Really good food place and service is very good! Here's the bad part very expensive because of there location is prime old Olive Garden location says it all! read more

Service was ok. I felt like the server was rushing us out and it was not a busy night at all. Ambiance was good except for the extremely loud birthday singing that scared the crap out of you. Thee food was bland and very expensive. I will not return. read more

The best the death is amazing the restaurant sparkling, clean furniture and decor is retro Mexican super awesome and the food is delicious and of course very large portion read more

Apple Maps did not bring us to the correct location. We figured it out ourselves, but the location was about a mile off. Standard huge menu Mexican. We enjoyed the big modestly priced margaritas. As usual with Mexican, I should have tried to order less. That's on me. My enchiladas were ok. I should have had the carnitas, based on what I saw on my companion's plate. read more

Bland... Bland...Bland... Nice server but please season the food. We had lunch and the menu descriptions sounded really good. Huge menu by the way. Not sure if that is a good thing or not. read more

After a long drive from the Cities up to Grand View Lodge, we were absolutely hungry and we were looking for someplace that was still open around 9:00pm for dinner. We were pleasantly surprised to stumble across this place in Baxter on our way to Nisswa. We were sat right away, and our server was kind enough to bring chips and salsa to our table with our waters. The menu is extensive, so it was a little challenging figuring out what to eat at first. I picked the Chihuas tacos, just so I wouldn't have to transport leftovers to our hotel room. The steak in the tacos was delicious, and the rice was nice and fluffy. I appreciated the freshness of the guacamole, too! Our server was attentive, and we were so grateful to be able to stop on the road to grab some great food to kick off our staycation! read more

El Tequila Mexican Restaurant - Chihuas Tacos - Mexican Near Me - Baxter, Minnesota

Kylie, our server, was sweet and helpful and attentive. The food was delicious. Kylie suggested Al Pastor and it was fantastic! My husband loved his cheese enchiladas. The ambiance was also perfect for our Mexican feast. read more

Great Margaritas & chips/salsa had terrific flavor. Triple enchiladas very yummy. Waitstaff very friendly

I recommend skipping this place if you have ever eaten real Mexican food. For example, here was some sort of cheese sauce in the "cheese" enchilada, rather than the expected cheese, and the soft tacos were so covered in oil that the oil from the tortilla dripped on my jeans and ruined them. Chips and salsa were okay and free. Service was good. Ambiance was pleasant and the place was clean. So one star for good service and one for the ambiance. Food is definitely not authentic and the prices were too high for what you get. No one at our table will choose to return as we were all underwhelmed. There are not a lot of choices in the Brainerd Lakes area for Mexican food, but "California Burrito" is more authentic and better priced, albeit with a limited menu and a more casual setting. read more

Overpriced mushy slop on a plate. I lived in south Texas and know what real Mexican food tastes like.

Cute place decorated in traditional South-of-the-border way, with very fast and attentive service. Chips and salsa came almost right away. Food was good and better than most midwestern versions of Mexican food. read more

If I was given only 1 week to live, I would spend every meal at El Tequila Mexican Restaurant. When I eat here, it's as if I was grabbed by my taste buds and swept away to Mexican Heaven. Being served by angelic waiters, and music you involuntarily dance to. My favorite meal is the Enchiladas Mexicanos. Three Enchiladas, pork, beef, and chicken. Three wonderful sauces. If you are in the area, nay, in the state, nay, on the planet, visit this restaurant, you will not regret it. Five stars. read more

El Tequila Mexican Restaurant - Mexican Near Me - Baxter, Minnesota

Probably the fastest meal that I have ever been served, but other than the chips, salsa, and queso.. this was a major letdown. The rice was completely overcooked and crunchy, the shrimp chimichanga had barely any shrimp and was instead mixed with imitation crab which led to it tasting like a can of fish juice. All in all, we have a very poor experience with El Tequila. read more

El Tequila Mexican Restaurant - Shrimp Chimichanga - Mexican Near Me - Baxter, Minnesota

