El Restaurante Ixtapa — Restaurant in Hillsborough

I think my friend and I went at a really bad time (4:30 on a Sunday). Service was painfully slow and the menu was out of a lot of items (including at least 1/3 of the taco fillings). Also were apparently out of a good number of the specials took It took over 10 minutes for the really nice lady prepping in the kitchen/manning the register to come out with menus while the only other server walked by us at least 3 times to talk to the table of girls outside.

In fact, even when things got a bit busier, the only way to get anyone's attention other than when our food arrived was to flag someone down.

In terms of the food -- totopos were really good and fresh, pretty delicious with the pico they serve alongside them. Guacamole was also fresh if a bit bland.

Hot sauces were a joke -- a really bland tomatillo salsa and a slightly spicy red one that, unfortunately, they only had a tiny bit of a small bottle left at the entire place.

Lengua was good, cooked on the flat top so not slimy and fortunately not dried out. Barbacoa was straight up overcooked and not chopped finely enough for a taco. Chorizo wasn't greasy but wasn't memorable either. Tortillas were obviously homemade and very good.

Overall it's the most authentic place in Hillsborough for taqueria type fare and at a good price point, but nothing special compared to places in Graham, Haw River, Durham or Burlington. I might go again to try some of the larger dishes but am not hankering to...

I DON’T UNDERSTAND HOW THEIR FOOD IS SO DELICIOUS! I found this restaurant through google because we were traveling from Long Island, NY and we weren’t familiar with the area. My whole family was looking for authentic food and we decided to come here plus it was super close to our hotel. We were greeted immediately and seated as well. The servers are so welcoming and they help you with their menu. My whole family is Spanish speaking and the servers quickly bounce from Spanish to English if necessary. They have daily specials and amazing tacos. We decided to go a second time before our departure and this time it was even better. The restaurant had coconuts ready to be cracked open if ordered and we ordered 4. Our server told us the owner would be serving our coconuts and he was AMAZING! He thanked us for coming to his restaurant and trying his authentic Mexican food. My family enjoyed their dine here and I’m writing a review to express how down to earth everyone is here. We have lots of family who travels to NC and we will be recommending this place to everyone and anyone we know. Thank you to the owner for having amazing conversations with us and also the staff who is VERY HELPFUL AND ACCOMMODATING....

Bottom line: tasteless food, late and below average service.

I ordered fajitas (which according to their menu is their specialty). It was a Friday evening, and it was mostly full (but not crowded). But, they took way longer than usual time to serve the food compare to fajitas in other Mexican restaurants. The taste and food quality does not worth the money you pay for. The service is very slow. During the course of my meal (~30 mins) not a single time waiter came back to ask 'how is the food'.

The texture of the food was mostly below average. The salad that came with the fajitas did not seem very fresh. The fajitas (sautéed onion and bell pepper) did not appear to be freshly made either. So, the question I want to ask is how the hell it took more than 25 mins to make the fajitas?

The disastrous part of all the fajitas did not have any seasoning!!! None, whatsoever! No salt, no pepper, no spices. A total failure of cooking. That was the waste of my $17 and good 30 mins.

I do not know how is any other of their dishes taste like but I will strongly discourage to visit this place. Take your hunger...