Visited this evening with family and friends - again another solid meal Start with the chips and salsa, to which you can order queso and guacamole ( we got the small dis, but the bigger app where they make it in front of you is excellent) Had the jumbo Texas margarita - yummy - enough to last the meal (although a little on the sweet side) For dinner I shared the shrimp fajitas and vegetarian enchilada - all good and the portions are large The food is consistently good, the service is friendly and thus the meal is always enjoyable!
(3)
Erin W.
The epitome of mediocre Mexican. Our adventure started with the waitress dumping an entire bowl of salsa onto my husband's lap. Accidents happen, but things didn't get much better. Service was slow (wish I had listened to the other Yelpers). The guacamole looked and tasted like the kind that fast food places squeeze out of a bag. Awful and I'd be shocked if they claim it was freshly prepared. That said, the table next to us got table side made guacamole - wish we had asked for that. The entrees were standard and lacking in flavor. I ordered chicken enchiladas with mole sauce and it fell flat. My son had a kids' taco meal, which was clearly marked as $4.95 on the menu. He asked for chopped tomatoes on his taco (seemed like a fair request). When we got the bill, his "kids' meal" was $6.95, plus $1.50 for tomatoes plus $1.00 for "open food," which our waiter explained was the upcharge for grilling his taco (we didn't request this). He asked him about the inconsistent prices twice, and both times he claimed it was right. At this point, we had two overtired little kids from the slow service and just left. But, we won't be back. Check your bill before paying!! And just make the drive ITP for good Mexican.
(2)
Jessica B.
As far as Mexican food goes, this place is PRETTY darn good! I myself had a very nice shrimp and steak meal that I won't soon forget! Between you and me, I've been concerned about the rice that they have at these places for a while now. That and the sauce are not as good as when I was a child (I grew up around here) and this place took me back pretty well! I was very happy with the rice! The environment is very nice and authentic, however rather dark. A good place for a subtle location if you are wanting to go out or kick back a few drinks with friends. I recommend the mango margarita, VERY finely blended, presented, and gracious amount of the good stuff within! My friend would also recommend the strawberry one! The plain one is just perfect, not too tart! As far as other considerations, husband was happy to report a rather clean bathroom. He found it having more than what most restrooms have in public places. I liked the prices, not TOO high even for the really nice dishes and friendly staff! Nice volume level as far as background music goes. I would be glad to return and recommend it to friends!
(4)
Scott L.
Friday Night--cold, rainy and a good night for take out. But maybe not Mexican. We usually love El Porton, but our take home meal last week was a dreary as the weather. My wife and I both ordered the Chicken Tortilla Soup--lots of chunky chicken be zero flavor. We salted and peppered and even a little more lime juice couldn't fix this bowl of not-soup. Chips and salsa were great and I had an ala carte taco that was fine. Her Chicken Quesadilla was a little on the greasy side. Lesson learned...Good Mexican food is not good take out food. Next time we will pull up a chair at their place!
(3)
Dave W.
