El Vaquero Mexican Restaurant — Restaurant in Cody

We looked at the online menu thinking it might be a less expensive option for dinner, but it wasn’t. It opened at 5pm, we weren’t expecting it to park in what seemed like a furniture making shop. Small place. It was cold, February, but we didn’t feel any heat. We read a review about the margaritas being delicious, but no one mentioned the $12.50 price for a regular sized margarita, so 2…wow. The iced tea was undrinkable and I had to exchange it for a $4 Diet Pepsi and was lucky enough to flag down the one and only waiter/greeter/cashier/food runner to get a single refill. Other reviews said the homemade chips were amazing, they were actually quite hard and not even warm and considering we were the FIRST 2 customers in the door at 5pm, I was shocked. The salsa was decent but when we asked for a refill we were told there’s a charge but not how much, we were charged $4 for it, and we didn’t even get a refill of chips with the salsa. We ordered 2 entrees, carne asada and fajitas without bell peppers, just onions (I’m allergic) served with rice and beans, I asked for sour cream (not told $1.50 extra) the rice really had no flavor, my boyfriend put the salsa on his rice and I asked for some pico, small was $7 and large was $15 I think. I said no I just wanted a little to put on my rice, so a small amount was $1.50. The fajitas came out on a cold plate, I have never been served fajitas that weren’t served on a sizzling cast iron platter with all the “fixings” like cheese, sour cream, pico and guacamole on the side…especially for $20…I ordered the “for two” for $34 so I could feed the chicken, steak and rice to my dog. The meat was very dry. The carne asada tasted good to my boyfriend but his stomach was upset within 30 minutes and he was on the toilet the rest of the evening. The meal prices looked reasonable but the shock of the $94 bill about made us lose the dinner immediately. Only 2 couples came in after us and a single gentleman. At the bottom of every page of the menu it stated to be patient because they cooked each meal to order, definitely be prepared to wait for your food and service with only 1 person waiting on the entire restaurant. They don’t give you a check either, they just have you go to a cash register, where they have no lights, and ring everything up and ask if you want a receipt, of course we did, then we had to figure out what each charge was for. I personally will not ever go back, but it was not the worst meal, just dry fajitas and rice and extremely expensive if you want ANY...

I was hoping for a nice dinner with my husband but did not get it here. Acknowledging your guests would've been nice and service is soooo slow. Besides us in the restaurant there was only one other table occupied and they left shortly after we arrived, so I didn't understand the "Tick Tock, Tick Tock, Tick Tock" of our wait. The chips were so salty, I might as well been licking a salt block. I asked for a taco salad. It's not on the menu so they wouldn't make it. I opted for their shredded beef burrito and my husband ordered the 2 cheese enchilada plate with a soft (ground beef) taco on the side. The food was kind of bland, just lacking in flavor overall, nothing special here to write home about. Alex (our server) rings us up at the register and it was almost $30, I asked how could that be? My burrito was $10 and my husbands was $8. Alex states it's for the side single taco. Serious $7 for a small round beef taco? He just made up that price! There's no single item price list on the menu. Then he had the audacity to say to me, "Is this too much for you to pay for a taco? Why "YES" Alex, it's actually too much for anybody to pay for one taco. That taco had regular ground beef, not Kobe Beef and definitely not Wagyu Beef! This restaurant might be a local favorite (perhaps because your options are few) , but that doesn't constitute rude, disrespectful behavior or price gouging either! My advice, avoid this place and head...

I have been here several times now and I now feel obligated to write a review. The food here is amazing and I always recommend it to family, friends, and my coworkers. I love the atmosphere of the restaurant with how clean the place is and the beautiful decorations. The salsa and the chips served are to die for! The staff are definitely friendly and attentive to all my needs every time I am there so that’s always a plus! So far, I have had enchiladas, carne asada, chicken fajitas and beef chimichanga and they have always been delicious with lots of flavor. No need for any additional changes since it’s perfect the way it is. The food is always made fresh when ordered and the food is always hot enough to eat pleasantly. I would definitely recommend anyone to come here and try it for yourself because after my first bite it has been making me want to come back for more. Always craving for their food now! One of the greatest Mexican restaurant around here and I am always leaving satisfied due to their serving size also. Love this restaurant and for sure will come back again as a regular. As for the price, it is quite a fair price so I can’t complain at all. Also love how the restaurant is family owned making the restaurant feel like home whenever I am there. If I could rate this place higher than 5 stars than I definitely would with how amazing this place is whenever I come back! Thank you for the quality...