Bottom Line: Good tasting Mexican food in Baxter. A bit high priced. Top Line: Friendly greeting from front of house staff. Festive interior decor. Chips and salsa were passably good. Chips were thinnish, but sturdy enough to scoop salsa with confidence that you wouldn't be leaving chippage swimming in the salsa as the loaded chip took flight toward your mouth. Salsa had decent chile punchy heat to accompany it's flavor. Horchata $9 drink du jour struck me as expensive, in spite of having excellent & complex flavor profile and a rich, thicker than normal body in what appeared to be a quart size mug. The mondo portion eased a bit the bite of the price. Chicken burrito $8 was plentiful on meat stuffing inside the tortilla wrapping. Sauce unfortunately lacked heat and any flavorful spicing. Over-riding tomato taste is all that came through. Definite demerit for underwhelming burrito sauce. Adding a few spoonfuls of salsa from the chip portion of the meal provided some needed jack-me-up & flavor diversification to the bland burrito tomato gravy sauce. Otherwise it was a typical and acceptable burro. Cheesecake dessert $7 slice from local U.G.L.Y. Cheesecake Company was a light textured, richly flavored slab o' deliciousness. As always. I've yet to find a flavor miss on the UGLY crew's cheesecakes, wherever I've found it. This time happened to be a slice of pineapple cheesecake that spanked the taste buds smartly. Cheesecake this good calls for savoring every bite. And I did!! Crew at El Tequila was smiling, fun, and friendly. The raucous staff singing of Happy Birthday to one of the diners was louder & more obtrusive than other examples I've experienced. Possible demerit for slight excess of enthusiasm. read more

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I highly recommend this joint in Baxter! We stopped in here for a margarita and a good chips and queso and we were not disappointed. We also split the quesadilla which was hearty and a generous portion. I did take away a star because one of the servers / bus boys asked my friend and I where we were "from" which is not energy I appreciate from an establishment as a person of color. Other than that, it's good food, (mostly) good service, good portions and at a good price! read more

Food was ok service was fast great location super clean. But food was to greasy. Would not come again until they star cooking with less oil read more

El Tequila Mexican Restaurant - a coffee cup on a table - Mexican Near Me - Baxter, Minnesota

By far the best restaurant in the Brainerd Lakes area. Friendly staff, great service and excellent Mexican food.

One of the best sit down Mexican restaurants in MN. How did I come to that conclusion? From the outside to the inside a fun atmosphere. Ordered a pitcher of margs and combo fajita plate. It's my wife and I's go-to order to test the quality of any Mexican restaurant; they impressed us with fresh flavorful ingredients, fast service and delicious drinks. read more

The fajita were okay. It doesn't come as a big steak but little cut up pieces. It was okay but as a result wasn't very juicy. It was still very good. I especially enjoyed the flour tortillas, rice, and beans. The overall meal was a 4/10. The tres leches was delicious! Moist and packed with flavor. However the addition of sprinkles (crunchy) ruined the experience. We removed it he sprinkles and it was monumentally better. Overall I would rate dessert a 3.5/5, it would have received a 4 if there was no sprinkles. The service was really good! Attentive, respectful, friendly, and always checked on us. Our cups were never half full, and the food came out very quickly. Service was a 4/5. read more

El Tequila Mexican Restaurant - steak fajitas - Mexican Near Me - Baxter, Minnesota

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There's "not good" meaning "I didn't like it," which may just mean the place isn't what you had in mind. This is "not good" meaning "I'm hoping I don't get sick from the under-cooked food, and maybe should've walked out after my first bite." This is sad, as the interior is clean, the place looks really nice (no really, it has a cool vibe overall,) and the staff was totally friendly. The table salsa (you know, the free stuff) wasn't great, but that's not exactly a deal breaker. If it's good, it's just always a good sign. Their burritos had a lot of interesting looking options. I ordered a chicken taco and cheese enchilada. The chicken was just north of room temperature. I should have stopped there, but.... I mean if I see a chicken taco, it goes down the hatch. The cheese inside the cheese enchilada had hardly melted... but the sauce was pretty amazing. Cold food. That can't happen. read more

Fantastic service from the entire crew! We felt very welcomed and the food was delicious. Husband said he had the best carnitas tacos he's ever had. Our server was friendly....fun dining experience. A must visit! read more

Service was outstanding. Food portions are generous. Food was tasty and came out quickly. Prices are very reasonable ! Impressively Clean restrooms and eating area. Excellent experience! 100% will be back! read more

Food was ok Service was not very good. Server didn't listen to us when ordering. A definite language barrier. Asked for a beverage refill and instead received the bill. Table was not cleaned properly-edges had food residue on them. Overpriced for what you received. $18 for 3 small street tacos! read more

Been back numerous times and have been extremely satisfied every time! My favorite is the Chicken Favorito and the soup is Amazing!!! Service is always quick, salsa is always fresh, restaurant is always clean! 5 stars!!! read more

The food and service is excellent! The prices here have gotten high in recent months, and portions have gotten smaller.

Food and was decent but well over priced. $55 for one drink and and one order of combo Fajitas.

