El Patio Mexican Restaurant — Restaurant in Farmington Hills

This was my first time visiting this location, and I have to say I'm really disappointed. Usually, I eat at the Waterford location, and I'm always impressed by their quick service and delicious food. It's the reason I tried this location near my office.

I rarely get an hour for much, so when today worked out that way, I was excited to go out and have a sit-down meal.

Unfortunately, it wasn't a good use of my time at all.

The service was just okay, except for the cashier at the end of my meal. She was friendly and amazing.

The food...ugh, where to start? I ordered the lunch fajitas with steak. Any time I've ordered fajitas at any of their locations, I got fresh vegetables and beautiful, savory meat, still sizzling in a cast iron skillet as it is brought to my table. What was brought to my table was not only just on a plate, but it was so unappetizing looking - I wasn't sure it was even my food.

Maybe they don't make that fuss for lunch service, I don't know. What I do know is that while the flavor was good, the steak was chewy and had a lot of gristle. It seemed overcooked but also rested in its own strange meat slurry. There were a few onions and bell peppers, but they were scant. The fajita insides were sitting on something I noticed as I moved my fork around the plate... a bed of what were now soggy tortilla chips.

Why were they there? Was it to make it look like there was more food than there was?

The guacamole looked...odd. Kind of a greenish-brown hue. The refried beans were watery, as was the pico. Maybe that's part of what created the slurry?

The starter of chips and salsa wasn't even good. The chips were stale.

I don't like complaining about restaurants. Truly. I do, however, want good food and a good experience for my hard earned money. I don't feel it got...

We've been coming here since they were in the strip mall on Haggerty (now the car dealership parking lot). The food and service then was excellent and that's the reason we kept going back. Ever since they moved to the new spot on 10mile, the quality (both food and service) has been steadily declining, while the prices have crept higher and higher. They used to be on the ball with the chips and salsa, as soon as you sat down they'd have it at your table, but the past couple years (we'd go every 1.5-2 months) there has been about a 5-10 minute wait, often times having to ask for it. The prices have far surpassed value at this point. The Fajita Quesadilla Texana, for example, was a favorite. Started out at $12 that's fine, went to $14 - little high but with the size it was still fine, $15 - borderline but now starting to get smaller, now it's $17 and almost half the size. $4 for a cup of pop that gets refilled maybe once. The online menu hasn't been updated since 2021 to reflect the new prices.

Now there is an event venue set up next door, and while no fault of El Patio's, it is an absolute nightmare to be there while there is an event going on. The music is insanely loud, parking is a mess, the bass speakers are against the wall with the restaurant so it shakes the walls, having a subtle conversation is out the door while an event is happening. The last 3 times I've gone to El Patio and there happened to be an event, I've left with a headache from the reverberations from the music next door. When we pull into the parking lot and see there's an event happening, we pull right back out and go...

Seriously, who wrote the bad reviews for this place? I went in with my daughter as a thank you meal for her driving me around for a doctor's appt. The place is not super fancy but it was clean and inviting. We got there with a decent crowd (1/4-1/3 full) and a semi constant stream of people. The employees were attentive and welcoming. We were sat promptly, fresh warm chips and a tasty salsa served and drink order taken. The menu offers a ton of choices, great variety and options for build your own. I ordered the "Special Dinner" for the variety and my daughter ordered the "Mexican Parradilla". We barely got into our second bowl of chips and the food came out, man oh man did we get a ton of food too! I had planned to eat the crunchy parts of my meal and take the rest home.... no disappointment in the Quality or Quantity. I have lunch ready for tomorrow. Their guacomole is fantastic by the way. My daughter ate her fill and what she took home looked like she hadn't touched a normal meal from other places! She's likely got two more meals, unless she shares with her husband.

We'll be back, if they are always this good, it could be my new 'go to' for good and plentiful Mexican, short of driving to Mexican Village in Detroit.... and El Patio is a lot closer.

Don't let the prices scare you away if you are used to eating cheap "mexican" at the local Toxic Hell ... the quality and quantity are worth it. (One minor thing, they do need to update their online menu with their new...