El Quetzal

This is a cute family run place that I really wanted to like but was not impressed. I ordered the carnitas special and was brought very over cooked, dry, tasteless cubes of pork. The salsas and sauces were OK but surprisingly bland. The rest of the food (pre-​made guacamole, chips, rice, refried beans) was passable but nothing special. Service was fine but also nothing special. Overall a disappointing experience.

My first time here.
Walking in. Very friendly staff, very clean
Food is fire!
Carnitas plate was fire!
Pork shoulder cut into big stew size pieces
Moist on the inside
Nice crispy crust on most of the pieces!
Comes with a side salad
A tortilla cup of beans and rice! Wtf!
Had a good tbs bite of guac!
Il be back!

Um can I just say. Wow?
My first experience with fish tacos from a street cart was horrible. Ended up having food poisoning for 2 days so I was hesitant to try fish tacos again but my friend convinced me this place was good so.
I played it safe and ordered rice with beans, and fish tacos. Food came, I took a bite and went to heaven. The end.
Just kidding, the food was amazing! The tacos were so so good! Super fresh and they had sliced apples in it which was a surprise but added a delicious crunch.
Also the waitress was super friendly :)
Everything was truly delicious I can’t wait to be back!!!

We love this place. The food is authentic and every dish we have had has been delicious. For a unique cocktail try the ‘something’ Negra. It’s tequila, lime, coke and Tajin. Dangerously delicious. We will be bake soon!

Interesting place. The salsa for the chips has a bit of kick and makes your lips quiver, but the chips were crispy and went well with the salsa. Fantastic Marguerita menu, keep’em coming.
I had the spaghetti and meatballs, and my friend had the lasagna. We’ve had better, but we also had worse. Where were the bread sticks? Guess they never heard of them in Mexico.
Hope the service wakes up and keeps focused on their customers instead of the mañana attitude.

Excellent service and authentic food we will definitely be back!
From the outside, it looks dark and unwelcoming, but this was not the case. Very nice atmosphere and family friendly.
It was nice to eat in a place we could hear each other in, which is it the norm anymore!

Very impressed! Not your typical Mexican food or décor. Service was at a relaxed pace, which was nice. Delicious. Only sorta complaint is they are pretty skimpy with their salsa, but will bring you more if you ask. Highly recommend.

Very pleasant, very friendly staff but not much to brag about with the food… Waiter admitted it was his first Saturday shift, so maybe there’s a bit of consideration to be had. Tried four tacos (tongue, beef, adobada, and chicken), but very little difference in flavor between them. The chicken tacos stood out the most, but everyone else in our party didn’t even finish their meals. At $ 15 a plate, not sure I would recommend this to a friend unless there were no other options.

I thought this place was delicious. My boyfriend and I were able to try authentic Mexican entrees that we had never heard of before, even coming from California and Georgia. The service was very fast, and I loved how the menu gave a history of all the food and where it originated. I had a hueracha for the first time, and it was so good! I even got to try cactus for the first time, which I would highly recommend. It was like a bellpepper but tangier and juicier. My boyfriend ordered a different dish — I can’t remember the name — but it looked like a quesadilla. It was stuffed with chorizo and pineapple. It was good, but very greasy. My only recommendation would be to cut down on the grease — otherwise, we loved everything about this place.

I EAT ALL THE TACOS. ALL OF THEM! They are all so good. The adobada and lengua are my favorites, but the others are amazing too. The meats are all well seasoned and tender. The fish tacos are also great, because they are never too greasy. I can probably eat 5 tacos before I get really full, but I always leave looking forward to having some more.
The margarita is really good because they make it with oranges and limes, so its refreshing and citrusy. The horchata is one of the best I’ve had, and comes in a huge glass.

Good, real simple food that tastes great. They don’t over complicate things and I like that. The drinks are spot on. Not sure about happy hour but it’s a relaxing place to eat with friends.

Solo 2 estrella solo porque las tortas son realmente buenas …
Pero pésimo servicio y todavía hacer recervacion ???
Creo que deberían de poner más cuidado al cliente porque ir y no tener silla para niños en un restaurante o tequeria creo que no!

We were running late on night and decided to head out for dinner. We brought up Unilocal and found this place. We were not disappointed. The interior made me feel like we were in the South-​West and the waiter was very friendly. We ordered one of the specials that was this 3 Chicken Enchilada dish. The Flavors really came out and the dish was not overwhelming. They have a kids menu and our daughter enjoyed it very much.
I would recommend this place in a heartbeat.

Neighborhood fav. I love el quetzal and miss this place since I moved to renton. They have good quality food and the ambience is great for small group dinners. They have great margaritas and their horchata is one of the best I’ve had.
Favorites: tacos — lengua, adobada, carne asada, fish tacos, nopale salad, huaraches, tortas. Etc!