This was a disaster of a meal. Allow me to explain... Our family of 4 (me, my wife, and kids of 3 and almost 1) went early on a Sunday night when there were very few people. Before I even sat down, we had an issue. 1.) The server dropped a cup of salsa on the table and it splashed all over my shirt. Nothing was done about this other than a meek "sorry" and the manager never came over to apologize. Great, accidents happen, and it was a red shirt anyway, but still... kind of unprofessional. 2.) We ordered our drinks and they came out fairly quickly. The daiquiri was decent (until I got the bill). However, the server never brought back any replacement salsa so the kids started getting antsy. We had to ask for it. Annoying, but fine. 3.) Server takes our order and it takes a solid 30 MINUTES to get the food to us. Where on this great blue planet does it take 30 minutes to put together some soft tacos and enchiladas? Seriously. Now I'm getting mad. 4.) The food comes out and it's rather boring and bland. The kids are fine with that, but everything was either out of a bag or a tin can. They even brought what looked like sushi rice with the enchiladas instead of your standard fare Spanish/Mexican rice. This is getting absurd. At least if we need to wait for food, make it good. 5.) Our server is non-existent on a fairly tame night. He did refill our drinks once and ask how things were as he brought the check, but I had to flag him down to get some service every other time. Unacceptable. 6.) When the bill comes, it's $43 freaking dollars for 2 adults, a kid and a baby?!?! Plus tip it came out to $50 even. I have never paid $50 for Mexican food in all my life. That includes the rather posh meal I had IN Mexico! So I ask the waiter about the charges and they basically nickel and dime us on everything. The kids soft taco that said $4.75 on the menu? That was just grilled chicken in a tortilla. We asked for cheese in it so that added on $1.00 to the (wrong) tally of $5.75 on the receipt. Plus, they charged us $1.50 for a small cup of tomatoes that my son asked for. I get that extra stuff costs money, but when you bring out bowls of salsa for FREE, why charge more than $0.50 for a side? Then the 12oz daiquiri I mentioned before was $8. EIGHT? Most Mexican restaurants serve entire pitchers for $12. Keep going down the bill and there are mysterious "open item" add-on charges for $1.00 here and there. I assume these are outrageous requests like... cheese. Considering I ate a single $2.25 soft taco (I wasn't very hungry from a late lunch), that means my wife and child ate roughly $30 worth of food. I don't think so. This exact same meal at our favorite Mexican joint cost $29 out the door. At this point, my kids are getting rambunctious so I'm not inclined to talk to a manager or argue with the waiter about the details. I pay, leave the bare minimum 15%, and head out. That will be the last time I eat at this place.
(1)
Lindze M.
My go-to place for "typical" Mexican food. They have great tacos and love their salsa. I've also always had great service here, so I guess others have had bad luck.
(4)
Scott P.
Service :: ATTROCIOUS Food :: Bland at best. Rushed in cooking, prep, and then slowly delivered. On a Friday or Saturday it's PACKED (I really don't understand why other than it's one of the only Mex places around this immediate area) and like the other El Porton in Roswell, the food is bland, the service is even more bland. One highlight, if you need one, is the tortilla chicken soup. The rest, Avoid.
(2)
Jeremy S.
I will prelude this by stating that the food at El Porton is quite good! The "customer service" on the other hand is... Lacking is a nice way to put it. Venturing out on a cold November Friday, the wife and I have a hankering for fajitas and margaritas. We had been to El Porton previously and decided to give it another go. The dinning room was full (as is to be expected on a Friday evening) as was the bar, where we generally find we get the best service no matter where we go. As we conceded to wait for a table, two spots at the bar opened up and we opted for that. We waited for maybe four or five minutes for the plates from the previous patrons to be bussed before we could even sit. The bartender eventually cleared the plates, albeit seemingly quite annoyed by having to do so. We then waited another 10 minutes for the same bartender to ask what we wanted to drink. Another FIFTEEN minutes passed before ANYONE even looked at us to offer us a menu! Granted, the restaurant was busy, but seriously! Meanwhile, we notice two under age children (approximately 12 and 14) unattended by an adult, sitting AT the bar (illegal, amongst other things) receiving WAY better service than anyone else! (It was later explained that their parents are regulars, because that's makes everything A-OK!) We sat, waiting with empty glasses, empty chips and empty salsa bowls while the bartender waited on the two delinquents hand and foot. We waited on our drinks. We waited for and had to ask for menus. When we received our food, we sat waiting on silverware to eat the food that we were spending our hard earned to buy. Eventually the parents of said children staggered over to the bar to pay the tab (because they're fucking KIDS and don't have jobs!) and left flipping a coin (I'm assuming as to who was more sober to drive) carting their brood out into the night. They receive my official vote for parents of the year! So, in closing, while the food was pretty good at El Porton, zero fucks were given about the one thing EVERY restaurant must do.... CUSTOMER SERVICE.
(1)
Honest R.
I don't know why I allowed my family to keep dragging me back to this joint. Pretty bad.
(2)
Royal M.
