Los Potrillos

Cheap and filling. And the chips are warm.
I may be a little late to the party, as I’ve been told that they are closing their doors in the next few days.
Either way, I can say I ate there at least once, before they were no more.
The menu is standard mexican and cheap. If you spend more than $ 9 on lunch, then you really splurged.
I would return for lunch, but I don’t know if they will be there when I do.
If this is the end, then, it was nice knowing you Los Potrillos. Vaya con dios!

Had a group work-​related dinner here last week. The restaurant looks like a converted house (it probably is). As a result the layout isn’t the best. For example, we sat at a long table where one end was extremely cramped due to the irregular shape of the wall. On the other end the waitress didn’t have enough room to squeak by the end person so she basically stood there and passed beverages down the table. I’m glad she took the effort to walk down to my end of the table to take orders because she had a heavy accent which was hard to hear if you were more than 2 people away.
As for the food, there was fresh, home-​made salsa to go with warm tortilla chips which was a nice touch. However, I get good Mexican food at home and this was very fair. I had the pork tamale/​chicken enchilada combo and it was nice and piping hot an decent tasting. This went well with the beer special of the night, a 25 ounce Pacifico for $ 4.
This was not a place I would have chosen but I had no say in the matter. If ever in the area again I might be tempted to go here again but then again, there are so many other choices so I probably wouldn’t.

In early 2009 I moved to a town just south of Memphis TN into a small apartment complex in the middle of a typical suburban town. Right outside the apartment complex was a Mexican restaurant «el Guadalajara». While I lived there I decided to become a vegetarian. Becoming a vegetarian meant I had to broaden the types of food I’d eat, such as where I’d usually order something simple like chicken enchiladas or chicken quesadilla, now I was looking into things I’d never have thought to try. There are two things that my time as a vegetarian taught me. 1; veggie omelettes are better than meat omelettes, in fact I find most breakfast to be better sans meat. And 2; Chile rellenos are legitimately the best food ever.
I had moved the Memphis area from Wilmington NC, and after the year that I was there my grandma had gotten hurt in a car accident and I decided to come back to Wilmington to take care of her. While in Memphis I had chile rellenos from Guadalajara on a weekly basis, but once I got back to Wilmington I couldn’t for the life of me find a restaurant that offered Chile rellenos that were even close to as amazing as Guadalajara had. There were some acceptable ones but nothing that blew my mind. I’ve been to so many Mexican restaurants since then and none have really hit the spot. Until today. Today I’ve finally found a Chile rellenos that harkens back to my days in Memphis. Los potrillos has made me so happy, I’ve only been in the chapel hill area for a month and I am so glad I found them.
On top of all that rambling, the atmosphere is amazing as the restaurant is a house and it feels like you’ve been invited to a nice Mexican family’s home for an amazing dinner. The price of two Chile rellenos was $ 10, which I did find to be a bit steep, but its so good that I don’t mind too much and I’ll definitely be returning.

My lovely wife and I were looking for a place to have a cold drink and a bit of food since. We’ve been to Los Potrillos before and, though we weren’t overly impressed, it wasn’t horrible. We both enjoy Mexican food and the restaurant is small and seems like it’s possibly family owned (I have no idea if it actually is or not — it just seems like it might be).
It’s the sort of low-​key, smaller place that you just want to do well and have amazing food.
Unfortunately, this visit was the worst (and last) for us. The restaurant was absolutely empty (not a bad thing — just setting the stage). We were greeted (using the term loosely), seated and ordered our drinks and food.
I got the beef tacos and my wife got the spinach enchilladas. The tacos weren’t bad. Actually, to be fair, they were good. Not great, but good.
However, my wife’s drink (was supposed to be a margarita but ended up being some sort of daquiri) was horrible and the spinach enchiladas were disgusting. The spinach was chewy and cold in the middle.
To top it all off, even though the place was deserted, we barely saw the wait staff. No one came by to ask us about our food, no one asked us if we wanted more drinks. I can understand that in a busy restaurant but, we were essentially given the barest minimum of service. It seemed like we had interrupted their day, not like we were welcome patrons.
Now, my wife is a very sensitive soul. She is very caring and wants everyone to feel good about themselves and didn’t want to send the food back or say anything. So, we paid for our food, left a good tip and left — however, we will not return. This location has consistently given us lackluster service and food ranging from average to bowel-​explodingly bad.
Here’s a tip, don’t just warm up the plate, the food should be hot too.
Harsh? Probably. True? Absolutely.
No bueno.

