS on Emmett. read more

El Puerto - Chori - Pollo - Mexican Near Me - Charlottesville, Virginia

Family owned restaurants. I got the 3 chicken enchiladas with rice. Everything was great. Big portions and for pretty cheap 8.99. Thanks I will be returning when I'm in the area. read more

El Puerto - Mexican Near Me - Charlottesville, Virginia

I love this place! Family owned! Friendly staff and reasonable prices. My favorite Mexican restaurant! read more

El Puerto - Fajitas & #27. Two burritos, one taco and rice. - Mexican Near Me - Charlottesville, Virginia

Excellent food and an amazing value. HUGE portions!!! A ton of great combo specials for under $10 and everything else is very fairly priced. Felt very safe here during COVID- all staff were following precautions and the restaurant was set up with plenty of space. Convenient location and tons of parking. Loved this place and will be back! read more

A very nifty Mexican restaurant with good food and one comedy angle. The dish of distinction here - the steaks. Mexican steak is of the French variety - meaning cheap tough meat, thinly cut. At other places this leads to a shoe-leather meal. The cure for thin tough steaks is to use a marinade - and to put a nice char on the meat. El Puerto performs both jobs to perfection. The marinade is subtle, but savory and the char job is among the best I have ever seen on a steak frite. They turned a "theoretically" awful steak into absolutely fine eating. I had my steak acebolla-ed, and the onions were as good as the steak. Among the sides I give special kudos to the rice which was unusually moist and "separate-grained". Dry rice you have to wrestle down your throat is the curse of other competing Mexican restaurants. This rice was actually good. Tortillas were thin high integrity homemade tortillas - not as floral as the best but still respectable. My companion had shrimp and was delighted with her dish. Ok - what was the comedy touch? The salsa that came with the chips and dip. Their salsa is a mild sweet thick salsa. As salsa it is pleasant enough. It is not actually served in the dipping bowl. It is served in a long thin carafe that you pour into the dipping bowl. Thick salsa does not belong in long thin carafes because it bulks up in the carafe and doesn't want to come out when you pour them. We turned our carafe upside down. No salsa. We pounded on the carafe. No salsa. We shook the carafe around and around and around. No salsa. We super-pounded on the carafe. ALL THE SALSA!!! ONE BIG BURST!!! IT WAS IN THE BOWL! IT WAS ON THE TABLE! IT WAS ON MY SHIRT! IT WAS ON THE NAPKINS! IT WAS LIKE MOVING FROM CONSTIPATION TO DIARRHEA IN ONE MASSIVE EXPLOSION! i liked eating the salsa once it was available. The salsa was not so excellent as a table covering. I think the tall salsa carafes should probably be retired. Everything else about this place is peachy. read more

Great service here! The dinner deals are honestly such a steal $9.50 for so many different combinations. The enchiladas verdes hit the spot read more

El Puerto - a plate of enchiladas, rice, and salsa - Mexican Near Me - Charlottesville, Virginia

Super cheap Mexican food. I went here a couple times for lunch and I thought that the food here was definitely edible--I don't really understand what others are griping about. It's not the best Mexican food ever, but for the big portions-- it's worth it for a poor college student. They also offer margaritas if you want to get the party started! Pic: http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/el-puerto-mexican-restaurant-charlottesville?select=yeu-mHDPBvsiB3uPmO2Wtg#yeu-mHDPBvsiB3uPmO2Wtg Food: 3 Value: 4 Service: 3 Overall: 3 read more

El Puerto - Mexican Near Me - Charlottesville, Virginia

Super good, salsa was not the best had a unique taste! But overall super good food and good service!