Bland isn't the way a Mexican food restaurant review should start. That is however; what I thought of the El Paso plate I ordered. Chicken burrito and enchilada with a red sauce and then completely covered in shredded lettuce and cheese to the point that you couldn't see anything. It looked like a giant shredded salad. unfortunately I forgot to take a picture. The chips ans salsa were average, with the salsa being mild, even for Atlanta. Service was again just OK. She came, asked for the order, left, came back with the food, left, came back with the check. Barely a word was said. Pricing was reasonable, but I just expect more flavor from a Mexican restaurant, both in the food and the atmosphere. This place was just dark. the food quantities were decent though, and I have teenage boys, so I will probably be back if they want to go. If I'm on my own though, I'll be somewhere else.
(2)
Tom W.
I had the Pork Torta. Awesome!!! The only complaint I have was it was to much food for lunch time.
(4)
Leslie T.
Would love to give a restaurant close to my home a great review so I can brag about good eats near where I live. Trying El Porton for the first time, I'm afraid this restaurant won't be it. Servers were friendly and accomodating, so that was a nice thing about this place. Checked in often and always ready to refill the chips and salsa. One of the cons was food that was slow to arrive, ordered only simple pollo dishes and an enchilada, not well-done steaks, so no good excuse that I could see. Food was a little underwhelming, over-salty enchilada and flavorless pollo. The arroz con pollo and the pollo Hawaiian were exactly the same, except the latter had 3 pineapple chunks added. Wow. Pollo was also a little dry and tasteless, cooks really could've done better. Servers bumped my wife's chair twice and was nice enough to apologize tho wasn't a comfortable thing to deal with. My chair got bumped twice and no one bothered to apologize, quite rude, tho I don't think it was in an intentional way. With work and attention to the food, this place has potential. Just can't recommend it right now.
(2)
Mark D.
Very good. I love the queso, and everything else was tasty as well.
(4)
P R.
It had been awhile since I'd been to El Porton. I remembered it as average Mexican food with good drinks. Still the same. Among other things we had enchiladas and the chicken quesadilla. They were all within the range of "standard" food - nothing standout but solid.
(3)
Craig G.
If hot gloves are required to deliver the plates and those dishes contain spicy jalapenos, do you think patrons might like drink refills? Obviously our waiter thought we liked hot & spicy food so well that a long slow burn would be fun. It wasn't. Not that all the staff was inattentive, as I saw the bus boys working energetically. But getting our food and getting refills was excruciatingly slow. Long after both basket of chips had been eaten and the queso had solidified we were wondering if we'd been forgotten. I do have to say the queso was good and a generous portion adequate for the amount of chips. The other dishes were not nearly as good. My daughter's Cozumel salad had very fishy tasting shrimp that were overly salted and chunks of tough broccoli stems indicating that quality wasn't on the kitchen staff's minds. My wife was very disappointed in her tortilla soup and found the quesadilla flavorless. I had the La Superior and my chalupa and sides were decent. My son enjoyed his nachos, but those are hard to mess up. My wife asked that we never eat there again.
(2)
Greg S.
Not the greatest Mexican food but better than Taco Bell. Meals were somewhat plain. The 2.99 house margaritas were excellent tasting and surprisingly strong.
(3)
Michelle K.
I Love this place! Great service, great food, great menu and wonderful prices! I had a birthday party there and it was wonderful. The portion sizes are also great.
(4)
richard c.
Poor service, empty glasses, and the food at this location is not nearly as good as the ALPHARETTA highway location. Wont be back
(1)
Nikki K.
