El Camino

Amazing! I could eat the chips and guacamole all day long. I usually go for the quesadilla but you can’t go wrong. 4 stars because they don’t do takeout which is a bummer. Did I mention the chips?

A hidden gem. Some of the best mexican food I have had. All fresh and local food. Great drinks made by an awesome bartender!

Food is super good. It’s not a typical Mexican place. Owners are British couple but super awesome. Not your typical Mexican restaurant owners. They are very hands On and involved in every aspect of the place.
They use fresh ingredients on everything and you can test it. Just a hint stay away from the menu and go off the specials board, You will not be disappointed. Prizes can be a little high though. But you are paying for fresh good ingredients.

Love coming here! Food is always great… always fresh and always great specials. Very nice staff, very friendly.

Fucking delicious. Yeah, I said it.
El Camino is my favorite place to go in Brunswick, along with Shere Punjab, and it’s a great place to get some pretty authentic Tex-​Mex outside of Southern California. What makes it even better is the Maine twist that they add to the food (Chipotle Scallops are absolutely amazing). Also, the margaritas can have coconut milk in them which is amazing.
Final words: a tad crowded and frequently busy, but deservedly so. Be sure to check this place out if you’re headed Downeast or are just in the area.

El Camino is not one of those 2 star places to avoid, in fact, we’ve been before and will go again. That being said, let me tell you of today’s experience.
I started with a «dark rum mojito» that was supposed to be made from dark rum, but it was clear as gin. It had nice mint, not over sugared, a hint of lime, but if it had any dark rum, the bartender must have measured it with a titration device. Maybe it had rum in it, but if so it was too weak to taste or feel.
My wife and a friend both had maple scallops with black beans and rice that were good. She ordered a dinner salad that we split. Flavorful dressing; black beans were a good addition to the salad. The other friend & I both ordered the Cuban shrimp that were so small it was hard to believe any restaurant would serve them. Basically, a bowl of rice and black beans that was flavored with bits of onion and teeny-​weeny canned micro shrimp. A dollop of sour cream and two sprigs of cilantro garnish. A squirt of lime juice in the rice. I liked the flavor, but the dish itself was a rip. No excuse for the micro shrimp. Would they eat these things in Cuba? South East Asia, maybe. I haven’t been to Cuba, but I have eaten my share of shrimp in Florida which is only 90 miles away. El Camino’s shrimp should probably be relegated to cat food tins.
The pricing, although not exorbitant, was high for what you get. Why would we go there again? Well, I guess because the food tastes good. The atmosphere is pleasant. And it’s kind of a unique place in a good way.

Nice neighborhood spot for a relaxed dinner and great drinks. The kitsch adds a bit extra (in a good way). Quite a popular spot. Be open to taking a seat at the bar, where you can order from the full menu.

Had to wait for a table so we were seated a 4 seater in the bar area. The table was dirty and we waited for 15 min for someone to either clean it or come take order. Neither happened so my husband went to the bar to order 4 margaritas. Bartender wouldn’t let us add drinks to our meal tab so had to run our card through twice on the night. Dinner was average but not authentic or memorable. My husband ordered a prawn and beef quesadilla and it had one prawn in it. I had the chicken quesadilla which had the standard chicken and cheese in it. Best part of meal was the guacamole we ordered as a starter. Lacked the Tex mex «oooomph». I like the red light atmosphere though

This is one of my go to spots in the midcoast region. It’s not easy to find good, authentic Mexican food in the northeast but they’ve got it. All of the daily specials are great. They use fresh, local ingredients for a tasty and filling entrée that usually lasts for great leftovers. I would recommend always trying out the chef’s various specials.

Quaint little restaurant that leaves you wondering if it is even open on first drive by. Only the massive line of cars lets you know that they are still cooking. The food is AMAZING and the drinks even BETTER! My favorite little Mexican spot right here in Maine!

Can I give it 6 stars? I mean wow… dang…OMG…I cant find the words that describe this place. The salad bowls are not your normal salad in a fried tortilla. It was over flowing with salad, meat, vegetables. The brazed pork was cooked perfect and had tons of flavor. The cilantro dressing could have been one of the best salad dressings I have ever had.
If you don’t plan on getting the calamari then don’t go (unless you are allergic, then in that case, get it and give it to a friend). It is sprinkled with chili salt and lime. My head exploded when I ate this.
Only draw back to the place is… it is RED… red lights everywhere, I couldn’t tell what was what color. I don’t know how the staff can work in there for hours. They must go home and turn on every light in there house.

