El Refin Mexican restaurant is a good spot if you are craving Mexican food. I've never ate inside the restaurant before. I've always ordered my food to go and eat at home. Some dishes are better than others. My sister ordered the tinga de pollo tostadas but she did not enjoy her tostadas. She said the chicken was super dry and appearance wise it looked pretty dry. My go to order is normally their chorizo burrito which I normally enjoy. I ordered from there recently and decided to try the chorizo burrito bowl. The burrito bowl may be my new go to because it was delicious. Another item I tend to get is their horchata which isn't too bad. read more

El Refin Mexican Resturant - Tinga de Pollo Tostada - Mexican Near Me - South Plainfield, New Jersey

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Horrible service. Pick up order, ordered a carnitas burrito, didn't like it the meat tasted off. Called to see if I could get a refund or exchange for something else, was denied. Told it was my problem if I didn't like the food. ZERO customer service, didn't offer any way to make it right. Basically, just said it was my problem if I didn't like the food. She had the audacity to say what am I going to do with the burrito I can't resell it??? Will NEVER order from here again. If you don't like the food be careful they won't help at all to make it right. Its basically tough poop. read more

We have ordered here twice, and both times the food was delicious! The only reason I don't give 5 stars is both times they gave the wrong beans and the grilled chicken was a touch dry. However, it was still very good, and I'll keep ordering. My tacos were delicious, and portions are great. The sopes were so good, and I loved the ones with baby shrimp. They puts lots of shrimp. My stepdad had the chorizo sopes, and he said they were delicious too. It's nice to have traditional Mexican food nearby. read more

El Refin Mexican Resturant - Tacos al pastor. Sooo yummy! - Mexican Near Me - South Plainfield, New Jersey

This place is authentic and has been a staple for us for many years. Every Taco Tuesday we order and get the extra, but no less delicious, taco!! read more

Not the best Mexican food ... it was ok though. We had to order vegetarian and got a veggie quasi. Veggies were fresh but tasted bland . Ok for a quick bite though. Couldn't taste anything else . They have a good seating inside for dine in . Parking facilities are good . Service was good too.. read more

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My sister brought me here for dinner and i have to say it was pretty amazing . Its a slight hole in the wall located in a strip mall in South Plainfield on Park Ave . Its a decent size inside but I wouldn't show up with more than 4or 6 people . I ordered the combo fajitas and my sister ordered tacos el pastor and placed an order for guacamole and empanadas . Let me say the flavor factor was delicious they definitely didnt skimp on that. The portions are a decent size i was able to bring half my meal home. The staff was nice and we didnt have to wait too long for our order. I would definitely come back here to this hidden gem read more

So i had a craving and decided to call in an order and ordered 1 beef empanada, 1 chicken empanada, and chips and salsa. The first time i ordered a lady answered and disnt speak much english and passed the phone to a guy who i specifically told my order to and told me 10 min. I went to pick up my food and added a drink. The ldy told me 14$. I gave her my card but in my head i was thinking "how can 2 empanadas, chips, and a soda cost 14$?!". I looked at the menu prices and knew something was wrong. I checked my food and saw that they gave me chips with a heaping amount of guacamole. I told the lady i never ordered that but she already ran my card. A man came out with a nasty attitude and told me i ordered chips with guac. First of all i dont even eat avocados so i told him, why would i order it if i dont even eat it, it didnt make any sense. He looked at me and said "i dont know but thats what you said on the phone and walked away". By this time i was PISSED but didnt want to cause a scene in the store because he was very nasty. Moments later ge came back with a receipt for 14$ and 5$ and told me to sign. I asked why would i sign the 14$ check and he told me he refunded back 5$. Cool. I came here when this place first opened and it was pleasant, but this place and the workers have gone down hill. I would NEVER EVER come back to this establishment when someone acuses me of ordering something i dont even eat and be rude about it. Just take the loss and give me the right food. If you want nasty customer service i would come here. If you order food, do it in person, NOT over the phone because they wont get it right. NEVER AGAIN! Its a million Mexican places in Plainfield that id invest my money in and get better service. 0 stars! read more

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I've been here 2 times and the second time my boyfriend and I left... it was nasty the first and even worse the second. The food is wayy too greasy, and not good. The place... gross. Eating here is very gross. The music is extremely loud. The tables were sticky. We sat for about 10 mins and no one took our order so we just decided to leave because of how nasty this place was. A positive? The horchata was okay. read more

