Placed $100 pickup order. This is the $8 bread pudding. Took us half an hour to sit and wait for the order to be done even though we arrived when it was supposed to be ready. I was told by Daniel the employee that that's when we start making the food. Very upset with this. I do not recommend pick up orders. Unless you have time and money to throw away. Too bad this used to be a very nice place.

Worst Mexican food I’ve ever had. Dirty dishes, bits of food residue in the water. I’ve never had salsa this bad, tasted like soap and mildew. Food tasted like it was all reheated and not fresh at all. My chicken fajitas tasted like frozen chicken you buy from Costco. My girlfriends enchilada was soggy and tasteless. I even felt sick the rest of the day. Outdoor seating was nice and service was mediocre.

Good Service, however in the last 8 months the last time I was here the food is no longer authentic flavorful Mexican food. The Carne Asada was not Carne Ranchera nor Carne Flap meat. I had small chunks of some kind of steak meat drenched in a red sauce, the Carnitas were huge chunks of undercooked looking chicken. The waiter swapped out Carnitas soft taco for shredded beef crunchy taco that sadly had a box taco shell that fell apart as soon as I took my 1st bite! The beans were bland, the chips were stale, and chewy without any salt! Our food was NOT worth the $86 I paid plus tip. I could have spent $26 at Taco Bell for an authentic Mexican meal or cooked my own authentic Mexican meal with a homemade taco shell. Truly disappointing I use to like eating here.

Great service. Great tasting food. Nice looking place. Edit due to new visit at lunch time. Steak fajitas were very good. Portions are large. The Mexican rice is very flavorful and cooked to perfection. The service was very friendly and attentive. Ask for the hotter salsa for your chips and food. It has great flavor and adequate heat. I'll defenitely be back. Outdoor dining in Pasadena is alive and well while the rest of L.A. county wags their finger at us for same. Good Covid precautions observed.

No wait, nice atmosphere. My first time. Celebrated my mother's 89th birthday. They sang to her, she enjoyed every minute. Very good Yucatan style Mexican cuisine

RN graduation celebration held here. Abel, the manager, was very accommodating and the staff was excellent and friendly.El Portal is exceptional with a family oriented environment and delicious food. Loved my event!

Excellent black bean soup, which I repeatedly had to ask for The other dishes were tasteless, seafood fajita Waiter gave my cousin a free dessert to substitute lack of avocado/guacamole. Had to get up to ask for bill, a box Great watermelon marg Out of state guests were extremely Disappointed I took them for the atmosphere knowing food was ok but not great.

Lovely atmosphere and wonderful staff. They were friendly, knowledgeable, and helpful. We talked for a long time after finishing our food and they weren't pressuring us to leave. The tables were a little close together. Loved the alley we had to walk through to get to it and love that they have the option to sit outside, inside, or at the bar. The prices are great for the portions you get. It's in a great location as well.

This is a well known snd storied establishment in Pasadena. Excellent representation of Yucatan and mexican cuisine. There is nothing i don't recommend on this menu. A must try when visiting. As the pandemic has hit a few restaurants, this has been more or less unchanged. The menu is broader. Prices a bit higher, but the same high quality food. Unfortunately, my most recent visit causes a lost star. The service was very poor. I almost felt like i should have brought my own water...

Atphomshere is the only thing going for this restaurant. Outdoor patio is cute and inviting. However, food is so mediocre. Seasoning to me tasted like frozen food defrosted. Ceviche was minced way too much. I can barely taste the shrimp. Let's talk about the service. The food came out pretty fast... probably because it was pre-made and defrosted. The check took FOREVER to come. Server either went on break without saying anything, or she just simply forgot. We eventually went to the front to pay for our check.

Great time at this landmark restaurant. Free parking... delicious chile relleno and beans and rice. Fantastic chocolate filled churros! Happy to have had the opportunity to dine here!! Helpful servers.

El Portal is definitely old school. We’ve been coming for years and it’s always the same. The chips are borderline old, the salsa tastes canned. The still misses an order. It’s cute and kitschy but it’s really showing it’s age.

Like that they have a sampler plate that lets me to try a little of their pork, chicken and thin corn nasa wrapped beef. It's a little loud and fyi, the restaurant entrance is located to the rear of a parking lot.

Good was great, service was excellent, and drinks were amazing!

While we can count on El Portal having delicious food, their pumpkin soup is worth rushing out for before the season changes. They sell it by the gallon and half gallon. Thanksgiving just got a little easier and a lot more delicious!

El Portal is always a great experience. From the outdoor patio to exotic bar area and beautiful dine in area to the very tasty generous dishes its a WINNER. Say hi! To Gentleman Edgar, he will take care of you with class.

Decent food. Service was just trying to upsell us. Wouldn’t go back. Nothing special. Good cocktails

Fun atmosphere, great service. I had the chicken mole enchiladas which were quite good. My margarita was not so great unfortunately. I would go back here because of the fun outdoor seating and service

Went here for the first time a couple days ago and for being MEXICAN food, this is pretty bland. Seems like they cater more to Caucasians and fix there food to fit that demographic and miss out on tradition flavors. I ordered the Yucatan trio and although good....there wasn't any LIFE to the dish in terms of flavor. I'm mexican myself. This wasn't really really Mexican food (at least in taste) won't come here again. No WOW factor with the food aside from the outside of the places. I give it a 4 star on the service though. Really nice and cordial.

