El Porton

The short of it: Just go to El Mezcal or another Tex-​Mex restaurant. They have cheaper prices and larger portions, with similar tasting food.
It’s not that the food is bad at Porton, it generally has above average to excellent tex-​mex, but it just doesn’t stack up against the competition in town in other areas.
El Porton is basically a twin of El Mezcal, pretty well the same menu. But Mezcal, as noted, is usually $ 2 cheaper per menu item, and you get a bigger plate of food. The staff is more attentive too.
El Porton always seems to be understaffed. It can be difficult to get a refill or even just pay the check. Other tex-​mex joints don’t have this problem.

Always a solid dining experience at El Porton. Service was surprisingly slow, though, considering they weren’t as slammed as they usually are during the dinner hour.
Last night I had the chori-​pollo, a grilled chicken breast served with chorizo and cheese sauce over rice with beans. The portion was plentiful. Because our server was slow to take and deliver our food order, the table filled up on chips, salsa and cheese dip.
The carnitas are good as is the shrimp cocktail. The burritos are monstrously big. The sopas were thick and well seasoned. My brother ordered them with guacamole and shrimp. He cleaned his plate. The tacos al carbon are another favorite of mine. They are consistently good. I like their revamped menu with more «authentic» type Mexican food, particularly the tacos.
They have a full bar and a nice complement of Mexican beer. A crowd pleaser is their birthday celebration involving a big, gaudy hat, singing and a dessert with lots of whipped cream for a face smash. My nephew didn’t quite know what to make of it when it happened to him last summer.

I’ve been coming to El Portons for half my life. This location has been here for 20 years. I’ve seen it grow, physically, twice. I’ve seen the menu expand to serve a broader audience, but always sticking to their core staples. There have been a few staff members come and go… but again, the core people have always been here. You even see their children become men, working here all the while. It’s always been a place we felt at home.
It looks like in mid-​December, they’ll be temporarily closing… BUT! They’ll be re-​opening in January, across the parking lot in the old Buffalo Wild Wings location. Can’t wait to see how they make that space their own!

Hugely popular restaurant group in Memphis and Germantown. Some days they can have some pretty good food. Unfortunately it is also very inconsistent. You can get some really poor food on other days. Service is usually decent and they make some good drinks.

Always pleased with my order. Service is super fast and very nice. This is the Mexican food chain you want to go to for typical chain type food. Very clean and a nice porch. The super chimichangas are top notch.

Is it fair to write a review for a place when you only had the margaritas? I say yes, and so I shall!
Can I just say that this place is in the PERFECT location? I mean, there is nothing as refreshing as leaving Comcast and going straight for a margarita… let’s be honest.
My visit there was a strange one… two of my friends were there waiting on me to deal with Comcast… they were drinking and eating chips. One of them came to ‘relieve’ me from my post (the one that was paying for all of this), and the staff didn’t give him any issue at all. He even pre-​ordered my margarita and they made it when I arrived. Awesome!
I have never been here before, strangely enough. But I have to say, I was happy and impressed… their margarita was HUGE and just right and their salsa and guacamole were divine.
I am obsessed with all things margarita and salsa… so I will have to come back here again soon! And thank you for offering stout margaritas to the unfortunate souls leaving Comcast! ;)

Very unimpressed by El Porton!
I stopped in because I haven’t ever been to one of their locations and they seem to be a Memphis oldie as far as I can remember.
Upon arriving you note the typical Mexican place décor. It is slightly upscale compared to the holes in the walls kind of places but still very typical of what you would see.
Chips were kind of odd… Kind of like the OTB chips you get from the grocery store. Strike 1
Salsa was terrible! Sweet, runny, and just a mess. I wasn’t sure if it was even still good or had gone bad. Strike 2
I ordered tamale off the lunch menu with the standard rice and beans as a side. I was excited to try one of their tamales and assumed it would be served traditionally still wrapped in the corn husk with some sauce on the side. Instead it was covered in this shiny coagulated Orange/​Red sauce ALL over it! The tamale itself was not that bad but that sauce just was everywhere! The beans were ok and the rice was dry so all in all not a good meal.
Then, time for the check and guess who decides to go MIA? My server! I am sitting there with partially eating food just wanting to leave and he is just gone. Strike 3! After sitting for 5 – 8 minutes I get up to find him. Finally track him down doing side work and request my ticket.
Calories and dollars wasted! Buyer Beware!

Meh. The vegetarian fajita was good, but it could have been better. Only green pepper, tomato, and onion??? Really??? For $ 12??? Feels a little cheap to me, can a girl get some mushrooms at least? Apparently not. The guacamole was not very flavorful. The chips and salsa were good. Margaritas are reasonable if you get a pitcher (pitcher=$ 18 regular marg=$ 5), and they are pretty good. It’s not a place I’m itching to go back to, but I also wouldn’t object if a friend wanted to go.

If a group of friends wanted to go here, I would go back. But it won’t be on my personal list of places to return to. The service was just OK. Took a while to get our waters, and someone else had to check on us at one point, but she was really cool about splitting our checks (and the pitcher of margaritas) three ways.
Pitcher of Margaritas: $ 18 = about 5.5 regular margs.
Alone, they would be $ 5. They’re pretty decent and strong enough as I left in my giggly tequila-​induced state-​of-​mind.
Chips and salsa: on point.
Guacamole: Ugh. Literally just smashed avocado. No citrus or garlic anything. Disappointing.
I ordered the Thursday Taco Night tacos. Tastes good. Very little meat on them (like less than a tablespoon) but they are $ 1.25 per taco so that’s not bad. If you don’t specify, they come with lettuce and lil bit of cheese instead of the cilantro & onion. I feel that they’re regular priced tacos are overpriced (see photo). And mixing and matching them costs extra… which I’ve never heard of before.
Got some taco night tacos to go for my boyfriend and it was awesome that they included chips and salsa in the to-​go bag.

