El Haragan

The worst service I have ever experienced in any restaurant in my entire life
We have been here for an hour and a half now and still waiting for our food

It’s been awhile since I was here, could never remember the name, but since I have found it I wanted to save it! As I remember I had Shrimp & jalapenos, with tortillas, beans, guac & «salad». It was very good and will be going back now that it’s «On file»!!

I’ve been here twice and find the service superb. Just an excellent waitstaff. I think I’d give the food about a 3.7, the atmosphere about a 3.5 and the service a 4.5, so that’s about a four.
Some restaurants have lethargic and slothful waitstaff, but the dudes working here are energetic go-​getters and took care of me very well with no delays.
When I don’t feel like driving downtown to El Granjero and looking at their grimy and smudged up interior doors, I think this my new go-​to Mexican place.

Excellent food and service! My friends and I work at another place nearby and will always come here to unwind after our shift! Never disappointed!

Went again in October 2015
Excellent high end margarita with gran marnier and fajitas, great experience this time

We ate here a few months ago. Food and service were ok. We weren’t overly impressed with the food, but it wasn’t terrible. We left thinking it was so so but maybe we would go back another time to give it another try. However, a couple of weeks after our visit, my husband was out jogging and happened to run past the back of the restaurant where he saw one of the cooks holding a cigarette in one hand and his parts in his other hand, taking a pee. Yes, peeing behind the restaurant. Is there something wrong with el baño? Which, coincidentally, is the nickname we gave this place. Maybe I’m wrong, but something tells me this fellow probably didn’t go inside and wash his hands before he got back to work. I know gross things happen in restaurants all the time, but once you actually see something like that in person, it just changes you forever. Sorry, we will never return.

Kind of a disappointment, food wise. Had the lunch steak fajitas, $ 7.99. The fajitas were tough, and not much food for the money. The onions and green peppers were barely cooked, and the fajitas does not come with cheese, lettuce, pico, sc or anything else you would expect!!! I ordered a sour cream, got hit for an additional buck. When I asked about the missing items, I was told they only come with dinner fajitas. Really??? I would have rather gotten fajitas from Applebee’s. Ugh.

S, we discovered that this restaurant and one of our favorites from the southeast part of town, El Arriero, have common ownership. In fact, the menus are pretty much identical. This is great news!
The menu is large and varied. Besides their named entrees, you can make just about any type of combination plate that you want.
On the most recent visit, I had La Favorita, which has a beef enchilada, a chicken enchilada and a wet tostada type of item. Delicious! Suzy had chicken chimmy, which she loves and aways gets.
They start you out with chips and salsa and drinks, which are AGAH! (All good as hell!)
Helpful and attentive wait staff. Nice, bright décor inside. Plenty of parking outside.
We are sure to return many more times!

My first review ever. And I will keep it short. Like our visit to El Haragan.
We stopped in Grand Rapids during our road trip around Lake Michigan. We consulted Unilocal and based on the reviews ended up at El Haragan. Wish we hadn’t.
Service was beyond prompt. It was hurried. Felt pushy. Everyone was friendly, but their interaction felt scripted. Not sincere. Food was not bad, but certainly not great. Solidly mediocre. My 7-​year-​old said (unprompted), «Daddy, this food is not so good. My meat is dry.» From the mouth of babes… Overall, it was salty and single-​note. Completely safe for picky kids, but not at all interesting or satisfying for adults.
Oh, I almost forgot. Of the five dishes we ordered, three of us found hair in our food. That’s 60%!

I was concerned that there were few cars in the parking lot. However. I checked Unilocal and the reviews looked promising, so I decided to check it out. Yes! Best decision of the day! ! ! The food was excellent. I had their Mexican shrimp cocktail and authentic tacos. All I can say is, «wow! «. The food tasted excellent. Fresh ingredients and outstanding flavor. I’m surprised the parking lot is not packed. You really need to check this place out if you enjoy authentic Mexican cuisine. Highly recommend. Great prices, service, and best of all… excellent food.

Fantastic Mexican Food! We have tried so many Mexican joints in GR and this is one of the best.

