El Cerro Grande

Love this location, great staff. excellent margaritas, as close as i’ve had to authentic tasting Mexican food in this area.

First time visit On a Friday night, great service and food. Our party of three ordered the fajita quesadilla, chicken quesadilla and burrito platter. Everyone was pleased, fresh taste and hearty portions. Salsa and chips were plentiful. Would recommend

Just ate here for the first time last week with my husband and it was delicious. We look forward to coming back.

This is the second el cerro restaurant. Friday night we at at the other one. Today we ate at this one. They are only about 5 miles apart. Same owner, huge difference in restaurants. Everyone in our party ordered the same thing that we ordered from the other restaurant. We were all disappointed in our food. Even the waiter was no where near as friendly. The salsa was quite a bit runnier than the other restaurant. Queso was runny. So our opinion is to make sure to eat at the El Cerro on Main Street in havelock.

This place has always been my favorite Mexican restaurant. The food is always great and the service is always excellent. The salsa is just right… not too hot and spicy.

I haven’t spent any time in Cherry Point in about 10 years, so I hadn’t been to this place in a while, but it’s as good as I remember. The arroz con pollo y camarones (ACPC) is wonderful. Chicken, shrimp, rice, and some sort of white cheesy sauce. Simple, but awesome. The chips and salsa that came with it were pretty standard (by Texas standards anyway). I got mine to go, so I can’t go into too much detail about the service, but for the short time I was there, the staff seemed attentive, and the food came out quickly. I’ll definitely visit again on my next trip to The Pit.

Interesting service… is the only thing that keeps it at 4 stars instead of 5. The food was awesome! Decent price and the quality of the food was great. I would recommend however be patient with the staff… they are a little slow.

My husband and I were staying out here for a week for a Retirement Seminar and luckily found this place. The staff was very friendly and I asked for a recommendation based on a few choices I had finally narrowed it down to. I’m so glad our waiter suggested the Chipotle Shrimp plate. It was DELICIOUS! I was in heaven, and my husband also enjoyed his plate. We love Mexican food and this place is a two thumbs up. Chips and Salsa are also great, and I am pretty picky about that as well. I will say the beans could be better as these rinsed me a little of canned Rosarita beans but everything else… YUM!

Came here with about twelve others while passing through town. No one else was there, so we were a little suspect going in.
The lunch menu has a good variety, and our vegetarian had plenty of choices. Food came out quick, service was great, and re price was very good. Most items on the lunch menu are from $ 5-​$ 9, so it was a great lunch.
The place is well kept and nice looking, and I’d have no problem coming back!

If your coming here for real Mexican food this is not the place food is good not great.

Food was great! Staff was very attentive, ensuring drinks were always full and had the food out fresh. The kids menu is not your typical menu. There are a variety of Mexican options. My daughter had the quesadilla and rice. A real quesadilla, none of this Taco Bell junk and rice.
We have been here over 5 years ago and let me tell you, they continue to impress. The margaritas are quite popular here as well. And let’s not forget the complementary chips and salsa.
If you are in the area, don’t waste your time on fast food. There is barely any wait time between your order and food delivery. You can be in and out in less than an hour; seriously.
Non-​greasy. I wanted to mention this as well. The food is not sloppy. There is presentation; enough to make you stop and say this is a decent looking meal. I do apologize. We jumped right into eating before I realized to take a picture.
Five stars!

This is a great place for a delicious Mexican dish! Friendly staff and hot food that arrives at your table so quick it’s almost unbelievable! Would definitely recommend for a great alternative to mass produced fast food. Great place for a birthday party or group lunch or dinner!

I’m a huge fan of Mexican food, of all types. I love the spicy, smoky, cheesy, and delicious flavors that it has to offer. This El Cerro Grande served up some Mexican fare that was lacking in some of those areas. The food was just okay, but the service was prompt. We went here because the restaurant we had planned on going for dinner, in the same parking lot was closed. We were hungry and I usually can’t say no to Mexican food.
The place was almost empty of customers, except for a few stray tables. The selection of food was pretty nice, but I opted for a chicken salad. What I got can not be considered a salad. It had maybe a ¹⁄₈ cup of lettuce and the rest was beans, cheese, and chicken. I know you’re probably saying, how can you complain about that? But, I didn’t order a standard entrée. I wanted a salad. That being said, the food was mostly tasty, but lacking in something.
I probably wouldn’t visit again, but for those of you that want a quick meal, this is the place for you. We were in and out in 30 minutes or so.

