El Fenix

The Migalito Plate! Tex Mex at its best. They make the perfect cheese enchilada with excellent Chili con carne and onions. Match that with a crunchy beef taco, rice and beans and you have a winner!

Wednesday specials can’t be beat! Alex, our waiter was very friendly & personable. Chips and salsa great, margaritas great, simple «special» very tasty. Consistent high-​quality food at a fair price.

We only typically go here when they do their kids eat free promotions, and while the service is typically fine, the food is always incorrect. On our last visit I ordered tacos, yet I got enchiladas and had to flag down a waiter as ours disappeared.
My biggest complaint is the recent health score this establishment has. 30 is failing and it scored 27, the highest in the city. That’s unacceptable. With so many other options for Tex Mex in McKinney, an almost failing health inspection is not on my menu. Clean up your act! How has corporate not been alerted to whatever is going on here?

I asked my local friend to take to try real TexMex and this is where she brought me. I tried the queso, guac, and the veggie enchiladas. It was all okay, more average than anything else. I was generally unimpressed with the quality and flavored. It had nice presentation and attentive staff– but wasn’t anything more spectacular than I can find in the panhandle of Florida. I would give it another try, but if I had the same experience probably wouldn’t go back again.

Ray is my favorite waiter. He is very attentive. Remember on Wednesdays, it will be crowded.

Stopped by here for dinner with my fiancée. Definitely an above-​average mexican food place, & it’s hard to find a good one up in Dallas compared to Houston where a hole-​in-​the-​wall place is always close by. Chips were crispy but airy as well, had a great crunch and lightness to them. Salsa was awesome, not too hot with just the right amount of kick & flavor. Actually i was surprised, the el fenix salsa you buy at the store is much, much hotter. The restaurant version is far better.
This particular time of year they had cheese enchiladas with Hatch Green Chile sauce, enchiladas were better than average with cheese that wasn’t too stringy or soft & fresh green chile sauce. Beans & rice were average but good.
No complaints & a few things above expectations. I will likely return.

Service is always good. Love their chips and sauce. Food always hot and exactly as ordered. People at checkout counter could be friendlier. Definitely recommend!

I love Tex-​Mex. Really love it. So when I want tacos and enchiladas I always head to this El Fenix. The service is always top notch for us, chips and salsa are just the best, and we never leave disappointed unless our regular server is off that day. This is one of the very few places I can get fried tacos like my grandmother made. I also love the chicken flautas and nachos. My husband is addicted to their fajita salad. This location is always buzzing yet it’s relaxing enough to enjoy a meal. It’s one of our favorite places.

Giving one star because there is no option for zero or negative stars. The management needs to help their staff and the waiters need to have a working knowledge of English. We have frequented this restaurant for many years and the food and service has declined steadily. If you want true El Fenix, make your way to Dallas to the original restaurant where they actually care about food and service

First time going to El Fenix, chose the McKinney location since it was fairly close to home. Wait was a bit long, but the food was definitely worth it.
The original margarita was superb. Can’t go wrong with the crazy nachos as an appetizer. I was split between the El Fenix dinner or the Fajitas Rancheros for Two, and ended up splitting the Fajitas (shrimp and steak).
Overall the food was good, the margaritas were great, and the only thing I’d do different next time is make sure I planned for the possible wait.

Omg! I haven’t been to an El Fenix in about ten years. I’ve been missing out!
To start the chips are light with air bubbles that I loved. Great salsa too. Both have great flavor.
The margarita on the rocks was DElicious. It was clear with NO artificial anything so lime-​e and good. Thank you KAYLA.
We ordered brisket enchiladas. Super DelIcious! The ancho sauce was kind of tangy. With that tender smokey brisket it was AweSome! I dont typically seek out beef but I would return for that. I tasted the tamale and a cheese enchilada. They were also tasty.
Overall I thoroughly enjoyed our visit.

