Daniel’s Original Mexican Food

Tried this place out for the first time last week with high hopes as Mexican food is my absolute favorite cuisine!
I walked in and was taken back by the lack of customer service that came from the staff. I ordered a taco salad and a hard shell taco on the side. The one plus is the food didn’t take more than 15 mins to get to our table.
Once it arrived I looked at my «taco salad» and thought this isn’t a taco salad, there was no hard shell, beans or nothing! It was a plate of shredded lettuce, ground beef, cheese and a small dollop of sour cream. I asked the young man who brought it if I could have ranch he said they didn’t have it. I said ok can I have thousand island he says sorry we don’t have any dressing. I’m thinking to myself how do you have salads on your menu with no dressing available?!
My taco looked appetizing until I realized it wasn’t even hard shell but a flour tortilla that had been fried. I was hoping for a corn hard shell. Plus it was overt greasy and the salsa on it was terrible!
I left unimpressed and felt it was way overpriced. I don’t plan on going back, save your money and go to Las Fuentes or Rio Mirage.

I tried this place today. Very disappointed. The food was very salty and way over-​priced. I won’t be going back anytime soon.

Tucked into a strip mall in Surprise, Daniel’s Original Mexican Food Restaurant has a non-​descript exterior and generic interior. They opened in 2015, so perhaps more permanent signage will be placed to beckon customers inside. Right now, there is a vinyl banner hanging on one side of the building, which means you might drive by and not notice it if you are coming from Litchfield Road. The front door stencil is bright and colorful, so you will likely see it if you walk.
Once inside, you order your food from the counter. They take all credit cards and even use the EMV chip reader. You can help yourself to the soda station and sit wherever you like. The afternoon sun is intense, so the tables next to the window will likely be empty.
I ordered food for take out. They gave me an approximate time of 20 – 30 minutes which was spot on. Two large paper bags were presented to me. I was told to keep one standing verticle and the other horizontal to prevent spills.
FYI, the a la carte menu items are LARGE servings. My mom ordered carnitas tacos, which consisted of moist and meaty chunks of slighty salty pork topped with a dollup of guacamole and wrapped in two, 8 inch flour tortillas. The server on the phone suggested she order 2, but my mom who eats like a bird, could only eat half of one. These are not small, dollar tacos you get at most food trucks in the area. She also ordered a side of refried beans from the a la carte menu which ended up being a 9-​inch pie tin swimming in beans. Who is this a side order for… a party of 10?
In addition to the carnitas tacos, we both had chile rellanos. Neither had the stem. They had been prepared into a neat, flat, square shape that was packed with melted cheese. My rellano was part of the #4 combo which also included a cheese enchilada with a side of refried beans.
The salsa and the red sauce poured ontop of the chili rellanos and enchilades all had a distinctive smokey, chili powder flavor. It wasn’t spicy at all. Neither my mom nor I were very fond of it. It was okay, but somewhat over played since it was a common flavor in all of the dishes.
With so many Mexican restaurants in the area, I probably wouldn’t return. However, if you do go, you definitely won’t leave hungry considering their portion sizes.

Awesome food! The chips and salsa are amazing. The best carne asada burrito ever. The owners were awesome people. What’s a great addition to surprise!

We’ve gone once. We liked it the one time we got to go. My husband and I work odd hours. There have been 2 times we’ve gone up to Daniels and it was closed. They are closed Mondays and close by 8pm other days. We normally eat dinner between 7 or 8pm so often Daniels is not an option, unless we want to eat quick. I understand they are a small biz and need to have time with their families. We hope sometime we get off work early enough to go again to Daniels. We really want to support small biz in Surprise because this town needs more small biz restaurants.

My family recently moved to the area and I have been waiting to find «my favorite Mexican restaurant.» I always use Unilocal and the positive reviews on here for this restaurant are high so I figured I would give it a try. My first disappointment was that there were no kids plates. My second disappointment was the pricing. It was very expensive for my two young daughters and I to eat there and we barely got any food. Lastly, I thought the food was terrible. I strongly disliked everything I got. The salsa and the enchilada sauce did not taste good to me at all. Ive never tasted Mexican food like that before. I will not go back there.

