El Jimador serves up authentic Mexican food in a colorful setting. The restaurant is decorated with…read moreMexican decor and is not fancy, but this is part of its charm. Wood booths with the El Jimador logo decorate each booth. The staff is attentive with numerous check-ins during the meal. Frequent water refills, extra salsa and chips and all around customer care make this dining experience a pleasant one. As for the food, the fajitas come in numerous combinations that include old favorites like steak and chicken, but also include creative combos like steak/chicken/bacon, which is one of my favorites. The fajitas, which I have had several times are excellent and flavorful. Fajitas are my favorite section of the menu. The other parts of the menu are less consistent. The tacos are good but inconsistent and lack flavor. Everything feels authentic and tasty. Overall I really like this restaurant.

Wow. I came to visit my daughter at Clemson & took her and her bf out to what should've been a fun…read moreMexican dinner. What a disappointment ! It was very busy, so the extremely slow service was somewhat understandable. What wasn't understandable, was 30 mins after ordering entrees, the server came over to ask my daughter's BF if he had ordered the $80 tomahawk steak. He looked shocked and said no, he ordered the steak and shrimp fajitas. Shortly after, he brought my daughter's and my entrées. We waited for quite some time for her BF's entrée to arrive. 20 to 25 minutes later he brought out steak fajitas minus the shrimp. At that point we had basically finished our entrées. We pointed out to the server that the shrimp was missing from his entrée and he disappeared. We had asked for the bill because it was already getting very late and we had other plans. He brought our bill over with no adjustment at all. I commented that they should have done something based on the fact that not only was the meal completely disappointing, but they brought him the wrong entrée. He then brought the manager over who made a lame apology saying they were very busy and I explained that it had nothing to do with the busyness, but that the server had a limited understanding of English, and had placed the wrong order. He then gave us $5 off the bill. FIVE DOLLARS??? That's not even a drink. Don't bother with this restaurant when there are so many other better Mexican options to choose from. Shame on you taking advantage of the college crowd and their families.

The food is excellent! The service at either location is always great and very friendlyread more

Service was quick and the servers were friendly. Our waiter helped my husband decide on what to…read moreorder. The food is always good.

Best tacos in Clemson easily, possibly the state! Get the crafted margs (made with real lime juice)…read moreover the house ones (made with mix).

Awesome Authentic Mexican Food!! The Staff here are so friendly and helpful!! The kitchen is…read morecranking out the delicious food!! The atmosphere is upbeat and !! The Chips and Salsa are freshly made in house, great way to start dinner!! My SO had the Green Chicken Enchiladas and one Fried Pork Tamale and I had the Chimichanga with shredded chicken and one Fried Pork Tamale! All of the food was delicious! Will be back again when in the Clemson area. Easy 5 Stars !!

Wanted to try out another Mexican restaurant in Central, and this place is our new go to! They are…read morealways packed but the food still comes out super fast. Overall the staff is pretty good too. The ambience is very loud and rowdy, like a loud cafeteria. Lots of people conversing and enjoying dinner in big groups which is typical. The margs probably amp it up too tbh. The food is pretty good, what you would expect piping hot and cheesy. I like that they bring out an array of sauces with the chips even a bean dip which is unique. Then enchiladas and vegetarian plates are well made and filling. I enjoy the enchiladas that come in bean, cheese chicken and beef. Overall a nice place, culturally decorated and conveniently located near Walmart and other shops. Doesn't disappoint, check them out, when you are craving some Mexican cuisine!

Another great visit! Great food, super nice service, and great atmosphere! I love eating here and I…read moredefinitely recommend it.

Went here on a whim and wish we would not have. Food was mediocre. Our first dish of salsa was…read morelackluster, and thankfully the next had a lot more seasoning. I ordered the arroz con polo Texas style and I the proteins were not edible. It was tough and overcooked. We also ordered the steak nachos supreme, and again, lackluster. Service was less than desirable. We saw our waiter at the beginning and then we waited a good amount of time for our bill at the end. There were no real employees in sight to try and get assistance from. I'd try a different Mexican spot in town if you are an out of downer, or heck, a townie!

The food was very tasty. I had Maria's special and was pleasantly surprised. Would recommendread more

Food was so good big plate of food affordable and the chica seed lemonade is so delicious amazing…read morefood! Kind waiter too

Umm the tortillas are amazing. Everything we had was great. Definitely going back to try everything!read more

Vaqueros is located in the cute, updated section of downtown Pendleton. Even though it doesn't…read morealways have the best reviews online, I think it's the best Mexican spot in the area. The servers are super nice, and the food comes out fast, which is always a plus. I ordered the steak nachos, and the portions were great -- I really loved them. The chips were loaded, and it was definitely enough food. My friends got tacos, and they looked really good too. Overall, I really like this place and believe it's the best Mexican restaurant around. Definitely worth a visit if you're in Pendleton.

I'm giving the place a Five. We went with friends who frequent the place and highly recommended…read moreit. We all 4 got various combinations and permutations of chicken tacos. Several of us ordered them custom made. Everyone enjoyed them. Well prepared. The chips were crispy. They brought a warm bean dip with was great. They also have a salsa bar in the back with quite a variety of salsas to fit any taste... the spicy pineapple salsa was tops on my list. We had beer, wine, margaritas... across the four of us. Everyone liked what they got. The wine menu is basic, they have a bar so whatever you want is available, they had a nice selection of beer appropriate for the Mexican theme. We will definitely be coming back. Oh, we got there at 5 and were the second table occupied in the place. By 5:30 the place was full. So, on a Friday night be aware that the place is popular.

Get the fried chimichangas no onion…read more Updated review: if you have kids, everything is spicy! My daughter loves the queso for chips and just get a kids nuggets and fries but the queso has peppers and the fries are spicy like Arby's curly fries spicy (not super hot but just adding for others). My daughter complained her mouth and lips burned the whole time and wouldn't eat. I wish they had regular queso no peppers

The food is always great and hot. We got the beef dip for antre. I got the Dos Pelones it was very…read moregood. The wife and youngest son got chicken acp oldest son got steak noches middle son got steak acp. The service was ok at best. The building is nice and clean. The music is ok and they have TV's playing games and the Olympics.