I feel like the food could use more flavor and seasonings. I had ordered a elote on a cup and it came with a lot of water. The service was alright took longer than what was said. But the restaurant is pretty clean and nice to dine in for. read more

The best thing I have eaten from take out in a while. Tacos arabes & al pastor tacos have layers of flavor. The spice is perfect! Everything is seasoned well. If there was one meal I know will hit every time, it's this! I have had it twice, via doordash, and I was very happy. read more

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Ordered delivery on a weekend and service was timely. Ordered the carne asada and some tamales which were lackluster--for a $15 entree the portion wasn't very big compared to other Mexican restaurants in the area, the meat and rice were not very flavorful, and the beef was on the drier side. The black beans were probably the best part of the meal. Lastly, I requested extra sauce and the order did not come with any sauce at all. read more

El Refin Mexican Resturant - Carne asada - comes with cilantro rice, black beans, tortillas - Mexican Near Me - South Plainfield, New Jersey

This place is garbage! I went to their online website to view the menu because the menu on Yelp is not the full menu. I don't see any vegetarian options so I called and ordered the avocado salad. The online menu said - iceberg lettuce, mango, avocado, black beans, confetti peppers toasted in lime vinaigrette. What I got was iceberg lettuce, avocados, radish, cucumbers, feta cheese, and balsamic vinaigrette. So I call and ask what did I order because that's not what I wanted. They proceeded to tell me the online menu is wrong and I should have ordered the el Refin salad. Ok, so who's at fault? Your online menu said they were the same salad!!!! So all in all I spent $10 on this shit salad that I can't even f'n eat because I hate feta cheese and they didn't even offer to remake the salad to the one I wanted! Disgusting. Will never eat here again. The chips and salsa verde are bland. Not worth it. read more

El Refin Mexican Resturant - Mexican Near Me - South Plainfield, New Jersey

Things have changed. It's not nearly as good as it used to be and we literally saw a mouse run across the floor last time we were there

This place for a little hole in the wall is actually super good! Service-not the greatest, a little language barrier.. but the guy was super sweet and was really making sure we got everything we needed. The food was for what its worth really good! The guac was very good, the salsa was really good, they are a byob we brought beers, they did not offer an ice bucket for our beers which would have been nice to keep them cold. Moving on... I had the el jefin salad and it was awesome! Fried tortilla bowl stuffed with avocado, beans, peppers, shredded lettuce, cilantro, and topped with grilled chicken. The chicken was so tasty and perfectly marinated. I will definitely be back. read more

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Authentic Mexican food. Ordered veggie burrito even though it wasn't in the menu. Rice And beans and cheese empanada. I thought the salsas were too spicy so they brought out another sauce which was sort of creamy and mustardy. Soooo good. Server was friendly. Did I say rice and beans were delicious. read more

El Refin Mexican Resturant - Veggie burrito - Mexican Near Me - South Plainfield, New Jersey

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They have so much variety for tacos and they're actually great! All the unique stuff like Tripa, And Lengua

We ordered delivery through Grubhub. The order was accurate, well priced, authentic and delicious. Will definitely order again. We had the tacos al pastor, steak tacos, rice and beans. We asked for salsa verde on the side, which they were very generous about. read more

Was recommended this place, but sadly it did not live up to the hype. I ordered a tamale and a burrito. The tamale was SUPER dry and the burrito barely had any meat in it. It was mostly just rice and beans. Overall there was no flavor or spice to the food. Very disappointed read more

Tonight I finally tried El Refin delivery. I was so happy with my order. Tried the wet burrito with chicken, guacamole, and enchiladas with red sauce. Everything was so fresh and flavorful. The red sauce (which was advertised as spicy) was actually spicy and soo tasty. The burrito was my favorite by far. The green sauce was so good and all of the fillings were perfectly flavored. Can't wait to try more! read more

