El Portal West Mexican Grill & Cantina — Restaurant in Bakersfield

When going out for dinner, El Portal is chosen 99% of the time for our family. We have been going here since we moved to the area almost 15 years ago. Our boys were 1 and 3 and have literally grown up here. We've seen bussers promote to servers, servers leaving and coming back, and employees' family members join the team. We have watched some of them grow, mature, start families and new careers. We love going in on a slower night to catch up on their lives. It's been so wonderful being a regular for so many years. Not to mention, their customer service is like no other. They are on top of refills on chips, bean dip, salsa, and drinks. The bussers and servers check on you multiple times throughout your meal. They are always friendly and go out of your way to make your night the best night possible.

We love the food. It's super delicious. There's so many wonderful dishes. The asada tostada, fajitas (any type, but the mix is my favorite because it has shrimp), molcajete mixto, and pollo asado are some of my personal favorites. My husband and older son really enjoy the chile verde. It's the best in town! My husband likes it in a tostada and my son likes the plate or a burrito. You really can't go wrong ordering anything here. You can't forget about their famous bean dip either! They serve it to every table after 4 p.m. with chips and salsa. Their chips and salsa are delicious, too!

They have a really good happy hour where they have drink specials and food specials. We used to do happy hour a lot with our friends, but they moved away. Now we mainly go for dinner.

El Portal is a must try. You won't be...

My wife and I had ok/bad service the first and will most likely be the last. We went for a mid afternoon drink and appetizer since we've been running around town, so we stopped here and we're like OK no ones here perfect we'll get great service just us 2. We sat and ordered drinks at the bar, the bar tender must of been brand new to her position because it took her a few to get 2 drinks made and when I got mine it was beyond sweet, think I could've gotten diabetes if I drank it, she noticed my reaction and my wife tasted it and said the same. Bartender asked "it needs more alcohol huh" Im like yes aloooot more to balance it out so at least she tried to fix it by adding more more untill it was drinkable, I didn't want to throw it out and be rude to her. We ordered a guacamole bowl to snack on and soon it arrived no one was to be seen behind the bar, yet know we were the only ones in the restaurant, well after we had finished our drinks and ate what id have to say was a tasteless guacamole. A worker finally came behind the bar asked if we needed another drink, my wife said no maybe 15min ago we did now we need just the check, and for her to respond like that it just tells me this is not a pleasant...

So I went there for lunch with my parents (seniors). Last time I went to El Portal was at the over 15 years ago. The NW location is new for us. The ambiance is relaxed and cozy with the dim lighting and just the right amount of decor on the walls. I ordered the Asada Burrito and was immediately hooked upon my first bite. It's like I could taste the smell of the char on the meat if that makes sense. Mom and dad loved their food too. They had a Chile Verde Burrito and the Chon Combo. The only slight disappointment was that we had to flag down the server for soft drink refills. I'll definitely return as I feel I have found an Asada Burrito that is every bit as good as where I used to live.

Give this place a try if you haven't been there, you might find a gem of a restaurant. Definitely better than my visit to the original location over 15 years ago.

UPDATE: I have returned several times and ordered something new each time. Fajitas were excellent, loved the mushrooms that were in the mix of the veggies. Sizzling steak enchiladas were so savory! Carnitas are always spot on. Gonna try their steaks on my next visit with more photos...