El Limon Ambler — Restaurant in Ambler

I love this place! Great food, the best prices on the best quality and the service is fast, even when they're packed, which is most evenings, especially Friday and Saturday. They don't have an enormous variety of dishes, but they have enough options for most people, and ways to customize what they do offer. This is my absolute favorite place for Mexican food and I either go in or order from them (through Doordash) at least once a week. If you're near one and haven't tried it yet, do yourself a favor and go try it, you won't be disappointed!

Update 10/2018

Since I've started going to El Limon in Ambler in about April 2018, it has gone down hill. The food quality and portions have steadily gone down, as well as the quality of the service. I had one experience that totally turned me off of being a customer. I was getting ready to leave work at about 5:15 and called in an order so that I could pick it up on my way home. I ordered one order of tres leches and two orders of churros. At about 5:35 I got to the restaurant and proceeded to pay for my order. After waiting another 5 minutes or so the guy in charge approached me and said that his computer system told them that they had tres leches available, but that in fact they really didn't, and he would have to refund me for my order. He said it would take 2 to 3 days for the refund to process and asked me if that would be okay. Thinking that he meant just refund me for the item that was unavailable, I agreed, but once he started it became apparent that he meant to refund me for my entire order and then recharge me for my two orders of churros, effectively putting me out almost double my money until the refund hit. The actual amount was almost negligible, but it was the principle that he would try to impose that inconvenience on a customer because of the inefficiencies in the way they're operating the restaurant. In the 25-plus minutes since I had ordered, nobody had bothered to check to see if they actually had what I ordered and then what they charged me for. I told him that this was completely unacceptable, and how would he like it if I said "oh, well how about I'll just pay you for what you gave me once the refund hits?" Of course that wasn't going to work, I just said it to illustrate the ridiculousness of what he was asking me to do. I had to ask for a replacement item to make up the value of the tres leches, he didn't even offer to comp me anything to improve my experience, and we are talking about only a few dollars here. I ended up leaving with a few glass bottle drinks in place of the tres leches, not even the total value of what I'd paid for, but the ineptitude with which my order and issue was handled belies a greater dysfunction within this establishment. I will no longer be visiting or purchasing any food from El Limon Ambler. Downgraded from 5...

I’m really surprised this place got such good reviews. First, and most important, of all it’s dirty and a staff person swept the floor right next to our table. The bathroom was dirty, too!

Next, our waitress was TERRIBLE! She asked what we wanted to drink. Drinks weren’t on the menu, so I asked what they had; she nodded towards the fountain drinks, never mentioning the Jarritos sodas, which I later saw other patrons drinking, something we would have ordered. The chips which they charge you for are pulled from a dish bin which sits out openly for who knows how long. Bullet-proof is a good description.When our meals were ready, they sat waiting for her to bring it (we sat next to the open kitchen area, which is how I know, another minus for the restaurant) and part of my meal was cold. The food, itself, other than the stale chips, was mediocre (if you want really good Mexican, go to La Taqueria, in Norristown; worth the ride).

Lastly, the waitress overcharged us. We ordered chips and guacamole; she charged us for this AND a side order of guacamole and then had the audacity to argue with me about it, finally admitting she didn’t bring us a second order, which we never ordered. After waiting ten minutes, I had to ask again for the corrected check which she sent over with another waitress (and NOT because she was busy). What she didn’t realize is we overtip when the service is good, such as the night before when we gave our waitress an extra five dollars. Today’s waitress received 10%, something rare for us, but she really didn’t even deserve this. El Limon, clean up the place (after hours) and consider...

El Limon is my favorite restaurant.

With that out of the way, let me tell you a story. It's a hot and muggy day mid June. You go to have a meal at a fancy restaurant on a date only to find it's closed between the hours of two and five (seriously!). Thinking all is lost, you take refuge from the heat in an old fashioned, tin seats, dive-y place smelling of oil and blaring music from the Spanish program on the eighteen inch vaccum tube television precariously suspended on the upper right side of the ceiling. Must be Mexican food. Sitting down you order, alambre with chorizo. Your date orders loaded nachos. You wearily stare down the food when it arrives, scared your date won't like it. Scared you won't like it. The dish is swimming in grease after all. That doubt, however, is instantly vanished after the tenth bit. Wait, when did you take ten bites? And you noticed, the bottle of red sauce on the countable has moved from your left to your right. Suddenly, your mouth is on fire. The smell of the bacon and cheese overwhelms you. It is as though all the food you've eaten is hitting you in an instant. Ravenously, you finish your mean with enough room for dessert. Your date, for her part, has mowed down her nachos in a most unlady like fashion. She hates spicy food, yet can't help herself. They are that good. Satisfied, you pay your way and leave, craving more despite your...