As you may already know from reading my reviews, I am not a big fan of Mexican food. But there is something about El Porton that I cannot resist. I started going to El Porton in high school (in Memphis) and I became well acquainted with the servers there. I even had my going away to college party there and they made sure it was memorable by opening the upstairs (for once) just so I could have a private party without others wondering why so many teenagers were gathering for an event. So when I moved to Atlanta I had a longing for home, and then El Porton branched out to the Atl soon after I got here! Even some of my old servers came here to start out the Atlanta branch and I totally felt at ease! This is not your typical Mexican restaurant, and maybe that is why it is thriving as it is- they have fresh salsa and chips, along with a menu that boasts that it does not use anything but vegetable oil when preparing its food (and that is why me and my high school friends went here in the beginning!) and they also try to provide a nice atmosphere to eat in- they even heat the patio when it is cool outside! They have the standard Mexican food fare and they always do it right and make it fast, and that is definitely one of their perks. You can barely enjoy the salsa and chips before your food arrives! Just because this location is in a shopping center next to Kroger doesn't mean it isn't "good eats" (like local chef Alton Brown would say) so bring your Mexican food loving self over to El Porton!
(4)
Jason S.
The El Porton on Alpharetta hwy is 100 times better. We ordered the guacamole mexicano advertised to be made at Ur table, and it wasn't. I ordered a blue moon and received a dos equis. I said ranchero sauce on the side, and guess what? It was all over my burrito. When I received the check I saw the server had entered everything in correctly, but failed to catch the short comings of her kitchen staff. I would give 1 star, but the guacamole was tasty. Also, my burrito seemed to not have any veggies in it, that was until I got to the other end which was nothing but. Piss poor kitchen staff on a Friday night is unacceptable. Will not be going back.
(2)
Len E.
Best ever. This place cannot be beat. U can find more expensive. But it will not be as good as here.
(5)
Sabrina N.
I used to love this place until they recently got a 42 score from the health department. 4 prior scores were 100. What happened? I'm guessing new management? Sapporo, next door, was closed by the health department so disappointing.
(2)
Jody G.
Bought the 1/2 off coupons. Went because I had the coupons, but will go back because we really enjoyed the food. Writing this is giving me cravings for Chilaquiles with green sauce.
(4)
Sarah H.
Really aweful on so many levels. Food - dreadful & obviously microwaved. Service - deplorable. Ambiance - nonexistent. I didn't know anything could be worse than Tiajuana Joes but here it is.
(1)
Margaux G.
This is such a great Mexican restaurant! We have been coming here for so long, and it is definitely one of my favorite restaurants in Roswell.
(5)
James C.
A Mexican place like many others, but with reliably good food and semi-private space for a group.
(3)
Chris K.
I have visited this place regularly and would have to say that the atmosphere beats the food quality by far. It seems like about 90% of the time I have eaten here the chips have been either burned or stale tasting. I am wondering how you can make decent tacos yet mess the chips up? The tacos, rice, and other items are the usual mexican food quality. I agree with the previous review that it is nothing special. The servers tend to be either really quick and on-the-ball or downright horrible. I would say it's a 50/50 as to what you will get service wise. The main thing that saves this place from being just another eat-and-forget mexican restaurant is the rather nice atmosphere. The bar is nice looking and the open dining area is large and sort of castle-like. I would say 2-3 stars for the food and 4 stars for the environment. Not bad, but just not great.
(3)
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Address :910 Marietta Hwy,Coleman Village
Roswell, GA, 30075
Sorry, Store hours have not been updated. If you are the owner of this restaurants. Please update the store hours.
Specialities
Takes Reservations : No Delivery : No Take-out : Yes Accepts Credit Cards : Yes Good For : Lunch Parking : Private Lot Bike Parking : Yes Wheelchair Accessible : Yes Good for Kids : Yes Good for Groups : Yes Attire : Casual Ambience : Casual Noise Level : Quiet Alcohol : Full Bar Outdoor Seating : Yes Wi-Fi : Free Has TV : Yes Waiter Service : Yes Caters : Yes
If you enjoy Taco Tuesday, then you have officially fallen in love with the Mexican Food. The main grain of Mexican cuisine is maize. Also known as corn, maize is grown for the past 9000 years after the crop was discovered by the people in Mayan civilization. Mexican empire flourished when they started growing beans, tomatoes, chili pepper, sweet potato and cactus. Till this date these ingredients are used in cooking authentic Mexican dishes and drinks.
