My daughter, granddaughter and I went in mid-afternoon. We wanted to sit at a booth (my granddaughter is 3 and a chair doesn t work well for her). The hostess rudely told us they were only for parties of 4. We started with water and a lemonade. After about 10 minutes the waitress came back and said they had no lemonade but sodas and milk. Ordered milk and asked about our waters. About 5 minutes later finally got our waters and the milk. Ordered a cocktail and tried to order a glass of wine. They were completely out of all wines listed on the menu. Told her that we just wanted to pay for the milk and leave. Waited about another 10 minutes while watching her and the other waitress prepare drinks for one large group, Finally just told her I left a five on the table and left.
This facilty has Mexican fare. Daily specials..the tacos are ok..ate outside on the coveard deck..Don't do it..the birds have left of good amount poo on the rafters above that dinning area. Any slight wind will allow staff to drop down onto food .table. and you..poo and fethers..the staff were pleasant.. I give this spot a 4 out of 10..needs improvements in staff and service.
Apart from the ditch bowl, i'm not a huge fan of the food. However, the wait staff is pretty good and Thursday afternoon happy hours are fun.
they have 99 cent margaritas for .99 cents and they have $5 dollar appetizers
Chile relleno w/ shrimp and crabmeat plus a couple margaritas...... mmmmm !!!!
Great service. The staff were wonderful and friendly, and the food was great at a good price! Actively recommend going here to my friends
I was pleasantly surprised. Might not look the best outside, but the food is delicious. I recomemd the quesadilla. Mine was beef. Thank you El Arroyo. You were fast and very friendly.
I remember liking this place a lot more when I was a kid because they had orange soda and that was my jimmy-jam. This is the place with all the fun signs that get shared all over the internet. Nothing super special about the food, but service is great and it's an institution in this town.
I ve worked here at the Resturant for almost 2 months. The amount of ROACHES I ve seen from the kitchen to the bathroom was frightening. At night when they turn the lights off, they all come out in mass. It s really like an episode of fear factor. You also may very well be eating salsa from last month as they don t separate the old from new containers.
First time there, did not disappoint. Just be aware, they smother their burritos
The happy hour menu is bomb! The Mexican candy shot was delicious and the flautas were great.
The best smoked BBQ chicken and what a variety of huge selections on their menu.
This isn't the best Mexican food in town. But if you're going for $0.99 margaritas on Thursdays, then the food is more than adequate. Bonus points for their quirky sign!
Food was ok, but service was horrible!!!!!It took 25 min to get somebody to the table, but it wasn't to take my order or anything . It was to tell me that I couldn't have my water bottle. After I got my food, nobody came back or asked if we needed anything else.
Nothing on the menu really stood out. Pretty average food. They have a food truck setup outside that was closed when I was there. I would like to have tried that.
Love their taco man lunch special! I work at Redds barbershop so I've eaten the often. Their happy hour is really nice tooooo!
Good food nice atmosphere with just enough parking.
I pretty much only go on Thursdays for the dollar margaritas, but the food ain't bad. The service can be a bit lax when their busy though.
My first time going there. We ordered the queso appetizer plus the sour cream enchiladas. Everything was as ordered and tasty. The waitress was very personable, not to mention the service was great!
I have been coming here for many many years and never been disappointed always AWESOME
Staff was as sweet as could be! Good vibes here! Oh and the food was delicious!!!
This place was extremely unorganized. The hostess was no where to be found and when you finally tracked her down she puts your name down and takes off without letting you know the wait time. You ask and she replies I don t know . We waited with groups of people packing in with 0 knowing where to go or who to check in with. And when you finally get seated GOOD LUCK if you re super hungry. Food won t be out for a loooooong time. I will NOT be back.
The servers could be more attentive.. I like the food and the vibe but waiting a hour for a water refill is a bit extreme
Wish they would put their prices back at 1$ margaritas and frozen margaritas. But the fajitas were good and the waitress was nice. But the margaritas could have came quicker. Great prices though on Thursdays and happy hour.
An Austin classic that just also happens to have some really good food, and excellent staff.
I've been dining at el arroyo for many years and always remembered it as the pinnacle of cheap good Mexican food. Perfect for a town like Austin with all the hippies and students, but it's just not as good as I remembered. sure it's cheap really cheap. I mean everclear Margaritas and queso made from something worse than velveeta, but it just isn't delicious anymore. Maybe my palate has changed with age or maybe I'm just not drunk enough, but I was certainly disappointed.
Placed an order in advance because on their website it had a notes section to designate any order time pickups an hour plus in advance. I set it for a couple of hours later around dinner time since my wife and I were picking up something else in the area. We got the order and after bringing it straight back home, the food was cold and guacamole at that point had browned over. It had obviously been sitting out for a few hours. Not sure if the kitchen didn't see the note for the order time or if there is an issue with their online ordering system. However, it was hard liking a place after having soggy cold food.
It was delicious! The Tres Plate was good and so was the Margaritas
Good tacos and location. Enjoyed the atmosphere and different sauces.
Cliff made a great skinny Marg & Mexican candy! He also recommended pulled pork enchiladas w/ red chipotle sauce. I'd order it all again fa sha! (Visited Jan 25, 2020)
Service can be slow if you get there during the busy hours. Otherwise the margs are great! Chips aren't too good and regular food is acceptable.
Love this place. No issue walking in and grabbing a table. Nice patio ambiance. No trouble finding a table. The food is consistently good. Excellent ceviche. I definitely recommend the Cancun avocado!