Most excellent of foods and service. All menu items, to "die" for. They will even flat-top some great chilis finger food. Dining in the most delicious way. Bar is Great! Frequent "check backs without intruding ensure that "all is well" and all are pleased.

Location:Good, Parking: Okay, Service: Decent, Price for food received: Average for the area. Overall: First time try and it was nice, not very busy so getting a seat was quick. The meal came hot and in a decent time to table. The servers did check on us, which I did like . I would go back and try another dish to get a better idea. But right now. 3.5 stars...

El Portal is absolutely magical – the atmosphere, the FOOD, the service. There's no place like it in L.A!! I would give this place 5+ stars if I could! I highly recommend El Portal for a lovely weekend dinner or a just a casual happy hour (Margaritas are fabulous!). The food is mouthwatering delicious – fresh, well seasoned, with big portion sizes for the price. The servers are so extremely charming and tend to you like family. I'll definitely be back and encourage anyone searching for a good restaurant in So Cal to give this place a try. You won't regret it!

For some reason our waitress seemed to hate us! She seemed to not even want to take our order and when she did, she rushed us through it. We had to flag her down to add to our order. She never made eye contact upon walking by. I even had to go to the bar myself at one point just to ask for limes. She charged us $30 for a Cadillac margarita as we added the Grand Mariner floater after the fact. This was an insane experience which left us feeling uneasy and unwelcome. I heard great things about this place so perhaps tonight we entered EL Portal to hell. Our waitress terrifies me. Tony Soprano himself is more approachable.

Had an amazing night the new york steak was delicious.

Delicious food and cold beer. The outside dining experience was fun with a group. It’s a very busy place so call ahead for reservations.

The food is delicious! Try the Trio-Yucatan platter that gives you a tamale, chicken, and some of their shredded pork. It was delicious! It was nighttime when we got there, so it was cold, and we asked to be seated inside. They sat us in the little area across from the main restaurant, but it was still cold and breezy. We asked to be seated in the main restaurant because the chill was a bit much. They resisted at first but then conceded and moved us. Honestly, had they not, this would've been a whole different review. What they didn't know is that my son suffers from asthma, and the cold chilly nighttime breeze was starting to exacerbate his asthma. I know to them we must've appeared to be demanding, but it really had to do with my son's medical condition, so kudos to them for accommodating us and moving us! The only other reason I marked off a star is because the first room we sat in was so loud and noisy that we couldn't hear each other talk. The main part of the restaurant was by far more comfortable...

My favorite Mexican restaurant in all of Los Angeles with fabulous Yucatan cuisine and weekend strolling musician serenades. Conveniently located in the walkable Pasadena Playhouse District for theater fun and people watching and strolling over to nearby Vromans Bookstore.

We celebrated my 50th Bday yesterday 7/16 and it was such a great fun experience. We had been there before but this time was really great! The staff was very attentive, and they even took care of cutting and serving the cake we brought for 19 guests which saved us the time and hassle! They really made me feel special on my Bday! We all love this place, the atmosphere is great and I recommend it to anyone. Thank you for being such a great place to dine!

The restaurant is very festive and welcoming. The food is excellent as are the margaritas! The Yucatan menu is so good, but if you prefer Mexican flavors, those options are also great.

Terrible service the waitress was in a bad mood and took our order as fast as possible with out making sure she even had the correct order and when the food was served it was incorrect. Also the tables we were seated on were reserved for a later time and they kept doing everything possible for us to leave even before are food had been served the owner even came up to us and asked if they had taken are order and we answered him and asked for more tortilla chips and his answer was you know you need to leave by this time and disregarded what we had asked for. Food and drinks were ok but not great for the prices and a terrible service to top it off definitely will never go back!

Had a birthday dinner here for my sister in law. The atmosphere is great and if you drink the drinks seem to be the focal point. I don't drink alcohol so I was a bit disappointed with my food. I got the chicken and avacado salad. My chicken was bland. My wife and her sister the birthday girl got deviled shrimp and they both said the seasoning was bland. My brother in law was not happy with his shrimp tacos. The scampy my father in law has was also underwhelming. The people in our group who were drinking were happy with their drinks. I did have a black bean soup and that was actually delicious. This is a restaurant not a bar. If you put as much effort into the food as you do into the alcohol then you'll have a great place for eating and celebrating. Three stars with room for improvement in food preparation.

There is considerably better and cheaper food of this type in Pasadena and throughout the area. Recommend trying their tacos but not necessarily their burritos. Their chips and salsa are good however salsa could be spicier. Kind of bland overall. Neat location however.

Good Food And Excellent Staff. Angel Was Are Waiter Very Kind And Made Sure We Had Everything We Needed. Are First Time But Not Our Last. We Visit Pasadena Often...Love The Down Town Area.And Management Were Professional We Were Their Supporting A Friend That Lost Her Child And Had Dinner At This Location After The Service. Management Support Was Wonderful Making Everyone Comfortable . Again Thank You.