I ABSOLUTELY do NOT recommend this place, and would not to anyone. I'm not sure how these people are passing this off as food. Mexican food is supposed to have flavor and color. I was looking in my area for a mangonada (i had this weird craving for one)..but let me note I've never had one before. So I find this place has it and I place an order for one of that and a chicken quesadilla (as thats the safest option..cant really screw it up). So lets fast forward to when my food is finally in front of me at home. The bag is embarrassingly light for what I expect to be a good size quesadilla. I open it and is in complete disbelief of what I was looking at. This is something I could have made at home. Please take a look at the photo provided, and you be the judge. It was the smallest quesadilla I've ever gotten in my life. I've ordered it a thousand times at different places and is always provided a good portion and usually a side to go with it (like fries and condiments like sour cream, Pico, guac, etc). My wimpy quesadilla looked like a 10yr old made it. The chicken had ZERO taste, it was so bland. Also, there was barely any cheese, usually it's filled. The condiments they provided were a hot salsa and green salsa which I could barely even eat...no flavor. No sour cream were provided along with NO sides. 1 quesadilla cut in 2 little halves.....I'm not exaggerating when I say you can get a better chicken quesadilla at taco bell. Also the mangonada was repulsive. I'm not sure how it's supposed to taste but this only tasted like water. I'm sure frozen mango was used and thus melted in the drink and just tasted like overall nothing. The presentation was pretty but it wasn't worth it. Everything was thrown in the trash and now I'm currently hangry. Never ever again! I'm not sure why there are good reviews, but please read this before deciding to go there. read more

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Shoes sticking to the floor...only one other table at 5:30 on Friday night... And we still waited too long for someone to approach us for drinks. Cold chips, spicy salsa, too lemony guacamole. Waitress spoke to softly. Husband said the beef fajitas had good flavor, I had the tilapia tacos and there were 4 with double small soft corn tacos. read more

Great place to eat!! Such a great find!! Their food is delicious!! I had their steal quesadilla and it was sooo good. My fave was the El Refin Salad with chicken. It was soo good I had to tell me friends about it and we keep coming back for more!! Friendly staff!! Tasty food! read more

El Refin Mexican Resturant - El Refin Salad with chicken and Jamaica drink!! My two faves!! Sooo good!! - Mexican Near Me - South Plainfield, New Jersey

Been here a number of times and honestly the food isn't bad. We have tried the tacos and the beef, the pork, and the chicken as well as the vegetarian ones were great. Only reason why were giving it a low rating is because at times it is not as welcoming to outsiders. read more

Just finished demolishing our first delivery order from El Refin. DELICIOUS. We got the burritos, and then split an order of tacos plus some tamales for good measure. Quite honestly I wouldn't have ordered so much for the two of us if it weren't for the hefty $30 minimum... maybe that's just enforced through Yelp's Eat24 service? Who knows. Doesn't matter because what I ordered could easily feed 4 people and I spent about 40 bucks including tax, tip, and the delivery fee. Not bad. Will be happy to eat the rest for dinner tonight! Anyway, let's talk about the food. A++ for everything! Burritos were huge and flavorful (we got steak and chicken), and those spicy pork tacos?? Amazing. The green tamales are SPICY.. not for the faint of heart! Lucky for them, we love spicy food. Based on other reviews, I wish I had thought to throw in an empanada or two... maybe next time! Delivery was prompt and the food was super fresh. Thanks Yelp for helping me find this place :) read more

Came last week for quick take out lunch. The place is nice and inviting. The place wasn't too busy so I received my food pretty quick. I ordered a Cemita de milanesa, which is basically a Mexican sandwich. This cemita was delicious!!! It was huge like a cemita should be. Had a good amount of chicken too. The chicken was well seasoned and crispy.The staff was friendly too which is a plus. I stopped by again today and ordered steak tacos. They were pretty good as well. Keep up the good work read more

El Refin Mexican Resturant - Yummm - Mexican Near Me - South Plainfield, New Jersey

Picked up empanadas tonight for dinner. Yum! My first visit to this restaurant. Courteous and polite service! I will surely be back ! read more

My bf ordered food for pickup while I wait in the car with the baby..we don't know if the guy is the owner or one of the servers but he appears drunk..he was just bullshitting with the people eating there. Mind you there was only one table that night of diners. He said 15 mins so we drove around and took 30mins to come back to make sure food was ready. We came back, that guy said he forgot to put in our order. Coz he was busy being drunk and hanging out! Its not like they were busy..very unprofessional!! read more

I don't understand the negative reviews because my experiences have been great: nice people, good food, reasonable prices. I'd give it a 5 if it wasn't for their weak coffee! LOL! Beef empenadas are the bomb! read more

