El Topo Cantina

Cant say enough awesome things about this place. The owner knows how to prepare food and make an awesome margarita! I make a point to go back when I am home in the Flathead valley.

I hate writing bad reviews but I am hoping that by writing this someone will see and bring back my old El Topo from 2007ish. As former BF residents we frequented this place almost weekly! The food is great, margaritas are wonderful, ambiance is awesome but the service has been so painful that we have only visited twice in the past 2 years. I’d like to clarify that the servers themselves were very friendly (& apologetic) but spread WAY too thin! We shouldn’t have to walk to the bar to get our drinks & pay our bill because the owner/​manager has TWO people on the floor on Valentine’s Day??? I hope to visit again when I hear that the service has improved.

Yummy margaritas! Amazing fresh made chips! Fabulous Mahi-​Mahi tacos! Sit at the bar and get razzed by the bartenders!;)
Can’t recommend this place highly enough! Go there whenever you can and you might see Maury Povich and Connie Chung – we did!

We stopped in after a basketball game at the high school. The place was busy for a Monday night. We enjoyed the chips and salsa. I had a margarita 101 and it was good… a little pricey but tasty. I had the pork burrito and it was good I added rice. My daughter had a carne Asada burrito. She wished she got hers with sauce on top like mine but she enjoyed it. All in all for a stop in without knowing anything about the business we were pleasantly surprised to find a decent Mexican food place… we will return.

Ate here a awhile back and forgot to write a review. We walked in and thought the atmosphere was fun and lively and we were glad we picked this place. That quickly changed when the server came and was not very welcoming and friendly. I hoped this wasn’t a sign and hoped for the best.
We ordered chips and salsa (yes, not free here) and they were good and the salsa seemed fresh. Everything went down from there though. The waiter, which turned out to be the owner, was not attentive and downright dismissive. We ordered out food and waited a very long time to receive it. When it finally showed up it was okay but not anything great. We had taquitos and tacos. I found them to be bland but doable.
The service was atrocious though. The waiter/​owner was not even mildly friendly. Maybe you have to be a local to get good treatment or not have a Southern accent. Lol Whatever it was, he ruined our experience. The so-​so food comes with the territory when trying new places and I may have given another chance and tried another entrée another time if the service hadn’t been so bad but I’ll never go back to this place again. It’s a shame because the atmosphere was nice and warm.
If you want so-​so Tex-​Mex served by a not nice business then go here.

Not real Mexican food (for world travelers) but! Some of there dish are tasty. Their dish’s seemed more Cuban influenced than Mexican. But not bad?

This is a fun atmosphere. The fish tacos, burritos, fajitas and enchiladas are all very good. Service is kind of slow, but friendly. Their margaritas are awesome! The only downside is. I’ve never heard of having to pay for chips and salsa at a Mexican restaurant! They aren’t expensive, just very weird to be charged for them. Still, worth dining here.

One of our very favorites in Bigfork. Welcoming, friendly «Cheers» atmosphere as well as very good food. Wide menu including vegetarian/​vegan options! Something for everyone.

Best fish black bean burrito the strawberry margaritas are soooo good margaritas are never my favorite, but I was given a little sample they are my new favorite here.

This place used to be awesome. Last time we went, something was terribly wrong. The chips, which used to be thin, perfectly crispy harbingers of fresh salsa? Not anymore. Bland, old, stale. That made me panic. I started looking around at other people’s food. It wasn’t the same. Service was terrible. We cut our losses and ran. $ 7 for one beer, and terrible chips and salsa.

We stopped in here for dinner on a Sunday night after discovering most of Big Fork was closed on Sundays.
Unilocal reviews had adequately warned us about lineups and we arrived just in time to beat the rush.
Service was friendly but uninspired — and we found ourselves looking for our servers attention more than once. The pace is more suited for a long leisurely meal than a quick drop in dinner.
Shared the shrimp — mahi mahi fajita plate which was delicious. The homemade tomato salsa was excellent, guacamole was so-​so.
Overall a decent place, but nothing to write home about and certainly not the best Mexican in the area.

