El Paso Mexican Grill & Cantina

Everytime we come in, we're greeted by staff who are friendly and helpful.  I've been here three times and we've actually been seated at the same table every time.  Never very full but this last time, probably half the tables were filled.  There are TVs on the wall but the volume in the restuarant is surprisingly quiet.  

The waiters are decent.  Not the best you've ever seen but they remember who ordered which drinks and which meal.  That alone is better than many places I've been lately.  The chips are almost always hot when they come to your table.  They aren't too greasy (which I'm appreciative of) and the salsa is just good salsa.  Nothing special here.  

Service is relatively quick.  None of the times we've been here have we thought we're waiting forever.  I LOVE their fajitas but it is probably because they come out sizzling.  Too many chains have moved away from the sizzling fajitas.  This last time, I had more meat that veggies (which I'm not complaining about).  The steak is decent steak and not grissly at all.

The other food was well received by our table.  Fiesta Salad is a favorite of ours along with the chicken enchiladas.  The servings are about right too.  I can eat my entire plate and feel full and not have to leave with an extra box.  I like a restaurant that gets the portions right.  

Other Thoughts:
The prices are good.  For the quality of food and service you receive, I'll continue to come back to this establishment.  This is good Mexican food.  Simplicity rules here.  There aren't 10 bajillion choices but a fair number of dishes down well.  The TVs are a good addition in my opinion but I love sports.  The bathroom layout is a bit weird with 2 single women's restrooms on one side of the bar and a men's restroom on the other side.  The bathrooms were very clean (woot!) though the flickering overhead light was a bit annoying.

This last time, one of the people at our table ordered something and didn't quite understand what she was getting herself into.  When the food came out and she was surprised, the waiter took it back and had them correct the problem at no additional cost to us.  He explaine the differences on the menu and what they meant.  

TL;DR:
Good food.  Good prices.  Clean. Friendly.
I just hope it gets enough business to survive.

Went here today with a friend and was a little concerned because of the other review that I had read.

When we came in, there was a bit of a wait, because there was no host/hostess, the waiter came up and let us know it would be a second and then he disappeared. We were sat after about an 8-9 minute wait. The waiter we did have was friendly, helpful, and gave great recommendations of what was good. He got us drinks, chips, salsa and white queso really quickly.

Their chips were warm and perfectly crunchy, the salsa was perfect and the queso was really good.

My friend had the cheese enchiladas, and she asked for extra queso over the top and they did that free of charge. The enchiladas were full of cheese, not like some places around here that serve you flat enchiladas with just a little cheese inside. These were great looking. She said they were fantastic.

I had the Nachos with grilled chicken. They serve theirs single chip style, so each chip gets toppings, and while I normally do not like that because they leave you hungry, there were a lot of chips on this plate. I left very full. The guacamole was excellent, and the nachos overall were very good. I could have used more chicken on a few of them, but its no real complaint, just an observation.

Waiter brought us out to go drinks and even refilled the ones we had at the table so we didn't drink up the to go before we left. Overall, it was a great lunch. Not too pricey, and really good food. I am a sucker for chips and dips, and their salsa was terrific, so I would definitely go back.

Note to Self and to Others:  When a customer walks into a restaurant in which the owners' children are alternatively sitting, screeching, running (fast!) around the dining area AND INTO THE KITCHEN, throwing paper airplanes at one another and at various tables and chairs near your own table, and when the paper airplanes are ripped up and thrown away, giving the youngest male child (approx. age 6) the idea of running at top speed toward the cash register, slipping and falling, standing up again, taking pens off the cash register desk and flipping them toward your table, IT IS TIME TO LEAVE.  Get the heck out of there and RUN to your car.  Don't worry about being polite, giving their food an honest try, being an old meanie:  Just get the heck out of Dodge (or El Paso, to be correct) and go elsewhere (preferably home where one can hopefully get some nice peace and quiet).  

Unfortunately I did not take my own advice.  I knew what was coming and the miserable meal I would have as I dove to avoid being struck in the head by paper airplanes and pens flying through the air.  When a paper airplane flew right into the hair of a member of the wait staff, who laughed gleefully so as not to upset the owner's kids, I was near boiling.  But I was hungry and this new restaurant is so darn close to my house.  I wanted to give it an honest try.  So, if the above highjinks by the younger set is enough to keep you from reading my review, I don't blame you.

First, my menu was smeared with old salsa - ick!  It had squished onto the opposite page making a real two-for-one surprise.  I would have asked for a clean menu, but I was too busy avoiding WWIII heading my way thanks to the youth of today, as I will call them.  The waiter, Benjamin, was very kind and helpful.  He was also fast and efficient.  Too bad he didn't seem to know what the owners would tell him from one second to the next:  Yes, they have refried beans/No, they have no refried beans; A mini scoop of guac is 99 cents/That speck of guac is actually $2.50; The bean tostada has guac as well as a mixture of cheeses on it/The bean tostada actually has no guac and just "cheddar" on it... Well, you get the idea.  By the end of my meal, I was so confused that I almost turned and went the wrong way home.  

Benjamin genuinely tried his best to please and make things right.  He took  the $2.50 for the guacamole off my check.  He brought chips and salsa right on cue.  He warned me that the plate was hot and not to touch it, but I apparently cannot follow instructions and just had to give it a little touch with my finger. YOUCH!  Note to self:  When they say a plate is hot, it is indeed hot!  I was very happy with Benjamin's service.

Now, the food.  The salsa was fresh-tasting and mild.  I declined the nitro salsa. The chips were delicious, crispy perfection, nice and warm and unsalted.  Wonderful!  When my food arrived, it looked OK.  Meh, I'll eat it anyway, I thought.  The cheese enchilada was superb.  The creamy cheese was melty and delicious, and I'm sure it was over a thousand calories.  It was divine, however.  The rice was totally authentic Mexican rice, just like moms make at home.  Instead of being greasy and studded with peas, this was the real deal.  It had virtually zero fat in it, the rice had sort of "popped" into tastiness.  The grains were popped open and pure deliciousness to eat.  Left on the plate after eating the rice was no grease or oil at all.  Very nice!  Also left on my plate was my aforementioned tostada.  Could I eat it without the guac?  Sure, but I asked for some anyway (at the price of 99 cents, which translated to $2.50 on the check)  The guac did not taste homemade.  It tasted like the canned variety with a few onions and tomatoes thrown in for color and authenticity.  Back to Mr. Tostada:   I noticed that the tortilla base was all mushy in the middle so it could not be picked up.  I started cutting it with my fork, which was almost impossible.  Why, you ask.  It seems that Mr. Tostada had been sitting around for a while, naked, in a box of tostada shells.  It was so awfully STALE that I could taste it through the beans, the tomatoes, the lettuce, and even the guac and salsa.  The stale taste and texture was more than disappointing, not to mention the fact that it left a very bad taste in my mouth.  Literally.  My check came to over $8.  

In the end, I can say that I highly recommend the chips and salsa as well as the amazing cheese enchiladas.  On the other hand, I'm unsure of the cleanliness in the kitchen when there is a child literally running in and out of it.  A restaurant kitchen is not a play-place, and what irks me most about El Paso is the out-of-control children who belong to the owner.  If this is a frequent place for playtime, I don't give El Paso a chance.