Went for lunch and chose one of the specials for about $7.00 and got a very filling cheesy enchilada, taco with rice and refried beans. Quick service and delicious food.
El Arroyo is the best tex-mex in town! The staff is the freindlest, and after a few days of remodeling they are looking better than ever! the food is affordable and delicous!
My fam came to visit me in Austin from Canada and I brought them here. The serves was great and the margs were amazing. Go if you want to have a fun and easy going time. Thank you mark and victor for the great service and the margs to go
Been to El Arroyo back in the day, it was awesome, it's been 10 years and service was horrible, horrible now, food left on floors from previous customers and it's not even that busy, very dissapointed and an hour wait to get your food, don't think I will be back, the signage is the only thing that stayed awesome
El Arroyo has one of the greatest happy hours around Austin. If you get there on a Thursday before 6pm, they serve $1 margaritas, or $6 pitchers. You can get them either frozen or on the rocks. They taste okay (other places serve better drinks) but how much can you really expect for a dollar?
Food was delicious and the staff was very friendly!
Worst service ever. Already got a bad vibe when we walked in the door. We were not greeted and were just stared at until we asked if we came in the wrong door which we did not. We came to this place because we have such amazing experience at the El Arroyo in Arlington, TX and this place was horrible. Our waitress was horrible. We never got refills until we asked. She didn t even separate our tickets correctly when we told her before we even ordered. Would not recommend this location. Staff needs to change.
Good job with the funny sign and all but the food here is atrocious.
What an iconic Austin spot! Delicious food, groovy atmosphere, and delicious drinks that they offer throughout the day. in a hurry? They also offer a taco truck which offers breakfast tacos and tamales available throughout the morning during the week.stop by the glance at the wonderful sign that have out front which changes daily with fun and catchy tid bits, and be sure to stay for the delicious food.
Food pretty good but very slow service. New ownership who is trying hard and I think will improve the customer service and overall experience
Best breakfast tacos on the way in to work if you work downtown! They've got super awesome happy hours too. They also post hilariously topical messages on there sign every single day of the year. Never a repeat. It's a Austin original and a landmark. "The Ditch" is what it's known as around these parts.
great chips ans salsa! friendly staff food was great!
Bad food, worse service from a manager who refused to fix broken promise. Hope $12 was worth losing customers.
Love the Ditch and everything about it! Great margaritas! They got me hooked on the Red Bull Margarita many years ago and I can't get enough of them.
The sign out front is what this place is famous for, but the food's good and burritos are massive. Kind of feels more like a diner that just happens to serve Tex-Mex.
Tacos, cerveza and more you have to see what the sign says that day!
Waited for 45 minutes, not even a water. Asked for one and was avoided. The waitress went to every table, except ours. Forced to put 1 star, really 0. Worst Service Ever.
One of my fav spots for quality Mexican food. Really nothing but enjoyable experiences here, I'll be back.
We were looking for a restaurant with outdoor seating. We found this cute little place and decided to try it! It had takeout or dine outside for options. We loved it! It was kid friendly, had amazing salsa and great enchiladas! We would recommend this place to anyone in the area!
Fun place and was on my go-to list in Austin. The food was pretty good, and I love the inside. I only have that there were so many flies.
Just drive by and read the hilarious board out front. Food is pretty bad.
I've never been inside, but there was a nice view outside for a second
great place for Saturday afternoon drinks... after hanging out at zilker and Barton springs this was perfect for drinks.
This is the home of the world famous sign! But the food was great and really well-priced, too.
El Arroyo has by far the best happy hour prices in Austin. They are known for their Thursday night dollar margaritas and is the perfect place to go with a small or large group of friends. The wait is never long and the staff is always eager to serve you. Both outdoor and indoor seating is available. Sit inside if you want a louder more restaurant like atmosphere or sit outside and enjoy the breeze. If you're simply looking for a place to grab good authentic Mexican food, El Arroy is definitely one of the best places to go in Austin. Located in downtown Austin you're just a short drive away to some of the best bars around Austin. Also, they have their own private parking lot, so parking is hardly ever an issue!
Beautiful woman she is, and a very good person, and host.
Fresh authentic food, friendly service, good value, hard to park.
Been here so long that people that got here after us started leaving. Took our drink order and got them back but haven't talked to our server in an hour. Only reason that they didn't get a 1 star was because the salsa was decent and they had room for a party of 13 on a Saturday... guess we found out why.
Good food and service drinks are good. Dog friendly patio
El Arroyo is an iconic and eclectic Austin Tex Mex with great service and really good food. A great place for nachos and margaritas after work.
Austin must visit. Been there for years. Check out the signs within.
My whole party enjoyed our meals! It was lovely sitting outside, and the waitstaff were pleasant and attentive.
This is literally the BEST Restaurant for beef&chicken fajitas & shrimp tacos in Austin!!!!!!! Waitress was very nice and attentive!
Great service. Food quality is the epitome of average. For TexMex in Texas, had much higher expectations. Came here as a bucket list item because of the sign, enjoyed the great service, but because of the sub-par food, I will not be back.
Great food. The wait staff was a little off and not very attentive, but all and all I'd go back.
Garbage food. Owners obviously don't care seeing as it hasn't changed in years. No idea how this place is still open
This place is incredible!! Always a fabulous experience in the heart of Austin!!
Great and friendly service! Food is good and nice atmosphere!
