501 Bar & Bistro

Came for $ 1 margaritas and $ 1 tacos on Fridays at 5:00. Margaritas were all pre-​made and came form a tub, very watered down but what can you expect for a dollar. The tacos were actually pretty good I ordered 5, no complains on the tacos.
We sat down outside right at five and it wasn’t very busy. The had to waitresses that were wearing close way to small for the bodies and not in a good way. Their shirts were filthy with food and who knows what else. After about 10 minutes they finally came to our table to ask what we wanted and we asked for a round of margaritas to start. We waited on 2 other friends to get there and the waitress said we could order to cups of margaritas at the same time, they were watered down and a dollar so we said what the hell. We had 3 cups by the time our other friends got their and as a group of 5 everyone ordered asked to order another round. The waitress said they were out of margaritas, this was at about 5:30. The place wasn’t too busy and it looked like we were the only party actually there for $ 1 margaritas and $ 1 tacos.
Overall, tacos were good, margaritas were alright for a dollar. Maybe bring some margarita mix yourself to help them not run out.

Most overpriced $ 20 meal I have ever paid for. I ordered a cup of chicken tortilla soup, which was super salty and I couldn’t even eat 2 spoonfuls. Next, came the $ 10 chicken breast salad that looked and tasted worse than a McDonald’s salad. The lettuce I buy at the grocery store looked better than the lettuce I was served. Never coming here again. Service was decent, but did not make up for the poor quality in food.

I’ve had a Unilocal account for 3+ years, and nothing to this point has prompted me to write a review – until today.
I’ve always seen 501 bistro on Texas avenue when walking by during one of downtown El Paso’s many events. I was always curious, but the opportunity never presented itself. Today, my work decided to have a taco night and the department was paying, so I thought I’d give it a try.
I arrived at 6pm on a Friday, and to my surprise, there was only one group inside besides my coworkers. We were promptly greeted and I ordered 2 guacamole tacos and a margarita. The margarita came immediately. And then, the waiting began.
I didn’t see or hear from a server again until 6:50, when I flagged down a server (who was not our server) and asked about my tacos. I thought tacos were a fast food! She apologized and said the kitchen was backed up. I’m not sure how – the place was still relatively empty.
The tacos came and holy shit they were delicious! The salsa was spicy, fresh, and chunky. The tortillas had that homemade quality. The avocados, herbs, cheese, and lettuce tasted super fresh. My S.O. had the steak tacos and also said they were delicious.
So, in short, 501 had good food and the happy hour ($ 1 tacos and $ 1 margaritas) is a great deal. Just be ready to be ignored and wait over an hour for a couple tacos.
REVISION:
I changed this from 2 stars to 4 because they comped our margaritas and tacos because of the wait :)

Let me start by saying, this is a generally good review and I would in fact partake in some eats and drinks in this beautiful establishment… but I did have a couple of ‘You-​need-​to-​get-​your-​shit-​together’ moments at 501.
Overall, 501 Bar and Bistro is charming, bright and inviting. Sure it has a few quirks, like the patch work done on the ceiling that hasn’t been repainted to match the rest of the ceiling, but I like it. With it’s large floor to ceiling windows that are surrounded by bushes and trees, it let’s the light flood in without leaving your sweating from the El Paso sun… it’s almost something I’d expect to see in a place near a river or lake, maybe San Antonio. Like I said, it does have a few quirks and yes, they’re worth mentioning so I’ll quickly rattle them off: Half of the tables are wobbly and it appears as though someone has gone through and tried to rectify the problem by using coasters (tacky, I know), no umbrellas on outdoor tables, we already talked about the patch work… I think that’s about it.
The staff is very enthusiastic… not necessarily the most informative, but enthusiastic nonetheless. I asked what our waitress would recommend and she listed about half of the menu. Everyone does seem to be doing something even when it really isn’t that busy which is nice to see.
Somehow I settled on the Buffalo Blue Burger… big regret unfortunately. 501 is the kind of place where you run into lawyers and the City Planner and all these other fancy-​pants people that you don’t really care about, but you also don’t want to look like a 5-​year-​old slob who doesn’t know the orifice in the middle of your face is where the food goes. I looked like a 5-​year-​old slob who doesn’t know the orifice in the middle of my face was where the food goes. This burger is a disaster. The buffalo sauce is not thick enough to go on a burger. F**king disaster. Did I get buffalo sauce on my shirt, yes. And then I proceeded to rub ice cubes on the bright red spots on my sheer blue shirt. The buffalo sauce has the right amount of kick, but it is way to watery. After I decided to use a fork and knife to eat my burger (there’s something wrong with a burger than requires silverware) I did find that I enjoyed the flavors and they really did pile on that blue cheese… yum. Eventually I just gave up on this burger and decided to finish my fries and go ham on this mess when I got home. I will admit plating wasn’t that pleasing, but they did plate with purpose (I think they should separate the buffalo sauce from the blue cheese if they continue to use this watered down stuff). My dining PIC went with the Tilapia (I think) and it did taste like it had been sitting under a heat lamp for a bit, but the flavors were there and the garlic mash was on point.
I’d go again. I think I just expect more out of place for simply being local, but it is decent food and a good price and the ambiance is worth the experience.