Holy cow… How this place has four stars I have no idea they must have the best service and margaritas known to man cause I can tell you it ain’t the food!
I give them 4 stars for service it was quick and attentive besides the manager staring at me as I walked in and not greeting me but besides that excellent service.
3 stars for the mood and the décor it was definitely a Mexican restaurant haha. Plus the bathroom was very clean that’s always a plus.
Now time for the food… 1 star since you can’t go any lower. I’ll start with guacamole dip and salsa. Really?! That was their attempt at some basic stuff salsa was bland very bland and all it was was basically dipping chips into tomato chunks drowning in tomato sauce. I dont even know how to describe the guac. Closest thing I can think of is the green slime from nickelodeon. Onto my dish! What sloppy mess did they give me?! No freaking flavor not even salt?! I ordered the «Guadalajara especial» which sounded outstanding on the menu with a little bit of everything. First thing I bit into chimichanga. Crunchy that’s all you got to look forward to. Aight onto the nachos one bite thats it couldn’t go back. This is when I started getting worried bout the rest of the dish. Tamale was super dry and couldn’t cut through it with my fork. Didn’t eat the other chimichanga ate some of the rice and beans but that’s only because I hadn’t eaten dinner, plus one of the reviews raved bout the rice and beans (that person needs to review their life decisions) left in complete disappointment and went straight to dairy queen to eat my sorrows away

Only getting a 2 star because the server was attentive and the food came out in a timely manner.
This is most def not real Mexican food. The guacamole was plain, and the taco shells are the ones you get at taco bell. If I wanted taco bell food quality I’d go to taco bell. The tamales were hard as rock. The enchiladas were dry in the inside and also very plain. So overall the food was plain.
Now let’s talk about the manager who walked around in the lobby the ENTIRE time flirting with the cashier who was probably the age of his kids and he did not once say anything to us or anyone that I saw. As a manager your supposed to walk to tables and ask them how everything is. Just once not pester there’s a difference.

Me and my husband love this place! We come every Friday! Staff is friendly and attentive and the food is delicious. Best Beans and Rice I have every had! We love the ACPC, Burrito Diabla, Especial Quesadillas El Cerro and Caldo De Pollo. Wash it down with a pitcher of margaritas, you will not be dissapointed!

Guess this is as good as it gets ’round hurrrrrrr!
It’s a step above Taco Bell bla bla bla I’m sure if you’re from around here, you’ve tried it.
Complimentary chips n salsa. Food was decent. I ordered whatever the hell was in the pictures ACPC or something? Ya, that one.

Being from SoCal Its hard to fairly rate any mexican food place in NC, what I will say is the carnitas here are pretty dang good and the service is way better at this one than the one over by wal-​mart. my one main gripe is that they use cheese sauce instead of actual melted cheese. the sauce is good but far what you might excpect on your nachose or quesadilla

For a Mexican restaurant that is at least 1,500 miles away from Mexico, this place gives the country’s food some justice! I’m not talking tex mex or anything like that. This place is offers delicious Mexican food! They have a huge menu and very reasonable prices. The margaritas are huge and also affordable. If I ever find myself in Havelock again, I’ll be sure to pay my respect and spend my money at this fine Mexican food establishment!

Of the gringo-​mex in the surrounding area, this is the best around. We find ourselves returning over and again for their reliable standbys during our frequent vacations to the Outer Banks.
Favs include the fish tacos … Here they use grilled or broiled fish, not fried, flavored with tomatoes and onions. They are missing the shredded cabbage and mild sauce of a Baja style taco, but the tasty fish is generously piled into three double-​tortilla tacos. They are served with a side of rice and refried beans.
Other favorite is the green chicken enchiladas… They may look kind of bland, but that sauce sneaks up and bites your tongue. At lunch, they offer a half order of two overstuffed enchiladas with a side of rice — plenty for a filling meal with a little to share at the end.
And the rice is edible, btw, not that typical dry tasteless plate decoration you might expect.
If we were being picky, which we are not given that we are nowhere near the southwest, we’d like to be given a choice of black beans rather than refried. And we’d like to add the cabbage to the tacos.
Being near MCAS Cherry Point, your fellow diners will be servicemen and their young families … This does seem to be a place that is very friendly to the kids. If you come after 1:00, you will most likely avoid the kiddies if that is an issue.
Otherwise, a five-​star experience for the area, cuisine, and price range.