Great use of spices, fresh chili pepper dishes like fajitas, tortilla chips, corn chips, salsa, chimichangas, burritos, nachos and quesadillas are invented in America. But when you are looking for authentic Mexican food then you must find a restaurant in the city that serves Rajas con Queso, Garbanzo in a Guajillo Chile Sauce, Pork Filled Chiles Rellenos, Chiles en Nogada, Molcajete Salsa, Pico de Gallo and Frijoles de la Olla. An eye-opening fact – Mexican don't like their food hot. They use fresh chili and other spices to create a flavor that lingers in your mouth.
Mexican food is great for those who are Gluten Intolerant as they use Corn instead of wheat in most of their dishes. Also, you can easily find many beans based Mexican dishes. Another dish which didn't get similar glory as tacos or nachos is the Mexican hot chocolate. If you love something hot on a chilly day, then go for Mexican Hot Chocolate. On merry days, you can enjoy the authentic Mexican Drinks like Tequila, Mezcal, Tecuí, Sotol, Bacanora, Charanda, Posh O Pox, Puebla and Pulque. Mexican Cuisine is for people who enjoy strong drinks and hearty meals.
David M.
Visited this evening with family and friends - again another solid meal Start with the chips and salsa, to which you can order queso and guacamole ( we got the small dis, but the bigger app where they make it in front of you is excellent) Had the jumbo Texas margarita - yummy - enough to last the meal (although a little on the sweet side) For dinner I shared the shrimp fajitas and vegetarian enchilada - all good and the portions are large The food is consistently good, the service is friendly and thus the meal is always enjoyable!
(3)Erin W.
The epitome of mediocre Mexican. Our adventure started with the waitress dumping an entire bowl of salsa onto my husband's lap. Accidents happen, but things didn't get much better. Service was slow (wish I had listened to the other Yelpers). The guacamole looked and tasted like the kind that fast food places squeeze out of a bag. Awful and I'd be shocked if they claim it was freshly prepared. That said, the table next to us got table side made guacamole - wish we had asked for that. The entrees were standard and lacking in flavor. I ordered chicken enchiladas with mole sauce and it fell flat. My son had a kids' taco meal, which was clearly marked as $4.95 on the menu. He asked for chopped tomatoes on his taco (seemed like a fair request). When we got the bill, his "kids' meal" was $6.95, plus $1.50 for tomatoes plus $1.00 for "open food," which our waiter explained was the upcharge for grilling his taco (we didn't request this). He asked him about the inconsistent prices twice, and both times he claimed it was right. At this point, we had two overtired little kids from the slow service and just left. But, we won't be back. Check your bill before paying!! And just make the drive ITP for good Mexican.
(2)Jessica B.
As far as Mexican food goes, this place is PRETTY darn good! I myself had a very nice shrimp and steak meal that I won't soon forget! Between you and me, I've been concerned about the rice that they have at these places for a while now. That and the sauce are not as good as when I was a child (I grew up around here) and this place took me back pretty well! I was very happy with the rice! The environment is very nice and authentic, however rather dark. A good place for a subtle location if you are wanting to go out or kick back a few drinks with friends. I recommend the mango margarita, VERY finely blended, presented, and gracious amount of the good stuff within! My friend would also recommend the strawberry one! The plain one is just perfect, not too tart! As far as other considerations, husband was happy to report a rather clean bathroom. He found it having more than what most restrooms have in public places. I liked the prices, not TOO high even for the really nice dishes and friendly staff! Nice volume level as far as background music goes. I would be glad to return and recommend it to friends!
(4)Scott L.
Friday Night--cold, rainy and a good night for take out. But maybe not Mexican. We usually love El Porton, but our take home meal last week was a dreary as the weather. My wife and I both ordered the Chicken Tortilla Soup--lots of chunky chicken be zero flavor. We salted and peppered and even a little more lime juice couldn't fix this bowl of not-soup. Chips and salsa were great and I had an ala carte taco that was fine. Her Chicken Quesadilla was a little on the greasy side. Lesson learned...Good Mexican food is not good take out food. Next time we will pull up a chair at their place!
