This is now my new favorite Mexican spot in Arnold so I will be stopping here every time we take a trip to the cabin. The vibe reminded me of my childhood, and the staff were so friendly! I loved the Chile Verde dish, making a burrito with everything on the plate was so delicious. I also loved their chips & salsa, and I'm quite picky when it comes to a solid chips & salsa. El Vaquero did not disappoint especially once they brought out my Mangoneada, it was perfection with all of the extra chamoy. A definitely must visit when in Arnold and a perfect stop if you are just passing through the town. read more

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Good, old school Mexican food. Great salsa with the chips. Everything we had was tasty. Friendly service

We love this spot! We come a couple times a month. They have quality food and great service.

Amazing service. Olga was a great server. The ambiance was very homie. And food very authentic. Tortillas was not that great but everything was amazing read more

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Great service + Delicious food + Yummy Sangria = Win! Win!! Win!!! We ate outside on the patio. Started with warm chips and good salsa. We all enjoyed the recommendations from our waiter and devoured our dishes. I had the Camarones de Crema. We shared a pitcher of Sangria and their homemade flan. Definitely leave room for the flan! read more

El Vaquero Authentic Mexican - Camarones de Crema - Mexican Near Me - Arnold, California

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Carnitas are amazing! Reasonably priced. The Colorado beef was not as tender, but still good.

We came on Memorial Day for dinner. Plenty of parking. The restaurants ambiance makes you feel like you're in Mexico. The waitress brought us water and chips right away. The last two Mexican restaurants we have come to charged for chips and salsa. We started with the Chicken Tortilla Soup. I loved the extra avocado they added. This was the best I have had that I can remember. I highly recommend it. I also had the chili rellenos with green sauce. It was ok but the enchiladas with carne asada also with green sauce was yummy. Thank you for having us! Gracias!!! read more

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Extremely good food, full of flavor. Staff was all very friendly. Nice little place and is mine and my families new favorite Mexican food place. read more

Food: Delicious options. Had the fajita wrap. So good. Service: Great, friendly and courteous staff. Will be back when back in town. read more

The food is always good and consistent. The service is solid. The people that work there are so nice. The restaurant is bright, colorful and laid out well. There is also small outdoor patio. They have a decent sized menu and they're one of the restaurants in the area you can count on being open when the others aren't. read more

They are not dog friendly. I have a service dog and they questioned me several times about having the dog. The waiter and waitress were visibly upset. The environment felt hostile. Food was good. read more

My hub's first time ordering the chicken milanesa, and it did not disappoint! My cheese enchiladas were as yummy as usual. This is a fav go to spot when we are up in the mountains! read more

Decent mexican for being up in Arnold..its an old school mexican restaurant you don't see too often anymore...had the enchiladas and they were good...I rate mexican restaurants based on their red sauce and theirs isn't bad at all ..parking is easy and the outdoor seating is perfect on a warm night. Service is also good ...not many options up here so it's nice to have a place like this read more

I ordered a large shrimp cocktail. I asked the female if it was served cold. She said yes. It was served with warm shrimp. She showed no personality and seemed like she was angry about something. My wife ordered an ala carte taco and a chili relleno. Taco came sitting in a pool of salsa making it to fall apart. We had to ask for a replacement and the young male waiter.brought her a taco shell on a plate Not a new taco. When she tried to remake the taco it fell apart. In fairness the place was packed. But cleared out quickly. Our waitress still maintained her unfriendly demeanor. Ombiance hasn't changed in twenty years the last time we were there when we were locals. Don't think we will be back. read more

Cliff notes: good food, be patient on service Sat: small market happening in the AM, so watch out for pedestrians :) no one wants to be a pancake, just eat them Parking: lot off of highway 4, plenty of spots Ambience: authentic vibes, wide menu, seating inside and out Service: be patient. It is a little slow, you may have to ask for things more than once but everyone is really nice. Now the real stuff. food! Horchata: pretty sweet, so I let my ice melt some but really strong cinnamon flavors which I love Carnitas burrito gigante: meat is tender and flavorful Carne asada burrito picante: that small amt of spice packs a lot of heat! The carne asada was tasty, but definitely has gristle so if you aren't into that you are warned. I would get it again. Chips and salsa taste fresh. You get one free refill :) I didnt find a lot of other Mexican restaurants in the area so wasnt sure how this would be, and glad we took a Chance! Now back to eating lettuce for my summer bod read more

El Vaquero Authentic Mexican - Carnitas burrito gigante - Mexican Near Me - Arnold, California

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We drove up from Stockton for lunch. The food was excellent and the service was great. We'll be going back again!

I will never go there again i asked why the meat was burnt and was told to get out....!!!! Very unperfessional....will never go back ....i feel so disrespected i dident even get a sip of my beerstraight garbege read more

I came in to eat alone outside. They got me seated pretty quick. An older lady greeted me and took my drink order which was a Pepsi and a water. Then shortly after another lady came out to help take my order. It was very quiet outside but it was what I wanted. I ordered Chile verde and they gave me 4 corn tortillas with it and chips and salsa. The food was very good! I will come here again! I also got a single shrimp taco and oh so good!! read more

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We had EL Vaquero cater our party for 28 people. The food was amazing, the service was awesome. Everybody raved about the taste and how much they gave us. The Chile Verde and Chile Colorado were fantastic! We can't wait to eat there again! read more

This isn't just one of the best Mexican Food spots in the area, it's one of the best Mexican food spots there is on the planet! I suggest Pollo En Crema or Chicken Milanesa for lunch or dinner and Napales for breakfast! read more

We all enjoyed our food. Highly recommend the nachos and the churros. Staff was friendly and we were quickly seated.

