Big portions, friendly service, ample seating, full bar. Perfect for family or friends. Professional, clean, and I'm full. Did everything right. Easy five. read more

El Tapatio Mexican Restaurant - Making our guacamole live!! - Mexican Near Me - Saint Helens, Oregon

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Came to St Heles for the fist time and decided to try this cute Mexican place. Everything is so good. The beans taste amazing, chips and fresh salsa very delicious. I tried the "Pollo Asado" and it was bomb! Our server was very friendly and provided a great service and experience here. read more

El Tapatio Mexican Restaurant - Happy hour menú - Mexican Near Me - Saint Helens, Oregon

Unfortunately, our experience was disappointing to say the least due to the service of our male waiter. He repeatedly interrupted and wouldn't finish listening to our orders, after this happened to the 3rd person in our party, we politely asked him to please let us finish so our orders would be correct, he responded by telling us to "calm down," which was disrespectful, unnecessary, dismissive and unprofessional. We were respectful throughout and simply wanted to be heard. Good service is about listening to guests, and sadly that was missing during our visit. When we decided to leave, he refused to give his name or the owner's name when asked, and continually argued with us about this. This level of unprofessionalism is unacceptable, and we won't be returning. read more

El Tapatio Mexican Restaurant - The man who says he is the manager, but wouldn't give his name, nor would give the owner's name, then he said he is the owner. - Mexican Near Me - Saint Helens, Oregon

Oh my gosh! This place saved my Easter! And door dash delivered me an amazing carne asada dinner from here. I added special instructions and they were followed to the letter! My meal was fantastic! And there is so much food I have dinner for another night maybe two. I don't eat much. Thank you for making my day!!! read more

El Tapatio Mexican Restaurant - Carne asada dinner..mi is the tortillas you get. Plus I ordered chips and salsa. - Mexican Near Me - Saint Helens, Oregon

Decided to give it a try again after writing them off for several years due to several below average experiences and unfortunately, it's still bad. The service was okay, the food was salty and mediocre at best. The one in Rainier is always good, I'm not sure why this location is so disappointing. read more

We've been to El Tap as our daughter calls it several times since we moved to Warren. The service is always top-notch. And the food is really good. We have made El Tap a regular in our eating out rotation. read more

Best Tortilla Soup in the county! Pleasant and efficient staff, even when extremely busy. The staff have been the same for years it's nice to see familiar faces. read more

I ordered the trio fajitas and it had more broccoli, cauliflower and carrots than onions peppers or meat and it was 24.99. I counted 4 shrimp about 2 ounces of chicken and even less of steak. Since when do fajitas have broccoli, cauliflower and carrots? Very disappointing. read more

Beware- checking your bank and credit statements for discrepancy in charges- they decided to take it upon themselves to add an additional $5 tip on top of the standard tip I had left. I had used my company credit card for 2 of us so and now I have to explain to my company why my receipt doesn't align with their charges . THIS IS STEALING!!! read more

One of the only local restaurants that labels menu choices that are gluten free! We appreciate that and Will continue to dine here, knowing it is safe for my husband who has celiacs. Service is excellent! Environment is peaceful and relaxing :) read more

El Tapatio Mexican Restaurant - Fajitas for 2! - Mexican Near Me - Saint Helens, Oregon

The service here is fantastic. The location is easy to get to. There is lots of seating inside in either of the dining rooms. The menu has a lot of choices. I opted for the Chile Rellenos. It's usually a favorite of mine. This one was cooked well, but lacked much in the way of flavor. The cheese tasted like mozzarella which is pretty bland. The rice and beans were also pretty basic. It wasn't bad, it just didn't have much going on. The service was great, the food was okay. read more

El Tapatio Mexican Restaurant - Menu - Mexican Near Me - Saint Helens, Oregon

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They offer a bean dip and a chunky salsa to go with your warm crispy tortilla chips. They have a new menu which I took pictures of every page and attached. read more

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This is our "go to" local restaurant. The service is warm and friendly and the atmosphere was cordial and relaxed. They make getting you exactly what you want a priority. We love the many varieties and choices on their menu. Their vegetarian menu is excellent also with a variety of choices. The only problem with El Tapatio is that it's so hard to decide. They also have a full service cantina with the same open atmosphere as the restaurant and they make drinks of all kinds, even non-alcohol but still fun drinks. There is full restaurant service in the cantina. This is a family restaurant and one of the few that I have never seen children running around and being loud. It's also a nice date restaurant because of the semi-private booths, great food, and affordability. read more