Seriously disappointed! From the time we were sat at a table in the back of the restaurant to the time a wait staff came to our table to provide water and ask us if we wanted non-​complimentary chips & salsa was a minimum of 20 minutes. My husband’s bottle of beer was delivered at least 10 minutes AFTER two nearby tables ordered and received their beverages (margaritas and mixed drinks). Then a busboy asked if we would care for more chips and salsa — it would be nice if they told us that there was a charge beforehand — and assuming that it was free (because I’ve been to too-​many-​to-​count Mexican restaurants and never have been billed for chips and salsa) — well, a second requested serving never materialized, so I was only ½ surprised when I got the bill. Then the food … OK, it’s Montana and most Mexican restaurants in this region aren’t accomplished in preparing authentic, cuisine — El Topo is no exception — «BLAND» best describes the food. It may be reputed to be popular with locals … but not this one!

Great atmosphere, loved my margarita and the fish tacos were killer.

Soooo good! We knew we were in for a treat when we were served the chips. Lite thin salted just right and made in house an hour before.
Our waiter Adam was so proud of the menu offerings and brought us a taste of mango salsa that is so perfect they could make it into a pie! Also we asked for guacamole and so glad we did. Their regular salsa is also superb. Each item was made in house and finely crafted. And Adam continued to enhance the dinner with his enthusiasm.
My Husband ordered the Carne Asada Tacos Fresco and loved the tender steak which melted in his mouth. Again the sauce was full of flavor. I am partial to fish tacos and was very pleased.
By the end of the meal we were introduced to the head chef Max and we also were able to speak with the owner.
This is a place not to miss. Outstanding. We will be missing them until we can return.

El Topo, right on the highway, is a great place for Mexican in Bigfork, as well as Montana as a whole. One of the best! Fish taco’s are pretty darn authentic, an overwhelming selection of tequila if that’s your bebida, and clean! The chips are the best. It’s an owner run business which makes it even better. They have a great décor w/​a mask collection from all over Mexico. Really friendly staff too.

This is the best Mexican restaurant I’ve had in a long time, especially in Montana. Great food and terrific service. Great fish taco and the burritos are great to share they’re so big get extra sauce tho just because its that good. Thanks for the good work kitchen.

We had a good meal. That is, my compliments to the cooks in the kitchen. Good floors. Nice presentation. Plenty to eat. Unfortunately, our server left our meal on the counter, so the very hot plate was not. Tepid food is tepid and uninviting. It undid all the good work of the kitchen. I am sure we will give it another try. I hope we get another server next time.

El Topo doesn’t have much info online so I’ve posted pics of their menu. Small menu but good food. Friendly service and not very busy.

Stopped in on a frigid Friday night w my family of 5. Our timing seemed to be perfectly awful as the restaurant was full and the waitress told us everyone came in at once, basically right before us. So we could forgive them slow service at the beginning.
The décor was interesting — definitely put effort into collecting Mexican nicknacks for the walls.
We started off w a couple pitchers of a mid-​level margarita, which was quite tasty. Not too much sour mix. Well made.
Then we chowed down on like 20 baskets of chips w salsa and guacamole. Salsa was good, but guacamole, as it often is, was a bit bland. Restaurants always seem afraid to add any heat to it. Also coulda used more pepper and lime.
Anyway, I had a fish taco (not the mahi mahi), which was quite tasty — big. Also a side of black beans (fine) and a salad of some sort. I can’t remember and the menu isn’t online — but I liked it. The rest of my party enjoyed their food too. It included an enchilada and other stuff I tasted. (I clean the plates).
Pretty decent tex mex

Really, this is about as good as it gets in Montana if you want Mexican food. Don’t let the exterior fool you — drive by and you may think what we thought: can’t see anyone in there, must not be open (or good). Wrong! Great fish tacos, corn tortilla for those avoiding gluten, grilled mahi-​mahi, mango salsa… yum. Chips and salsa are at nominal cost, which is different for those of us used to the West Coast bottomless chips and salsa, but you really don’t need to eat a metric ton of chips, do you?
Love that there is a pinto or black bean option. El Topo has a bar license, and has ACTUAL margaritas. Woot! No wine-​a-​rita here.
Super friendly service, good food and lots of it. One taco plus rice and beans was plenty of food. I’m going back.