El Patron Mexican Grill and Cantina — Restaurant in Robertsdale

This new restaurant, located behind the old (and frankly sad looking) El Rodeo in Robertsdale, has gotten off to an interesting start if my initial dining experience is anything to go by. The new place is much nicer both inside and out, decorated in bright colors and whites. It feels open and welcoming.

This area is overrun with Mexican restaurants of one type or another, but it's always nice to have another choice, especially one with a more expansive menu than just "tacos, burritos and enchiladas, oh my". They have all those things, but a lot more, too. And even the standard fare is offered with more choice of meats than just shrimp, chicken or steak. There's quail, al pastor, lengua and more!

July 2025 update: the restaurant is temporarily closed due to immigration raids.

My party tried a mix of new things and old favorites, and even one non-Mexican thing for the picky eaters out there.

I always give the mole poblano a shot at any new place. There are as many moles as there are old Mexican grandmas making it, and even the simplest ones seem to be really hard to get right. On the plus side, the mole here is good. But it is far from great... The only restaurant around here with a great mole so far is El Paisita in Loxley. This may be home made but is more likely to be from a mix. It's light on flavor (moles should all be a punch to the face with more flavors than your tongue can decipher) and smoothness (this one was slightly gritty).

One of my dining partners got the carne en su jugo, which is a soup that's completely new to me. It's diced steak and bacon with pintos, onions, cilantro and jalapenos. Served with tortillas, it's a hearty bowl of Jalisco, but again kind of light on flavor. Good, but not excellent. Still, I think it would be competitive with the more standard soups like caldo de res and menudo for a warm hug on a cold winter's day.

The picky eater picked the Gringo burger. It's as disappointing as you'd expect a hamburger to be at a Mexican restaurant, but should be good enough for unloved aunts and kids who don't know better. The beef patties were gristly and probably from frozen; the fries were flavorless and it comes with cheese even though it's not on the menu that way.

Sides were just okay. The rice was pretty decent, not too tomato-y and with a few bits of peas for color. The refried beans were very bland and boring. It's basically what you'll get at any Americanized Mexican restaurant, which is strange for a place like this with such an interesting, diverse menu.

Service was decent but not great, the same as the sweet tea. Our server was really sweet and friendly but was kind of scarce throughout the entire meal.

Overall, it was a mostly positive first impression. I'll definitely be back to try some other items, if for no other reason than they offer some things that you won't find at local stalwarts like El Paso or Pedro's...

I recently had the pleasure of dining at El Patron and was absolutely delighted! From the moment I walked in, the vibrant and welcoming atmosphere made me feel right at home. It's clear this is a beloved local spot.

The food was fantastic – truly authentic Mexican flavors that really hit the spot. I especially recommend the carnitas tacos which were incredibly flavorful and perfectly prepared. The chips and queso were also outstanding.

Beyond the delicious food, the service was top-notch. Everyone was friendly, attentive, and made sure we had a wonderful dining experience. It's evident that a lot of care and passion goes into everything at El Patron.

If you're looking for an authentic, delicious, and friendly Mexican dining experience, you absolutely have to visit El Patron! You won't be...

Was excited to finally try this place because we were fans of El Rodeo. It’s a Sunday, mid afternoon, the restaraunt was not busy at all. We were greeted and shown our table as soon as we walked in. Probably 5-7 mins later the chips show up. After that, no other staff member came to our table. Plenty of servers though. There was a guest sat in the booth directly behind us, a server walked up and to their drink order. Still, not even our drink order had been taking. We asked the guy who brought chips and salsa for a server but to no success. So, my family left. It’s...