El Vaquero Mexican Restaurant

This place has been redone and is very nice inside now. They also have stepped up their game on the food.

The chips and salsa were exceptional, the tacos were good, everything else was very bland.

Do they not offer birthday desserts to guests anymore? This is our daughter's favorite restaurant so we took her for her 15th birthday. We made the waitress aware. She even made over the fact that our daughter was 15 (culturally significant). Our food came out reasonably fast but was room temperature at best. We finish and the waitress quickly brought us the check without offering desserts and when asked about the birthday dessert for the birthday girl, she just smiled and nodded and walked away to ring us out. We decided to just leave and get some somewhere else but I understand why the ratings for this location are what they are. The feeling we encountered was very much hurry up and eat and get out but with a smile, of course.
The remodeling was beautifully done but its worthless if the food and service is lackluster.

Have been to many locations for 20+ yrs. Unfortunately, what used to be good food at fair prices has declined into something much less. And the 3% credit card charge is insulting, to raise prices and add a credit card surcharge is reason to go elsewhere. Was there on Cinco de Mayo. A pitcher of margaritas cost $63(more than a bottle of good tequila) and basically tasted like mix. Food included 5 beef soft tacos, carne asada, and queso dip totaled $175 with tax/tip for 3 people. Food portions are always inconsistent and for what is being charge not worth going to. Adios!

I think they should change their hours from 10 pm to 9:15pm as they told kitchen is closed and didn’t let us in at 9:16pm. We have been going to this location for more than 5 years but will try other locations instead of wasting time to visit this location

Always love this place for mexican, nice selection and reasonable price

Good food. Good service. Great family place

My family and I went for an early dinner. We ordered the trio dip, fajitas Vallerta supersized, and Guadalajara salad. Everything was cooked to order and tasted wonderfully. I would recommend trying this location. It might become one of your favorites. I know it has for us.

El Vaquero Restaurant is one of the best in Columbus as far as can tell service is impeccable and the food is excellent with a moderate prices

Always clean, consistent, and great service. Prices are good. Usually, no wait. Easy parking. Vast selection of food.

The waiter was very sweet and right on the ball. I had a enchilada and a burrito. Being spoiled in California though I thought there would be rice, beans and other things. All there was in it was meat. It was tasty though.

Get together with former co-workers. Great food and great service!

Good Mexican food. A little high priced and the portion sizes at this location are smaller then at other locations that I have eaten at.

For almost 20 years this has been my go-to for pretty good food and a good margarita, but I've been watching it slowly decline. My most recent visit had my guests agreeing that we need to find a new place. In particular the chimichanga supreme has shunk drastically and the diner was left hungry, and my usual favorite used to be big enough to bring home leftovers but is now a single meal. I don't think my maragita that cost almost as much as my meal had more than a tiny splash of tequila. The server that night made multiple mistakes also, forgetting an ordered drink and a side, mismanaged refills, and I had to flag someone else down to get the bill. I used to have to wait for the table, and on this weekend evening there were only 2 people at the bar and 5 or 6 tables of people when we walked in.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 3

Service: 2

As a business, if you feel the need to pass along a 3% surcharge for the processing of credit cards, you should just close your business because that's something that should be "built into" the cost of the dishes you serve!!! As a former shift manager of a restaurant, I think this is very sheisty to allow customers to order food and eat, expecting them to tip their servers to then get the bill only to find out that there's an additional "3% surcharge" for using a credit card. It is grossly unacceptable to expect customers to outright pay your fees like this, and in a society where most people don't carry cash, it's disgusting that you'd even pull this b.s. on your customers. You're a sit-down restaurant and in my opinion, more of a classy place, and I understand that the prices of your food is a bit more expensive than bigger chains might be. But for you to expect your customers to pay the prices they pay, then blindside them with a "surcharge" is disgusting!! Do you realize that most of your servers are probably losing money, because like us, they see that "hidden fee," then take that amount off of their server's tip?!?! You're going to eventually hurt your own business and your employees by continuing this practice. Plus it's deceptive to not have it made clear when walking into your restaurants that there is a "credit card surcharge." This should be something that is posted and very visible to your customers when walking into your restaurants, and it is not. I'm surprised you haven't had a lawsuit against your company because of your deceptive practice. On an almost $40 check, your server lost $2 in tips because of it. Also, it's absolutely ridiculous that your restaurant, or at least the Dublin location doesn't have coffee creamer for customers who order coffee, at least half & half, at a minimum. Not everyone drinks their coffee black. And servers should never pour milk into a portion cup and bring it out in their hands...it should be brought out on a tray, same with drinks. Should be brought out on a tray. Not in their bare hands. I'm ServSafe certified and some of the things I saw are things that could easily cause cross-contamination, and I'm sure you don't want people to get sick and file lawsuits against your company. In addition, once we were seated, it took forever for us to get our drinks ordered, and it took forever to get our drinks. Our server only checked on us once after we got our food and when we got our check. I asked for a box for my food and the chips and got a paper bag for the chips and a box for my food. But wasn't given anything to put the remaining salsa in. The food was good and had a good flavor....but the service, the risky behavior (poor food/health safety handling), and the deceptive/hidden CC surcharge will keep me from ever stepping another foot into their restaurants again, unless I'm notified by them, that these things have been addressed... including the CC surcharge. Their servers, bartenders and cooks need to go through ServSafe or some sort of food safety courses. I sent a complaint to them via their website and am waiting for a reply back.

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 4

Service: 2

Recommended dishes: Complimentary Chips and Salsa