I live just a few blocks from this restaurant so I had to give it a try. Â It's much bigger than it looks from the outside and as the other reviewers have mentioned, it's pretty divey, but that's fine. Â I don't go for the view, I go for the food. Â
I went at 11:30 and the place was pretty dead - just 2 other tables were seated. Â Service was very, very slow - it took the server 15 minutes just to come over and say hi and order drinks, then another 10 minutes to drop off chips and take my order. Â The chips weren't fresh but weren't stale either, didn't seem homemade. Â The salsa was fine too, pretty standard fare. Â I ordered the tamale plate.
The tamales themselves were kind of bland and the ratio of corn meal to meat wasn't good - too much cornmeal, and mushy like it'd been soaked too long. Â The green chili that they were smothered in, however, was pretty good: that electric orange stuff you can't find anywhere but Chubby's anymore that awesome in the way that corned beef in a can is awesome. Â The spanish rice, which is normally a throw away item for me, was the standout item on the dish! Â Very flavorful and perfectly cooked.
Long story short, I wasn't terribly impressed with my first taste of El Alamo Grande, but there were enough good things going for it - plus all the rave reviews on Yelp - that I will assume my first experience was not typical. Â I'll give it another try - maybe some Peruvian fare next time?
We ordered in from this place last night and it was hands down the BEST Mexican food we've ever had! I had the shredded beef smothered burrito and my husband had the Carne Asada. And it was an awesome surprise that they delivered. We will order from them again, so glad we found this little gem :).
Review Source:One Word : DISAPPOINTED.
Perhaps with a Capital D.
Went here with Hubs for early dinner. Â Time : 17:55hrs. Â
Date : Friday April 15th 2011.
That evening, the restaurant itself is quite empty. Â There are some other patrons dining in. Â But it wasnt like those other Mexican eateries we ever venture on a Friday evening, that is a sure sign bustling with "action".
The service was A-OK. Â Inside the establishment, is clean. Â The chips and the salsa that were given to us, were just MEH. Â Hubs ordered Chimichanga, I think while I opt for the Peruvian Seafood dish named : Arroz con Mariscos. Â My order came with Rice that is A-OK with tomato flavor and the seafood trimmings, of calamari, shrimps, mussels and one or two crawfish. Â They mentioned that they make this rice with a Peruvian Special Sauce. Â Hmmm, I wonder whether this special Peruvian Red Sauce is Aji Panca? Â Then it was also mentioned in their menu, this Arroz con Mariscos, comes with Salsa Criolla. Â If I am not mistaken Salsa Criolla, consists of Onions, Cilantros, Tomatoes what nots. Â Unfortunately, my dish does not comes with Salsa Criolla. Â Bummer. Â :(
Nothing spectacular with our entrees. Â Our order took awhile say about 15 mintues or more for it to be ready. Â Perhaps they are "swamped" with other orders which they may take priority with "to go orders" etc etc., it seems that way that evening.
Perhaps we ordered the wrong things that evening. Â Perhaps that evening was their "bad hair" day. Â Underwhelmed with the food BIG time.
I read the reviews and true, the tortillas become soggy because they throw all of the nice juicy steak and onions on the top and don't look back. Â I really think they do a fine job of marinating their selection and it is well cooked. Â The salsa and chips are decent and gets you ready for the meal. Â I recommend asking them for the tortillas separate so you can pile on the meat yourself and it will take care of the sogginess issue. Â I bet you will then enjoy the well cooked selection you desire. Â Good service and I have been happy the last 5 times I have been there.
Review Source:By now, I'm sure you've all heard about the (OK, in my estimation) Mexican dishes profferred by El Alamo Grande in Aurora. But did you know that on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, they offer a full Peruvian menu as well? Well, let me tell you a little more.
When was the last time you tried Chaufa - Peru-style fried rice? Or Lomo Saltado - a beef-soy-potato stirfry? Never, I hear you say? Oh, you didn't realize that Peruvian cuisine had a strong Chinese influence? Why yes, and a Japanese one too - in fact, one of Peru's more infamous former presidents, Alberto Fujimori, was himself Japanese in origin.