The atmosphere is nice. Nice outdoor seating. Great way to enjoy the cool El Paso nights.
On the downside, they stop serving their menu around 8pm on a Saturday night. After that, just $ 1 tacos

The food is actually very delicious. The location is good, the parking may be a problem, but if you don’t mind walking, then you’re good. The restaurant is very urban chic with a cool bar. They start you off with a basket of locally made bread. The first time I tried the street tacos and the tortilla soup. The quality of the meat is very good, unlike other restaurants, where you might substitute price for quality… that is not the case here.
My mother wanted to try the meatloaf but they were out. She ordered another variety of tacos which she loved as well. The tacos come with rice and beans, both delicious as well.
The second time we ate at 501, we took my sister and couldn’t stop bragging about how good everything was. HOWEVER, when we arrived, they had run out of bread. at 12:30 p.m., ok I understand that they had a large lunch crowd; although they had stated that the bakery they purchased their bread from was a couple of blocks away.
My mom tried ordering the meatloaf again, and again they said they were out. Strike 2.
I ordered the enchiladas, which come with beans and rice and my sister ordered the torta burger which is a «torta» but with a patty.
When the food arrived, my sister got a regular burger… that she did not order, the waitress, who was very sweet and responsive said they had completely run out of bread, including the torta bread. She said they had day old bread and if my sister didn’t mind she could bring her that. We really didn’t mind, I mean, who hasn’t eaten, day old or two day old bread anyway? Once she brought the torta burger back out it was delicious. It doesn’t sound delicious, but it really is. The burger was just missing the guacamole, but we decided not to say anything anymore.
There were a couple of other little things that could have gone better the second time around, but overall, it was pretty good. We ordered the chile con queso and that was delicious and service is pretty good too. I recommend it, I’m sure they were just having a busy week.

Came here for lunch with some co-​workers during the week. Two of us ordered the Grilled chicken wrap and the other two ordered the Steak street tacos. The chicken wrap was ok, very bland and came with a watery ranch sauce. I got the side of roasted veggies and it was gross. I have never had roasted celery and thats what the pile of «veggies» was. The street tacos were the most boring and bland street tacos i have ever seen. Three flour tortillas with tiny bits of diced steak on them. It came with diced red onion on the side and a green chili sauce too. I wanted to like this place so bad but I doubt I come back for lunch. I might try the $ 1 taco and rita happy hour on Friday.

501 Bar and Bistro does a nice twist on American fare. Each day of the week there are decent happy hour specials, including half off wine and appetizers on Thursdays, which was when I was able to enjoy the restaurant. The spicy mango shrimp canapes were very good; the shrimp on each of the six pieces were plump and flavorful. I had the Yellowfin Tuna sandwich, which was satisfactory. The wraps looked much more filling, and the homemade sauces that accompanied them (of which I got to sample 3) were pretty good. When the weather’s nice this will be an even better «happiest of all hours» spot.