El Puerto Mexican Restaurant — Restaurant in Ozark

Delisiesca Mexicano? If you're not Spanish, it's alright because it means delicious Mexican! People who are Español, please correct me on this review. However, this is like an authentic place to me.

Firstly we got the food. I normally order a Steven Special (chicken rice and cheese in a metalish dish). This place cooks their chicken fresh off the grill, rice fresh outside the pot, and cheese freshly perfected. The chicken is tender and seasoned to anyone's liking, and it's juicy. Boy, does it taste good. Rice is obviously very easy to make boringly, but these folks put in the effort. The rice is fluffy, soft, and flavorful. They have a unique taste. I wish I could get the recipe for. Finally, the cheese sauce is great, too. The cheese is sweet and flowy, tasting extra good. It compliments the chicken and rice perfectly, and it all melts in your mouth. And if you add their salsa, you've got yourself a 10/10 dish. Overall, this place might have the best food of any place I've ever been to.

Next, the service. I understand this place is packed 24/7, but the wait times have been getting seemingly worse. If you call, sometimes they can't pick up for 15 minutes, you wait for 20 minutes after they say that's when it will be ready, then another 5 waiting in line to pick yours up. An hour to get your food is unexceptable. Sitting down is better, of course, you will get your food quicker, but not by a lot. It still takes around 40 minutes to get your food sitting down. The waiters are friendly and add a nice feel. They work as hard as they can. However, the service is very underwhelming to me. You can't wait 40-60 minutes every time you order, no matter how polite they are. 2 stars.

However, the atmosphere is a different story. All mexican waiters, the fast-paced music, enjoyable decorations, futbol, or soccer on the Tv, and the bar. Not many details are needed. Eating here, I feel like I'm in a different country, no exaggeration. The atmosphere is 4 stars, very delighting.

Lastly, the prices. You look at some restaurants nowadays, 23 dollars or x amount of pesos per meal. Here, it's not like that. I can get my huge chicken and rice platter for just 12 bucks! When I eat with others, we end up spending about 36 dollars per meal, or 12 dollars per person, compared to what may be 66 elsewhere.

In conclusion, the food is out of this world, and the atmosphere is delightful to experience. Prices are low, which means you don't have to blow your money away. However, the wait times really hold this place back from being 5 stars. Anything more than 30 minutes is kind of ridiculous. Now, you may be thinking I'm plain and haven't gotten the full experience, but no! I have tried their burritos, quesadillas, fajitas, nachos, lots of things, and all have pleased me similarly to my main meal. Come here if you want an authentic Mexican experience with food to die for, just be prepared to...

A basket of warm, golden, freshly made crunchy tortilla chips. Red salsa begging to be tasted. That's how it starts.

You hurry to have them meet and your mouth to be the judge of how well they go together. I didn't hesitate and wasn't disappointed. The chip still warm as it hits my tongue, it delivers the tasty, spicy hot salsa in perfect form. Not too pepper hot, not too mild, it was perfect for my amateur taste buds. It's not enough to dip, I have to scoop too, but carefully so as not to make a mess on the table, my shirt, or my cheek. The little bits of peppers and tomato must not be left behind! And all of this happened before even looking at the menu.

The menu looks inviting, too many options to choose from, and the prices are good too. Three tamales for less than a dollar each can't be passed. Tacos, burritos, enchiladas, chalupas, fajitas, stuffed green peppers, chicken, pork, or beef, create a long list of combinations that makes deciding difficult, especially with hunger. And that was just the first page. Second page and my attention fixates on carne asada. As tempting as the first page options are, carne asada wins. Chips, salsa, and sweet tea (no jarritos or horchata - boo hoo) begins to move one after the other towards my mouth, quickly and uninterrupted.

Three huge pork-filled white corn tamales arrive, each a meal by themselves, topped with ground beef and melted queso blanco. They are quickly followed by a feet and a half long plate completely filled with green guacamole, yellow Mexican rice, chocolate brown and creamy refried beans, crispy green and white lettuce, red and pale green pico de gallo, and the boss at the plate ; two eight inch perfectly grilled thin slices of flank steak, a. k. a. carne asada. My mouth waters, my mind says "This is too much!", but my hunger overrides and encourages "You can do it". I give up, hunger wins, I'm committed.

In the end, a full to the top, please no more stomach rules. Three quarters of the delicious beans, almost all of the rice, and some of the pico de gallo had to remain at the plate, unwillingly going to the trash and witnesses of my self control. But I can proudly say that a 100% of the carne asada went to meet my gastric juices along with a whole tamale, all of the guacamole filling two hot corn tortillas, half of the chips basket, a salsa bowl, two glasses of sweet tea, and flan. I had to give in to my sweet tooth, the homemade vanilla sweet, smooth, firm custard could not be left on the menu.

So yes, I give this restaurant 5 stars. And the service was quick too, else I would have finished the chips basket and would have had to ask for another...

I always have the worst experience with this restaurant. Every time I order food from here it's always wrong or something is always missing or my order take very long to make, even on a slow night. Tonight my order took an hour to make, All I ordered was two order of street tacos and an order of chicken tacos. This is the longest I've ever waited. Usually after I order it takes 45min after I order over the phone,and it's a slow night. Now I have to an hour for my food. I don't know way I have to wait 45min to an hour on my food. To many times I've sat and watch other people that were behind me get there food before I do and my food is cold... every single time I order food... EVERYTIME...EVERY TIME I ORDER for SIX YEARS!!!! I've had it with this place.Ive never gave them a bad review. I think this place just hates me for no reason and doesn't want my business. Ok, well... then,I'll never...