El Paso Cantina Mexicana y Cocktail Bar — Restaurant in Lisbon

I’m a Californian and therefore Mexican food is my number one food. But in Europe it is very hard to find any decent Mexican food. Berlin Mexican food is tragic and it wasn’t t much better in London. We now live in Lisbon part time and the one sad part of it was the thought of going without Mexican food for several months and then El Paso happened. It was purely an accidental encounter. It was Christmas Eve, the kids were hungry and the options were limited. We saw the Hard Rock Cafe and were about to resign ourselves to paying 18 euros for a mediocre burger when my wife spotted this place down the road. I was very skeptical but my hungry son already angered by my Hard Rock cheapness insisted that we just go. We walked in and my wife’s skepticism took over. The waitstaff was welcoming and sat us down in a restaurant with only one other family, a kitchy sombrero on the wall and South Asian art on the wall. My wife said we should go. But I always feel rude leaving a place when the waitstaff has been so kind. So we compromised on getting the kids something and some drinks. My son and I shared the nachos mixto and my daughter got the kids chicken and rice, and we got chips and guacamole for the table. We mumbled jokes to each other about how bad the food was likely to be and then it comes out. The nachos look amazing. Quality cheese, ground beef, beans, onions, and tomatoes on on thick chips that could handle the inevitable moisture of the food. It was a mind blowing explosion of delicious Mexican flavor on the mouth. The best nachos I have had since 2018. And the guacamole was truly extraordinary, the perfect combination of avocado, lime, onion, and tomato that was clearly home made with a ton of care. And my daughter who is like the kid in the Christmas story who won’t eat anything, actually ate the chicken and rice without complaint. A clear win. I rarely write reviews but I had to write this one as I need my new go-to Mexican joint in Lisbon to survive since my own survival in Lisbon will...

If you have every actually had Mexican food and enjoyed it I would suggest you do not eat here. This was the most gringo Mexican restaurant I have ever been to - rural Nebraska cowboys prepare a better meal.

Pros: located in a tourist area. Staff is very kind and did a great job overall.

Cons: This is so far from traditional Mexican food it is hard to even compare. I ordered nachos, which did not have a description on the menu and turned out to be a flat plate of one layer of tortilla chips covered in some sort of blended cheese and topped with a very minimal amount of pork, about 3 canned jalapeño pepper slices, and a small ramekin of guacamole -- THAT'S IT. There was absolutely no flavor. I am used to Mexican restaurants in Chicago (United States) where the nachos are (usually) a decent sized pile of chips covered with refried beans, meat, onions, cilantro, and salsa at minimum. There was no table salsa, hot sauce, or any condiments. I immediately asked the server for some salsa and they suggested pico de gallo, which I said YES PLEASE - literally anything was needed to make this palatable. The salsa was barely "salsa." Tasted like a sweet marinara sauce. The pico de gallo was okay but had barely any flavor. When I got my bill I was charged for the "salsas" and I'm pretty sure this was the most expensive and inauthentic Mexican food experience I...

I ate here 6 days ago and my digestion is still a mess. I had the veggie tacos and a side of black beans. The veggie tacos came with a mix of vegetables that was mostly mushrooms. It also included eggplant. Never before in my life have I seen eggplant on a taco. I chalked that up to Indian folks in Portugal trying to make Mexican food. I was assured that everything I ordered was vegetarian/vegan (I skipped the cheese on the tacos).

The staff was friendly but not particularly attentive. Overall the restaurant seemed generally like a tourist trap. I could tell this restaurant was formerly an Indian restaurant as the food, especially the beans, tasted more Indian than Mexican. Also the wifi network is named "Sitar."

I don't go back to places where the food has made me ill, so I'll never return to El Paso Restaurant and I am genuinely surprised at so many positive reviews. Perhaps I was just unlucky. Had the food been simply poor/mediocre, I wouldn't have written a review. I'm posting because it has made me feel unwell for nearly a week. Charcoal pills have finally offered me some relief. I can't imagine someone on vacation having to go...