The place was clean, service was prompt and friendly amongst the entire waitstaff (multiple people checked on us), and the prices were fair.
The only concern I had was the food was extremely bland. I don’t think there were any spices or seasonings added to anything, or even peppers and onions. It reminded me of cafeteria food. Everything was prepared well and seemed fresh, it was just extremely bland. Two people in our parties ordered tacos which came out in a pool of sauce from the enchiladas, and the tacos just fell apart from having soaked in the sauce.
The blandness was unfortunate as the prices are pretty good and there is a lot of potential. I hope they figure out how to make the food tastier.

While many things are just so good they have a few I wish they would ditch. I’m sure the reviews would be better also.
If you like it spicy the chicken ^ steak fajita are the best and the chimmi is very good.
I don’t like there steak dinner and we have had there shrimp that were over cooked. These are the 2 I think they should remove from the menu.

This was just okay food. Pretty bland for Mexican food, and when I ordered water the waiter brought me a glass of water with 1 ice cube in it. When I asked for ice water he said it was not good for my throat. Pretty silly! Good bland food though and good service.

All around great independent mexican restaurant. Wait staff friendly and always able to help with choices.
Portions are big and priced right. Have been there for lunch and dinner, always a great meal.

(A slight edit from 5 to 4 stars only because I realized I should save 5 stars for places that serve meats like lengua, cabeza, tripas, etc.)
This place has become a Thursday night staple for us. (My day off is Friday, so Thursday’s highlight is the large frozen margarita & great Mexican food.)
I have become a big fan of the burrito chipotle — steak and chicken with a delicious chipotle sauce that’s just tangy enough and just hot enough. My wife likes the chori quesadilla w/​chicken. It’s listed as an appetizer, but is a big meal in itself.
One of the best times at El Haragan came as a result of one of our toughest times here. On Cinco de Mayo the service was slow — NOT for lack of hustle, but because a couple of staff members hadn’t shown up for work. The place was packed, and our waiter was frazzled from covering so many extra tables. We tried to be encouraging and understanding as he apologized and bounced from group to group. The food, though slow to arrive, was great as always.
On our next trip back, we had the same waiter, we placed our order, and suddenly he recognized us from that night. He thanked us profusely for coming again and giving him another chance. (He’d served us before May 5^th and done so very well.) We appreciated the extra attention and acknowledgement.
We’ve brought others here and they’ve enjoyed whatever they’ve ordered.

I love this restraunt to relax and have a drink with good food. The chicken is very good and the burritos are good size.
The waiter is very friendly and the food is well priced

Hidden treasure as far as Mexican restaurants go. We come here often — the food is always amazing, beer is cold and margaritas are awesome! Huge portions, very reasonably priced and great service! Highly recommend El Haragan!

Some friends had visited this restaurant for the first time a few weeks ago and raved about the food. So of course we had to join them when they made a return trip. I’m terribly picky about my tacos and for me if a new restaurant can get the simplest item on the menu correct then usually everything else will as good or better. So I first ordered off the a la carte menu and tried three tacos. Basically ground beef, lettuce and cheese. Shells are freshly made right there and the tacos were well made. They did not skimp on the ground beef.
My other mainstay is chips and cheese. After finishing three tacos I just ordered a basic chips and cheese with beef (based on the price), I figured this would be a small serving. No way, large plate heaping with chips and cheese sprinkled with ground beef. I was stuffed.
The friends I went with ordered tamales, tacos, and a host of other items. Everything was given high marks by all of us. The servers are pretty attentive and the place was not packed with customers. I think people are still discovering this place. It’s just been added to my list of favorite places to dine out.
Large menu selection and very reasonable prices. Nice variety of drinks are available, beer selection is fairly standard. Not a lot of exotic beers offered. Overall a nice quiet, relaxed dining experience.

I love getting Tex-​Mex from the little hole-​in-​the-​wall dives. Many reviewers don’t feel the food is «authentic» unless you stick to the seats. That’s not the case with El Haragan. It is really nice inside and out, probably the cleanest and well done mexican restaurant in the area.
Service was excellent as I was immediately seated and my server was top-​notch. The menu is huge with several offerings I have not seen in other places. Prices were average with a long list of lunch specials and even a lunch special section of vegetarian dishes. My server was friendly and stopped by the table 8 times to make sure everything was OK. Food was excellent as well. The salsa included with the complementary chips was very good and my Poblano pepper & enchilada combo was very good. I did not try a cocktail however a friend stopped a couple nights ago and had high praise for the Margaritas.