West Chester Restaurants Yum!
El Portal Mexican Restaurant
We’ll miss you El Portal…
Blanca and Yeurvia Mayo, a mother and daughter duo, opened this festive Mexican Restaurant at 39 W. Gay Street. They feature a menu with tempting specials that cater to a busy, bustling lunch crowd - they keep things moving so the fast-paced business lunch crowd can come in and out well just in time to get back to the office. They re-open at 5:00 pm, with an entirely new menu for their full-service dinner. If that doesn’t strike you pick up some take out!
Their originiality, in addition to their gorgeously revamped interior, outdoor seating and reasonably priced menu will draw crowds - WCDish guarantees it!
To read our recent Behind the Food article click here El Portal Mexican Restaurant Article
WC Dish Recommends: The chips and salsa and stuffed peppers…mmmmm.
40 Reviews So Far Newest First
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A coworker of mine and I stopped by this restaurant for a quick lunch. Everything was great! I especially liked the sampler platter … I could try a little bit of everything, which is exactly what I wanted to do once I saw the menu! Service was a smidge slow, but it actually lent a more authentic feel to the restaurant. Personally, when I’m in Spain or Mexico, I relish the more sedate pace, and I appreciate it here. I’m bringing my mother back with me next time!
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I’ve been to El Portal several times for lunch and always get stuck ordering the same thing because it is so good: steak burrito! It is a good size, quite filling and really very tasty. I can’t stand bland food and this is not overly spicy but full of flavor. I don’t know if it counts as a “traditional” Mexican touch, but they lightly grill the burritos, which adds a nice warmth and an ever so slight crispness to it. Burritos are also served with a nice dollop of sour cream, salsa AND GUAC!! And in my opinion, their salsa and their guac are GREAT! I don’t know why they are not completely booked every night!
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I’d heard great things about this place so we decided to try it tonight. The waitress was friendly, but service was VERY slow (and we were only one of 3 tables being served). The food was not very flavorful and the presentation wasn’t so great either. I will say the chips and salsa were pretty good (hard to mess this up), and my kids liked their drinks, so I will give it a 2. However, in my opinion, Senora’s food beats this place hands-down. We will not go back.
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We have lived in West Chester for 4 months, and this restaurant has gotten 3 return visits from us. The smoothies are great and the food is fantastic (good portions, healthy and delicious). We have enjoyed the service and timely delivery of our food and drinks whenever we visited. Already looking forward to coming back!!
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i’ve heard so many good things about this place but i recently went there with my boyfriend and while we were seated promptly, we were never even offered drinks in 20 minutes time. There were only 6 tables eating in the place at the time and the 3 servers that they had on never looked our way. very disappointed and the servers just glared at us as we walked out never even apologizing for their oversight . needless to say i will never go back
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Lovely, well-seasoned, good, authentic Mexican Food- this is the Mexican restaurant we’ve been waiting for. Wonderful fruit drinks, yummy coffee. Best in the New Year to you all!
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Thank you for a delicious lunch! The food was wonderfully flavored and diverse. Everything was prepared quickly and the service was great as well! Best fruit smoothie I’ve had in a long time.
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Great Lunch! And can’t wait to do the Friday night dance lessons!
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Fantastic Food! The best mole sauce! A REAL GEM!
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2nd Visit… My stepdaughter visiting from Tokyo wanted GOOD Mexican…She wasn’t disappointed. Thanks!!!
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Great healthy food! The fruit drink was also excellent.
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The best hot chocolate in town for a cold winter day. Excellent burritos!
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The drinks are great! Healthy and delicious food. Good Vegetarian choices.
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Great Food!
Healthy too! -
Loved our first visit! The soft tacos were great. The papaya juice was awesome! Friendly service. Lots of food for a fair price. All ingredients fresh. We’ll be back.
