El Pinito Family Restaurant — Restaurant in Elizabeth

It was a dark and stormy night ... oh wait, no it wasn't. In fact, the weather was quite mild, if a bit chilly. Regardless, I was hungry and nothing but a burrito was going to satisfy my hunger. Trust me when I say that I choked down half a dozen Snickers in my attempt to assuage my appetite, but no, my hunger remained. In actuality, I wanted Chipotle or Qdoba, but nothing like that exists in Elizabeth. Sadly for the rest of us, but good for the owners of Guadalajara's, there Elizabeth has only the one Mexican dining experience.

FWIW, I'm told there are two other restaurants in this chain but I've never had a meal at either and so can't compare this store to it's sisters.

I walked in not expecting much. Sure, the locals all told me the place was fantastic, but as previously mentioned, there aren't a lot of Mexican restaurants around to compare it to. In fact, one either needs to head into Franktown, Parker or Castle Rock to find one.

With trepidation I stepped through the front door and ...

...ordered. But first, I had to find out what was worth ordering. Normally, I'll ask the server for their recommendation but since I didn't have a server (I was ordering carry-out) the matire'D was going to have to suffice. First he tried to tell me everything on the menu was excellent, but if you've ever eaten at a place more than once, you know "everything" isn't always "excellent." Restaurants and, more importantly, chefs, tend to specialize in one area or another only adding more menu varieties to attract a larger crowd. So, after turning down the "everything" comment he finally told me when he eats there he orders the #23. So, I ordered the #23 - and fajitas.

What wowed me? The quantity. As a to-go customer I fully expected the portions to be smaller, but they were not. In fact, I ended up eating so much my stomach hurt from being too full. Woe was me. /sarcasm

The refried beans were obviously can-fresh and the rice wasn't that great either. The chips probably came from a restaurant supplier - they were just a little too uniform in size to take seriously as made in-house.

The rest of the meal was fairly decent if not great. Nothing really stuck out and nothing was so incredible I"ll sit up at night dreaming about my next venture to Guadalajara's. I've definitely had better - more authentic - Mexican food in both Denver and Aurora (as well as when I lived in Texas, Arizona or my many trips to Mexico), but it was good food for Elizabeth and while I can't say that I'll run back, I will probably return sooner or later.

As for the facility itself, the decor was Mexican restaurant-gaudy-chic but brought a sense of fun nonetheless. I particularly enjoyed the reprints of early 20th century photos from...

I don't know where some of these negative reviews are coming from. Some reviewers have said that they received horrible service. However, I visit this restaurants several times a month, and I have never had a single negative experience at the Elizabeth branch. This is what you should expect from their service:

There is almost never a delay to be seated, you receive chips and salsa a few moments after you are seated and you are asked for your drink orders. After your drinks are brought, you are asked if you're ready to order. When you finish all of your chips, they bring you more without you prompting them, at which point you can deny the refill. It is the same for refillable drinks. After receiving your food, you will be checked on by your waiter and/or manager to ask about the quality of your food and service. If something is wrong, they will correct it immediately.

The food is astounding, but not all dishes can be recommended, to be honest.

The menu selection is vast and sometimes overwhelming, but in a good way. You can always try something new!

The portions are capable of feeding two people per plate. I am 6 ft and 240 lbs of muscle, so I almost always finish my giant plate of food and chips, walking away more than full and happy.

I love you guys so much! Better than every other Mexican restaurant I know.

Beware, the Falcon branch has much...

They have great food here and I have never had a problem however today when I went with my family the server almost dropped soda all of my child and instead dropped it all over his oxygen tank and diaper bag. She did apologize but didn't bring a towel or anything and I got stuck trying to dry/clean my diaper bag and sons oxygen bag the fist 10 minutes I was there. Now my stuff is all sticky and gross and everything inside his bag got wet as well. When it came time to pay the bill I thought surely they would come my meal considering she just ruined a $40 diaper bag and oxygen bag. Nope we were charged for the entire bill. To me common curtesy if you spill soda all over someone's things and almost all over there child is to try to make it right. This was not the case at all and I will not be coming back because not only did I pay for my meal but now I'm out even more money to get a new diaper bag cause this one is completely distroyed! Terrible...