El Portal Mexican Restaurant — Restaurant in Cathedral City

For me, this restaurant did not live up to the Google Rating some others have given it. Let's start with its physical presence: It is located in a minor strip mall, it has inadequate parking, it has generic interior appointments, and is quite small. Next, the food: The Enchiladas del Chili Colorado used shredded beef instead of chunks, had no Colorado Sauce inside, very little outside, and were served in quite skimpy portions. Also, the rice (plain and uninspiring) came five minutes after the meal was served. (How could a Mexican Restaurant run out of rice in the middle of the afternoon?) Next, the service: Over the course of our meal, we were served by three different waitresses, none of whom knew what the others had done. The waitress who took our order had an almost incomprehensible Spanish accent. And we had to ask three times to get our check delivered. Next, the drinks: My two Arnold Palmers had inconsistent portions of tea & lemonade and my companion said his Margarita had very little actual tequila in it. Finally, the cost: The food and service were mediocre but the prices were high -- out of line for what we got. I will not return to this restaurant and I recommend others avoid...

I'm never coming back to this place. I ate here with my family on a Saturday afternoon and the whole food had no taste at all. From the beginning, the salsa with the chips had no taste. My wife had to add salt to the salsa. My wife warned me that the food would be terrible just by the salsa served. She was not wrong, she ordered the Fajitas mix and the rice, beans and meat was terrible. The shrimp was dried and hard as if it was old shrimp taken out from the freezer. I ordered shrimp ceviche and the shrimp was so bad and had no taste at all. The two carne asada tacos were bad too. The only good thing was it was homemade tortillas. My daughter had a carne asada torta and the meat was bad too. The food definitely does not match the pricing and the $80 dollars I spent. The people with reviews saying the food here is good is full of it, they have no idea what good taste is. I'm from Indio and I was in Cat City. I'll tell you all something I should have gone to Mexicali Cafe 2 off Monroe exit on I-10 for real tasteful Mexican food. If you're reading this, go eat somewhere else, this place got to get...

I have friends and family that go here often and like this place that's why they're getting two stars not one. I have been at El Portal a total of four times. First time the food was okay and I forget what I ordered. Second time several of us ordered the same dish and the portions were so small I just couldn't believe it. It almost seem they were out of the dish we ordered and split one serving between three of us. Third time I went with friends and family and that's the only reason I went back. I thought I would order the same dish I ordered on my last visit (pork ribs with nopales). Same thing, three very small pork riblets, you could have pick each one up inside a spoon, with very little nopales. The fourth and maybe my last time, I ordered two tacos a la carte. My tacos were okay but sorry to say all I heard from the rest of the party was how bland the food was. Some ordered dishes they ordered before and were delicious then but failed this time around. No consistancy with the food preparation and if they're out of a certain dish they should let you know instead of serving you a very...