El Arroyo

Lousy drinks, lousy service, er, (no service), inside smelled like puke and the outside had not been bussed in hours with birds all over the place.

Y’all need to do something about your bird situation. It’s not just a couple of tiny birds either. Anyone who has sat outside can attest that there is definitely an issue. Tables don’t get cleaned fast enough so huge pigeons flock down to them to scrounge for food, and it’s unsightly and uncomfortable. It was a beautiful day and I couldn’t even enjoy my beer outside.

I had the worst experience on my lunch break. I went to enjoy a relaxing lunch break and waited over 30 minutes for my meal. I was getting anxious, because I had to get back to work. I was told by 2 waiters that my food was delayed, because they had a large to go order and that took priority over my order my single order of fajitas. I will never return to this restaurant for lunch. I was a paying customer. I recommend not going for lunch, because if they get a big to go order your food could get bumped.

I stopped in for a «to go» order; the place was completely empty but had dirty tables with food on them. The queso was so salty it was not edible. My a la carte chicken taco was dripping with water from the tomatoes and lettuce that I guess had been washed and not dried… All of this for $ 15.00 (including tip). The restaurant was so dirty and nasty, I cannot imagine what the kitchen was like. My first and last trip there!

This place stinks-​literally. It smells. The menus were sticky. And the service was slow. We just wanted a margarita and some chips n salsa. Rita was fine-​delicious even. Chips were cold and I had to ask for refill because our server was MIA. But he did bring the bill pretty darn quick. There’s better Tex-​Mex around here.

We went here last night with our two little kids. We picked it because it has a patio and it was a pretty night. We sat down and tried to get situated. As soon as we sat down a man sitting drinking a beer (clearly homeless and and alcoholic) wouldn’t stop talking to us. As we were feeding and clearly busy trying to take care of our 10 month and 3 year old — Daniel, wouldn’t. Shut. Up. He was interrupting Us and we really needed to just be left alone. My husband and I didn’t even say 2 words to each other.
Such grandiose themes: «I have lou Gehrigs, I was a pastor, my daughter is coming to get me Monday and she’s a real bitch, (in front of my kids) I sleep on the porch with a sleeping bag… Yadda yadda. Not judging bc he’s homeless — whatever.
At the end as we were hurrying to finish he asked us to buy him a margarita. Just so sad.
We won’t be coming back. This experience sucked and there weren’t many people there on a Friday night — sad really. The food was gross we got nachos and queso and I make better ones in my kitchen. We will be going somewhere else from now on.
With two small kids I just wanted a nice relaxing dinner. Can I have my evening back?

The staff is great and friendly but the food is sometimes a hit or miss. Meaning its not always going to look the same. Seems like their kitchen staff is always rotating so I’m sure they all have their own cooking styles. But when it’s on point, it’s on point. They have great happy hour specials too and their queso is to die for. Stephanie, Jarred, and Adam are the best! We miss Kendal Jenner! :-)

Service is absolutely fantastic and definitely a part of what keeps me coming back. They’re always willing to try to accommodate you if there’s a game you want to watch. Thursday night margarita nights are lots of fun.

3 friends and I made the mistake of eating here on a Friday night. After standing at the door waiting to be seated, we had to walk in looking for a host to seat us. The waiter took drink orders and brought 3 of 4 water orders along with 1 straw. The 4^th water came 30 minutes later without the promised straws.
We ordered Queso. After 15 minutes, they eventually brought chips and salsa, but no queso. The chips were literally from the bottom of the barrel — I looked and found only 3 whole chips in the basket. We picked through and ale what we could, leaving half a basket of dime sized chip shards untouched. Later, the waiter brought out another basket of chip remnants. When they got around to delivering our food, one plate was wrong and had to be sent back.
When he ran out of water, one of my buddies had to ask another to have some from his cup since refills weren’t offered.

Was a good choice when I lived a block away. Stuffed avocados everytime is the way to go.

If you want fresh well made food please do not go here.
The breakfast tacos are the worst, They use to put queso on the miga tacos which made them tolerable but now they don’t even do that and you can tell that the beans were made earlier in the week, GROSS!
The company I work for likes to buy them in bulk to give us a little treat every now and then but I’m going to have to urge them not to buy from here anymore because it’s just gross.
There was a shell in my bacon taco… I get it shit happens but after the other stuff that was mention that sort of topped it off.
Enough is enough, I will never go back here again and will tell others to not even bother.
La Salsa is better.
The other El Arroyo’s aren’t bad but this one should probably change it’s name to Taco Bell or something more standard to the food they are serving, yuck!