My husband purchased a coupon on line for this place. It was really great deal and we were excited to get there and try it out, before we purchased coupon we checked their reviews as well. When we arrived I was really disappointed when I saw the place but we kept to be optimistic. We went inside, there is no waiter — you have to order your food at the counter — like fast food restaurant — we ordered 2 main dishes, margarita and beer. When it came to paying suddenly the young guy who took our order stated he cannot accept the coupon for our drinks, my husband told him there is no restrictions about drinks in the offer. The only restriction there is — you can not use it for take out. Young gentleman did not stop to argue with us. We asked to see manager. She came and she stated that coupon was adjusted and she can’t accept it for drinks. My husband told her we bought it 3 weeks ago and if they adjusted in between its not our fault. She stated we can order food only and take it out!!! We mentioned to her that take out is the only restriction ! She was not listening and blaming the person who put the offer on local flavor for the mistake and she was not willing to accept responsibility. She left our table stating again we can buy food and take it out. There was no apology statement from her, she never tried to deescalate and win us as her customers. I felt like she don’t care at all about us. She was rude and confrontational. My husband checked the website again. He confirmed we are right but then he stated: even if she now admit her mistake and decide to accept our coupon I don’t want to be in this place anymore. We left. This place is absolutely horrible. If you are looking for nice lunch or dinner ambience you will not find it here. Looks like McDonald, if you don’t know that this place is serving food, you would never guess — so bad it looks from outside. Very rude service incl a person who claim to be owner (!)
I will never again go there and I do not recommend to anybody this place nor their service! Nearby there is awesome Mexican place. Don’t waste your money at Daniels.
We are buying coupons and offers on line all the time — it allow us to discover some great places — we had never before experience such service.

Excellent food! Fresh, homemade goodness with a big helping of love! Chile Relleno was amazing!

Five of us dined here together. No one in our party thought it was great. It was not disgusting, but it was overly salted food and just mediocre at best. I hope they make improvements and wish them the best, but I will not return.

I purchased an on-​line coupon for Daniel’s Original Mexican Food. I always check reviews before I buy and felt confident in the reviews.
The only restriction on the coupon was you must eat in and no to-​go orders. I placed my order (two Mexican platters), a beer and a margarita. They immediately told me I couldn’t use my coupon for alcoholic beverages, I asked them to point this out, this is when they explained it’s a mistake and they’ve resolved this with the coupon company. I asked for them to honor the coupon because when I purchased it the stipulation wasn’t in effect, they refused and were very confrontational. I don’t know if the food is good or not (we left), the complimentary chips and salsa resembled tostitios chips and salsa (yuck). I’ll never return and I encourage others to stay away.
Upon departure we drove past Rio Mirage Café and decided to stop. Take my advice, drive past Daniel’s and stop there instead.
I called the coupon company his morning and got a refund

The place is very clean and staff is friendly. However, I was hoping to finally have found authentic Mexican food in Surprise, but was disappointed. The food is good but nothing too great especially for the price.

My husband and I went there for dinner and we loved our food. We got take out instead of staying there to eat. Friendly and welcoming, our food was ready in no time, and the price was well worth the portions we got. We will be going there again!

We were here today for the first time. We arrived for lunch at the 11 a.m. opening time. Coming from San Diego, I know good Mexican food. This is really, really good. Freshly made, quality Mexican food is what they serve here. Our waitress, Nomi, was wonderful. I have found my «go to» spot whenever I’m craving a good taco or burrito. Also, I’m picky about beans, but these are obviously freshly made and delicious. The chips and salsa are also made freshly, and top notch. Bottom line is, I love this place.

We tried Daniel’s for the first time today. I have to say I think we’ve discovered a new favorite Mexican food restaurant! Everything was very fresh. The chips are freshly made and delicious, love the salsa and the guacamole was awesome. I’m somewhat picky when it comes to guacamole. My daughter got the chicken burrito. She loved it. I tasted the chicken and it was well seasoned and very flavorful on its own. My son had two beef tacos which he said were the best tacos he’s had. The shells are freshly made, not sure if they’re grilled or fried but they were amazing. My husband and I had the carnitas burrito. The meat was very good and it was topped with more yummy guacamole. We had a little sticker shock when we paid, it was $ 60 for all 4 meals, chips and guac and 4 drinks. This seems a little pricy for the atmosphere since it isn’t a sit down restaurant. However my daughter says they support her media club at school and of course the food was delicious so we will be back. One note: because the food is freshly prepared everyone’s food comes out at slightly different times. We didn’t find it an issue but some people might. All the people who worked there were very nice and helpful too!

