El Patio

Hands down the best mexican food in town! Fresh vegetables and seafood. Great service. Seems to be family owned. Love it!!!

I love this place! The new owner is eager to please. If you are not satisfied with something he will do it again to make it right. Just ask. The fajita quesadilla here is excellent.

The food here is some of the best Mexican food in C-​U! You should give this restaurant a try. Portions were large. Good value for the price.

I’ve been here with friends four times now, and I feel I can write a review. My review is decidedly mixed. In some ways El Patio has excellent Mexican and Mexican inspired food, but in other ways its food disappoints. Also of note, new ownership begins this week (first week of November, 2015, so both the good and the bad may be subject to change).
On each visit we were seated or told to seat ourselves quickly. Little to no waiting. The place is nice, well lit, and clean. Service was excellent each visit as well, with menus, water, chips with salsa, and drink orders all quickly tended to. The menu is relatively extensive with lots of alternatives, many that are not available or at least are hard to find in Champaign-​Urbana.
I’ve had four different meals and my experience was the same each time.
THE GOOD: the main dishes were excellent. Flavorful and hot, always very tasty. I’ve had the ceveche, the burrito, the chile verde, and tacos. The only one I’d critique was the ceveche. Though delicious, I am not used ceveche as seafood first cooked then marinated in lime juice. Typically the «cooking» is done by the marinade, but some of the fish ingredients were clearly cooked first. That said, even the ceveche was good and flavorful, and I’d consider having it again after I finish working my way through other interesting items on the menu.
The drinks I ordered also fall into the GOOD category. I am not a fan of the newer style of sweet, frozen concoctions with classic names. I like my margarita made of lime juice, a good tequila, and triple sec. A lime slice and salt on the rim is fine, but I don’t want it frozen. I want my martini made of quality gin and vermouth. I don’t want either frozen or tasting more like a jolly rancher candy than a cocktail. And the drinks I had at El Patio did not disappoint. They used high quality liquors (at least for these drinks) mixed in appropriate proportions (leading me to believe the bartender knew what he was doing), they were served at the appropriate temperatures, and they were reasonably priced. El Patio does have plenty of fruffy drinks as well, so it’s your choice. My compatriots liked their frozen margaritas and appletinis, so we all were happy.
THE BAD: My complaints about El Patio are mostly about the items that accompany the main dish. The chips and salsa were OK. The chips are not exceptional and don’t taste like they were freshly made. They were a little salty to my taste, and they were room temperature. I could not tell if they had been made a lot earlier in the day or if they were from a bag. However, my first real complaint foreshadows the next ones: the salsa is ice cold. Left until the end of the meal it had warmed some and by then had become tasty enough, but served ice cold it had little flavor. Basically, anything with (hopefully fresh) tomatoes should be served at room temperature as tomatoes lose flavor when cold. You’d think a Mexican restaurant would know this! Also, I’m guessing they do not make their own salsa; why would it be so cold if they did?
My second complaint was basically the same about the salad and guacamole. Both the guacamole (dip) and the guacamole on the salad were ice cold. This seemed weird to us, especially in the salad. A nice warm entrée, warm beans and rice, and relatively warm lettuce and tomato in the salad did not seem to pair well with icy guacamole on top of the lettuce. Again, it was tasty enough, but it improves if you let it warm up for about twenty or thirty minutes before eating it.
The beans and rice are a middle ground. They were fine. Nothing exceptional about them but nothing wrong with them.
And finally, this store keeps unusual hours. It opens for lunch and then closes until 5pm when it reopens for dinner, making it impossible for those wanting an early lunch, a bite with friends on the way home from work, etc. I was told the hours will be changing under the new owners, probably staying open all day, but the waitress wasn’t yet certain what the hours would be.
Please forgive the length of this review. I thought I should explain my three-​star review as being four stars for the main dish and drinks, two stars for the accompaniments, especially the salsa and guacamole. I look forward to trying other menu items (assuming the menu is not changed by the new owner) and hope for improvements in the side dishes as in general I rather like this place.

Okay first off, I would just like to say that El Patio is 100 times better than El Toro in my opinion. The servers are very friendly… You get free chips with salsa with your order and the salsa is so fresh and delicious. I usually order chicken tacos or the fajita quesadilla and it always tastes so fresh and flavorful. Definitely recommend this place for people looking for a yummy Mexican restaurant on this side of town.

Came in one evening with my family. Was greeted nicely, immediately was able to get a table. Server was friendly. The food was very good. I got basic steak tacos and they were good. Decently priced. Can’t wait to come back.

The place is very clean and spacious, I felt comfortable in the restaurant. Service was excellent. The portions are generous, however the the food is not flavorful. I had carne asada, rice and bears. I didn’t feel like anything was seasoned, and I did not find myself wanting to take another bite which is very usual for me and Mexican food.
The place is ok if you’re very hungry and you like bland food. Personally, I’d rather wait in line at Maize.

The good: The horchata and margaritas were very tasty, the service was attentive and friendly
The bad: The food, it was just not very good and a little strange. I was immediately suspicious when my vegetarian combo arrived on the table about 30 seconds after I ordered it. The sauce on my bean burrito tasted a lot like marinara. It was comparable to eating a pizza wrap with refried beans. Everything else on the plate was mediocre.
I will not be returning.

I love the typical Mexican lunch or dinner at El Toro in CU, but sometimes it gets boring. Glad I tried this new place. Every bit as good, super friendly, and amazingly good queso.

Service was terrific and fast. The food was tasty and salsas were delicious. Overall a great experience.

Just had an early dinner. My Pollo Asado was excellent. Tender chicken and not overly flavored. Very nice rice and beans with a tasty salad.
My wife also loved her to Ramiro Special (Shrimp).
We’ll definitely eat there again!!!

This place recently opened and my friends and I were hungry after spending some much needed time at the pool. Everyone was super friendly and the menu is extensive.
I got enchiladas with rice and the sauce and the queso fresco was literally freshly shaved onto my dish. The margaritas were strong. I highly recommend this place. The chips and salsa was good too.
Excellent service, pricing, and ambiance. Great for kids and families. There’s outdoor seating and it was very busy when we went.

Very Good and friendly service. This is the same owner as La Fiesta that was located in Urbana. You can’t go wrong there because La Fiesta was awesome, just poorly located. The menu is huge and there is lots to choose from. Although it is a bit pricier than El Toro, it’s freshly prepared and has a more intimate setting in the dining area. I will be going back often because it’s close to home and WAY better than El Toro. It’s definitely worth a try!

If you like Tex Mex the food here will do the trick. Nothing fancy or adventurous, but the standard fare the way you’d expect it. Good salsa. Everyone was friendly and prompt. I’m happy and I’ll be back.

Checked this new place out on Sunday and I can say it is a solid entry in Champaign Urbana Mexican food. I think it is similar in flavor to El Toro. My only complaint is that it seems to be just a bit pricier than similar restaurants in the area.