I am a fan of this place. It’s not your traditional Mexican restaurant where you seat and they immediately bring you chips and salsa and have a margarita machine just waiting. It’s a fresh, local restaurant with a changing menu.
The atmosphere is fun and festive. The place is somewhat small but arranged nicely. The bar is curved and large and the margaritas are delicious!
The portion sizes are large. I have had the crabmeat and avocado quesadilla a couple times. I would recommend. For Brunswick, this is a cool little place!

Went here for dinner with a large party on a Wednesday night, and was not really impressed. First of all– would not seat us until the entire party arrived. Ok, I get it. A lot of places do this but I still don’t like it. My problem is when you have 13 people present and are only waiting on 1 person– come on? It’s not like that one seat at a huge table is going to make a difference? Moving on… As far as drinks go, I ordered a margarita Santa Rosa maybe? Something like that? It was yummy with a strong grapefruit taste but nothing spectacular. No free chips and salsa at this place– fail! Ordered the guacamole and chips, and was not disappointed. Large amount of avocado with a spicy kick, and the chips were salty and delicious– highlight of the night for sure. For my meal I ordered the skirt steak and shrimp quesadilla and was underwhelmed. The portion size was great but it was mainly tortilla, onions, and salsa. There was very little steak and or cheese? What the? And shrimp? I think I had about 4 tiny mights in the entire thing. Not very flavorful either. :(Prices were high and not impressed with the customer service. They also would not allow us the have individual tickets so when the bill came it was a total cluster F*- The décor was cool with tons of twinkle lights and an awesome red glow– also a bit of Dia de Los muertos décor. Overall, it was just alright– perhaps I’ll give them another shot?

Best restaurant in Brunswick Maine and one of the best Mexican places in the United States (really).
The owner is awesome and, at least when I frequented the establishment, Dan the bartender might be one of my favorite people in Maine.
The guacamole is phenomenally well-​balanced with a great lime finish and cilantro. The roasted salsa is the perfect balance with what tastes like a roasted tomatillo finish. On top of all this, I’m reasonably confident they fry their own tortilla chips on site.
Most importantly, it’s the best mojito I have ever or will ever drink. They make it with aged rum rather than clear, which, recognizing this isn’t technically «authentic,» it is superior in flavor by an enormous margin.

Kitsch
Twist on
Localvore
Mexican food.
Good service, often crowded, have cocktails.

El Camino catered a wedding I attended Nd they were fabulous. The food was amazing and the staff were so helpful and nice. They really helped make the wedding day that much more amazing. So thanks to the El Camino crew.

I’m not sure what the appeal is with this place. All I can think of is there isn’t a lot of Mexican restaurants in the area, so they have little to no competition. We went for dinner with another couple and, just walking in past other’s tables, we could see what their entrees looked like and were not impressed.
First off, the chips and salsa are NOT free here– AND it all they tasted like it just came out of a bag and a jar from the grocery store. Nothing was «homemade» tasting or had a fun twist, just bland, basic, boring, blah! Mexican food is SO easy to make tasty– I just don’t understand why everything lacked in flavor and spice!
They had an «award-​wining» drink here as well, and that also was nothing to rave about. Again, why did it win an award?! I would not recommend going here as the food was not only bland, but overpriced. If you do go, expect ok service and expensive, tasteless Mexican dishes.

So good!
I have been wanting to go here for quite a while since I’ve heard nothing but good things about it and finally made it last night.
Well worth the wait, the chips and salsa were exceptional and for dinner I ordered from the specials and got the «Papusas», they tasted great, one was green chile and one was chorizo and they were served with beans and rice.
Very busy on a Saturday night but the atmosphere was nice and the service friendly and quick.
Can’t wait to go back!

Awesome place. The owner Paul runs a first class CalMex Restaraunt. Every time we go we just ask whoever waits on us what the specials are and go with that. it has never failed to be a great dish.
The staff and food are unbelievably good– far and away the best food /​staff in Brunswick.
Don’t be put off by the neighborhood it all sort of works with the ambience of the place. One last thing, every time we have gone to El Camino it has been packed, that to me is a sure sign that Paul and his staff have got the magic mojo. Highly recommended.

Really funky Mexican restaurant. Home made chips and guacamole were really good. We had drinks in the bar while we waited for our table. They don’t take reservations and won’t seat you until your entire party is there. We were fine with that, and sat at the bar. Good selection of beer and great margheritas. The décor is very quirky. They have a reg menu and a large specials menu. The jicama salad was perfect for two to share, and really good. I had a haddock rice bowl with black beans. The haddock was cooked perfectly, breaded in panko and lightly fried. The only improvement would have been a little more rice. My husband had a Maine scallops rice bowl with maple syrup and black beans. He loved it.