Location: El Paso
Top Restaurants in El Paso
Top Things to do in El Paso
Where to eat Southwestern food in El Paso: The Best Restaurants and Bars
Find out what Southwestern restaurants to try in El Paso. For an alternative Texas experience, consider El Paso. Located far from the bright lights of Dallas or San Antonio, in the state's western corner along the sparkling shores of the Rio Grande, El Paso boasts a different feel than its eastern counterparts. A true melting pot of American and Mexican culture, the combination is noticeable everywhere. Visit the El Paso Museum of Art and see American works from the 19th and 20th centuries, as well as Mexican colonial art and retablos from the 1700s and 1800s. Restaurants serve authentic Mexican cuisine, Texas barbecue or a little of both. While this fusion of cultures draws some, the rock climbers who descend on El Paso have only one thing in mind: scaling the massive boulders of Hueco Tanks State Park. Those who prefer the ground can wander through the park's interpretive center and see ancient Indian pictographs. Other popular El Paso pastimes include golf, mountain biking and our personal favorite, stargazing.
Things to do in El Paso
10. Desert Oak BBQ
Overall Ratings
5 based on 21 reviews
Reviewed By Steven V
In town for business I stopped by for dinner 2 nights. Had the 2-meat plate both nights with brisket (you get a choice of fatty or lean, I chose fatty) and ribs. The brisket was incredibly tender, juicy and tasty. The ribs had a great dry rub, very tender and favorful. For the sides the first night I had chili cheese rice and coleslaw , 2nd night they ran out of green chili cheese rice so I had the beans. Rice as very different and great, coleslaw has pineapple chunks and is on the sweet side and very good. Not sure if that is an El Paso thing because the Great American Steakhouse had a similar coleslaw the one night I did not go to Desert Oak BBQ. In summary a great meal and very good price. Place is a bit small for eat in but most do take out so I was able to get a table with no problem
9. Chuy's
Overall Ratings
4 based on 66 reviews
Reviewed By rachelv2
We were in El Paso for 6 days & went twice. I had the red fish punch the 1st night & I think the other drink was Elvis punch (it was the one I liked the most). But the red fish comes in a neat cup you can take home. The food is great. My kid & husband love Mexican food. We all ate too much
8. Angry Owl Southwest Grill & Cantina
Overall Ratings
4 based on 98 reviews
Everything is Bigger in Texas- This is true of the bold flavors you'll find on the menu at Angry Owl. We are proud to be homegrown El Pasoans and our menu offerings embrace our region with influences from our Texan heritage & from our close neighbors, New
Reviewed By o26scar
Kept hearing great things about this place and decided to check it out on a recent Saturday afternoon. The food did not meet our expectations and didn't wow us. I ordered the Nacho burger subbed a black bean patty and it was messy, the fries salty. The other members of the family ordered the Build Your Own Burger, the Ribs with Chipotle BBQ (spicy but lacking) and the Chavo (more bread, chicken dry). In the end, the meal wasn't memorable.
7. Rib Hut
Overall Ratings
4 based on 113 reviews
Reviewed By Oliver J
The décor can charitably be described as basic - think IHoP meets German beerhall with Jeans Shorts in the window (yes, that;s right...). But the BBQ was solid. Very good ribs, great brisket, very reasonably priced. Big portions. Stay away from the wines by the glass - they were terrible. Stick with the BBQ...
6. Tacos Chinampa
Overall Ratings
4 based on 104 reviews
Reviewed By redsoxbernie
I had a combo plate. The refried beans and chili relleno were good. The tacos were average. The service was alright. Our server was quite busy and yet helpful. There was no check provided. You pay at the register on the way out. They know what table you were sitting at and the order is put into the register. It was quite busy and I think it is a favorite with the locals. If circumstances permitted, I would return.
5. Leo's Mexican Food
Overall Ratings
4 based on 245 reviews
Reviewed By lroberts1228
The standard salsa (their mildest) was too much for me. Traveling w/ friends and didn't notice the time passing. Waitress came by to let us know service was slower than usual and gave our group a complementary offering of guacamole, which ended up being very tasty. I ordered my usual preference - enchiladas. Ordered with the milder green sauce. Extremely good. Very satisfied. If I was a local, would certainly be coming back for more.
4. Julio's Cafe Corona
Overall Ratings
4 based on 291 reviews
Reviewed By adrianna_db21
Amazing restaurant!! My mom and I got take out, and we both ordered the appetizer quesadillas which turned out to be SO AMAZING!! We got a lot of quesadillas for an appetizer along with cheap prices. Friendly staff and the food came to us quickly. Would recommend to anyone in the El Paso area!!
3. Carlos & Mickey's
Overall Ratings
4 based on 956 reviews
Reviewed By Global_Traveller11
This is a great place not just for great Mexican cuisine but for a fun night out. The bar has some great drinks and the band plays great music.
2. Kiki's Restaurant & Bar
Overall Ratings
4 based on 376 reviews
Reviewed By tb911
Both had the machaca, their famous dish. Mine beef, her's seafood (labeled crab, with an * indicating actually a blend of crab and seafood) smothered in a cheese/cream sauce. Good but can't taste the traditional machaca flavors, all you get is cream sauce. But that is ok, it's good. rice is good, beans are good. Chips are like out of a bag, don't seem homemade. Salsa is chunky and spicy. Got the large guacamole too. It is also chunky with tomato cubes. Has shredded cheese on top, which is interesting. It is tasty. Comes on a bed of lettuce, which I don't like. If you need something to put the guac on so that the bowl looks full, that means use a smaller bowl. When you get to the bottom, there is no way to avoid the lettuce in your guac, which I don't like. (Maybe can order it without lettuce?) Wife said to hold the beans/rice/tortillas, didn't' want them. They discounted her meal to account for that! Never seen that before, that is awesome! Very crowded for dinner. Lots of parking but still it was full, as was the restaurant. Service was good, considering, they were hustling!
1. L & J Cafe
Overall Ratings
4 based on 1570 reviews
Reviewed By fred a
In town for the afternoon, client highly recommended this place, had a real old El Paso look and feel, we got there about noon... got lucky and found a parking spot, then had a 35 min wait... OK, it is the experience ! After all that and the hype we were expecting food to be great ...maybe we are spoiled to the fantastic Tex Mex from Central TX etc, but the choices were less than we expected, no Taco's, and when my friend got served his enchilada combo plate, I expected my beef enchilada's to be right behind, it had already been 15-20 min for his, waitress keep telling me mine was coming, but it took about 15 more minutes, and then I was served something unrecognizable , the supposed enchiladas were covered with green hatch sauce I didn't order, then the enchiladas, if that is what they call them, were strange and nasty, some sort of thick tortilla's and seemed they just put ground beef on top of them, not wrapped in them as we are used to, and they were thick and chewy, the ground beef was not seasoned,and .... the refried beans and rice were luke warm, I was not able to ask the waitress about the food because she seemed to disappear after we were served ..... all in all a very disappointing experience, maybe this is El Paso Mex and we just expected something different, but my associate has lived in the area, and I have eaten all along the border , this was not what we expected from the # 1 rated Mexican restaurant in town, my associate said after we left it was the worst Mex food he had ever had! We figured it must've been a bad day, or we are true Tex-Mex fans, we endured the crowd, the wait and expected a unique experience, as to ambience, surroundings, it was that, but the service and food were just not good, Maybe we are spoiled to all the great Tex- Mex we've had around Texas, we were just so disappointed , this place is a must try based on local's recommendations and ambience ...a historic local place,