Food is fair service is slow give it a try for your self and post what you think I had tried the fish plate

Food is awesome! Sometimes it gets crowded, outside seating on the deck is very cool. I have been going for years, family owned and operated. Everyone works very hard. One day they stayed open an extra 20 minutes for me to get an order to go, everyone else had closed for the evening read more

The Carne Asada platter was on point tonight. Not too much food not too little food. I was just the right portion. read more

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My family LOVES this place. We went today and there was a nice lady that helped our loud family, she was super kind and helpful. Also, this place gives GREAT portions that alway leave you full! :) read more

Had the chicken Milanesa and a michelada. Mexican comfort food. Will be back to try some of the other dishes. read more

El Vaquero Authentic Mexican - Had a chicken Milanesa and a michelada. Mexican comfort food! - Mexican Near Me - Arnold, California

We tried this place while visiting Arnold. The food was soooooo good! We sat on the patio which was beautiful and the service was awesome. I got a combo plate with a chicken taco and a carnitas enchilada with red sauce. The taco was great, alot meat and overflowing. The carnitas was tender and flavorful. The best I have had in a long time. I wish they had a location in Sacramento. The beans and rice were super yummy and the salsa was good too! read more

I was NOT expecting good Mexican food up here in the mountain. I was proven wrong. This place is good. Service is great, food came out fast. It's a cozy little spot but has enough seating to handle a good amount of people. read more

Such good food!! I wonder what they put in their rice and beans - i don't want to know :D I just want to eat it. Loved my chicken in cheese sauce entree and my husband enjoyed his enchiladas. They only do beer and wine, the wine margarita was great. The high chairs sure could use some cleaning ;) read more

Food and service were both great! Wasn't expecting much but was pleasantly surprised. The chimichanga was fantastic.

Been here several times since we have a cabin here. I am really glad there is a Mexican restaurant in Arnold with so few food choices. Overall its pretty solid the food is good, it's not 5 star Mexican food but for being in Arnold it's a solid 4 stars. So why not give it 5 stars? Several things I would change if I were in charge...Allow dogs on the outdoor deck whats the harm? Every other place in town allows it. Try to get a full liquor license they only serve beer and wine. The only item I have had that I would never order again is their Chille Relleno they need a better recipe. Everything else been good I tried. read more

Stopped by on a whim. Got a table right away and the service was good. Food was delicious and just being there for an hour, you could see it's a very popular place. read more

Decent, average Mexican food with a good amount of space inside and a nice patio with several tables. The drink options are limited, seems like they must have a pretty militia liquor license. The chicken enchilada was average, ready quickly, and the staff was decently friendly once they got around to taking my order, which took a bit. There's plenty of parking in the general area with a few other shops. The prices are very reasonable and they have a full menu of all the basics. They bring out complimentary chips and salsa before you order. read more

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still 5 stars for me....we have lived here for over 2 years now and this place is consistently amazing. I have always been a creature of habit and tend to order the same thing. well...I changed it up and tried their la compuesta with chile verde...OMG! my new favorite oh and they do a really nice sangria read more

Always a staple of ours. Food is authentic and the staff is friendly. Great place to eat outdoors.

Really bad food and service. We got a takeout order while we were visiting Arnold this weekend and got food from here based on a recommendation. More than 50% of the food had to be trashed unfortunately. The order was made way ahead of time but when we went to pickup we learned they didn't start making the order yet. Ok, no problem. It was a large order for 8 people. We waited and paid extra for some hot salsas to be added. However when we got home, hungry and excited to eat, we realized: food containers were not labeled with the food items - had to cut thru the food items to find out which were veg and which had meat; hot salsas we paid for were not there; food was just overall disappointing in flavor, freshness, looks. We ordered veggie plates, fish tacos (don't know what kind of grilled fish was in it, it had a weird flavor and didn't feel freshly cooked), veg and meat wet burritos (the only one that got one positive review from our party was the spicy chicken wet burrito). They also use refried beans and have a heavy hand on the cheese. Also their takeout containers are styrofoam - environmental enemy and generally known to be toxic especially when in contact with heated items. Not a fan, will not come back and will not recommend. read more

Great locals place offering traditional Mexican cuisine at a reasonable price. Enjoyed the shrimp taco combo plate but had to wait a few minutes to get a table so plan to arrive early to get a table. read more

We've been here a few times now and the food has been great. Hats off to the cooks. I usually give this place 5 stars because I've had nothing but great food and great service. This time however we had a server who wasn't on top of his game. I didn't get his name, but he was a taller guy. He just didn't seem like he was in a great mood and seemed as though he didn't want to be there. He brought us our check without asking us if we wanted dessert (which we did) and then when I said we wanted dessert his response was "what do you want." Not the most friendly way to phrase that question when you're a server. read more

We've been coming to Arnold regularly for 10 years but we hadn't been in here to eat here for some time. We were thrilled ! The food was EXCELLENT, starting with the salsa & chips. My wife had the Bob's specials and I had the shrimp enchilada. Both plates were really tasty and the portions were more than enough. We're so happy we stopped in again and we're looking forward to coming back soon. Get in here and support this local joint, you won't be disappointed !! read more

El Vaquero Authentic Mexican - Mexican Near Me - Arnold, California

Buyer beware they charge a surcharge if you don't pay with cash mine came to $7 and they don't let you know this when you're ordering your meal The food was decent but I just don't like being taken advantage of read more