Excellent for sit-down Mexican dinner. Friendly service from everyone, and the food arrives so fast. Huge portions, so plan on either sharing or taking half of yours home. They've got a parking lot right out the back door. This would also be a good option if you've got a large group getting together for a birthday or team party because of the long tables they have in the center of the room. There was a group of 10 and a group of 15 when we were there. Many options in the big menu, something for anyone. read more

See all

If you are looking for great ambiance that includes table chips and salsa this is your place! Two salsas come out, a mild and a spicy. I got the taco salad with chicken. It was a perfect large portion and great toppings. I would probably add or just have the refried beans inside for my protein because they were so good. The michelada was massive and had a tajin rim, it was a tad spicy too. Overall this is a great choice for all of the classic Mexican dishes you crave. The service was so friendly and inside was lively. The churros were a pleasant surprise too. Mostly because I've not had many churros and it was warm and crispy. Lotto machines in the bar area, bonus! read more

See all

Cute Clean place Nice people DELICIOUS Mole and AMAZING Refried Beans Visiting from California for the first time and thrilled we came across this restaurant. read more

El Sombrero - Piña Colada Mole Cheese Enchilada Chile relleno, Shredded Beef Enchilada Pollo Asado Rice, Refried Beans Concha sweetbread - Mexican Near Me - Portland, Oregon

A bit expensive! Definitely a nicer sit down spot. Super cute interior but a little squeezed. I didn't find anything on the menu that spoke to me. Nothing is really under $20 for a meal. Granted the portions are huge. My dad and I shared the nachos. Staff was really nice. I loved the chips and salsa. read more

El Sombrero - Nachos Tapatios - Mexican Near Me - Portland, Oregon

This is a great place for larger groups. We were seated immediately and minimal wait time when it came to ordering. The employees were all kind and welcoming. The menu is large, with a variety of options. The drink menu was great and there was a good amount of nonalcoholic choices. Horchata was too sweet, but once it watered down it was good. Both salsas were delicious. The tortillas are not homemade, which was disappointing. The main entree I ordered was not that good, but the pinto beans and rice were delicious! Michalada was packed with flavors. Churros were okay. I'll have to come back and try more off the menu, which might influence a higher rating. Go check it out for yourself, cheers! read more

See all

It's wonderful! We have been going here for years! The food is great the he servers are great 10 out of 10

I use to say that I didn't care if the staff was friendly and that I just wanted good food. But here they have both. From the moment we walked in we were welcomed. I loved that they spoke to us in Spanish even tho we look like we don't speak the language. The food was great. It was exactly what we needed. Good chips, spicy salsa, margaritas, and great food. You're in the mood for proper Mexican food with the dine-in experience, this is the spot. read more

See all

So, I have been on the hunt, for a saucy cheese enchilada, with enough sauce, and lots of cheese, and and a ton of flavor, and I have finally found it! This place had delicious cheese enchiladas, the rice was delicious, and even the beans which I never finish were amazing. It has taken me almost a year and a half of Mexican food tasting, but this place will be my go to from now on. The salsa deserves its own special mention because it was spicy, smoky, and so much more complex than any salsa I have had recently. Chips were nice and crispy as well. The service was stellar, people were quick, which allowed me to eat here during my work lunch break. The place is great, and the people are even better, can't wait to come back to try the margaritas. read more

See all

Wow, absolutely my new favorite Mexican restaurant in Portland for those evenings when you just want some quick Mexican. This place absolutely took me by surprise. I ordered the margarita flight to split with my husband. Thank God, we shared it because it was much larger than I was expecting, especially for the price. Normally, when you get a margarita flight, you get a tasting of each margarita. This one was for full-size margaritas.! Their portions are very much shareable. I ordered the queso and appetizer and that was pretty much a whole meal. My husband and I split the steak fajitas and we had enough for four meals. This place is super cute with authentic Mexican clay tiles and a very cute bar. Service is phenomenal. Feels like you are being served by someone's family. Highly recommend. read more

This is my favorite Mexican food in Portland. Nice staff and fun restaurant. Great food! I recommend the chile relleno.