El Tapatio's chicken salad is amazing! The fresh ingredients and perfectly cooked chicken make it a must-try. Plus, the friendly and attentive service only adds to the experience. Highly recommend! read more

El Tapatio Mexican Restaurant - Grilled Chicken Salad! - Mexican Near Me - Saint Helens, Oregon

We went here for the first time being new to the area. we were very disappointed. The first thing we saw was a total disheveled mess of paperwork at the front desk, which didn't make a good first impression and the waitress was not very friendly at all. And she wasn't busy, there were only 1 other couple in there. So we get our waters and chips and salsa right away, but it took forever for her to come back and get our order. The food was just okay, not that good for the price. Also there were several flies flying around landing on us and the food. Then when we are trying to pay it took forever for her to come and take our money. Well we won't be back. The Mexican restaurant in Scappoose is much better quality of food, service and cleanliness. read more

Long time customers, this was a regular in our rotation when we lived here. We try to hit it whenever we're in town visiting. Great family run restaurant, great service & food. When our kids were little, they'd fight over the bean dip so the lady noticed and ever after brought them each there own. They have awesome salsa. Their camarone dishes are my favorites but I almost always get the Camarones al Mojo deAjo - so good ! And everything is always consistently good - we've been coming here for almost 20 years and always enjoy it! read more

Came here on a Thursday evening. We were seated right away because it was slow. For how slow it was it took approximately 5 mins for our waitress to come to the table. The waitress was very robotic. There's nothing wrong with that I guess. Just kinda made me uncomfortable. We received our food after 20 mins of ordering. The food was good. Everything was hot and fresh, which large portions. You also get unlimited chips and salsa. If you are looking for a lot of food at a sit down restaurant and you don't really care about service, then this is the place for you. read more

El Tapatio Mexican Restaurant - Mexican Near Me - Saint Helens, Oregon

I had fish tacos . They were fantastic! Husband had fajitas that had a total lack of seasoning. Not sure what happened.

A few years ago I saw a waitress pour salsa left on a table into another bowl and go directly to put it on someone else's table! We haven't been back since and didn't even order anything .. we went to Ixtapa in Scappoose! read more

We were hoping to find great Mexican food in Saint Helens and were not disappointed! The service was excellent and the portions were very generous. The chicken in our chimichangas and enchiladas was really tender and flavorful. Margaritas were large and tasty. This place can accommodate large groups easily and is fanilyfriendly. Would have given it five stars but the shredded beef in my son's tacos was a bit dry. We will definitely be back! Update: Returned and had more awesome food and fabulous margarita! 5 star experience! read more

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We had fajitas for two. It was the BEST we have ever had. If I ever come back to visit this area, I would eat here again without hesitation. AWESOME, just AWESOME!! read more

Great service, warm chips with a side of refried beans. Great food and my family will definitely be back. Waitress Estela was on top of it. Thank you for cooking my family dinner! read more

I had several really good experiences in this restaurant and then I came in with an elderly Mexican man and apparently from how they acted the waitress knew the man because he had told me he goes in there frequently and she started to act up on me being extremely rude and she brought him a huge plate of food covered with cheese and everything 20 minutes before she brought my food and then when she brought my food even he and both of us were freaked out at the meat which was very expensive it was like beef jerky dried up And I told her that and she said no this is good meat and I asked her for a spoon to eat the beans and she said she bring it and she didn't and then she said well you don't like what you ordered then you can change it well I had just waited over half an hour and he got his food and then I got my food 20 minutes later and now I'm gonna wait another 20 minutes to get a replacement So apparently this waitress had something issue with this man and because every other time I didn't know I was treated politely but I left a tip anyway and said I'll never come back. What she gave me in the order did not match the ingredients in the menu and did not have more than a 1/2 a teaspoon of avocado 2 tablespoons of lettuce no cheese and hard dried up beans that I couldn't eat so I just gave all the food to the Mexican guy I was with and left because I went in there trying to have a good time and she made it into h*** and she will not apologize even when I call And she was very disturbing and nasty to me and she claims to be the manager read more