We’ve been going to El Fenix for over a year now, and sadly the service has steadily declined. On our last visit, we were seated quickly, but no one would take our order! After waiting about 15 minutes, someone finally brought chips and salsa and took our drink order. We were ready to order our food, having had plenty of time to peruse the menu, but she informed us that that was not her job, she was just there to get drinks.
We waited several more minutes, watching other tables be served — while several employees were just standing around — and waiters avoided us like the plague. Finally, we gave up and left.

Your food may be really good but that doesn’t make any difference when I order take out only to find some key parts of the order missing when I get home! The last time, my wife’s fajita’s where missing the rice and beans. This time, rice and beans were there but the guacamole and cheese missing. I could write a book on our experience but the food is really is good hence why we put up with it. It’s just a shame I have to give such a low review because of poor take out service.
If this was an occasional occurrence, it would be one thing but this happens almost 95% of the time. Do you really want us to check your work and open up every single package to do quality control that you should be doing before handing it over? Nope. I’ll just write you a bad review and call for a discount which I did.

In one word, disappointing. Strike 1, lots of tables and booths available, and the host seats us next to a party of 12, but I will take the hit on that as I should have been asked to be seated elsewhere. Strike 2, the «small» guacamole that should have been labeled «miniscule.» Don’t waste your money it came in a bowl you would normally see used for salsa, the entire bottom half was filled with shredded lettuce and only had a tablespoon of guacamole. Strike 3, the brisket tacos.
My wife and I both ordered the brisket tacos since we’d read so much about them. The meat was dry and fairly bland, well, what little meat there was… the serving was extremely small. Overall the food was just ok, the service was barely sufficient, and the prices are overpriced for what you receive. With so many good Mexican restaurants in the area, I seriously doubt my wife and I will ever return.

Good service and clean facility, the food was fine but not exceptional. I would say it is a typical Americanized Mexican restaurant.
I will go back and see if the dinner menu changes my mind about a 4^th star.

I’m from New Mexico, and to find a place you can order Sopapillas with Honey for an appetizer is worth going too in my book! A few time’s they have been just this side of burned… and they were still good and we still scarfed them down. about my
El Felix is one of my favorite, favorite places to eat. If you want something fancy… go somewhere else. If you just want good food and a relaxing place to sit and visit with friends when you eat… this is the place. They have the best Sour Cream Enchiladas… their steak is to die for, and the Chile Relleno is so, so good. The best thing is the big, yummy margaritas. The only thing I’ve had that I did not even remotely like was the Tortilla Soup. One tip is you should tell them to only bring you one bowl of chips & salsa, because the first time we went there I almost overdosed!
I have yet to meet anyone that works there, who hasn’t had a big smile on their face the whole time they are serving you. And that makes the experience just that much better.

I love El Fenix! When I first moved here 4 years ago from Chicago I asked where to get good Mexican food. A lot of people said that El Fenix was not good so we didn’t go there until recently. I love it. The wait staff is incredible. The food is also really good. The thing I would die for is the Lemon Icebox Pie. I think this is the best dessert I have ever tasted! If you don’t even like Mexican or El Fenix, get the pie! You won’t regret it!

Yum. Try the brisket. Kids and I vote 2^nd favorite Mexican restaurant in Mckinney area. go only if you like Tex mex. Skip salsa instead enjoy the guacamole.

I love El Fenix. I’ve been going there my whole life starting with the original one in downtown Dallas. The one in McKinney is up to par. Although I love the food and so does my husband, he always makes fun of me when we go because the clientele in there is usually um, how do I say it, mostly seniors. I tell him they have tried everything and still know the best.
They chips are crispy and light and the salsa is flavorful with a good amount of heat. I have to be fair I don’t love their queso, but the chips and salsa makes up for it. I usually get the combination #2 which is a cheese enchilada and a crispy beef taco. The cheese enchilada is covered with a zesty chili con carne. The taco shell is freshly made and the beef filling is a yummy beef taco meat.
The wait staff is always attentive. The restaurant is clean, but the décor is dated, but thats okay because it has always looked that way.

Their tortilla soup is incredible. Great service. Only drawback is the fajitas. Too much onion and pepper… more meat please! Greatest sour cream chicken enchiladas around. No wonder they’ve been in business so long!
We will be back!