Great food, fast service and the place is immaculate!! Highly recommended! We ordered chicken nachos, chorizo burritos and chicken quesadilla all were superb. read more

El Refin Mexican Resturant - Chorizo burrito - Mexican Near Me - South Plainfield, New Jersey

The food here is legit. I got tacos to go, but was surprised by how good it was. Reminded me of when I went to restaurants in Mexico, not Americanized Mexican food. read more

I really love this place. I'm super picky and my husband loves Mexican food and I have yet to be disappointed. I usually go for the el redin salad , chicken tacos and guacamole. My husband however has tried basically everything on the menu and really enjoys the pazole. read more

Just order ahead of time and take out is a breeze. The food was fantastic immediately after and when we warmed it up again for left overs. some of the best Mexican I've had in New Jersey in 10 plus years sorry toro loco read more

I would've honestly rated them higher if it weren't for their horrible customer service. And it's always the same guy, who is rude, and disrespectful. Not even that they charge 7% tax when it should be 6.625% the food is good on some days and others it doesn't even taste good. This is not a place I would recommend, but I won't lie they're mangonadas are really good. read more

Super disappointed. Why is there no good Mexican food in NJ?! I guess we got spoiled when we lived out west. Anyhow. We ordered beef nachos, a steak burrito, and three empanadas. The beef nachos HAD NO MELTED CHEESE. I repeat, the NACHOS had NO cheese. There was a bit of queso fresco scattered among the other toppings, but we are still so dumbfounded by our cheese-less nachos. I've never encountered this in all my years of Mexican eating. Next. My steak burrito was 80% iceberg lettuce and rice, with a layer of beans and a few shards of meat that were barely visible and almost imperceptible to my taste buds. The empanadas were... OK. Nothing to write home about, but not gross or disappointing like our two entrees. If anyone has a recommendation for a decent Mexican restaurant, please let me know!! read more

Good food, cute atmosphere. The servers are not the best English speakers so do not think they are being rude !!!! They just don't understand everything. Just like you had Spanish for three years in school and you don't remember a lick of Spanish read more

Taco Tuesday? Who can say no to that? Before anything else, the Tacos here are great. They use fresh products, and you can tell (If you know tacos and can tell the difference between fresh and not). The guacamole here is so good that I sometime looking forward for it before other food : ) There aren't many local taco restaurants I would recommend, and El Refine Mexican Restaurant is definitely one of them. Might not be amazing, but for sure worth a visit. read more

Consistently good, but $3 to add a few avocado slices?!?!? You can buy two whole ones for that..even Panera only charges .99 cents. Don't get so crazy $$$ read more

The food is great but their service is horrible. I placed an order for delivery to be delivered to the pharmacy I worm at which is literally three blocks away from the restaurant. Over an hour passed and I call to check on the order, the guy said the delivery driver left about 4 minutes ago. 20 more minutes go by and still no food. So the guy calls and says the delivery driver called twice (I work at the pharmacy, we always answer the phones) every call that came through not one was the delivery guy. So I ask well why didn't he just come into the pharmacy and they couldn't answer the question. At this point I just want my food, so I explain its a pharmacy and they can walk right in. The manager says they will not redeliver the food and if they do I have to pay double just for them to drive three blocks away. Horrible service and customer service. read more

Every time I order food from here they always mess my order up they can never get it right and this food is not to die for I honestly don't know why I keep giving this place a second chance hoping they would step it up but obviously they can't I'm done ordering from here if I could I'd give it no stars read more

Usually my go to place for Mexican today was disappointing. They didnt send any green sauce, food came cold one item was what i ordered - i ordered tacos and they sent over a dish with rice and fries in it. How can one eat arepas without the green sauce :). The fajitas came without cheese, no sour cream and no pico de galo. The torta was great but the rest was disappointing. I would give it 2 stars but gave a third star because of positive previous experiences Very disappointed this was my go to place and the last few times it was an unmitigated disaster for delivery. We didnt receive four of our items out of 8 items and one of the four was wrong. And we didnt receive our avocado or sour cream. Im giving a 2 i wouldn't order from there again food is good but dont get delivery eat there 6/17/17 - back to normal food was awesome delivered by eat24, cam fast fresh hot and very tasty. Nothing missing or wrong. Has bistek tacos and pork tostadas. as always lots of food. Well done guys read more