Service here is great friendly staff. The meals are very generous . They also serve complimentary chips and salsa . If you prefer spicy ask for the green sauce. We will definately come back again read more

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I used to love to eat here. However the other day my daughter went to the restaurant and ordered two avacodo tostada's to go. In the past they were made with cabbage and you got a whole avacodo sliced on the top. Not the case anymore! Maybe 4 pieces of very thinnly sliced avacodo and now using iceberg lettuce. Plus I was shocked that these two tostada's cost $27.00!!! I KNOW the cost of everything has and is going up, but people seriously for iceberg lettuce, whole black beans (not many) and a few slices of avocado, oh and a very soggy tostada shell, which was odd as I live very close! You did not set a table, you did not clean up after us. Another restaurant crossed off my list! My daughter is from out of state and she also will not go there again! The woman I talked to assured me, after quoting grocery store prices on food, that I was going to see this everywhere! Which tells me the average person won't be able to eat out. Very disappointing. read more

It was on my bucket list to update the review for St. Helen's branch of El Tapatio Mexican Restaurant, a place you may very well want to stop if coming in from the coast and not wanting to partake in pricier seafood places on the water in Astoria but unable to make it to Portland without filing "the tank." With so many El Tapatios in the general area, I'm assuming it's a chain of sorts. I ordered a combination platter with three items the last time here. They were presented on a large platter; however, each of the individual items were sort of small and anchoring a corner, with a sea of rice and beans connecting them together. The taste could be described as reliable, thus ok. El Tapatio's service was quick and amicable, the prices were fair, and the food will fill up "the tank." But then, have you ever been to a mid-line Mexican restaurant where the food preparation was slow? I'm betting all the slop, and I mean that in a nice way, is right there, ready to be piled onto the plates assembly line style. Kudos to them for bringing out both salsa and bean dip to go with the chips. Still, I wouldn't call myself a fan. El Tapatio in St. Helen's is a 3 star place, but one I'd go back to. That's a good thing, because there are 3 star places you could take or leave. !Tres estrellas por El Tapatio en Santa Elena, amigos! read more

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What can I say? When you walk in you'll immediately realize what type of service and food you will be getting. I don't need to describe the Tex-Mex dishes because you have likely eaten the exact same dish at any other Tex-Mex joint. Expect inauthentic, and if I'm frank, pretty disgusting food. You can tell the beans and rice are pre-made, slopped on a dish and then sit on that same dish under a heat lamp. Then when ready to use they throw some lettuce, guac and sour cream on the scolding hot plate of beans and rice. Call me picky, but I personally don't want hot lettuce and sour cream with my meal. One thing to note if you don't follow my advice and you do indeed decide to spend your money here: do NOT share your combination fajitas or the server will tell the cook and the cook will literally give you three strips of chicken and three strips of asada. The rest will be a pile of greasy onions and peppers. I suppose a shared meal and two margaritas was not their ideal tab, but I can tell you El Tap will not be getting our business again no matter how desperate we are for subpar "mexican" food. Also, the lottery machines in the back? C'mon now.... Muchas Gracias, here we come! No Gracias, to you, Tapatio. read more

No matter what our group ordered from their menu--and we ordered a fairly wide variety of dishes, featuring beef, seafood, chicken, and vegetarian platters, respectively--- what arrived at our table was mostly..... arroz y frijoles. Granted, they were veritable gigando mounds o' beans'n'rice, more than enough to satisfy the Recommended Daily Allowances, thereof for an entire district's worth of lunches, ala' Schoolhouse Rock: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1jz1U-EC9Q Le Sigh. I suppose one could construct a lengthy and water tight argument that traditional Mexican cuisine is mostly...... arroz y frijoles after all--- at least in some areas. But when said platters each approached the $20 mark (!!!) , with their signature Molcajete coming in just under the $25 mark (!!!!!!!!!) ... well, the disappointment you're liable to experience is practically guaranteed. Besides, I tired long ago of the "authenticity" angle on food reviews, seeing that everything is so cross-culturally bastardized now, anyways.... and if authenticity were even a consideration, placed like Tapatio wouldn't condescend to make available the Gringo concoction supreme: Burritos grandisimos. Ever able to see the humor in just about any situation, an amusing and perhaps apropos-of-nothing realization did dawn on me as I picked through my Molcajete, wishin' there was even just a little mo' meat and way less starch: this food is an excellent analog for Tapatio hot sauce---arguably the most generic sauce of all time. I have no idea if the restaurant chain is in any way linked to the namesake salsa, but boy do they both hit the same low-expectation water marks. What is the opposite of "salience"? Apparently it's "Tapa-tio", baby! Provecho! I by no means regretted the company and fellowship shared during the course of this meal at Tapatio: Columbia County division. But for the hefty price tag of feeding 4 adults here, I could have bought enough bulk arroz y frijoles at Costco to last through at least 3 or 4 Zomb-pocalypses. Therefore a toast: Here's mud n' frijoles in yer eye, misters and missies.... read more