FINALLY!
Our third try, we were able to experience Daniel’s food. When we got there, they looked pretty stressed. The female was complaining how bad of a day it was and how busy it has been. I replied «Well, that’s a good thing then. You never want to be slow.» I ordered the carne asada burrito. Wife had the two ground beef tacos. They were worried we might get upset because we would have to wait for about thirty minutes. Some people might get upset, we don’t. We understand if you want fresh cooked food, it will take some time. Even when it might take a few minutes more. They offered us a free soda.
1^st) Very nice people, There was the cook, and young man, and the female cashier. Beside the females slightly being negative. They were all very nice.
2^nd) My burrito was worth trying! Glad we kept on coming back so we can try their food. Wife loved her taco’s.
3^rd) The facility was very clean, I like how the kitchen is in the open and you can see them cook your food. They have nothing to hide from us! We did not stay to eat there, however there are plenty of room.
We will diffidently come back often, and try other items on the menu.
Two reasons why I did not give a five star!
1) Chips were not the best, A little soggy, and greasy.
2) The female cashier, I truly understand there are bad days. I honestly know when you are running out of things, you had a long day, you tend to be negative. Nothing against her! She was very nice. Hopefully you will realize the most important thing about running a place like this is be happy to see your customers.

This is a really great family owned joint that serves up some delicious Mexican food… I ordered the 3 rolled tacos. I was concerned that it would not be enough and I asked how big each one of those bad boys were… they said you will be full with just the three and there was no need to order more for one person.
I was not disappointed. The rolled tacos came out and where double the circumference in size than what you usually see for a rolled taco. It was very tasty and one of the wonderful things they do as well is serve real Mexican Coke… yes, this makes a big difference because Mexican coke has real sugar cane and not high fructose corn syrup. It is always worth it to spend a bit extra on your coke if it is a Mexican Coke!
Another plus is that the staff goes around and asks you if you want more chips or another drink. They are attentive to if you need any condiments and walk around to make sure you are happy with what you ordered and if they can add anything to make your meal more enjoyable.
I also like the old diner plates that they use, it makes the place seem more homey and just more authentic and it really shows that they are a family run business. Not sure but I think there are a whole family running that kitchen because they seem so interconnected and they get your food out with loving care.
Please go here to eat! Don’t go to a franchise, we don’t want any more of those popping up all over! Keep it real and go to Daniel’s.

Blown away! These people are so nice and accommodating (we came in with 3 small kids). They kept bringing out more chips while we waited. The woman at the register overheard my kids wanting more rice and brought out 2 dishes of rice on the house.
Food was top notch at this price level. High ratings are well deserved.

Ima be real with you all. I’ve been in a love/​hate relationship with Filbertos on and off for the past ten years or so. They’ve given me good times but the older I get the more I realize that their giraffe/​dog meat tacos are a guaranteed emergency bathroom trip.
Daniels is a breath of fresh air. It’s like going out with a nice guy after ten years with no job and no car. I’m a solid 93% sure it’s real meat and it tastes all sorts of delicious. I’m sorry Filbertos but Daniels has given me the emotional strength to leave you and never look back. You can keep the dog and the silverware, I’ll keep my dignity and start eating here instead.
(All jokes aside this place is delicious and my food actually looks like food, not to mention that it’s for a good price too)

Welcome to Surprise Daniel! Wow, we have needed a great, reasonable Mexican food restaurant and now we have it!
I ordered the simple, beef taco and cheese enchiladas combo. It came with rice and beans. All of it was fresh, hot and extremely flavorful. (I was surprised the beef taco was ground beef, but it was still delicious.). Even the free chips and salsa were awesome. Everything is made fresh, nothing from a can or pre-​packaged. Portions are large and the staff was very attentive and friendly.
I can’t wait to come back with the family and try their happy hour! (2 – 6). My first visit left me loving this family owned and operated Mexican restaurant in Surprise.

We tried this place after a recommendation and a pic was post up.
Let me just say. This place is the best by far for burritos! We tried the red chili, beef and green all enchilada style. It was delicious and we will definitely be back! Very clean, affordable and Family owned and operated. They take pride in preparing fresh food daily. I would highly recommend any thing on the menu. Real plates silverware and now serving beers and margaritas!!!