What a nice surprise to find this place when visiting the Brainerd area. We enjoyed a great greeting at the door, a nice looking setting and terrific service by our server Mariah. We found the chips/salsa to be fresh, tasty and plentiful. My entree, Fajita Taco Salad (see photo) came out quickly, everything appeared fresh and the lunch portion size was good. I'm not aware of any other Mexican restaurant in the area but El Tequila does a pretty good job. The staff seems well trained and all were friendly. The restaurant, including restroon, is very clean and the parking lot is large enough to handle most of the residents of Baxter. I'll stop in again when passing through the Baxter/Brainerd area. read more

El Tequila Mexican Restaurant - Lunch-sized portion of the Fajita Taco salad. Pretty good salad, shell was average. Still a good experience overall. - Mexican Near Me - Baxter, Minnesota

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They have moved and let me tell you what a beautiful place. It's the old Olive Garden building Food was still very good but the prices did go up a little. Best in Brainerd read more

Food exceeded expectations. A little pricey, but I thought well worth it. Good drinks too!

Went to dinner with a group of 4 adults and 5 kinds on Valentine's Day. Service was great, food was amazing! Friendly staff. Quick service. My son has Celiac Disease and they were awesome about accommodating his food needs. Our server was amazing! read more

El Tequila Mexican Restaurant - Mexican Near Me - Baxter, Minnesota

The food here is subpar. As a Hispanic this food doesn't scratch the itch. It's affordable and the portions are big. I'd like smaller better portions. The food here will fill you up. read more

Where to start?? Been here a few times. The first time was great! Second time waa ehhh but the third time waa HORRIBLE. My boyfriend and I usually sit at the bar. We feel we get faster service... Well last night was just the opposite. We feel that we should have got a table. We walked in, greeted nicely, got our menus, chips and salsa and our really big beers. We were ready to order, my boyfriend order the "works" fajitas and I got a simple chicken and cheese quesadilla. I also asked for a small side of their "white queso" (which is white Velveeta and canned tomato). Which was about 2 oz of queso and they charged me $5.99. Our food came out very fast which is nice. My quesadilla was full of chicken and some cheese. It was ok. My boyfriend's fajitas' were tiny pieces of steak and chicken, with a few shrimp. And tons of onions and peppers. And this is where the service tanked... The bartender literally disappeared. There were tons of people behind the bar getting drinks and whatnot for their tables but our beers sat empty for 20 mins plus. Finally I got the attention of the guy washing the glasses and he poured us beers. We were thankful. We were ready to go and wanted our tab... Had to wait anothee 20 mins for bartender to show up just to get our tab. We looked at the tab it was about $90. Bartender hung around to get card, swiped card gave us the receipt, and disappeared again to the kitchen. He didn't thank us for coming in, just swipe card and walked away. I left a very very small tip. I tip on service not percentage. Needless to say we will going back to Poncho and Leftys for our "Mexican food". read more

Solid food! Fun location. Not what I would call authentic or spicy, but for Middle Minnesota it's a good stop. Lots of seating for big parties. I like the quesabirria tacos! Definitely a great spot when you are in Baxter/Brainerd. read more

$$ joint. Upscale Mexican for the area indicated by prices. Super service and fast food delivery. Quick chips and smiles all around. Big portions and Latin music galore! Well lit and solid flavors. Catch a few drinks and food and you'll leave stuffed and satisfied. Solid joint. read more

El Tequila Mexican Restaurant - Coronarita - Mexican Near Me - Baxter, Minnesota

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Huge menu offering authentic Mexican as well as other selections Great food even better service! read more

Extremely nice place . The food was very good. They have amazing cheese sauce. Margarita was perfect. The service was very friendly and fast. Lots of kids options. Free salsa and chips. Nice prices and generous portions of food. Inside the decor is beautiful. read more

El Tequila Mexican Restaurant - Mexican Near Me - Baxter, Minnesota

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This place used to be one of my favorite spots to go however it has gotten pretty pricey.

Food was fine, very average Mexican fare. Service was good and atmosphere was normal for a Mexican restaurant. Prices where WAY higher than they should be. I won't be back because of it. read more

This has been my favorite Mexican Restaurant in Brainerd so far! The service was great, we enjoyed our food and service. We will be returning soon! read more

El Tequila Mexican Restaurant - Tacos De Barbacoa - Mexican Near Me - Baxter, Minnesota

I am not impressed! Very expensive for what you get. Ok for MN Mexican food. It is not real Mexican food. The chimichangas are not deep fried, they are grilled. The meat is bland. read more