So you want something more intrinsically Peruvian, do you? How about Causa - a huge portion of mashed potato stuffed with tender chicken? It's an appetizer in name only, let me tell you! Speaking of chicken, you could also try the unctuous, cheesy-walnutty concoction called Aji de Gallina. For seafood lovers, there is of course the citrus-"cooked" fish dish called Ceviche and the sturdy seafood free-for-all known as Cau-Cau de Mariscos (featuring a cameo appearance from yellow Rocoto peppers).
Wash it down with a fizzy, iridescently-yellow Inka Kola (allegedly made from plantains, this drink knocked Coke out of the ballpark in Peru), or the achingly-sweet purple corn drink called Chicha Morada, or even a thick, pumpkinny shake made from Lucuma, a native fruit which those of you who've visited Hawaii may recognize as Eggfruit.
For platters of Peruvian pulchritude, you can't go wrong at El Alamo Grande.
My boyfriend and I went out on a fooding adventure tonight. Â I wanted to take him to Senior Miguels to watch him burn his face off on their extremely spicy green chili, but they closed early for some reason so we hopped back in the car and started cruising around good ol' Aurora.
We ended up on Chambers Road and spotted "El Alamo Grande" and decided to give it a try. Â It was empty when we walked in and we were immediately seated with warm chips & salsa to follow our menus. Â The salsa was decent. Â It was somewhat thick! Â Not watery or runny like a lot of Mexican places I've been to. Â Then, there was the guacamole. Â It tasted like they just took a bunch of avocados and whipped them into a creamy, fluffy substance and didn't season it with anything. Â Very bland and very disappointing.
The entree's were just OK. Â My tacos were so soggy that I couldn't even pick them up without them falling apart. Â I ended up eating tacos with a fork & a knife. Â They didn't taste bad, they were just were mediocre. Â My boyfriend had one of the combo plates. Â I tried a bite of his chili relleno and some of the green chili on the plate and again, just kind of meh and not spicy at all.
On another side note, the music was sort of a downer. Â We were serenaded to an elevator music version of a pan flute doing "Unchained Melody" along with other slow melodic songs that made me want to take a nap. Â It certainly didn't assist with giving the place a positive ambiance. Â If anything, it gave my boyfriend and I something to joke about.
If you live in the area and just want a quick bite to eat. It's not bad. Â It's just nothing special or anything I'd ever go out of my way to get. Â Sorry "El Alamo Grande", but you just didn't impress me.
I wasn't so sure about the place, since it's in the middle of nowhere. The service was good and the food was tasty. The food was a good mixture of Mexican and Peruvian. If you're looking for something unlike anything you've ever had, try the papa rellena. It's mashed potatoes stuffed with meat and veggies and then fried
Disappointingly, there was only three tables of guests on a Sunday evening. The atmosphere was pretty cheesy, but was clean.
They had sent out coupons in the mail, which was good and all, but they excluded Peruvian from the deal. I felt that wasn't really fair.
From the food and service, I would recommend them again. The only problem that I really experienced was that they were unwilling to split the bill between two credit cards, because they didn't want to pay the credit card fees. Despite our complaining, they weren't willing to budge on the issue with two cards. So bring some cash if you're going dutch!
You wouldn't think you would find great Mexican food in a non-descript strip mall at Mexico & Chambers, but guess what?! You will.
El Alamo is found on the south-east corner and recognized by it's bright yellow sign that says "Mexican Food." The atmosphere is "dive" with inexpensive tables and chairs, a TV tuned to Spanish soap operas and an entry full of Spanish newspapers and the family's kids coloring in the corner.
Who cares! The food is fast and fresh and tastes fantastic. The family-run restaurant offers great service whether you go and sit down or take home your meal.
Thinking it would take too long to wait to take it home if you didn't call ahead. I've never waiting more than 15 minutes for meals for four.
I've hooked up many a friend to this place and it's become a staple for them all.