El Vaquero Mexican Restaurant

Typical mexican food joint - always fresh, hot, quick. As a transplanted local, we always stop by when we're in town. My husband is a huge fan of their pollo ranchero - totally different recipe than we find here in Florida, but they'll never share the recipe with us! I guess we'll keep coming back...

Such a great find! Located in a beautiful town, this restaurant was a treat! I really liked the silhouette paintings on the wall and other decor. Water with lemon was brought along with a basket of huge chips, a tortilla cut in half-size, and a carafe of mild, blended salsa. I'm a huge fan of chili rellenos and opted to try all three flavors from the a la carte menu . . . Beef, potato (!), and mozzarella cheese-stiffed poblano peppers. I was surprised at how huge they were! 3 meals for sure, and at around $12. They were delicious! The sauce was tangy and hearty. The potato one was a first for me, and it was great! A generous amount of roughly mashed potatoes filled the nicely deseeded pepper. Seasoned beef filling was great, too, and the cheese yummy, but I wonder why they don't use a Mexican queso. My lunch mates enjoyed their chicken quesadilla and chimichanga as well. Staff was attentive and service quick, a great place for lunch. Although I didn't imbibe, a $4.99 lunch special margarita is available, and they also have a happy hour.

I love these places all around Columbus. You should definitely go to one. Unfortunately, I think they might have a bad employee this one. When we went to check out, she charge tax on the entire bill even though the kids meals free because it was Tuesday. it is my understanding that you cannot tax somebody unless it is income. she literally start arguing with me telling me that I was wrong and I didn't know what I was talking about and that we were "robbing her". She kept interrupting me, and she started, raising her voice in front of the entire restaurant, without allowing me to speak, and explain. Obviously people can make mistakes and this one could've been easily corrected. However, she was very combative, not interested in customer service, and overall completely out of line. I wouldn't say don't go to this location because of one employee however, I hope this doesn't happen to anybody else because it was embarrassing for me and her. Food is always good. Service was average. Atmosphere is OK other than my booth is coming apart and screws were close to my two little girls. hopefully this review is helpful and the restaurant takes this opportunity to take corrective actions with the employee.

Decent service and a menu full of Tex-Mex cuisine are El Vaquero's bread and butter. Now while they're not known for tampering with the money maker, they did just do a little upgrade and added several new items. The one that got my attention was their Mexican Lettuce Wraps. It's a fusion dish that's part Mexican, part Mediterranean and all American. You get 4 lettuce cups with a generous serving of a slightly sweet but super spicy chicken with fresh cilantro and feta cheese on top. I thought it was delicious, being light and refreshing while packing a punch that my taste buds really enjoyed.

Mexican Lettuce Wraps are listed in the appetizer section but could easily make a lighter meal especially when you consider all the free chips and salsa you get. I had to stop halfway through this dish so I really got two meals for my $10.99. If you're looking for something good, filling and won't break the bank, maybe it's time to revisit one of the El Vaquero's and check out this new dish.

Kudos to them for stepping outside their comfort zone.

No complaints, no surprises, 4 Stars.

We finally got a Great Mexican restaurant in Westerville!! My wife ordered the chicken chimichanga I ordered the beef chimichanga. Both were excellent b

I've been to probably 4 different El Vaquero locations, I was disappointed when the one in the Polaris area off Sancus closed. Found out about this one by accident. We visited July 4th weekend. The place is a little smaller than the old Sancus location, but it looks very nice. Food was excellent. Was it because I hadn't had it during the pandemic lockdown? For whatever reason, everything tasted really good, the service was good. We will be back.

This used to be my favorite Mexican restaurant but not anymore. My food arrived cold and the tortillas were so hard they crumbled when I tried to roll them. I got Mole Poblano and the sauce was thin and runny. The rice was very salty. While the servers were pleasant, the service was slow. I had to go get someone to ask for fresh tortillas because no one came back to the table to ask how things were. The music was extremely loud but we were told it couldn't be lowered.

If your looking for a COVID friendly Mexican restaurant search no further! The tables are well spaced out and have the plexiglass behind booths. El Vaquero is our go to for quick Mexican food. The service and food are always consistently good. My go to is pollo chicken and my husband enjoys the chimichanga. You can't go wrong with a jumbo margarita either

Stopped at this location when I was in the Polaris area (I usually go to the Stoneridge location) and was pleasantly surprised! This location is a LOT smaller than the others in the Columbus area but the service was great, the noise level as to a minimum and food came out very quickly. If you're looking for a nice family restaurant, this is certainly an option. I ordered the burro grande and it was great, I highly recommend this dish! Jumbo burrito stuffed with Mexican rice, refried beans (subbed black beans) and your choice of protein, THEN covered in queso .

Again, location is a lot smaller and far more quaint than the others, but same great food and service!

My queso was perfect. My service was friendly and timely. This is the best location I've been to! They also have Coke Zero on tap and it's crisp!! My food was hot and fresh and delicious, no complaints here! Environment is clean and enjoyable.