(3)Dave W.
This was a disaster of a meal. Allow me to explain... Our family of 4 (me, my wife, and kids of 3 and almost 1) went early on a Sunday night when there were very few people. Before I even sat down, we had an issue. 1.) The server dropped a cup of salsa on the table and it splashed all over my shirt. Nothing was done about this other than a meek "sorry" and the manager never came over to apologize. Great, accidents happen, and it was a red shirt anyway, but still... kind of unprofessional. 2.) We ordered our drinks and they came out fairly quickly. The daiquiri was decent (until I got the bill). However, the server never brought back any replacement salsa so the kids started getting antsy. We had to ask for it. Annoying, but fine. 3.) Server takes our order and it takes a solid 30 MINUTES to get the food to us. Where on this great blue planet does it take 30 minutes to put together some soft tacos and enchiladas? Seriously. Now I'm getting mad. 4.) The food comes out and it's rather boring and bland. The kids are fine with that, but everything was either out of a bag or a tin can. They even brought what looked like sushi rice with the enchiladas instead of your standard fare Spanish/Mexican rice. This is getting absurd. At least if we need to wait for food, make it good. 5.) Our server is non-existent on a fairly tame night. He did refill our drinks once and ask how things were as he brought the check, but I had to flag him down to get some service every other time. Unacceptable. 6.) When the bill comes, it's $43 freaking dollars for 2 adults, a kid and a baby?!?! Plus tip it came out to $50 even. I have never paid $50 for Mexican food in all my life. That includes the rather posh meal I had IN Mexico! So I ask the waiter about the charges and they basically nickel and dime us on everything. The kids soft taco that said $4.75 on the menu? That was just grilled chicken in a tortilla. We asked for cheese in it so that added on $1.00 to the (wrong) tally of $5.75 on the receipt. Plus, they charged us $1.50 for a small cup of tomatoes that my son asked for. I get that extra stuff costs money, but when you bring out bowls of salsa for FREE, why charge more than $0.50 for a side? Then the 12oz daiquiri I mentioned before was $8. EIGHT? Most Mexican restaurants serve entire pitchers for $12. Keep going down the bill and there are mysterious "open item" add-on charges for $1.00 here and there. I assume these are outrageous requests like... cheese. Considering I ate a single $2.25 soft taco (I wasn't very hungry from a late lunch), that means my wife and child ate roughly $30 worth of food. I don't think so. This exact same meal at our favorite Mexican joint cost $29 out the door. At this point, my kids are getting rambunctious so I'm not inclined to talk to a manager or argue with the waiter about the details. I pay, leave the bare minimum 15%, and head out. That will be the last time I eat at this place.
(1)Lindze M.
My go-to place for "typical" Mexican food. They have great tacos and love their salsa. I've also always had great service here, so I guess others have had bad luck.
(4)Scott P.
Service :: ATTROCIOUS Food :: Bland at best. Rushed in cooking, prep, and then slowly delivered. On a Friday or Saturday it's PACKED (I really don't understand why other than it's one of the only Mex places around this immediate area) and like the other El Porton in Roswell, the food is bland, the service is even more bland. One highlight, if you need one, is the tortilla chicken soup. The rest, Avoid.
(2)Jeremy S.
