El Paso Mexican Restaurant Conover — Restaurant in Conover

Ok so me and my gf had came in yesterday after we both had gotten off work, as soon as we walked in I’m not entirely sure what it was, but the feeling in the entire restaurant was strained? I don’t know but it was off pretty bad just starting out from the guy seating us. But whatever, that wasn’t a huge issue, just something I noticed. We get seated and I’m not sure who the waitress is, but she definitely made it known that she didn’t want us there. And I’m human, I understand we all have days, and you know what, if she would’ve said something along the lines of “sorry it’s been a long day” or SOMETHING I promise you we would’ve understood. We make sure to never give any waiter/waitress any kind of a hard time. Again, we’re human, we understand. So we’re looking through the menus and noticed everything had gone up in price, fine. It wasn’t too crazy, we say what drinks we wanted, and then eventually order our food. They bring out my gf’s food first, then mine, and right before she beelines away from the table (I’m not sure why, we’ve been pretty polite this whole time) we ask her for forks and knives because we hadn’t gotten any yet. This girl turns into inspector gadget and is staring at the table like a crime scene and we’re just staring at her. Like we didn’t have forks yet, nothing serious. She then reaches to get them and holds each set of forks like an inch from face and my girls face. Like we could dang near smell her hand she’s so close, bro why????? So we finish our food, we’re getting ready to pay and get the heck outta here, we notice the tipping options on their card readers also went up. We always tip. And the smallest one I think was like 15$ for this waitress to give us nothing funky attitude and just a generally weird and uncomfortable setting. We’re never eating inside that place again. If you’re gonna run up prices, at least be nice. We work hard for our money and if we decide to go out to eat, I’m sure most people expect BASELINE kindness. El Paso you guys was trifling with this whole thing. And if the waitress see’s this, this is your sign to just find another job shorty....

My boyfriend and I have visited El Paso Mexican Restaurant in Conover twice, and while the food itself is consistently great, the overall experience has left us very frustrated.

First, the positives: the food is genuinely delicious, the pricing is reasonable, and the salsa bar is a standout feature. As someone from an immigrant family who loves spicy food, I really appreciate the variety of spice levels offered at the salsa bar—it’s refreshing to find a place that caters to a range of tastes.

Unfortunately, that’s where the compliments end. Both times we’ve dined here, the service has been consistently poor. On our most recent visit yesterday, our waiter was cold, inattentive, and made us feel rushed throughout our meal. Despite arriving before the dinner rush, we were never offered a refill on our chips, and dishes were removed from our table prematurely. For example, my mojito glass was taken while I was still eating the flavored ice and bits of fruit at the bottom, which felt intrusive. The waiter even came over to ask if we needed boxes to go when it was obvious that we were still eating! This kind of pushy behavior made us feel unwelcome and unappreciated as customers.

What’s even more concerning is the way tipping is handled here. After adding an $8 tip on top of the credit card-adjusted bill, I noticed an additional $0.24 was tacked onto the tip. While the amount is small, this practice is misleading and feels unethical. I understand the standard credit card fee adjustment vs. cash payments, but sneaking in an extra amount on top of a tip is extremely unnecessary and leaves a bad impression. It made me reconsider how much I’m willing to tip here in the future, since I know additional amounts will be added after the fact.

In summary, while the food at El Paso Mexican Restaurant is excellent, the poor service and questionable tipping practices make it hard to fully enjoy the experience. We might give this place one more chance because of the quality of the food, but until the service improves and the tipping issue is addressed, I cannot recommend it...

Very nice, good prices. A bit crowded, but a wait of only a few minutes. I'm sure the wait varies. We arrived with a party of 4 on a Sunday afternoon about 4:30pm. Too early for the dinner crowd, and well after the peak of lunch, therefore I have no idea how long the wait is likely to be. All I can say is our was much busier than I expected in the typical lull of the afternoon.

The portions are generous. The prices a a little more than the usual hometown Mexican restaurant. Expect to pay 10 dollars per person plus drinks rather than 8 or 9 per person plus drinks. Again, the portions are generous making for a much better value than typical. I was the with my son, and two of his teammates, college baseball players, right after a game. They all finished their meals, but no plate looked like anyone wanted more. I ordered nachos as a meal as I often do, and fully half of the platter went into a to-go box.

Chips are good, and unlimited. Salsas are made fresh, and a salsa bar is a nice touch. The decor is busy, with a cozy feeling without being small. The place doesn't feel like a failed restaurant that had been taken over to serve Mexican food. There are good design elements showing thought went into using decor to enhance your visit.

Don't get me wrong, I love a good Mexican hole-in-the-wall converted restaurant with no attention to decorative choices, soccer on every television, and nothing to offer beyond chips, and salsa placed on with table the moment you sit down, and good food served 30 seconds after you order is taken. This place takes the amount of food, the salsa choices, and the atmosphere, up one click on the scale, making a modest dollar per plate premium a bargain.

I...