Tacos El Zarape

Right behind the Pilot Truck Stop it is hard to find if you are in a car but worth the work. Great margaritas and the food is excellent. Been here a couple of times and both the food and service were very good. There are not many places you can walk into on a Tuesday night at 10:30 pm and get a tasty hot meal. The bar in back is a very nice space with lots of regulars.

This place was great people were very nice and food was great I would recommend this place to anyone!!!

Good food that hit the spot! Got it to go and ate in the park across the street. Perfect.

I’m thinking this is as good as it gets for Mexican food in Idaho, however this is not really tasty and I didn’t enjoy my meal. Meat was dry and tortillas were warmed in the microwave with a leathery texture.

The food might be authentic, but it’s not all that good, really just mediocre. The restaurant had an authentic Mexican feel, which I did enjoy. The food, however, tasted about the same as at the non-​authentic restaurants. Nothing really wrong with it, though, and on the plus side, it’s easy on the wallet.

Stopped in here yesterday for luck and a couple drinks
Service was good
Food was excellent !!
The have good bloody Mary’s and margaritas also … Little expensive in my opinion…
They have a fed slot machines
Outdoor setting area
A really nice find for middle of nowhere Oregon
If in the areas would stop back here for sure
A must try if you like real Mexican
Truck and trailer parking right next door at the truck stop

Fantastic! Very inexpensive. Incredibly tasty food. The kids items were great, my kids cleaned their plates. The tacos were authentic. Beer selection was good. We will definitely be back on our next trip through Ontario.

The tongue tacos were excellent. Service was prompt and the food was hot. This place can be hit or miss. Today it was definitely a hit.

What a great find of a Mexican restaurant! Just off I 84 in Ontario, Or. A short drive up from Boise, I’ll make it a point to stop back in. All the dishes looked delish. Located right behind the Pilot truck stop. A good option to the fast food at the truck stop.

Eaten here several times. Not fancy. Locally operated. Always very good food. Order a tongue taco as a side.

My sister and I have been there twice.
The first time it wasn’t very good, but we decided to give it another try yesterday 3÷22÷15. This time it was flat out inedible. The food was extremely greasy. I had Chili Colorado and a relleno. Even the releno was soaking with grease. with the Colorado, I tried to prop my plate up a bit on one side to let some of the grease run off. It didn’t help, just resulted in a large puddle of grease on one side of the plate. I tried using my fork to squeeze some of the grease out, which didn’t work.
I was going to alert our server, but she was the only one there and we never saw her again after she dropped of the food and immediately asked us how everything was. We hadn’t had a chance to even try it yet.
We took the inedible food home (which was all of it) initially thinking that the dogs might eat it. We later decided that the food wasn’t even good enough to feed to dogs. Wound up throwing it away.
Short version: We gave them two chances and we’ll never eat there again. There are better places to eat in Ontario (which would be any of them).
Fool me twice…

This was our second visit and it was just as good as the first. We were a party of eight, and even though the server was alone and had several tables and the bar to run, she did very well. Everyone loved the salsa — I don’t get where the negative reviews come from on that — it was excellent and the chips were fresh. Dinners were prepared well and served in a timely fashion. And talk about a great price — you have to go far to get home-​style authentic Mexican food that is this great of a value. The little tacos are the bomb!
One caution: The bar/​dining room can be noisy but is cooler than the front seating area in summer.

Across the small street from the Pilot Truck Stop — you kinda gotta search for it. It’s a stand alone building. We’ve eaten here about 5 times and have decided that the chicken fajitas are the best! Always a lot of food and delicious, too. Nice people, as well.

Great food, I mean really great good. Fish tacos were grilled Mahi Mahi, not fried and had a really nice heat and sweetness. Enchilada sauce had a little more tomato than I typically like, but it was balanced well with chili flavor. Green chili was flavorful and the salsa had a perfect level of heat! Service was attentive and friendly. Wish we could go back soon!

One of my favorite places, very vegetarian friendly. I come here when I drive thru Ontario, Oregon.