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This is not your ordinary Mexican Restaurant. The food is simple, authentic and good. No heavy sauces, excessive amounts of salt, cheese or grease. Some people might find this plain but the food has great flavor and is HEALTHY! You can even order fresh fruit drinks made without sugar upon request. The portions are generous and the prices are good for the dinner entrees. Some of the dishes (tacos and enchiladas) resemble each other but there is enough variety to make people happy. The staff is super attentive and overall I would recommend the restaurant.
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We were excited to try El Portal. The location seemed perfect for us, and we LOVE Mexican food. We where disappointed. Fully disappointed. La Tolteca is still the raining king for family Mexican in the WC, (Coyote is good, but pricey and not kid friendly). I may try again, but it will be a while.
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I ate in this restaurant for the first time last Saturday evening. I think the food tasted great and I think the wait for the food was just right. I was on a date with my girlfriend, and I wanted to go somewhere a little more relaxed. Teresa and I loved the food and our waitress was very sweet. It was really nice to go out to eat and see workers smiling.
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Made it back for my second time last night after the parade. I’ll stick with my original review: This place is definitely good, but I can’t say it’s great.
The food was OK. I ordered a chicken burrito and was impressed. Even my wife (a much pickier eater than I am) enjoyed her vegetarian torta. One thing: When they tell you the salsa is spicy, they’re not kidding! Also, the guacamole had a little too many tomatoes in it but overall was decent. I also ordered a Yucatan Smoothie and really enjoyed it.
The people running this place are VERY friendly. Unfortunately, it does take way too long to get your food. While our waitress was extremely sweet, she didn’t bring out all of our meals at the same time (bringing our friends’ 4 year-old daughter her meal last). If they could only step up their service, they would really improve El Portal.
I’ll be back again one day, but I think only for take-out.
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This is the worst place ever!! They say the food is fresh but it really isn’t. thier are many other mexican places that give better service. the service takes way to long. the only good thing they have is the soomthies. i wont go back again!
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Great authentic Mexican food. Fresh, generous portions - the best taco salad I have had locally. Love the smoothies - make a great lunch all by themselves!
Very friendly wait staff - great dining experience.
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Great weeknight dining experience. Small, comfy setting, and a beautifully simple, tasty meal. Loved the real tortillas, smoothie was excellent and the flan topped it all off superbly. Definitely recommend it and will be returning soon.
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After livin in Phoenix, Arizona for seven years we are on the quest for good Mexican food in PA. The food here is definitely fresh and yummy. We had a very friendly waiter who provided great service. Wish we knew about the fresh fruit drinks in advance because we would have bought a bottle of tequila instead of wine. Next time we’ll bring the tequila and try the margarita’s.
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Pleasant surprise finding this very nice restaurant. The decor is bright and inviting. The staff are energetic and friendly. The menu offers and nice variety with some nice novelties. The atmosphere is relaxed and relaxing. Enjoyed all the foods we ordered. For example the guacamole was exceptionally fresh tasting. Nice use of lime too. Would mention if you are in a hurry because the dinner pace is moderately slow but very acceptable.
There is a nice children’s menu. We look forward to returning and trying more menu items. We wish this new restaurant good fortune. -
The food was excellent. I ordered a vegetarian burrito, It had appetizing colors and great flavors. Also the smoothies are killer. I recommend the Congo. The waitress was very nice as well
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I ate in this beautiful restaurant this past Thursday night. The food was absolutely amazing! It is the best tasting food I have ever had in my life!
The staff was very friendly, the service was very good and the atmosphere was nice.
I recommend this restaurant to family’s because the food is priced very well and delicious for children too.
I also found out that their is salsa dancing on Friday night’s at 8p.m.!!! I am definetly going this Friday night and I am bringing my friends.
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reading all these positive reviews, i had to scroll back up to look at the photos and make sure we were all talking about the same restaurant. this place got a big ‘eh’ from me. i was there around 7 for dinner on a friday night. waitstaff was pleasant, not very knowledgeable. we brought tequila for margaritas, which i presume were the basic sysco out-of-the-carton liquid mixes (which i expected), and didn’t see any mention of yummy fresh fruit juices. the rest of the meal was OK at best- my dining companion and i ordered different things ( and i had a sampler-type entree to boot), and everything came out looking the same. ordinary tortilla, cheap shredded cheese, spoonfull of pico, and some variety of mystery meat. i would go to baja fresh before i would go back here.
