El Meño's — Restaurant in Salt Lake City

I'm going to hold back and give El Meno's four stars for the sake of those folks who read my review. Yet, in my world, and what I am looking for in a Mexican restaurant in SLC, El Meno's is close to five stars. Somewhat shabby looking, in an insalubrious part of town, El Meno's doesn't beckon you to dine with them. In fact, at first you may want to try cashing a check rather then asking for a menu. There's liquor, but when requesting an unflavored Margarita, I ended up with just tequila and lime in a nice glass. El Meno's ain't slick, trendy, and doesn't cater to the gringos living in Federal Heights. I may bring them a bottle of Grand Mariner surreptitiously to get my pretentious Margarita next time. (I accept my pose) However, the black and white TV has wrestlers wearing masks, tossing each other around, and Spanish is spoken with a smattering of English. Authenticity isn't far away. The food is fresh, as tasty as anything in town, and the portions too much to eat. My Chile Rellenos was delicious. It didn't look like something Rick Bayless would prepare at Topolobampo. But, with my eyes closed and my urbane senses dulled, this dish may taste as good. No, El Meno's isn't Mexico City's Pujols or even Salt Lake City's own Red Iguana. But if you want the "real" thing, El Meno's is there for the taking. Service struggled with my New York English, but they worked hard and wanted to make me happy. El Meno's is my first call for Mexican in SLC. You will love it, but only if authenticity is a goal. If you need trendy, spotless, and Cancun, El Meno's is not for you. However, if you prefer Zijuatanejo, Guadalajara, and Puerto Escondido, go eat...

My wife and I wanted to try a new restaurant and after seeing a post on Facebook about how the restaurant was struggling due to Covid, we figured we would give it a try. The mistake was not turning around the minute we walked into the building,. The server stared at the both of us like she had no idea why we were there and tentatively took us to our seats where it took 15 minutes to get chips and salsa and 20 minutes to get our drinks. I get that some drinks take more time to prepare but we had to have been sitting there for 20 to 30 minutes before we got ours. When the food came out it was over peppered, the meat tasted old and was essentially gristle (you can taste poor quality meat right away) and the meal after a few moments genuinely made us ill. We took the leftovers home and immediately threw them away. The food, service, everything about it was terrible, highlighted by the fact that they were not busy at all. I hate to say it but sometime a business needs to shut down for their own good and the good of everyone around them. The place was terrible and the high reviews boggle my mind. There is nothing good about this place and I truly believe the positive reviews are from friends, family or people who need to try far better...

To be honest I had a bad experiencet twice at this restaurant. The first time I went it was on a Sunday which I understand they close earlier however, I arrived 30 min before closing time and a lady closed the door pretty much in our face & made signs that they had already closed. I decided to give it another try & I went on a different day which was a sat. Came out wayyyyy more disappointed. The staff is very rude and unprofessional!! The lady with glasses Taking our order wS very disrespectful, every time we ordered she gave ys that look like is too much work 🙄. Or we don't have it and instead of giving options she was just mesn about it. The service was very slow food took forever and also expensive!! not to mention the restaurant charges 18% of tip per bill. The food had a good flavor but they are stingy with dishes they serve very small portions for the price. Everything had more veggies than meats or cheese. Honestly there is better mexican restaurants that have better dishes with better pricing and better service. (Like the Oaxaqueña) never going back tbh my family and I felt super...