El Garcia's Mexican Grill & Cantina — Restaurant in Gulfport

We ate here for the first time tonight.

The restaurant is very large, but even on Mother’s Day, few of the tables were filled with customers. The bar was almost filled to capacity, though.

The atmosphere of the restaurant, to me, was dark, not festive or inviting, at all. It was definitely not a place that I would select for a special occasion.

We ordered a couple of appetizers that were okay, but not outstanding.

As for the main dishes, they were disappointing. There was a general consensus at the table that the meats in the various dishes were overcooked/tough. In my dish, the Fajitas Poblanos (half beef, half chicken), the vegetables were also overcooked.

The dishes all lacked a quality of freshness because of the overcooked food in them. The chimichangas, which were deep fried, lacked crispness.

It was not great food. It’s not someplace we are likely to come to again. There are much better Mexican options in the general area.

On the plus side, the staff is very friendly, and we had good service. There is...

I had been meaning to try El Garcia, so I did tonight. It's located off the Canal road exit outside Gulfport and even though it's kind of in a big field/parking lot, don't let that dissuade you. The building is huge, light, airy, super clean and open and really well decorated! A great atmosphere!! I ordered combo fajitas and a beer. The fajitas were at my table in under 7 minutes and we're so hot I had to let them cool several minutes! The chicken was juicy the steak a beautiful medium rare and super tender and the shrimp were seared gulf jumbo shrimp. Everything was very well seasoned but not too spicy, the corn tortillas were piping hot and fresh! All the veggies were caramelized well and the fajita seasoning was great! Portions were large enough, I took a little home. Don't forget the chips and salsa. The salsa is excellent! Service was super friendly and prompt! I...

This is a good local Mexican food joint, with a diverse and tasty menu. The obligatory chips and salsa are warm, thin, Fresh and tasty. The individual salsa was flavorful and not too spicy. We split an order of fried jalapenos for an appetizer. We were surprised that they are whole jalapenos (5) stuffed with your choice of filling, wrapped in bacon and flash fried. The dish is served with Mexican rice and sliced avocado. The chilies were firm and the filling of barbacoa was tasty. Our party of 4 tried a variety of entrees, including the appetizer sampler as a meal, the fried stuffed Avocado, the El Toucan combo and the Tonos combo. Everyone was full and happy with each of the choices!! Our first visit experience will turn into a recurring...