Taqueria El Mexicano Grill

This is one of the few Mexican grills in Waco that is closest to authentic Mexican food (NOT Tex Mex). I have tried many other "Mexican" restaurants in Waco and they are not close to authentic, however, the Taqueria El Mexicano Grills are.

Seating inside can be a bit awkward if it's a busy night and you are seated in the middle of the restaurant since the tables are pretty much crammed up.

The plate of Enchiladas was good. I will definitely be trying this restaurant more often to try other plates.

I think their drinks are also very good, I got the frozen strawberry margarita. Our server brought out some extra sweet syrup in case we thought it was too strong.

Service was fast and our server was very nice.

Visited the place for lunch about 10 days ago. The food was good, like the ambiance but service was non-existent. Our server was very friendly to the customers that she knew and was very chatty with them but we had to chase her down to place an order to ask for a box at the end of the meal and never did she check on us during the meal if everything was ok, nor did she offer refills. It was a bummer because it really was a disappointing experience. Service is big part of the restaurant visit and it surely needed much improvement. :(

My best friend and I went to eat there on a Sunday. This is the one on Valley Mills Dr. The hostess was not friendly, I asked for a booth instead of a table, because I'm having back issues and the table chairs hurt my back. The hostess said she couldn't give us a booth because of the seating chart, but there were a few open and others were sitting in booths, though most were crammed in the center at tables. She took us to the table, I couldn't sit there it hurt my back. We decided to leave and as we got to the hostess area, she asked what was our problem. I told her couldn't sit there, it hurt too bad and she said ok. She couldn't care less, cause she shrugged. We left and will not be back. She was rude and her behavior was unacceptable. We decided to try the one in Hewitt, they were packed and the hostess there found us a booth. The food was good and they were friendly. I will eat at the one in Hewitt again. I give this one 5 stars.

Just a nice place that Wacoans love! The staff are quick and friendly. Food is delicious and really reasonably priced, especially their lunch specials. They have the best Spanish rice -- it is so flavorful and rich! My favorite thing is that they give you a tasty bean dip with the chips and salsa included. The margaritas are pretty big too. Always reliable, tasty, and not going to break your bank.

I've eaten lunch here so many times in the past and breakfast in the mornings with friends. I don't particularly like the place because the food is mid, and the building is old and nobody would accuse it of cleanliness... especially the bathrooms, but locals like it and it was never so bad that I'd refused to eat there. Basically if a group of friends votes to go there, I choose not to fight them on it.

Cut to today... I went to lunch with my family there and ordered the guisada plate and some flour tortillas for the baby. I reached in to get a tortilla out of the warmer and there was a WHOLE BITE taken out of it with TEETH MARKS! Some other guest's tortillas ended up on my table after they left! Reheated and served alongside my guisada.

We didn't make a big deal out of it. I gave them to our waitress, who saw the bite and immediately apologized, then offered to get us the manager. The manager took all her sweet time coming over, didn't even see the tortillas because the waitress had taken them and proceeded to explain to us that it was a tear, not a bite. As if we couldn't tell the difference. We asked her to comp my meal and we'd pay for the rest. Instead she chose to give us a generous (sarcasm) $6 discount on our whole ticket!

If there wasn't a bite taken out, we would never have known those tortillas were on another guest's table. Needless to say, my family and I will never eat there again. I just wish I'd had the forethought to take a picture before I left the waitress take the tortillas.

I can only rate the food as I ordered delivery. The food was decent. Probably would be quite a bit better if I had it there. That's why I did add a star. Since I was about 15 minutes away.
The queso was very flavorful. You have a choice of white or yellow. The Torta was good. I added refried beans. It was much bigger than I expected. This was my first experience.
People discussed value in the reviews. I think the Torta and the queso were a pretty good value. They actually gave me a ton of salsa and chips four bags chips. The red salsa was good. If you don't care for cilantro you might not care for it. The green salsa was good on food IMO but I didn't care to dip chips in it. It was pretty strong.
The plate I did feel was a bit overpriced. The carne on the side was very good. I found the beans rice and enchiladas average. They were average here but in another city would probably be ranked a bit higher.
I actually ordered here by mistake but it was pretty decent. If I was in the area I probably would go back here and try the restaurant.

Ordered the Chimichanga and 2 Tacos Barbacoa Al Pastor

I had the 2 sauces on the side and wanted the Chimichanga dry with guacamole. They served exactly what I ordered and the Chimichanga was huge and could not finish it. I tried the 2 sauces that it came with and the guacamole. I just like the tortilla a little bit more crispy.

The tacos were good and I prefer the Barbacoa meat over the Al Pastor. Good size with plenty of meat, these are not street taco size.

The chips were meh, Coke was flat.

Service was very good.

I am use to the Mexican food in Arizona and I prefer that style more than TexMex.

Really like the good food. Good choices. Not a long wait after ordering. Generous portions. Waitresses are attentive. Good tea.

This place has really gone down hill over the last year.

Service used to be really good, food came out quick and was really good. The foods still pretty good but the service is sub par.

Opt for a booth. The tables are packed so tight that you can spoon feed your neighbor 2 tables down.

When we got there, we found a roach crawling down the window to the the table. We waited about 45min for our food until I asked the waitress how much longer she went in the kitchen came back within a minute brought my food out and said we are still waiting on the tacos my food was kinda cold but my husband said just eat them cause we are thinking the tacos should be out anytime, about 10 min later the tacos are still not out and everyone else is getting food around us. When I called the waitress to tell them we don't want the tacos anymore the other waitress brought them out lol I told them you can take them back and off my tap. We wasted a good over a hour there it was disappointing I do not recommend this place.