Although we liked having beans with our chips and salsa, the food was quite bland. Even the salsa had very little flavor.

my tacos were good chips and salsa were very good however my rice was quite bland but the service was amazing i will say very nice staff read more

El Tapatio Mexican Restaurant - chicken tacos - Mexican Near Me - Saint Helens, Oregon

Just not good. Overly greasy, grease tastes old & burned. Ground beef does not look or tastes like ground beef but a combination of beans & some imitation beef something. I had the chicken enchilada & tostada combo. Are the enchilada, it was fine (3 out of 5). Couldn't touch the tostada. No one will bother to ask you how the food is. I just left the restaurant &!im hungry & grossed out read more

If I had to sum it up, it's like a more inexpensive better version of Chevy's. Not sure I'd ever end up here if it were in a big city, but it's a good stopping point during a drive. Salsa is definitely made in house, portions are gigantic, service is attentive. If I lived in a small town like Saint Helens, I'd come here often. It may not be the most Mexican food ever, but this is serious comfort food done pretty well! We shared steak fajitas + carnitas plate. Enough food for about 4 people. read more

I have tried several times hoping for descent food. This place was actually better BEFORE they closed for "renovation", even though my wife and I got food poisoning at least once. Now it's always cold and bland. Don't waist your $. If you want a sit down Mexican restaurant, go to Ixtapa in Scappoose. Way better quality. read more

What a fantastic place to stumble upon! The enchilada, taco, black beans, rice, it was all so tasty! A tiny bit on the salty side, but that's probably just because I so rarely put it in my food. The service was excellent, and our food showed up rapidly. I dare say this is the best Mexican food I've had outside of California. :-) Thank you El Tapatio! read more

The service was horrible. We had to finally ask (after sitting for a while ) to get napkins. Then we had to ask for our drinks, then we had to ask for silverware. Not once did our waitress actually come check on us. Then when we leave our waitress we super rude. Definitely don't recommend. And it was my birthday dinner. So disappointed read more

We visited Saint Helena from California and stumbled upon this restaurant. I can gladly say it was superb! The employees were extremely friendly and the food was served fast and was really authentic. If we return to Oregon we will definitely stop again at this Mexican restaurant. read more

AMAZING FOOD! Friendly staff, pretty authentic stuff. Looking for traditional Mexican food? Here is the place. Fresh chips, fresh salsa...yummy! They also have a daily special that runs about $5-$8, cheaper than their normal plates. Honestly though, their normal plates are so huge that you can pack some home and save it for seconds. Must go if you are in the area! read more

The food was okay for standard Mexican fare and would have gotten a 3 star rating if we wouldn't have had the dessert. We ordered the the sopapilla thinking it would be this awesome pastry with honey and sugar that we are used to. What we ended up getting was something that looked like a fried tortilla with whipped cream, chocolate, and sprinkles on top. It might have been something that a 5 year old would concoct if given free reign to do so - highly disappointing. If you want okay Mexican food then this place is okay. If you want good sopapillas then forget about it. read more

My stomach is divorcing me. I put myself through pure hell today. Poor excuse for Mexican food. The only compliment I can give it nice salsa.. if you have low expectations on mexican food with slow service please go and enjoy!!! WHAT real mexican resturant who puts lettuce and shredded cheese on a taco hmmmmmm i will wait..... i rather eat taco bell... read more

I went to this restaurant for the fist time recently with guests from out of town. The food was very good, as were the margaritas! The waiter was friendly and helpful without hovering. We finished our meal but sat around visiting after without be pressured. Great dining experience all a round. read more