This is a great little Mexican restaurant on Sandy Boulevard. Certainly the best salsa we've had since being in Portland, and one of the best salsa I've ever had in a restaurant. It's not a tomato salsa, so be prepared. I had the chipotle enchilada pulled beef. This was really good, the enchilada sauce mixed with the bean sauce and really good cheese next time I think I would have the ground beef enchiladas, but mostly out of personal preference. The service was amazing right on time with anything we needed everyone was nice warm and welcoming. Highly recommend the place. Can't wait to go back. read more

See all

We love this place! Ambiance is cute, service is great, food is really good, overall will be back!

I use to come here a lot as a kid, not so much as an adult. Last time I came here it wasn't the best experience. I've always loved Halloween and saw that they had a special line of Spooky Margaritas! The drinks blew me away 1000/10 with the theatrics and the actual drinks themselves, they were balanced and boozy. Me and my husband got appetizers and it was an abundance of food. Too much for two people at a very reasonable price, tasty too. I loved the ambience in the bar, it was quiet and intimate. I will be back and am hoping to try the rest of the seasonal margaritas for this spooky season. The service was also so kind and attentive. read more

El Sombrero - The Skeleton Margarita with cranberry and hibiscus - Mexican Near Me - Portland, Oregon

I'd fallen in love with this place years ago, then for reasons I can't recall sort of just not gone back. Recently started frequenting at long last and I'm a little bit obsessed. First, the $10 margarita of the day is always tasty and boozy. The table salsa is thicker and has more kick than anywhere else. The various servers are all super friendly and helpful. And the plates of food are giant and delicious. Food prices are high, but I always leave with leftovers. Bonus points for the decor. Eclectic, colorful and straight out of Disneyland. Closes a little early, which usually only saves me from another round of margaritas. Hands down my favorite Mexican Restaurant in the city. read more

El Sombrero - Fajitas for 2 - Mexican Near Me - Portland, Oregon

See all

For the area this is a good Mexican food restaurant that will meet your cravings. Service of the staff and cleanliness of restaurant along with some good food made for a good dining experience. Carne asada really hit the spot too. read more

El Sombrero - Delicious Carne Asada plate - Mexican Near Me - Portland, Oregon

We went to this place for lunch on a Sunday, around 2pm. The staff was prompt and friendly when we arrived. I ordered a margarita and it was perfect. The wait staff was friendly and our food came out in about 15mins or so. We both enjoyed our entr read more

El Sombrero - House Margarita - Mexican Near Me - Portland, Oregon

This is our absolute favorite Mexican restaurant! Always friendly, prompt service with great tasting food. I almost always get the cheese enchilada combo plate. It oozes cheese and sauce with generous portions of rice and beans, just the way I like it. And always with the Vera Rita! Make sure you aren't driving, it's strong. We recently ordered their Sunday Special for a karaoke party we hosted. Wow! The roast chicken was so flavorful and fall-off-the-bone tender. It comes with an abundance of sides, more than enough to serve our hungry crowd with leftovers to spare. Very reasonably priced. And everyone loved it so much that they are expecting it for every karaoke party from now on. If you want to support a great family owned and operated restaurant in the Parkrose neighborhood this is the place! read more

I haven't eaten here in probably 15 years! I used to love it, then through a change of ownership or something, it kind of went to hell in a handbasket for a period of time, and I stopped going. Ordered delivery tonight and let me tell you - it was EXCELLENT. I ordered a longtime favorite, pork chili verde and enjoyed the heck out of it!! read more

El Sombrero - Mexican Near Me - Portland, Oregon

See all

The food here is legit! And the margaritas are huge and delicious. Chips and are hot and fresh, and they always refill the basket. The fresh salsa is outstanding. Definitely a terrific value. You will enjoy anything you order, the servings are generous and usually enough for lunch the next day. I used to come her frequently with an ex and then it slipped off my radar. An ad on Facebook, of all places, brought it to my consciousness so I stopped in for dinner. The food was as delicious as ever and the wait staff so friendly. read more

SO YUMMY. The pollo a la crema is so creamy and delicious. The queso dip is also fantastic. Highly recommend!

