El Arroyo 5th Street

My parents came to town and dad wanted to try this place. We went on a Sunday afternoon. Not too busy. Looks like they're adding onto the restaurant as well.The food was marginal at best. Our table had shrimp tacos, taco/enchilada plate, fried stuffed avocado with chicken, and a chicken/rice bowl. My food was very bland. The beans were not fresh. Overall, the food was just so so.Staff were great! Service was quick. No issue there!

Been coming here so long I almost take it for granted. Known across the internet for their meme-like signage, they are also known for kick ass food.The ultimate in Tex-Mex flavo

Loooove El Arroyo! This is a classic spot with spicy salsa, amazing food, and amazing service. They were very fast and accommodating, and the enchiladas were to die for. Chicken is cooked just right!

I met a friend there for a quick bite and an afternoon drink. My friend ordered a beer which came quickly but was not filled up. It looked like someone took a big sip; that's how much was missing. I ordered a ranch water. It tasted okay. It didn't have enough salt on the rim for my liking. We ordered ceviche. It was edible but not great. What really threw me off was the amount of flies. We were sitting inside near the windows by the entrance. They were everywhere. One landed on my shirt and fell in my lap. I smushed him with a napkin and then found another already dead one on the table. :( I saw them flying around other customers as well. Love the sign and all the vibes about the place just not sure I'll be back anytime soon. Maybe when it gets cooler and you can sit outside on the deck. Our waitress was friendly and nice.

We came with a large group of 12 for a brunch before heading back home to Houston. We arrived a little before it opened but they sat us immediately. The food was delicious and large portions especially for the price. It is very reasonable in pricing. Also the salsa is top notch. It looks tomato-y but has a fantastic peppery kick. As most Texans, I always judge a place by its salsa. This place is known primarily for its sign but the food and service most definitely met the mark!

I was pleasantly surprised by this place! The food was pretty good, I've had better queso elsewhere though. The service was great, our waiter was very friendly and attentive. It was great sitting outside on the patio on a pretty day. The inside gift area has some great options.

The parking, or lack thereof, kept me away for ages, but now I think it's more a feature than a flaw. Those margaritas are STRONG; you should plan on getting an Uber anyway. It's a whole vibe, of course, with the casual patio space, tables inside, and bar, so there's room for groups and dates and singles alike. Super kind people here too, which really makes all the difference when there's no lack of Tex-Mex options. Make sure you don't leave on an empty stomach. The guac and chips are my pick, and I love how onion-heavy that dip is. Maybe not great if you want to be kissed later that night, but for me, that's a bonus.

Have to put this down as a big disappointment. I was so looking forward to eating here, especially after following their famous funny road sign on the internet for years. Im going to have to agree with a previous Yelper who said "just take a picture of the sign, and eat somewhere else"! Sad! To be perfectly honest, we did not have any problems with the food. My Burrito was actually really good! My wife's taco salad was above average and our margaritas were okay. My problem is with the facility and the staff. It was a late meal, and maybe the staff was more interested in cleaning up and closing, but I felt we were more of an annoyance than a customer. Obviously we had never been here before, so we didn't know if we were to seat ourselves or wait to be seated. After waiting a while, we sat down at a table and asked some employee who was walking around if we needed to order at the counter or from our table. He sent our waitress, who honestly must have been pretty new, because she couldn't answer or didn't understand most of our questions. Had to ask for water multiple times.... Needed it because the salsa was kind of spicy and it was pretty freaking hot out! While we were eating (by now we were the only customers left in the place), the music that was playing started changing channels (like every 5-10 seconds). At first we thought it was kind of funny. But it soon got REALLY annoying! This was going on for at least 5 minutes, so I asked our waitress "what's up with the music"? She said "I don't know", and walked away! If there was a problem, I can't imagine why they wouldn't just unplug it of turn it off? Felt like I was a prisoner being toured! Although the place has kind of a cool roadside truck stop feel to, it leaves no excuse for my biggest let down of the evening..... the bathrooms! The men's was not great, broken urinals and kind of dungy. And this was after they cleaned it for closing! My wife said the women's was even worse. Out of the three stalls, one was out of order and another didn't have a toilet seat! Wow, the free marketing that this place gets from it's hilarious legendary road sign is amazing. Too bad the restaurant and its staff don't seem to care that they have what most business would kill for. Tourist that seek them out. Maybe they made their money already and are on cruise control. Hate when I bookmark a place to visit and it lets me down.

I really wanted to like this place but unfortunately I really did not :/ I am never one to leave a bad review but the food here was really not great. I got the enchiladas Del Mar which has a blue crab filling and shrimp with a creamy sauce. I am not a picky eater by any means but the enchiladas had an overwhelmingly bad fishy taste and the beans and rice were nothing special. The only thing I really thought was great was their chips and salsa. The service was alright but the parking situation is less than ideal. Their restaurant is very cute with colorful outdoor seating!

I ordered the enchiladas verdes to go. When I got home, I found that my enchiladas were packed dry. Everything was on the side except the queso fresco. I GOT NO QUESO FRESCO! Who serves enchiladas with no cheese???? So I had a smidge of green sauce, a tiny dollop of sour cream and no queso fresco! WTF? But plenty of rice and beans. I guess they are proud of their rice and beans since they expect your meal to primarily be rice and beans. Very disappointing.