El Vaquero West

Terrible. Lettuce stuck to my margarita glass. Half the chips were fresh and half were stale, mixed together. Hard taco was soggy. Service was sloooow

We are natives of Southern California. We have a great appreciation for authentic“Mexican” food. This restaurant is the most authentic Mexican food in this area. They have fresh, traditional selections. The drinks; Margueritas, are terrific; just like Acapulco. The staff is, without question, the most professional I have encountered in my «63» years. I would recommend this restaurant. I will continue to patronize this restaurant. Great place!!!

This is my favorite Mexican restaurant! Always friendly, great food and plenty of it, and convenient.

My heart bleeds for anyone that rated this restaurant more then 2 stars… obviously you’ve never had authentic Mexican food… and yes, there is a difference between authentic and Americanized Mexican food.
The last time I ate here «SERIOUSLY, IT WAS MY LAST TIME». The food was horrible… I had the lunch fajitas express and when they brought it out I could not believe how much oil the meat, onions and bell peppers were drowning in and since it was the express the rice and beans were on the same plate as the meat and veggies and they just slopped it all on the same plate. Not only was it not visually inviting, the taste was horrible.
There is a new Mexican restaurant at the lake… El Torro (across the street from Goodwill… in the same shopping complex as Papa Johns and Verizon.
This is authentic Mexican… some of you may not like it just for the fact your tastebuds have been damaged by the Americanized slop you’ve been brainwashed into thinking is authentic.

Used to be great but lately the food hasn’t been so good. We keep going though. Just wish it was more quality. Beers are nice and big.

Great food and friendly service! Nothing special on the menu; just your typical Americanized Mexican food.
While not authentic, they still do an amazing job and keep the quality of the dishes at the upper end of the spectrum.
Drinks are great here and priced right; especially for the quality. Good selection of the imports on tap!
Service is what sets El Vaquero apart from the rest, with it easily being the best of its kind in the whole area (Charlottesville included)!

I don’t really know where to start. The only good thing about my dining experience here was the service, and that’s why I gave it two stars instead of one. The waiters were very attentive, fast, and kind. But everything else… the drinks, appetizer, and main dish… were just terrible. I’m SO disappointed, because there are so few restaurants in this area. The «Buffalo» wings were breaded and slathered with some kind of thin sauce that looked like peanut butter and tasted nothing like the spicy Buffalo wings everyone is accustomed to. in fact, there WAS no taste! No spice, no nothing. Just bland and yuck. The entire chicken fajitas dish was so dried out that the meat was actually hard to chew. And the fried chicken Chimichanga was all mush, buried under a mass of wilted lettuce and lumpy guacamole. The final insult was the bill… which was 34 dollars. I honestly don’t understand where the 4 and 5 star ratings are coming from. I will not be returning here.

Went here about 50 minutes before they closed and everything was still really good, including service! We got the 251 Texano Burrito, Chimichongas, fajitas, 19, 224, and beef tacos. I also got a Texas Margarita. If you haven’t been here, it’s great! Try it out!!!

This was the worst restaurant meal I’ve ever eaten. Seriously — hands down, just awful in every way. Even the fresh chips were somehow terrible, like trying to chew cornmeal. All around us I heard people complaining about their food, leaving without leftovers, and not finishing their plates. The margaritas were weak and over-​sweet, made from a lousy mix. The food was so incredibly bland, and made with processed cheese, no seasoning, and they used pre-​packaged guac. It was just gross! Why, El Vaquero, why?
I had mole enchiladas that in no way resembled mole. The sauce wasn’t even dark, but watery and bland. Everything was EXTREMELY under-​seasoned, the meat was dry, and nothing was fresh. I truly can’t understand how this restaurant has such high ratings, which is why I created a Unilocal account to write this. I was fooled by positive user ratings and now I’m thirty dollars poorer, still hungry (yet simultaneously grossed out by the El Vaquero cuisine), and just disappointed! Service was fine, atmosphere pleasant, but that can’t make up for the pathetic attempt at Mexican food. We are new to the area and so excited to see a Mexican place nearby. But do yourself a favor and skip it.

