El Maguey

First time tried an El Maguey, and I am not interested in returning to this one, or any other location.
It was cold inside (we had lunch). We kept our coats on. The food could have been okay, but it also was not warm enough. Not only mine, but my husband’s as well. The place was almost empty. Not a fun experience. Wish we would have gone somewhere else.
Also — there was no music; which I thought was unusual for a Mexican (or any) restaurant. And it added to the depressing experience.

My girls and I came here with their dad one night. It was really cold, yet they sat us directly by the door, which my bad for not asking to move, but still (restaurant was mostly empty, so it wan’t because of space). Took the server 6 minutes to even greet us, which was irritating seeing as my 5 and 7 year olds were hungry and we wanted to order right away. I got the veggie fajita, and it was SOOOO oily. I know they cook it in oil, but this was awful. I’ve been here in the past (it’s been a while though), and while not the most amazing, never this bad. I don’t think I’ll be back for quite a while.

YUM YUM YUM!!!
Fresh, fast and tasty! The service was great! Tim was fun and welcoming! Recommend for everyone. Oh and it was very expensive!

The restaurant was practically empty. After being seated promptly, I had to flag down a waiter to take my order. Sat forever after finishing my meal and again had to flag someone down to bring me my bill. Food was below average. I won’t come back to this location.

Well, if Taco Bell is booked, this pls is fine. Otherwise skip it. The taco steak and pork is easily three days old. The margaritas are pure mix, no tequila. Just awful.

St Louis is not known for their Mexican food, but this is even bad for St Louis. I have visited this location several times and watched a constant decline. It seems the more stores they open the worse their food gets

Best Mexican in saint louis maybe? Been here many times over the years and i have never had a problem. Great place for date night and they’re wonderful with kids. They’re never too busy and their drink specials are amazing!

The new owners have made the service so great! Tim and Daniel are the best waiters! The food is delicious and the margaritas are to die for. Definitely my favorite Mexican restaurant!

Cinco de yuck-​O! It’s truly a disappointment to see a once established restaurant chain slowly turn into a cesspool of bacteria, sub par food, and even worse service. This restaurant has gotten too comfortable with it’s long history in the neighborhood. It is apparent because they have let their quality of a once good product as well as service slip in a highly competitive market. In my past visits the quality of the food has fallen from stale chewy chips to food bathing in rancid oil. My last visit was the nail in the coffin. We entered some sort of anti service vortex where hailing a waiter became as tough as the frozen chewy chicken they serve. I’ve had better Mexican food at a airport Taco Bell and at least it would have arrived in a timely manner. After waiting half an hour for our food we received a pile of oil chewy slop, undercooked slimy vegetables and bland meat. In addition to these issues they have the audacity to charge people for tortillas when they should come with a meal like fajitas. Tortillas are made out of flower, water and heat! They expect you to eat their pile of fajita slop with 3 tiny tortillas. How can you nickel and time customers on that!
I thought the worst was over. When we came to pay our bill we had a coupon. A very small coupon similar to the ones we’ve used in the past. The waiter became really defensive about accommodating the coupon, making exclusions that weren’t noted anywhere on the coupon. I love Mexican and the best part about it is how easy it can duplicated. Until they fix their problems hasta la vista el maguey.

Sometimes you want to go where everybody knows su nombre…
Ah El Maguey, you always know how to comfort my soul with your salty chips, salsa and sometimes fresh guacamole and your prices comfort my budget as well. You get what you expect to get here and that is tasty predictable Mexican food served up quickly by their friendly wait staff. The atmosphere is casual and there is always something interesting on TV (read: Univision & Telemundo). You can’t go wrong with the mix fajitas though I stand firmly behind the nachos fajita mix. The 6 dollar half order is HUGE, plenty for a 4 person appetizer or a meal for one. It’s all the fajita goodness piled on a bed of baked chips smothered in standard ‘white’ queso. The mix is the best of all worlds, steak chicken and 4 shrimp… not 5, not 3 but 4 per half order with six-​sigma accuracy. The occasional crowd of predominantly rotund female co-​workers enjoying one too many margaritas at happy hour can get a little loud but there is no judging at the Maguey. My kid likes their chicken nugget du jour (nugget type varies each time we go) and sometimes a mysteriously cooked hotdog? Overall, you can’t go wrong here unless you are an American who thinks you speak Spanish in which case I will be at a booth not far away, quietly making fun of you butchering their language, DAY-​NAH-​DUUH ;)
PS — If it’s not too late try to go a few doors down to the Korean bakery — VERY GOOD but avoid Satchmo’s…there be dragons!

Satisfied my Mexican food craving just right. Chips and cheese sauce (queso blanco), tacos and enchiladas covered in cheese, lettuce, and sour cream. Yum! Good flavor, good prices on margaritas.

I’m from Texas so I’m quite accustomed to delicious Mexican and Tex-​Mex fare. The food here was great and the portions were generous. I was not too thrilled with their red enchilada sauce. It tasted almost Italian. The cheese dip however was phenomenal. A must get! The guacamole was creamy and delicious. If I’m ever back in the area, I would def come back. Our server was super sweet and attentive. All around a great choice.