This is a really cute restaurant. Its inside an old house, which can be quite nice from a «casual date» standpoint. I used to come here with my girlfriends in college on weeknights, and its great for conversation. On game days its a little strange to me. If I want a crowded bar-​like atmosphere, I tend to drift towards a BAR, so its not really my thing.
The food is good – really haven’t had anything spectacular, but haven’t had anything bad either. Their drinks are good, but again don’t knock my socks off.
I like it, and for campus adjacent sit-​down Mexican food, you should put it on your list.

If you are looking for excellent food at a fair price you will love Los Pos. I eat here at least one a week, it’s my favorite Mexican restaurant! My whole family enjoys the food, especially the fajitas.

My coworkers found this place, and took me here a couple years ago. The food is excellent, cheap, and quantity is large. I left full and satisfied. Since then, I’ve come back several times with good experiences each and every time.
I recommend it as the place to go for Mexican food in Chapel Hill.

Los Potrillos is a hidden treasure in Chapel Hill’s historic district area for those who enjoy Mexican cuisine. Tucked behind 140 West Franklin street’s new signature residence building, directly across the street from Old Chicago’s, this Mexican restaurant features a quiet outdoor seating area that is perfect during the spring and summer months where you can enjoy your meal. Inside, it feels like an historic home that was converted into a restaurant, which lends itself to the charming feeling of eating at someone’s home. Very quaint, very relaxed atmosphere (with great window views), and very comfortable during the cooler months in Chapel Hill.
The food is very good, and they even offer vegetarian options. We like how they immediately bring out chips and salsa for your table to share, while you are looking over the menu. The salsa is a bit mild, but they do have spicier hot pepper sauces available at the tables if you would like to add a little bit more «heat» to your meal.
We especially like the outdoor seating, and how friendly the wait staff is. The food is authentic, the music playing is as well, and all in all it is one of our favorite places to go for Mexican food in the Chapel Hill area.
Parking is limited to a small lot on the side of the building, but there is a brand new parking garage conveniently located across the street in the 140 West building that offers paid parking per hour.

Very average. I think the quality of the meats and vegetables is better than most restaurants; however, this is offset by the flavor which is pretty bland.

Best margaritas in the area! They’re delicious! The food is solid, nothing out of the ordinary for a Mexican restaurant, but the service is always great and they make splitting checks very easy. Sit outside with a margarita, you won’t regret it!

I love Los Po’s!!! We really are lucky to have such great dining options in Chapel Hill. Los Po’s is no exception. The experience is authentic and the food is not only bountiful and well-​priced, but it’s really good.
The service is alright. It’s about what you would expect for the prices on the menu.
If you love Mexican and you haven’t tried Los Po’s, you’re missing out! Don’t be afraid to order take out either. They are fast and it’s a great meal on the couch too.

I can really only review this as a place to get a marg but I did enjoy the free chips and salsa (first round free). I’ve driven/​walked by and after stopping at Carrburritos decided it was way too hot in there so headed this way.
It’s a beautiful restaurant though the outside patio could really use some ceiling fans as it was quite muggy and warm. They have an extensive drink menu-​frozen and on the rock margs plus another page of cocktails. The margs come in small and large and the small was plenty big.
I reviewed the menu and found lots of vegetarian items available and look forward to trying some food with my drink next time though I might nix the patio.

I’m torn about this place. Chapel Hill, for all itself-​declarations about how cosmopolitan it is, has mediocre Mexican. In fact, the best Mexican restaurant it ever had, Patio Loco, moved to Raleigh where it thrives as Dos Taquitos.
Los Portrillos tries, but its dishes are inconsistent, and we’ve noticed that their portions have been shrinking. Not good for a university town with lots of hungry kids. We’ve tried most of their dishes, no small fest, but then we always come in with a crowd and share. Our last visit, we noticed that none of the dishes we tried were finished off and although no one left hungry that was mostly due to the chips and queso.
Our service has always been good once they start taking care of you.
On another positive note, the bar knows how to make a drink, so drink more, care less about the food if you come here.
If there was a better place right in town, it wouldn’t be 3 stars.

My food was pretty good (enchiladas verdes) but unfortunately the chile relleno my wife had was a very poor showing.
The place itself has some great tables for people watching on Rosemary, but overall there is noting that is particularly remarkable about this place that would tempt me to make a special trip to go here again.

