El Patio Restaurant
(512) 476-5955
2938 Guadalupe St
Austin,
TX
78705
30.2967
-97.7421
Neighborhoods: Central Austin, North University
Reviews & Ratings for El Patio Restaurant
28 reviews
What users are saying:
Showing 1-10 of 28 reviews
The best Tex-Mex in Austin!
by littlecupcake
March 28, 2009
My husband and I absolutely adore El Patio! I am native to Austin and think El Patio represents a local restaurant at its finest: family owned, cozy retro atmosphere & home-style food. The food is completely Tex-Mex. Gooey, yellow American cheese & thin red salsa. Our favorite dish is the cheese enchiladas w/ onions. Thank you Joseph family for keeping Austin traditionally weird & well fed!!!
- Pros: family owned, friendly staff, great enchiladas
- Cons: closed on Sunday
Standard Tex Mex
by pigeonholetom
January 28, 2009
El Patio has no patio, but is located on the drag, which is nice. It's standard TexMex. Nothing fancy or over the top, but not too bad.
Fabulous Mexican food by E. S. at InsiderPages
Contributor
January 07, 2009
El Patio has some of the best Mexican food in Austin. It's one of the few places that I don't mind fighting for parking and waiting in line for a table. I also like the fact that it's a family-owned restaurant. Even though I'm an adult now, the owners have still offered me a lolly-pop at checkout.
El Patio offers tasty & fairly-priced TexMex fare
by austintexmexfan
November 18, 2008
El Patio offers very tasty, fairly-priced TexMex Food, and very attentive service. And they've done it since 1954. Despite the occasional misguided comments by a few one-time customers who expected the wrong sort of dining experience, El Patio is a pleasant place to enjoy good TexMex for a reasonable price. There are many good reasons why the Joseph family has been filling-up the tables at El Patio for over 50 years! You just can't argue with such long-time success.
- Pros: Tasty TexMex food, attentive service, family atmosphere, handy location near UT.
- Cons: Limited-space parking lot. So use the street... or WALK!
Grew Up With the lollipops by Lera L. at InsiderPages
Contributor
August 15, 2008
Before El Patio, the owner (now deceased) had a restaurant called simply Paul's. My parents took me there when I was probably around 5 or 6 years old (and I won't tell you how long ago that was). I don't remember the food or the servers or even the decor. But I do remember that Paul was very warm and friendly, always remembered us and always let me pick out the lollipop I wanted from a basket. I remember when he moved to the current location and I was probably around 8 or 9 and began serving Tex-Mex food. I think he probably invented the term. I quit going with my parents when I was around 12 because it just was not cool to be seen in public with your parents. But when I was 14, I started going there with friends and met my husband there when I was 16. We were a bunch of rowdy teenagers, tossing buttered tortillas at each other and sometimes missing -- either hitting the wall or the floor. Paul never made us leave. He always greeted us warmly like we were part of the family. After getting married and moving to California for a while, we came back and began taking our kids with us (eventually 4 of them) and Paul still remembered us. And let my kids pick out their lollipops from (the same?) basket. It became a tradition to go there for dinner on everyone's birthday and when my son was about 7 years old, he asked Paul if he was going to build an El Patio in heaven when he died. Paul laughed, of course, and promised Buddy that he would -- just for him. My kids are grown now and have moved on but when they come back into town, we all gather together at El Patio and now my grandchildren are picking out their lollipops. Paul is in Heaven now, building a great big El Patio to hold what is now 4 generations of repeat customers. But his children are carrying on his legacy and continuing to give great service with great food and great prices. And I still make David give me a
Best Mexican Food Anywhere
by johna221363
April 12, 2008
This is our family's standard by which every Mexican Food Restaurant is rated. None have surpassed it yet. I always go for the beef enchiladas.
- Pros: Best Mexican Food Anywhere
- Cons: It's hard to find parking.
Mediocre food, average service, and not cheap enough
by eloon
February 14, 2008
After a bunch of 5 star reviews and some 1 star review, we decided to try out El Patio. I have to say the food isn't the worst I've ever had, but I probably wouldn't go back very often.
I'm pretty sure the chicken in my chicken enchilada was canned chicken which is pretty weak. Sadly, the chicken enchilada was better than the cheese. I'm pretty sure they used all velveeta cheese which is just so strong. Their chili con carne didn't have much carne and wasn't very chili like either.
The queso was good, and I liked the homemade chips (my finace did not).
If people think that this place is REAL tex-mex then I'm sad for them. I've eaten mexican food in a lot of places and I would rank El Patio in the bottom tier. It would be the best mexican food in OKCity (I spent a summer up there) but I've eaten food this good in Kermit, TX (middle of nowhere past Midland).
Lastly, I was disappointed that our bill was $24 for one kids plate (she eats lightly), my entree (2 enchiladas with rice and beans), one frozen marg, one soda, and a small queso. If it had been $18 for the same meal I'd be much more inclined to go back more often.
Family owned and operated - a place you can trust
by ajh13
January 16, 2008
I really love this place, although I understand it is not for everyone. I can't figure out why there is such a divide between people who LOVE this place and people who absolutely hate it.
- Pros: clean, quick, good food
- Cons: not for everyone. have to be careful bringing first-timers
Pa-tooey!
by guliver
November 27, 2007
Just dined (if you call it that) at El Patio for lunch. It was my first time there, and I assure you, my last. Not only was the food overpriced, but it was bland and unappetizing. Add to that the unfriendly wait staff and slow service, and one has the primary reasons for not going back.
- Pros: Can't think of any
- Cons: Overpriced, poor service, bland food
Great TEX MEX!!
by backroads101
October 28, 2007
El Patio that they has a great business! I hope they don't pay attention to the negative reviews on this site. My family has been eating here sinece we were all in college in the 70's. Not much has changed and that is why we eat here 2 times a week. It is REAL TEXMEX. A lot of people won't understand it. If you are a foreigner (not from Texas) you won't understand, go to Curra's or Guerro's. There are a lot of different styles of Mexican food in Austin and not all styles are for everyone. I hope El Patio is around for another 50 years. It is simple, inexpensive and as good as great TEXMEX gets.
- Pros: Inexpensive, Excellent Food, the Josephs are nice people!