The only thing worth repeating was our server and my Negra Modelo. Bummer.

I’m usually not a fan of El Maguey for my Mexican fix but it was the closest while we were in the area. I will say I was very pleased. Much better than the one by my house. The food was fresh and tasty. I heard the one by me has improved greatly do I may have to try them again.

Great salsa and good margaritas by the pitcher… I will return.

Have been here in the past, but it’s been a few years, just no super local for me to go to.
Anyway, stopped by here for lunch one day when running errands and the food was pretty good, had the Steak Burrito and just the chips and salsa they serve with your drink and filled up for about $ 10 which was pretty good and much better then McD’s.
Not a place that I would go out of my way for, but if you are close and looking for some tasty Mexican, not a bad place at all.
Also they have a decent Veggie menu, as my girl is a former vegetarian, it’s nice to know they place is around if we are close and she has a craving!

The food is decent but the management has much to be desired.
They will do whatever the can to avoid accepting a coupon. And don’t seem to care about their customers.
We had a $ 5 off with the purchase of two entrees. We ordered two entrees, a coke, and a beer that was on special. When it came time to pay our bill, we were told we could not use the coupon because the beer was a special. I asked if they would have honored the coupon if my husband had ordered water instead of beer and was told «yeah, sure».
We dined with another couple. They had a buy one get one entrée coupon. It too was not honored. The reason was because one of the meals (the less expensive one) was on special. Okay… It’s buy one, get one. Who cares if it is on special?
Before he swiped my card I said that I was very disappointed how this was being handled and that neither couple would be returning. He just shrugged his shoulders.
So it’s safe to say, with all of the other options for Mexican in the Valley there is no need to take your business to this location.

Saturday lunch. Seated immediately. Chips (which were warm) and salsa were provided with our beverages.
Miss C. got the fajita pita (talk about fusion!!) — $ 6.50 — she chose chicken as her protein (beef also available), served with lettuce, sour cream and pico, accompanied by fries.
Miss C.‘s friend got taco salad fajita (another interesting mix) — $ 7.10 — she chose chicken as her protein (steak also available) served in a crisp flour taco shell with melted cheese sauce; and sauteed onions, green pepper and tomatoes; topped with lettuce, cheese, tomatoes, sour cream and guac.
I got fish tacos — $ 9.99 — three small flour tortilla tacos of fried tilapia (kinda small pieces of fish), lettuce and cheese, accompanied by the requisite beans and rice.
Miss C. liked her pita. The fries were homemade and either breaded or coated with seasoning (or both), and tasted good.
The taco salad was rather a runny mess. She drained all the liquid accumulating in the bottom, and was able to eat some of it. It just became a gooey thing. I think there were too many ingredients.
My tacos were good. Wish there had been more fish in each taco. Each was individually wrapped in foil. I ate two, adding salsa. I added hot sauce to the beans and ate some.
The rice was incorrigible.
Service was spot-​on. When hot sauce was requested, he brought out three different kinds.
We had a to-​go vessel of fries, one taco, rice and beans.

El Maguey is my go to place for getting a cheap standard Mexican food fix.
I usually come here for a lunch date or with coworkers for a quick marg and dinner after work. Their margaritas are great and the food is constantly good. You will not find anything out of the ordinary on the menu here, so a craving for a specific meal and its consistency is why I have came back here many times.
I usually get the same thing when I come here. The white cheese dip, a strawberry margarita, 1 soft taco, 1 chicken enchilada, and their mexican rice. You cannot go wrong.
The service is hit or miss, but again I do not come here expecting anything fabulous. I would never go out of my way to come to El Maguey, but if you live or work nearby chances are you will like it and come back for an occasional Mexican food craving like it do. And if you do not live nearby, El Maguey is a local area chain so chances are there is another location somewhere near you.

I admit I rarely eat Tex Mex when I’m in the mood for Mexican food, and I rarely stop by El Magueys because there are so many of them in this town, I just couldn’t remember which ones are decent and which ones are below average.
We stopped by here on a Friday night around 6 PM. It was already filling up. If we didn’t show up for another half an hour, we would have to wait in a line that snaked out the door. Everyone ordered Fajitas (really, it’s the only thing I crave when I get Tex Mex). I got the El Maguey fajitas which had chorizo, chicken, shrimp, and beef. One thing I like about this place is how many types of fajitas they offer and they are very reasonable priced. Most places charge you more than $ 14 for a fajita, especially when you are talking about «supreme», «multiple meat». But you can save a few bucks here, especially if you choose the double serving (two people share).
All the ingredients were tasty. Chicken was a little dry, but the vegetables were well cooked. It was a little on the greasy side. I had a banana margarita that was the shit. I know it sounds gross but try it next time you crave margaritas.
Service was fantastic. Our waiter was very efficient and checked on us constantly. We got our chip basket refilled multiple times before our entrees got onto the table.
All in all, this may be one of my favorite Tex Mex places in town, on par with Las Palmas # 3 on Page and Matador in the Chesterfield Valley.