Tasteless, terrible food. Horrible service.
While driving through Ontario on Saturday (June 21, 2014), we decided to try a restaurant that we had not been to before. Our experience was blah… the food had no flavor… none of it… the salsas, the meats, the beans, the rice… none had any distinct flavor. Tasted like canned food. The chips were right out of a bag, and they were tasteless, not even put in a warmer to make you think «maybe, just maybe» they were fresh. The portions were very small, the shells very soggy, nothing had any flavor. The ice tea we ordered was, I’m guessing, at least two weeks old and soured to the point of being completely cloudy and undrinkable. The server that we had was not interested in being there… didn’t ask us if we needed anything, dropped the food off and never came back. Both times we needed something, we had to get up and find someone… and we were the only ones in the dining area. Really wanted this to be our new «go-​to» place while driving through Ontario, but it will have to remain El Erradero or Fiesta Guadalajara… A much, MUCH better choice. Save your money and skip this place.

We went yesterday (June 22, 2014) after reading the excellent reviews of this place. Just to note, we (my parents and I) love Mexican food! We just can’t get enough of it.
Upon reaching the restaurant, we noticed that it was near a truck stop. The trucks were on and it was loud, not the fault of the restaurant, of course.
Upon entering the restaurant, it seemed like a nice and cozy place. It wasn’t too small or too big, but kind of congested. We were greeted by a young lady, who was wearing extremely short shorts and a tight t-​shirt. I personally felt that was not appropriate clothing for a business, whether it’s a franchise or a family owned business.
We were served chips from a bag. All the other Mexican restaurants I’ve been to, they were freshly made and served warm, and sometimes, piping hot, right out of the fryer. These chips were clearly from a bag, they were heavily salted, cold, and had that «artificial» taste.
The salsa seemed homemade, but I can’t be sure about that. The taste was nice, supposedly it was the spiciest salsa they had. My parents love spicy food, and I hate it. I can’t even stand a green chilly in my food. Yet, this salsa was not at all spicy. They didn’t even have a spicy version available.
For drinks, we ordered two non-​alcoholic pina coladas. I was extremely surprised by what I got. It was in juice form, taken out of a machine. Usually, it’s made with ice, pineapple juice, cream of coconut, and other ingredients, and blended until it has a slushy consistency. This was out of a juice machine with added ice cubes and placed on our table. The colada itself was delicious, but since it was a hot day outside, I would have appreciated something in a slushy form.
We then ordered dinner, we all ordered the same thing, 2 cheese enchiladas, that came with a side of rice, beans, and salad with sour cream. We saw the lady prepare it from our table, she used tortillas from the bags you get at the store, including the sauce. She used Old El Paso’s enchilada sauce and used cheddar cheese. The beans tasted as if they were out of a can, I can’t be too sure about that, though. The rice seemed homemade, due to the lack of flavor, if I’m being honest.
The food came pretty warm, no complains about that. The enchiladas were nicely made, they tasted fairly decent too, not bad, since they were mainly store bought or canned ingredients. The rice lacked flavor. They tasted like unsalted cardboard. There was no salt, no spice, no vegetables, nothing. They were kind of dry too. I think the best part about my meal was the salad that came along with the dinner.
They didn’t even have fried ice cream! What Mexican restaurant doesn’t carry fried ice cream? They had cheesecake and pecan pie, which is incredibly weird for a Mexican restaurant.
As for the environment and atmosphere, they had no music, only the television was on to a specific Spanish speaking channel, it was loud! We had to request the young woman to turn it down, she did, but it still felt loud.
After «dinner» we ended up going to Taco Bell and happily fed ourselves full. All in all, the management is horrible, inappropriate clothing was worn, the food wasn’t that wonderful, no fresh ingredients, and the atmosphere wasn’t pleasant. I would never go here again, and I wouldn’t recommend it to others either. You can try it for yourself, but I’m warning you. There are better Mexican restaurants in the Boise, Ontario, and Baker City area, that’s worth the drive.

We found this place by doing a random search for Mexican food. It was a choice we did not regret.
Everything was great, starting with the chips and salsa. Their chips were warm and crispy. The salsa was a bit different but fresh and delicious.
The quesadilla was terrific! The chicken was soft, tender and juicy. The cheese was just the right amount of gooey and the tortillas was toasted to perfection. It was one of the best Mexican restaurants I’ve been to in a long while.
I highly recommend!

Excellent! Follow the signs.:Dog friendly /​smoker friendly patio! Inexpensive authentic Mexican food! Yum! Mucho gracias!