Had an amazing lunch here during Seafair week with a friend who lives on Beacon Hill. Fish tacos for me, a daily tamale special for him… Margaritas all around.
DELICIOUS, super fresh ingredients, tasty flavors, and great sized portions! The basket of chips was also great (we only had one, but they offered more to us — I just didn’t want to fill up on chips when there was so much good food to eat). The salsa was mildly spicy and very fresh. The service was great. The space was fun and clean, and filled with happy people eating delicious food.
Plenty of street parking nearby, though you may need to walk a block or two. Not a bad thing though, since I left so stuffed I needed the exercise. I’m aways on a quest to find good Mexican food in Seattle, and this place definitely can’t be beat. Will be back as soon as I can, if for no other reason than to try the Tortas, which looked awesome.

3.5 stars for El Quetzal. Came here after finding our original choice closed. Located right off of Beacon Ave near the park, this place is pretty big with a restaurant section and a connected bar. We were seated right away. Service was good, though water refills had to be requested. There was a large menu with tortas, enchiladas, tacos, quesedillas, etc. They had several fillings, meat options and cactus. We had the queso fundido with chorizo. It came with four mini corn tortillas and lettuce & pico de gallo. It was pretty good, but the oil separated out really quickly and the cast iron skillet burned the bottom of the cheese so the dish ended up a grease filled frisbee before long. I had chicken enchiladas verde and they were very good. The verde sauce had just a little bit of kick. The beans came in a corn tortilla bowl, nice touch. The rice was moist and tasty. Price wise, it’s a bit on the spendier side… definitely not taco truck prices. My lunch partner had a torta and you could choose french bread or a corn huarachas (?). It was very large!
I would eat here again.

This place serves solid Mexican food at a good price. I come here fairly frequently and their tacos are good and their tortas are good and huge.
In this particular day, I went for HH and split their taquitos and tacos with a friend. Both were $ 5.99 so slightly on the pricier side. The taquitos were fresh and was crispy. The meat inside the taquitos was ground pork. The tacos have 2 soft shells and today they had pineapple in them as well which is a nice touch. The meat was al pastor; it was very flavorful.
I would definitely recommend the tortas if this is your first time coming here but their entire menu is pretty solid.

I’m always satisfied after eating at El Quetzal. Their tortas are my favorite; they’re so filling! The fish tacos were a bit dry from what I remember. Their carne asadas were deliciousssssss! They remodeled the place too so the ambiance is really nice. If you’re in the mood for some Mexican food this is the spot.

wow! what a great find on Beacon Hill!
Came here for the first time and was quite impressed. Portions are generous and quality is very apparent. And with most items running $ 9.00 to $ 9.99 the price point can’t be beat!
stuff tried
tacos de pescado– at a whopping $ 13.99, easily the most expensive thing of the night! very nice quality fish and nice sauce. You get three with this order!
Huarches Norteno– this is topped with chorizo and nopales (cactus). tasty!
pambazzo loco– a Hindenberg sized torta topped with some kind of red chili sauce and filled with ground meat and fixings. Seriously, its about the size of an actual toddler.
free tortilla chips are hot and fresh too!
Probably the most unfortunate thing about this place is the hours. Closing at 8pm is to me very sad and will limit my visits to this awesome place due to my more nocturnal feeding habits. More incentive to get there early! also recommend making reservations as they can fill up quick!

If you’re a fan of guacamole, this is the place to come to. I don’t even like guacamole and usually tell them they can keep the guac off of whatever I order, but I’m so glad I didn’t remember to say that this time. It is AMAZING! It is the most flavorful gauc I’ve ever had.
I’m giving them 5 stars because not only was the food great, but the service was amazing. The waiter was extremely helpful in suggesting what to get and didn’t just tell us about the specials of the days, he gave his input and told us about each item and why he liked them. He had me sold as soon as he said steak nachos, so that was easy enough. My boyfriend got the Tortas, which included every meat they had plus egg. I’m not sure of the name, but just ask for the one that has all the meat if you’re interested.
It’s very rare for my boyfriend to respond with «YES» when I ask if he likes what he’s eating. It’s always, «It’s cool» or he shakes his head like it’s alright. But trust me… For him to verbally say yes says a lot about what he’s eating and he said «yes» when asked AND made several comments about how good my food was that he kept stealing off of my plate.
I’m so done with the mediocre Mexican food in West Seattle. Time to put my people on to this place. I’ll definitely be back for more.

I really like this little local joint! Especially for their extra large Tortas; go with the super jairo! You get a ton of food for 10 $! I wanted to switch it up a little bit this time and got one of their specials, quesadilla with shrimp also 10 $. To be honest, it was definitely a little basic, nothing but cheese and shrimp, served with a slice of watermelon and a small side salad. Completely forgettable, and if not for that this place would easily be a 5 star based on the torta alone.
Taste: ⁴⁄₅
Like I stated previously, get the Torta, you won’t be disappointed. Quesadilla was lacklaster.
Value: ⁴⁄₅
Every plate is about 10 $. I paid 16 $ after tax and tip for the quesadilla and a HUGE horchata.
Service: ⁵⁄₅
Waitstaff is friendly and attentive.
Décor:5/5
The last time I came here, was more than a few years ago and man have they made the place nice! Dim lighting to set the mood, nice looking bar, and eclectic design. There’s also a pretty big TV play futbol, so that was a plus!
The best Torta I’ve ever had, has probably come from this place. I’m not sure how everything else it, but I would definitely return for that alone.