El Cortez Mexican Restaraunt Reviews

One of my favorite indie Mexican restaurants. Great food and a super friendly atmosphere.

This is my favorite restaurant
My family always starts with the appetizer platter. Sometimes I will bring a friend here and we will split the appetizer platter and get drinks as our whole meal.
I get the Discovery Burrito which is 3 pounds. I eat half and take the other half home!
We come during the off times between 2pm and 5pm to avoid the crowds.
This place is busy for lunch and dinner because it is delicious and the atmosphere is authentic.
Sometimes there is a harp player that doesn't speak English. Very neat! If the salsa is too spicy for you, ask for mild, then you can mix them to an appropriate spiciness.

PS They charge for the Second basket of chips during dinner hours.

Not authentic Mexican food

I asked for a small side of hot salsa and the Waitress warn me I'll be charged for it ($4-5 I believe) I expressed not been happy about it and all they said was "we have to stick with management orders"
Not a customer satisfaction oriented place either.
Be aware!! You might be charged for ketchup and limes too

Place is awesome
Friendly staff , great food
Best tacos and beans ever.!

I found this jewel via Groupon. Great tasting food. Plan on going back soon!

Great food best Margaritas we love this restaurant in our neighborhood highly recommended

Meet a friend here every week for lunch!! Great food, great service and good prices for the quality of the food!! Amazing chips and salsa and they just keep coming!! The lunch specials are delicious!!

Weve been eating here for many years, great food, family owned with very good service!

We frequent El Cortez at least twice a month. The margaritas and fare are great. Happy hour and/or regular dining menu always a treat. The owner is usually present and rounds on her customers to ensure their experience is a good one. She was not present this evening. Tonight has spoiled our previous experiences.

We were seated In the dining room and several tables away (in one of the large individual cubby booths) was a group of 5 children (estimating their ages between 3 and 10) seated alone. Their mothers sat at a separate table and provided absolutely no supervision. Food and water was thrown. 3 of the kids stood bouncing on the seats while the other two were running back and forth on top of the booth backrests banging on the windows. They were loud and argumentative with each other. All were wearing bathing suits and no shoes. We spoke to our waiter expressing that once again our drinks, food and service were wonderful but that the behavior of this group was quite upsetting. He didn t respond. On our departure, we again spoke with the person at the front desk who assured us she would make the manager aware. I believe that in the owner s absence, the employees should be empowered to better intervene and not tolerate this type of disruptive behavior that ruins the experience of other paying customers. Doubt we will go back.

I came all the way from Pismo to eat their chili rellano burrito. Yum!!

Best salsa in Orange County. The portions have shrunk, but still good food.

The best been going there for years!!! Chile verda chimganga the best!

Great foos, great drinks, and a Steelers Dodgers and ducks bar!

Decent place for drinks, horrible place for food. Expect to wait an hour before seeing your meal and once you get in you'll wish you went to Wendys next door.

Delicious food, but don't understand why you would serve rice and fried potatoes on the same platter.

Great hand made tortillas make great mexican food. Friendly service always.

First timer. Had the wet burrito. It was quite delicious.

Great place went there for meeting. Great staff good food.

One of my fav spots for Mexican food. They have homemade tortillas served fresh to your table. Carne asada is always the best on the menu. Drinks are strong and not watered down margarita mix like most places.

I actually enjoyed their food and service, great location to where I live. The workers are always very kind. Will come visit again.

My family and I has been coming here for years. We started coming here once we moved to Laguna Niguel, and we were there long before they had their expansion. When we saw that they were expanding into one of the surrounding spaces, we were scared. Would they turn out like so many other places, overprices and not very good?

Luckily for us, and our ability to find something close to home, they remained just how we liked them. With more space, it became easier (for a small while) to find seats. Now, it is just as hard as before, but with a larger bar section and more tables. It may not be for everyone here, but it is the place for my family, and many others.

Everything homemade and delicious. Love the albondiga soup, fresh tortillas, tacos, chips, salsa. Gotta make my way through this menue for sure. Quickly becoming my "go to" for authentic Mexican food.