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Food was very high quality and fresh. Burritos and wraps ordered by my others at the table were reported as excellent. Quesadilla I had was not what I was expecting and came out more akin to a warmed soft taco, nevertheless very good, but just not a quesadilla.
Unlike many other Mexican places, the food was not heavy with unnecessary oil and fat. Kudos for serving healthy Mexican food.
Mild salsa served with the meal was about the right heat level; spicy salsa was painfully spicy so be fair warned.
The only complaint is that they nickeled and dimed some items. At $2.00 for a Coke, charging for a refill only annoys people when the check comes and you spent $4.00 for two Cokes with your lunch. Likewise, $1.75 for chips and salsa would be acceptable if they gave you a normal table sized portion; not a small 1 cup bowl of chips and a 1/4 cup of salsa in a mini ramekin.
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If you like real Mexican food you will probably love this place. Fresh really does mean sometime to these folks and you can clearly taste the difference. Someone there knows exactly what they’re doing.
My wife and I thought the Pico de Gallo was great, the Chile Rellenos very good, and the Baked Bananas a fitting end to a very enjoyable meal. The real gem of the evening however was discovering their Acapulco fresh fruit juice. It’s a 10+ on a scale of 1 to 5. Add a healthy dose of rum and you’ll have one great punch!
This is a fun place with good people, good food, and good prices.
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Love this place! Ive been going for lunch often, and everything Ive tried has been delicious. Nice atmosphere, great food and a very frendly staff. A must try in West Chester!
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After living in Tucson and San Diego, I have found Mexican food in West Chester disappointing…until now that is…hooray for El Portal!
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I finally had a chance to eat here after having heard the buzz. I found a pleasant, friendly atmosphere and wait staff. Menu choices distinguish between authentic Mexican and TexMex. I found my selection to be both excellent and generous. A delightful plus is an extensive list of tempting fruit or fruit & vegetable smoothies to try, prepared fresh while you watch and wait.
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Do NOT assume that this is a typical taco-and-burrito place!! Yes, they do both of them, but it’s only a small part of a wonderful assortment of authentic Mexican dishes you may not find anywhere else in Southeastern Pennsylvania.
But as good as the food is, their dazzling assortment of freshly prepared fruit drinks makes the meal a special treat.
Clearly the best value in West Chester dining.
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I lived in San Diego for 8 years and I’ve been looking for a good Mexican place. My search is over.
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Delicious Food. Great people. Everything was awesome.
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Sue and I agree, this is the BEST RESTAURANT IN WEST CHESTER. Everything was terrific and our waitress was very kind and sweet. Thanks!
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Absolutely authentic and great tasting. Cooked to perfection! Great service and atmosphere.
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We went to El Portal on Friday night. At first I was skeptical since we were the only customers in the place at 6:00 on a Friday night, but once the salsa and guacamole came, I was impressed. The dinners were authentic Mexican food and not smothered in cheese and sour cream like imitation Mexican restaurants. We went back on Sunday but they were closed because of the Chili cook-off:( But we’ll be back!
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I have been here for lunch several times now, and LOVE the food. The quality is excellent and authentic. They give complimentary salsa and chips and the smoothies are EXCELLENTE. I have been getting the chicken burrito and it comes with guacamole (which was really good), salsa, and sour cream. It is really good! If you are a fan of mexican cuisine, this is your place.
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My wife and I stopped by one evening while we were walking around downtown looking for a place to eat. While the staff was extremely friendly, the food was just OK. The tortillas did not seem to be the standard white corn tortillas you’d find at La Tolteca or El Sombrero. Instead, they were a bit thicker and more bread-like. The guacamole was average but did not taste fresh.
Since we went during the first week of operation, I would still give this place another try to give them the benefit of the doubt.