El Gabacho Tex-Mex Grill — Restaurant in Arlington

Disappointed. From the outside looking in this restaurant seemed to have much potential. Cool atmosphere, charming Patio, the sounds of a busy kitchen and happy customers. But when the food started coming it was downhill from there. IF your going to participate in the TexMex genre, at the least have an "ok" salsa. Gabachos idea of salsa is hot tomato water. The Guac had the taste and consistency Walmart avocado paste, complimented on a bed of shredded bag lettuce and decorated with large chunks of raw onion and tomato fit for a NY deli sandwich. Jalapeno poppers appetizer was a disaster. I've had better breading from a pizza roll, shredded chicken was out flavored by hot pocket, and the "queso" that accompanied it was the equivalent of concession stand nacho cheese. I was particularly excited for my entrée for I never had heard of an enchilada filled with crab meat. However the dish could have been better recreated by a 5th grader using fresh ingredients. The imitation crab, flavorless shrimp, and sauce dumped out of a can gave it a special quality of garbage.. We also had drinks.. Happy hour margarita on the rocks. Solid choice. $6.50, not bad I guess. They weren't bad. but not good either. The Quantity was lacking over all for all of their cocktails. About 10oz if i had to guess. Easily the lowest money to drink ratio I've seen in a while. We got two specialty cocktails. One was advertised as a spicy jalapeno cucumber margarita, and the other was a Mezcal margarita. Neither have the price listed.. which is a red flag for cost admittedly, but I am an adult that can make my own decisions. I ordered them on an element of faith that hopefully these beverages would be worth what they charge. I was utterly betrayed not only by the drinks small volume, overall taste, liquor ratio, top shelf ingredients, and cost. They charged $12 for a drink that was equal parts cucumber syrup and jalapeno chunks, and $16 for a 10oz Mezcal that tasted like water, lime, and liquid smoke out of a bottle.. Uninspired chefs and kitchen staff. Food made by businessmen checking boxes based on what the FDA qualifies as an edible ingredient. The only redeeming quality of this experience was the waitress who was a true professional and was extremely attentive to every table in her vicinity.. I made my own decisions, I didn't complain when I got the check, I respectfully paid the bill, I tipped the waitress well, but I was truly...

El Gabacho Tex-Mex Grill I recently stopped by El Gabacho again several years since my last visit. I remember being warmly greeted by the hostess and seated at a table inside a bustling restaurant with a crowded bar and patio. I recall some really good margaritas served in a nicely decorated place with a native western theme, and a preponderance of John Wayne memorabilia. That wasn't my experience on my recent dining experience. From the moment I walked in, there was a poor vibe about the place. There was no hostest and I was greeted by a chalkboard that read "Yes, we are open." The door to the dining area was closed so I made my way inside to a mostly empty restaurant, found myself a table and waited to be noticed. The first thing I realized is the A/C wasn't working well and there was a portable air cooler sitting at the entrance circulating the air. My server, Ryne, greeted me at my table with a menu and took my sweet tea order. As I'm browsing the menu, he brings me some chips and salsa. I asked for a few more minutes and dove into the chips and warm salsa. Not hot to the taste salsa, but warmed in temperature. I settled for a beef stuffed Relleno served with beans and rice plus a generous portion of guacamole, pico, and sour cream. Followed by Sopapillas for dessert. The Relleno was good covered in queso but could have been stuffed with a little more beef. Everything tasted as it should and it was time for dessert. Needless to say, I was disappointed to receive a single Sopapilla with a dab of whipped cream and a cherry along with a couple of honey packets. Overall it was a lackluster dining experience exacerbated by the uncomfortable room temperature. Ryne was courteous and prompt with ice and tea refills. The food was good but a little on the pricey side for what served. The A/C seemed to be an ongoing issue as it was explained that there had been multiple unsuccessful service attempts at fixing the problem. This is an issue that prevents me from recommending to customers until the A/C works as it should. Good...

BIg change in food and service since our last (only prior) visit and hubby and I agreed we needed to update.

Went yesterday for a later lunch, around 130pm or so. I ordered from the lunch menu, so my entree was about $7.00 and his was about $12 from the regular menu.

Started with regular queso and it was a HUGE serving - really smooth, not much flavor, but we could have opted for pico or beef but we stuck w/plain. Went well w/the chips, that were warm, salty and fresh-tasting. Salsa was a little chunky, a little spicy and overall quite delish.

I opted for the one crunchy beef taco and two cheese and onion enchiladas - as the lunch special, does not come with rice and beans, which was fine by me. The taco was a bit odd - the only thing IN the shell was the ground beef. Everything else was outside the shell, including one slice of tomato....uhhhhh chopped tomato would have been better, me thinks? Anyway, after I cut up said tomato, I loaded everything into the shell and it was quite good. I ate about 1/2 of my enchiladas and brought the rest home. I asked for a side order of pico, which was again HUGE, which rode home in the queso for tomorrow.

Hubby had the chicken chile relleno, with sour cream sauce, guacamole, pico, rice and beans and ate all of the main dish and only left a little rice and beans. Overall, the service was professional, attentive and polite, without being too much!

We're going to make a point to return during happy hour and enjoy their beautiful patio. Now that their food is much improved (in our opinions), it'll be all the more pleasurable! Check out my new pics - much better than the previously mentioned...