Bravo to the service and food! It was Cinco de Mayo, and we were looking for a cool spot to have drinks and food. I knew all the places in Midtown/​Downtown would we flooded with mobs, so tried to think of somewhere else. I’ve been to this location, but it was a couple of years ago (couldn’t remember if I liked it or not). We pulled up and I was shocked to see the patio completely full, people waiting outside, and inside. The hostess informed us that it would be an hour wait. At this point, we really had no other choice, because every Mexican restaurant would be packed. Our wait time was cut really short, due to people leaving or not hearing their name called. The total wait time was about 20 minutes.
Once we got seated, it took awhile for someone to come to our table. Salsa and chips were eventually placed on our table, and after that service started rolling pretty quickly. The salsa is really good… not too hot… I’ve had salsa that was too hot to enjoy. I ordered the peach magarita, which was just right! My husband ordered the Magarona (and of course Mikey liked it). I wasn’t too hungry… the chips, salsa, & queso (very good queso) filled me up. When I say we ate it all… WE ATE IT ALL! For my not so entrée I ordered 1 fish taco and 1 shrimp taco.
Being that it was Cinco de Mayo, the staff handled the crowd extremely well, so 5 stars to their team. Professionally managed!

I love Mexican food and this was my first time at this location. It was very clean. The waiters were very friendly and knowledgeable. We sat outside on the patio and it was very plain, but quaint. The food was fast to get to the table. It was decent. The only complaint and reason I’m giving it 2 stars is the fact that I had a bone in my chicken. It grossed me out and couldn’t finish.

My wife and I loved this place in college. Good food on the cheap, super close to campus. Was a weekly date night, always good service, good food.

I know a lot about Mexican food and to sum things up I would have to say that this place is not trying hard enough. I ordered the deluxe bean nachos which came with cheese, sour cream, lettuce and tomatoes. So what came out of the oven was super thin tortilla chips w soupy beans and out-​of-​a-​can cheese poured on top which had the net effect of making a big mess. The lettuce was badly wilted and and there was only one slice of tomato. The sour cream was excellent (ha). I was surprised to learn that the jalapeños which I had to request were an extra charge. Now THATS not Mexican at all. I ate my nachos as if it were a bean dip. So the beans had a good flavor and I believe they were cooked fresh but they were puréed and too thin for my liking. Don’t think I will come here again even though it’s clean and the décor is nice.

This place was great when I was younger. The food, service, and most of all salsa have fallen in quality. Still an ok place to go though.

I come to El Porton a lot. Probably 6 – 7 times a month. In fact, I’m the Duke. I can honestly say, as much as I come here I have not had a bad experience. Ever. This place is consistently amazing and pretty easy on the wallet. The interior has gotten a facelift in the last few months, but the food remains the real star. Simply. Good. Mexican.

Okay so maybe a five star is pushing it but seriously I’m just reviewing what I had. Soooooo they have added even more to their menu but the one thing that caught my eye (other than that margerona) were the street tacos! Yes they offer you tapas like that now and it was right on time! I got the carnitas and the steak taco and it was really good. I’m still thinking about them actually! Nowadays you can get street tacos on food trucks BUT you can’t get a margerona too! It’s a typical Mexican spot with regular service but I was quite impressed with the tacos. Oh but don’t get the chicken tacos they weren’t as juicy!

One word to describe this restaurant: consistency. In the restaurant business, that’s high praise. Nothing glamorous food-​wise here – basic Mexican-​American fare. But it’s always good. I’m a regular and the staff quickly remembered me and what I order down to the detail. GREAT customer service. They also make fresh guacamole at the table which is always delicious and is an awesome experience to watch. El Porton is as good as it gets for this type of Mexican establishment!

The margaritas are great and the location is convenient. However, the food is very mediocre. The burritos have way too much onion and bell pepper and too little actual meat in them.

No review for food (it’s been forever since I’ve been here so I can’t remember how it was)
Really chill waiter
$ 18 for a frozen pitcher is a tad high for me but the alcohol content was substantial
Patio is a bit dirty with mixed match chairs but when the weather was like today you probably won’t care too much. Go have a pint and enjoy the views
Also fresh made salsa and guac from the same chill waiter

I’ve been to El Porton a few times and have tried several dishes. You know that saying that if the bread is good at a restaurant, the food will be good, too? Well, I follow the same concept for Mexican restaurants, but replace «bread» with «salsa» and/​or «guacamole». Salsa was ok, guac was pretty good… and the food? Somewhere between OK and pretty good.
I’ve had the salad with chicken, chicken/​steak fajitas and the enchilada. Salad was small, enchilada was a good portion and pretty decent tasting, but the fajitas were the best out of all three dishes. A bit on the saucy and oily side, but good flavor.
Atmosphere is pretty casual, with a nice outdoor space. I would definitely go back, but I’m still on the hunt for an awesome mexican restaurant in Memphis.