I will prelude this by stating that the food at El Porton is quite good! The "customer service" on the other hand is... Lacking is a nice way to put it. Venturing out on a cold November Friday, the wife and I have a hankering for fajitas and margaritas. We had been to El Porton previously and decided to give it another go. The dinning room was full (as is to be expected on a Friday evening) as was the bar, where we generally find we get the best service no matter where we go. As we conceded to wait for a table, two spots at the bar opened up and we opted for that. We waited for maybe four or five minutes for the plates from the previous patrons to be bussed before we could even sit. The bartender eventually cleared the plates, albeit seemingly quite annoyed by having to do so. We then waited another 10 minutes for the same bartender to ask what we wanted to drink. Another FIFTEEN minutes passed before ANYONE even looked at us to offer us a menu! Granted, the restaurant was busy, but seriously! Meanwhile, we notice two under age children (approximately 12 and 14) unattended by an adult, sitting AT the bar (illegal, amongst other things) receiving WAY better service than anyone else! (It was later explained that their parents are regulars, because that's makes everything A-OK!) We sat, waiting with empty glasses, empty chips and empty salsa bowls while the bartender waited on the two delinquents hand and foot. We waited on our drinks. We waited for and had to ask for menus. When we received our food, we sat waiting on silverware to eat the food that we were spending our hard earned to buy. Eventually the parents of said children staggered over to the bar to pay the tab (because they're fucking KIDS and don't have jobs!) and left flipping a coin (I'm assuming as to who was more sober to drive) carting their brood out into the night. They receive my official vote for parents of the year! So, in closing, while the food was pretty good at El Porton, zero fucks were given about the one thing EVERY restaurant must do.... CUSTOMER SERVICE.
(1)Honest R.
I don't know why I allowed my family to keep dragging me back to this joint. Pretty bad.
(2)Royal M.
Bland isn't the way a Mexican food restaurant review should start. That is however; what I thought of the El Paso plate I ordered. Chicken burrito and enchilada with a red sauce and then completely covered in shredded lettuce and cheese to the point that you couldn't see anything. It looked like a giant shredded salad. unfortunately I forgot to take a picture. The chips ans salsa were average, with the salsa being mild, even for Atlanta. Service was again just OK. She came, asked for the order, left, came back with the food, left, came back with the check. Barely a word was said. Pricing was reasonable, but I just expect more flavor from a Mexican restaurant, both in the food and the atmosphere. This place was just dark. the food quantities were decent though, and I have teenage boys, so I will probably be back if they want to go. If I'm on my own though, I'll be somewhere else.
(2)Tom W.
I had the Pork Torta. Awesome!!! The only complaint I have was it was to much food for lunch time.
(4)Leslie T.
Would love to give a restaurant close to my home a great review so I can brag about good eats near where I live. Trying El Porton for the first time, I'm afraid this restaurant won't be it. Servers were friendly and accomodating, so that was a nice thing about this place. Checked in often and always ready to refill the chips and salsa. One of the cons was food that was slow to arrive, ordered only simple pollo dishes and an enchilada, not well-done steaks, so no good excuse that I could see. Food was a little underwhelming, over-salty enchilada and flavorless pollo. The arroz con pollo and the pollo Hawaiian were exactly the same, except the latter had 3 pineapple chunks added. Wow. Pollo was also a little dry and tasteless, cooks really could've done better. Servers bumped my wife's chair twice and was nice enough to apologize tho wasn't a comfortable thing to deal with. My chair got bumped twice and no one bothered to apologize, quite rude, tho I don't think it was in an intentional way. With work and attention to the food, this place has potential. Just can't recommend it right now.
(2)Mark D.
Very good. I love the queso, and everything else was tasty as well.
(4)P R.
It had been awhile since I'd been to El Porton. I remembered it as average Mexican food with good drinks. Still the same. Among other things we had enchiladas and the chicken quesadilla. They were all within the range of "standard" food - nothing standout but solid.
(3)Craig G.
If hot gloves are required to deliver the plates and those dishes contain spicy jalapenos, do you think patrons might like drink refills? Obviously our waiter thought we liked hot & spicy food so well that a long slow burn would be fun. It wasn't. Not that all the staff was inattentive, as I saw the bus boys working energetically. But getting our food and getting refills was excruciatingly slow. Long after both basket of chips had been eaten and the queso had solidified we were wondering if we'd been forgotten. I do have to say the queso was good and a generous portion adequate for the amount of chips. The other dishes were not nearly as good. My daughter's Cozumel salad had very fishy tasting shrimp that were overly salted and chunks of tough broccoli stems indicating that quality wasn't on the kitchen staff's minds. My wife was very disappointed in her tortilla soup and found the quesadilla flavorless. I had the La Superior and my chalupa and sides were decent. My son enjoyed his nachos, but those are hard to mess up. My wife asked that we never eat there again.