Not bad, not great. We were at Pantana Bob’s, and we wanted real food, so this was the closest option. There was no wait at 8 on a Saturday. In fact, it felt pretty empty, but that could have been because it is divided into lots of small rooms.
They sat us at the back, probably so that we weren’t disturbing anyone. The place could use some sound deadening stuff — all the noise echoed off the mostly blank walls and the hard wood floors.
We got cheese dip to go with our chips and salsa. Chips were fresh, salsa was a little on the watery side. Cheese dip was runny, but tasty. It’s a large cheese dip, but still didn’t seem to be enough for 5 people.
The highlight for me was Pacifico on draft, since I haven’t seen that in many places.
I opted for the enchiladas Los Po’s — one beef with green sauce, one chicken with mole sauce, and one cheese with red sauce, along with rice, beans, and guacamole salad. It was a pretty plate and decently tasty, with the cheese and beef being my favorites. The mole was off in my opinion, tasting more earthy and less refined.
Pay at the front, all cards accepted.

I think what makes this place great is the fact they give you the option to add cactus to most entrees (free of charge!). Other than that, the food is not radically different than your typical Mexican place, but the prices are okay, the staff is efficient, and there are always free chips and salsa. It’s a great place for groups, and a good location to start your evening in Chapel Hill. And yes, there are sporadic influxes of greek life (or greek-​esque at least), but it’s a large enough place to get away from it if it’s really bothersome. Luckily they don’t blast or play any music like other places.
I appreciate that you can pay and split up your group’s bill at the cashier. I would like to see them add tofu or some other vegetables to bolster their vegetarian/​vegan options though.
I do wish they would abolish tipping though, just read this paragraph:
Studies have shown that tipping is not an effective incentive for performance in servers. It also creates an environment in which people of color, young people, old people, women, and foreigners tend to get worse service than white males. In a tip-​based system, nonwhite servers make less than their white peers for equal work. Consider also the power imbalance between tippers, who are typically male, and servers, 70 percent of whom are female, and consider that the restaurant industry generates five times the average number of sexual harassment claims per worker. And that in many instances employers have allegedly misused tip credits, which let owners pay servers less than minimum wage if tipping makes up the difference.
Citations for those claims can be found here:

Always decent, never blows me away. The lunch specials are great but the regular menu isn’t cheap. I wish the salsa had a little bit more oomph to it too. I like to go here during the day, sit on the patio and have a beer or a margarita. Los Pos gets pretty packed on weekend nights, mostly with sorority girls drinking pitchers of margaritas, and they like, so if that’s not your scene, better go on a different day. Although it’s not my favorite, I do continue to return because of the location (nice outdoor seating!), the lunch prices, and the decency of the food. I never complain when I leave!
Also, you can pay separately at the hostess stand, which is quite convenient if you’re with a group!

So I guess this is the place to go on Friday and Saturday nights if you want to eat food and pre-​game. The place was PACKED and there were loads of babbley girls in skimpy dresses ordering pitchers of margaritas.
SO! I’m going to do what I did while I was there: pretend they don’t exist. If you do that, the atmosphere is rather cute. Los Potrillos is located in a nice little house. The food is very, very traditional and pretty good and the service is decent.
The price was a pinch above my liking (by $ 2 or $ 3) but I’m sure location is partially to blame. The portions are pretty big and they have a variety of vegetarian and vegan options. I’d definitely recommend checking this place out at least once.

Pretty great Mexican food in a fairly decent setting. Outdoor seating is a plus in the early summer, but let’s face it – that good ol’ NC humidity kicks your ass mid-​summer. Nothing a good beer can’t help, but it can’t completely remedy the problem…
The chips & salsa are pretty standard when compared to most tex-​mex joints in the area, but the food is fantastic. Love the burritos I’ve tried! The lunch menu is your best option — dinner seems a little overpriced for my taste.

After a day of sugar-​infused goodness (study/​writing session at Sugarland), I needed some meat. And Los Potrillos has meat.
Los Potrillos is a good Mexican restaurant in Chapel Hill. Located on Rosemary Street (you know, that street that isn’t Franklin Street), it’s a good stop if you want something a little bit more upscale than most of the Mexican places on Franklin.
I ended up having the Mole Poblano (Chicken in Mole Sauce). It was quite good, and a whole lot of food for around $ 10.
They also have tortilla chips that they give you, a really nice touch considering you have to pay for them elsewhere.