Slow death of a neighborhood staple… after living in NW Hills for 20+ years and frequenting El Arroyo since the days when Clay McPhail owned it, we have finally said «never again». We tried to like it under the Abel’s ownership, but each visit has been worse than the one before.
On Friday, 12÷11÷15, we dropped in at 8PM. The place was empty, but we waited 5 minutes and finally had to go looking for an employee just to be seated (first clue). After being offered the only dirty booth in the entire room, the hostess asked us to wait for someone to come clean it instead of just giving us another booth… and we asked. (second clue)
Five more minutes for someone to take our drink order, ten minutes before we got drinks and/​or chips. (third clue) No menus, so it was another 10 minutes before our waiter took our order… without writing anything down.
Okay, bad start but it’ll get better, right? Wishful thinking.
5 minutes later our server comes back and asks for our order again «because the kitchen screwed up» (maybe there was a crush of «to go» orders, because the place is still empty)?!? Again, he didn’t write anything down. (fourth clue)
Our food finally arrives 15 minutes later. Fajitas, but cut the bell peppers. Oh, they forgot to cut the bell peppers (which I really dislike). (final clue).
The recipes suck. The quality of the food is lousy (e.g. more gristle than steak). The prices are stupid high. The service sucks. And the management is missing in action.
It probably won’t be long before that location is looking for a new tenant. In the meantime, I’ll be getting my Mex fix at Azul Tequila on Dry Creek.

I came for lunch with a coworker ordered the Santa fe enchiladas with pulled pork. The egg on top it what made me order this. Food came out. It was not rolled up like enchiladas. Just a purple tortilla stacked with pork, onion, bellpepper, and cheese. So that kinda threw me off. The pork had no seasoning and the egg was overcooked. Very bummed no yolk for me. I did order a Rosa margarita that was good. Service was good. Just food sucked. I kept burping afterwards and it smelled like garbage. Pretty gross. Idk if I will eat here again maybe come for margs and chips and salsa.

I keep coming back because it’s just that good. Rita’s, queso, everything. So much love:):)
I like the chalupa plate. Did not like the mini chimis. Don’t like sour cream and its used in them.

I have lived in the NW Hills neighborhood for more than 8 years and it seems like each year El Arroyo disappoints me more and more. Initially my friends and I walked there to drink and eat on the patio Friday nights and Sunday brunch. Now, however, I am no longer 24 years old and can tell when food is purchased from a cheap supplier or not well prepared. What has finally done me in is the price increase on the weekday morning breakfast tacos and hence the one star. The food is on par with Taco Cabana now but just slightly more dinero.

I first came here in college when everyone raved about the $ 1 frozen margaritas on Thursdays. After drinking like 5+ margs on multiple visits, I have never once even felt a slight buzz (and I am a small person who has a low tolerance for alcohol). So basically, I was just drinking sugar. If they’re not gonna put any alcohol in their margs for happy hour, just tell me so that I can just order a normal marg that costs more.
Aside from that, their food is okay. The annoying parking situation is mainly what keeps me from coming back. But hey, at least their daily signs are funny.

Service is good, and the enchiladas taste good though a little bit too salty for me. Ordered one BBQ chicken enchiladas and a cup of black coffee, seems I don’t have a stomach big enough, half of the dish can already feed me.

I’m really surprised at the reviews on here because I was really impressed with my experience! Went on a Sunday with no more than about 8 tables sat. We ordered the following:
–CoronaRita
–Modelo (bottle)
–Queso appetizer
–El Arroyo special
–Beef fajita burrito (refried beans instead of barracho)
We had Mandi serve us and she was so friendly and had a great attitude. The food was wonderful, the drinks were wonderful, I was just so pleased with El Arroyo overall. The décor is also a cool conversation with your friends/​date because many of El Arroyo’s humorous signs are on display.
If the drinks and queso had arrived at the table just a bit faster, this experience would have been perfection and I would give 5 stars. Definitely going back!

I don’t like to leave bad reviews especially on experiences as we all can have a bad experience at any time, any place and any where but I did think that this was a notable situation to share so that no one else has the same experience. I appreciate the owner reaching out, you can’t control what other people do you can only control what you do so I don’t hold the owner or El Arroyo at fault. I do like the food and the cheap drinks!

I used to eat here all the time when I was in college. I was back in Austin for a quick trip so I stopped in with friends for dinner.
The restaurant and menu changed, but not in a bad way. The walls are now white with Mexican art instead of red and green, and the menu is more condensed. I had the stuffed zucchini, which was super yummy. Chicken was moist and the accompanying rice and beans were awesome. Chicken fajitas are also really good. Chips and salsa are fresh and tasty.
Prices are pretty reasonable for what you get. I’d go back — good, staple restaurant choice.