Excellent food for an unbeatable price. I shared the dinner for two ($17) which came with chicken tamales, two hard tacos, enchilada, Chile replenish, beef burrito, Mexican salad, rice and beans. Really it could be a dinner for three/four depending on your appetite. My fav was the enchilada (which had a hint of cinnamon, maybe from the mole?) and the hard tacos. My bfs fav was the tamales and the Chile relleno. Verdict- can't go wrong with anything you get. read more

I've been living in cville for three years. Visited a couple of restaurant: both on main, one by Wegmans, Michoacána, and azteca. This is my favorite, and second michocoana. The other ones I don't think I would visit again. This one is great. Excellent prices for portion. Good taste. Simple, not fancy (which is a good thing). Friendly. Quick service. Will come again and again read more

honestly my favorite they are really fast and staff is so nice and food is great!! the vibe is great too read more

El Puerto - enchilada i think but so good - Mexican Near Me - Charlottesville, Virginia

We really loved this place and it's excellent, attentive servers! We got the enchiladas- my marker for a good Mexican place and I was not disappointed. I love beans as well and when we ordered a side it was MASSIVE- definitely enough to share between two! read more

Food was okay. Service was fine. But the taxes added to my bill were not fine. Why was I charged 11.8% in tax when the food and beverage tax in Cville is 10.3%? And the 11.8% is on top of the additional 4% I was charged for paying by credit card. I won't be returning. read more

El Puerto has been one of the leading restaurants in Charlottesville in terms of quality food and great service. Pablo Avalos, the owner and chef, won the Chuck Lewis Award in 2018 for his commitment to great food and never disappoints when we go to his restaurant! I had the pollo mole poblano from his special orders menu yesterday, a dish I've had many times before at El Puerto, and it only gets better and better each time I'm there! The service is phenomenal and they are handling the COVID-19 crisis and reopening with the proper methods, are clean and efficient, and always have a great menu filled with options! I recommend going without reserve, and encourage that the next time you simply have an inclining for Mexican you head over to El Puerto! read more

El Puerto - Chicken with mole poblano, rice, guacamole, pico de gallo, and a side of tortillas, all for $10! - Mexican Near Me - Charlottesville, Virginia

The food was really bland and the waiter made fun of me for ordering a mini margarita. Will not be returning

Against a wall I'd say that this is the best shitty Mexican restaurant in Cville. Regardless of how "authentic" the burrito-chalupa-beef taco combo platters are, I can say with impunity that it's a more "authentic" Mexican restaurant experience than Guadalajara or (uggh) Baja Bean. And by that I mean the interior is shabby and fluorescent -- filled with tacky banners and all kinds of Jarritos bottles -- but it's all part of the charm, plus the booths are comfy and there's some nice piped-in mariachi music (you don't notice it at first but once you do it becomes hilarious rather than annoying). Also I'm a big fan of getting surly, lightning-fast table service then paying at the register: you can be in and out fast but they don't breathe down your neck. Oh yeah, the food. As far as cheap Mexican goes, it's pretty great. I ordered a burrito with two chile rellenos. It came covered in red sauce which worried me, but it had a surprising depth of flavor (and was oozing with queso blanco). My friend got the whole fried tilapia (there's a picture of it in the menu) and despite enjoying my meal, I was envious. The bits I tried were perfectly seasoned and moist, and he was working on that plate for around 40 minutes. We left satisfied, albeit fearing our next bowel movement. read more

Tucked away behind the Barrack's Mall CVS is an unassuming yet surprisingly top tier Mexican joint. We heard rumors that El Puerto had the best happy hour margaritas in town, and that was enough to entice us, but it was the food that really sealed the deal for us. We got an order of nachos supremos and arroz con mariscos to go, and both were massive portions jam-packed with goodness. They even threw in free chips and salsa for our takeout order, a courtesy we thought typically restricted to dine-in service at most restaurants. Our favorite part? El Puerto exuded none of the uppity vibes that many of the downtown restaurants on the mall have come to own. They weren't pretending to be anything they weren't, and they charged a hard-to-beat price for the quality and quantity of food served--a refreshing change of pace from the poshy and pricy downtown mall. I guess that seals us in as regulars now! read more

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When I leave the trenches this is the go to spot. The food goes brazy and it's got a kool atmosphere. Every time I even think about making that trip to El Puerto I stg I get bricked tf up. read more

El Puerto - Mexican Near Me - Charlottesville, Virginia