(2)Greg S.
Not the greatest Mexican food but better than Taco Bell. Meals were somewhat plain. The 2.99 house margaritas were excellent tasting and surprisingly strong.
(3)Michelle K.
I Love this place! Great service, great food, great menu and wonderful prices! I had a birthday party there and it was wonderful. The portion sizes are also great.
(4)richard c.
Poor service, empty glasses, and the food at this location is not nearly as good as the ALPHARETTA highway location. Wont be back
(1)Nikki K.
As you may already know from reading my reviews, I am not a big fan of Mexican food. But there is something about El Porton that I cannot resist. I started going to El Porton in high school (in Memphis) and I became well acquainted with the servers there. I even had my going away to college party there and they made sure it was memorable by opening the upstairs (for once) just so I could have a private party without others wondering why so many teenagers were gathering for an event. So when I moved to Atlanta I had a longing for home, and then El Porton branched out to the Atl soon after I got here! Even some of my old servers came here to start out the Atlanta branch and I totally felt at ease! This is not your typical Mexican restaurant, and maybe that is why it is thriving as it is- they have fresh salsa and chips, along with a menu that boasts that it does not use anything but vegetable oil when preparing its food (and that is why me and my high school friends went here in the beginning!) and they also try to provide a nice atmosphere to eat in- they even heat the patio when it is cool outside! They have the standard Mexican food fare and they always do it right and make it fast, and that is definitely one of their perks. You can barely enjoy the salsa and chips before your food arrives! Just because this location is in a shopping center next to Kroger doesn't mean it isn't "good eats" (like local chef Alton Brown would say) so bring your Mexican food loving self over to El Porton!
(4)Jason S.
The El Porton on Alpharetta hwy is 100 times better. We ordered the guacamole mexicano advertised to be made at Ur table, and it wasn't. I ordered a blue moon and received a dos equis. I said ranchero sauce on the side, and guess what? It was all over my burrito. When I received the check I saw the server had entered everything in correctly, but failed to catch the short comings of her kitchen staff. I would give 1 star, but the guacamole was tasty. Also, my burrito seemed to not have any veggies in it, that was until I got to the other end which was nothing but. Piss poor kitchen staff on a Friday night is unacceptable. Will not be going back.
(2)Len E.
Best ever. This place cannot be beat. U can find more expensive. But it will not be as good as here.
(5)Sabrina N.
I used to love this place until they recently got a 42 score from the health department. 4 prior scores were 100. What happened? I'm guessing new management? Sapporo, next door, was closed by the health department so disappointing.
(2)Jody G.
Bought the 1/2 off coupons. Went because I had the coupons, but will go back because we really enjoyed the food. Writing this is giving me cravings for Chilaquiles with green sauce.
(4)Sarah H.
Really aweful on so many levels. Food - dreadful & obviously microwaved. Service - deplorable. Ambiance - nonexistent. I didn't know anything could be worse than Tiajuana Joes but here it is.
(1)Margaux G.
This is such a great Mexican restaurant! We have been coming here for so long, and it is definitely one of my favorite restaurants in Roswell.
(5)James C.
A Mexican place like many others, but with reliably good food and semi-private space for a group.
(3)Chris K.
I have visited this place regularly and would have to say that the atmosphere beats the food quality by far. It seems like about 90% of the time I have eaten here the chips have been either burned or stale tasting. I am wondering how you can make decent tacos yet mess the chips up? The tacos, rice, and other items are the usual mexican food quality. I agree with the previous review that it is nothing special. The servers tend to be either really quick and on-the-ball or downright horrible. I would say it's a 50/50 as to what you will get service wise. The main thing that saves this place from being just another eat-and-forget mexican restaurant is the rather nice atmosphere. The bar is nice looking and the open dining area is large and sort of castle-like. I would say 2-3 stars for the food and 4 stars for the environment. Not bad, but just not great.
(3)