Came in late and they were very accommodating. Party of 7 and EVERY dish was amazing! Queso was some of the best we have ever had along the salsa. The atmosphere was uniquely beautiful and inviting. Much thanks to the manager for the amazing customer service! read more

We had a few hours to kill before our PDX flight and was looking for some yummy Mexican food near PDX. Did a quick Yelp/Google search and El Sombrero looked to fit the bill. We were able to park right in front of the restaurant with no meters/time restrictions - major plus. And once inside, oh my goodness what a delightful experience! We were greeted warmly by Vira - she exudes sweetness! She placed us in a nice booth by the window. You can tell a lot of love and pride goes into El Sombrero - so clean, beautifully decorated - loved the wood carved booths. Homemade chips and super yummy salsa came out quick by another sweet waitress. My friend had a Modelo beer and Vira asked if wanted it with a chilled glass and lime - so refreshing! We ordered and shared the shrimp fajitas - came out fast! (Really nice when watching the clock for your flight.) Love that sizzling sound! It came with a full plate of guac, sour cream, lettuce, rice and beans, and pico de gallo. Had a choice of flour or corn torillas and we opted for flour. The meal was A-MAY-zing! So perfectly seasoned and flavorful. Even sharing the entre we could not finish it. (To be fair we are not big eaters, and did gorge on the chips & salsa lol). And the server who brought out the fajitas (sorry did not get his name) was Mr Personality Plus! We talked about the experience of ordering fajitas - the sizzle and smell - happy triggers! Ok, sorry this is a long one, but we really enjoyed our meal and loved being pleasantly surprised by such yummy food, with GREAT service, in a beautifully decorated clean space so close to PDX. Just go, and tip well. Salud! read more

The food is great, not too expensive or gourmet. Old style Mexican restaurants like this are few and far between in Portland.

The food is ok. Probably wouldn't have come back if it wasn't right around the corner. But now twice in a row I've ordered food and received a text that my meal was ready and still had to wait for over 25 minutes. They have no idea what they are doing. Never again. read more

the restaurant has solid mexican food and has a nice ambiance. The waiters were attentive. however, they didn't have horchata or jamaica which was strange but livable. read more

See all

I haven't dined there in over a decade because I don't live in Oregon any longer. However, I remember the shrimp cooked in garlic with butter nestled next to rice and black beans. Excellent! The chips and spicy salsa were good as well. Very friendly staff and service. I am severely allergic to every component of cow milk and when I would ask in Spanish to have cheese left out, they were always so kind about it. The music was wonderful. The guys would walk around singing with guitars and congas around the restaurant and it felt like being in Mexico. read more

We arrived right at lunch time and was quickly kindly greeted and seated. The service was quick and efficient. The food was delicious. Would recommend. read more

Parking is located in back and you enter through the patio SIDE DOOR. I was immediately warmly greeted in Spanish, which I enjoyed (I am fluent in Spanish) and answered in Spanish. Server came and also greeted me in Spanish and started asking me questions in Spanish. I enjoyed that and while I was eating I noticed they do that with everyone and immediately go to English if you don't speak the language. Drink order taken and free warm chips and salsa quickly arrived. Salsa had a nice spicy level and was good. I ordered the shrimp enchiladas and paid the extra $4 for bigger shrimp. The dish was really good. A super hot plate came out and I polished it off completely. The enchiladas had a white sauce and was good but LACKED SPICE. I ended up putting salsa from the chips on top to give it more spice. The inside was super tacky Mexican theme but it worked. Had a nice meal and would come back! read more

See all

Really seasoned and friendly customer service. Prices are reasonable and the variety of options. read more

See all

Delicious, straightforward, crowd-pleasing food in a fun, welcoming environment. Started off with two rounds of chips and salsa; they bring both spicy and mild. Both are good, but save some of the spicy stuff for when your meal arrives. We ordered the pork carnitas burrito which came covered with green sauce, chicken enchiladas suizas, and pollo a la crema. Everything was super flavorful and came in HUGE portions; my pollo a la creama was almost pouring off my plate. Service was prompt and polite with frequent check-ins. Overall, we were very pleased with our meal and our experience. We hope to come back on our next trip to Portland. read more

El Sombrero - Enchiladas Suizas - Mexican Near Me - Portland, Oregon

Great food choices. Friendly service. Cheerful ambience. Great margaritas. Delicious Carne asada.