My parents live at the Lake and I live in Richmond, I’ve visited this restaurant about 10 times over the past few years. Most experiences have been pretty good, but not tonight. You would think that a Saturday night at 8 PM, everything would be fresh and the place would be hoppin! Not the case. I ordered a fajita quesadilla. The peppers weren’t cooked long enough, the steak was very grisly, the guacamole had a HUGE hard piece of avocado that wasn’t even smashed. The fried beans had practically no flavor and they were dry. My boyfriend got a combo dinner that had a chile relleno, enchilada, rice and beans. He was very disappointed. The chile was cold in the middle and tasted like freezer burn. He agreed that the beans had no flavor. My parents ordered the fajitas for 2. They didn’t complain about anything but I could tell it wasn’t that great. The skillet that contained the meat and veggies looked very strange to me. There was shrimp, chicken and what should of been steak strips were huge chunks of what looked like dry, grisly pot roast. Ew. I mean the chunks were huge! Everywhere I’ve ever had fajitas, nice, tender steak strips were used, not dry mystery meat. There was like only 2 other tables which is strange for a Saturday night anywhere. The food took about a half an hour to get to our table, and the margaritas were terribly overpriced. The «medium» size was served in a wine glass instead of a margarita glass. You would think that would be a small size, and it was about 6 bucks. At least you could taste the tequila. I am used to really good authentic Mexican food even in Richmond. It’s like they were scraping the bottom of the barrel (and freezer) to put our meals together. The only reason they get 2 stars is because the past times I’ve been here, the food was semi-​decent. LOL at the review that said «The best Mexican food in Palmyra»…How about the ONLY Mexican food in Palmyra…

I’ve have been coming here since opened.
Also been to Armandos 2 other locations. 1^st one he opened in Charlottesville, then opened Palmyra then the last one in city of Orange.
Outstanding Mexican Food.
Full bar.
Outstanding fajitas…
Honestly all food is fresh with a true authentic flair.
He will always be my favorite when I’m back at my farm.

The food is good and gets to you quick. The staff is amazing. Authentic and good. Never had a bad experience here. Best food in the General area. Lunch or dinner always nice!

Cheese dip is AMAZING. I love this place and it’s usually extremely busy around dinner time. Great place to meet friends. Good portion sizes and decent prices.

NEVER AGAIN! Rude/​poor service, slimy guacamole from a can, and food that left a lot to be desired.

Great Mexican food! Always friendly service and delicious food. Quality family establishment

Was pleasantly surprised to find such a terrific Mexican restaurant in this small shopping center in Palmyra VA.
As someone who’s had outstanding Mexican cuisine while living in CA, I’ve resigned myself to mostly mediocre Mexican food after moving back to the east coast.
Decided to try El Vaquero one night at the last minute and I’m really glad I did. The restaurant was clean, well lit and inviting and we were greeted and seated immediately. Our waiter came to our table quickly to take our drink orders and to give us tortilla chips with a side dish of queso while we looked at our menus.
Drink choices were good and they had an excellent selection of Mexican cerveza. I chose Dos Equis lager. It was cold and crisp — perfect with a meal.
The menu was a little too large and confusing but the choices were excellent. I had the Carnitas Burrito topped with green chili sauce dinner. It was served quickly and was enormous! The burrito was overstuffed with large pieces of tender flavorful pork shoulder — cooked perfectly — and the rice, beans and spices were very good. Side dishes were also large and very good. All for under $ 10. Can’t beat that deal with a stick.
Highly recommended!

Love this place, always good !

I usually don’t write reviews, generally food is whatever, but today I ordered nachos. I mean they are nachos, almost impossible to screw up. Wrong, when I got them every nacho was a soggy mess on a microwaved plate covered in lukewarm cheese and wilted lettuce. An honest mistake right? You would think so. Until you complain. Then you’re told in no uncertain terms that its usual to have nachos the same consistency as baby food, I was obviously mistaken for expecting there to be something with a crunch in my meal.
We just moved to the area, and I will never be returning. This is pathetic at best.

I have eaten here a lot because there are just not that many places from which to choose at Lake Monticello.
The food is fine but really what you would expect from a Mexican restaurant whose food offerings have been Americanized. I generally stick to the fajitas or carnitas, and of course, the baskets of chips and salsa, which has a nice bit of heat to it.
The waitstaff is friendly and works very hard to deliver prompt and courteous service. But I secretly wish they would stop calling me «amiga» with every sentence they speak to me.

This is the best restaurant in the Palmyra area, hands down. I lived in Palmyra for one year, and tried almost every restaurant in the area. This is the one I came back to time and time again. This is the place I recommended and used to entertain guests. This is the one my return guests requested.
Lucky me to have had El Vaquero open just before I arrived in Virginia. Lucky everyone in the area for this family run business to thrive in such a close knit community.
El Vaquero has an extensive menu. If you have seen it in another Mexican restaurant it is probably here as well. I’ve had the chance to sample most of the menu, and can truly say that I have never been unhappy with my choice. The staff is happy to make recommendations and can alter things when needed.
I am moving from the area in a few weeks. This is the restaurant I will miss. These are the people I will miss. I encourage you to give this place a try. I hope that you will become a regular customer.