We fell in love with this place from day one. Hard to believe that it was right around the corner, and we had no idea until just recently. My wife had had an incident that required medical attention, and I was left to take care of the kids while she recuperated. I grabbed a couple of the Mexican pizza appetizers as a quick dinner solution, and we were so blown away that we came back the very next day! The matronly owner (I'm assuming, but I have a good feeling about it) is so warm and welcoming, on every visit, that she feels like a member of your family. Having forgotten that dine-in service was restricted (again!) the day after our previous visit due to COVID restrictions, we were forced to take today's order to go, but that did not detract from the wonderful service we received, once again. The food itself? Phenomenal. Mexican cuisine seems to be resilient to incompetence, but El Sombrero is something else. I think they have taken the top spot and are now my absolute favorite. The carne asade burrito I had today was mind-blowingly fabulous! My wife had the tortilla soup, which did wonders for her recuperation, and the kids, having eaten their school lunches, snacked on luxurious queso and chips, thick and rich and wonderful. We snuck a couple bites ourselves! And to top it all off, two watermelon habanero margaritas (to go) that hit every single note of spicy, sweet and salty, with a helluva punch. That cocktail alone is worth the price of admission! I'd read previous reviews from out of town travelers that confessed they never leave Portland without a visit to El Sombrero, and now I understand why. This is the best Mexican restaurant in Portland, hands down. read more

See all

The food was very tasty the drink was on point The servers were very busy a couple things I had asked for extra napkins and some lime took a little bit but other than that nothing that would ever prevent me from wanting to come back We will be back The food is that good. read more

Good enchiladas the Michelada was good need more Clamato I wish they would have checked on me after the drop my food off I wanted a soda had to drink water read more

I will gladly drive across town to eat here again. Recommend by a foodie group I follow. Did not disappoint. They have off street parking. Clearly marked entry and a small outdoor seating area if you wanted. Very attentive staff. I am a bit of a tortilla chip snob and these were so good! The salsa was a slightly spicy blended sauce. I ordered the Fajita Salad. So good and filling. Big chunks of steak and perfectly cooked peppers and cheese onion over a salad in a flaky fried tortilla shell. I will have to try everything at least once on the menu. read more

El Sombrero - Side of Guacamole - Mexican Near Me - Portland, Oregon

See all

Some of the Best Mexican food I've had since moving to portland. Finally someone who can nail the simplest thing... BEANS and everything else is just as great! Also the servers are so sweet. I haven't even left yet and just had to leave a review to tell you all to give them all your money ! read more

El Sombrero - I mean just look at this great presentation! - Mexican Near Me - Portland, Oregon

We went for dinner - a party of seven of us. No reservation and no wait. The chips are hot and fresh and obviously homemade. Outstanding! And we probably ate about 10 baskets of them. Everything we ate was so delicious! Even my boyfriend, the vegetarian, was happy and cleaned his plate. We can't wait to go back again. read more

Great!....definitely recommend going to the restaurant instead of ordering to go! But still delicious and salsa and chips is good and fresh! read more

El Sombrero - Taco de camarones - Mexican Near Me - Portland, Oregon

Let's start with the wings...the only flavor is the oil it was fried in. My trio fajitas...the shrimp was over cooked and dry. I wish I had paid attention and realized I had to pull the shells off the shrimp. Usually when I order beef, chicken and shrimp fajitas they are not all tossed together as a single dish. There was a lot of rice and very little other sides to go with the fajitas. I will be sure to stick with La Parilla on 82nd for quality food. read more

El Sombrero - Oily flavorless wings - Mexican Near Me - Portland, Oregon

My family was celebrating two birthdays and had a reservation for 14 made over a week in advance. Our drink orders were promptly taken; however, took 30+ minutes to receive them. In the meantime we had devoured all the chips, salsa, and water that was setup at our table at arrival. Once our food orders were taken it was almost 2 hours before they started coming out. We had asked for soda, chips and salsa refills during that time to no avail and only received water... ONCE! Some of the adults went to the bar and wanted to pay separately for drinks, but were told the drinks had to be added to the tab and couldn't be split without manager's approval -- which she was busy at the moment. Strange, right?! The food smelled good when it came out (6 people ordered fajitas), but I imagined it being better with all the reviews. My chimichanga was smaller than my son's iPhone mini, so I'm not sure how people raved about large portions? Perhaps the mediocre food and subpar service was due to our party size, but they could've checked on us or provided an ETA, since after placing our orders we were basically ghosted until the food came out. On the other hand, the decor was really cute and the restroom was spotless! When I say spotless, I really mean spotless because I spent my fare share of time in there with my young daughter who needed to use the restroom 6 times. Will we ever go again? Probably not, but if we do it'll definitely not be with a party larger than 3-4. read more