El Vaquero

Good food, good service, if you want to get away from downtown Stillwater it’s a good place to go.

It’s pretty average Tex Mex fare. Interesting décor. The one thing I did notice that was different, was they put chili powder in the salsa. I actually liked it, but have never seen that done before. The prices are decent. Most meals were around the $ 10 to $ 15 range.

I got the shrimp tacos… they were delicious! He got the chimichanga which he thought was delicious! The cheese was also delicious! Do not get the sweet tea… it tasted old. For the most part it looked clean and the staff were very nice and constantly waiting on us… they were excellent. As far as Mexican goes in or around still water this is the place to go!

Went to El Vaq with a large group after church, so was more going for the time with friends and just relaxing. Well got there and they had a private area set up for us so that was nice. And then it all went down from there. No A/​C in our area which made for unpleasant dining experience. We went almost 20 min from our initial order until we saw our server again for refills. I went to the beverage station myself to get my wife and I refills as well as a few others and employees just watched me get the refills instead of helping.
I will never be returning to El Vaq.

The best Mexican food restaurant in Stillwater, decent pricing and excellent service, delicious food. Definitely recommend it!

Cannot believe all the negative reviews here. You really need to think about what you are getting here. This is closer to tex mex than authentic Mexican food. You are in Oklahoma! I am a student, and have been a regular here for years. The service is always quick, and they make GREAT margaritas and Fajitas. It is reasonably priced as well. Since I have lived across the state, I always try local Mexican and tex mex joints. This place ranks #2 out of all of them. I never have problems with consistency.

Loved it. The service was very friendly but a little slow. Food was very good and an excellent value. I will be back

Don’t know what’s with the bad reviews. I’ve always had a great meal here, and the food comes out lightening fast!

This WAS the only Mexican resteraunt that we would go to in Stillwater. Tonight changed all of that. We will NEVER be going back to El Vaquero again. Our waiter took about half an hour to take our order. He brought us a larger than ordered pitcher of margharitas and then explained to us that we really wanted the bigger one, which we got to pay for, not him. I ordered the special, Mulitas al pastor (pork burrito), and he brought me Mulitas with ground beef instead, again getting over charged. My wife ordered carne tapatias (small slices of beef covered in queso) which was charred and half inedible.
Fortunately the cashier was willing to take off the overcharge on my special, but refused to do anything about the margharitas despite the fact that the waiter knowingly brought us something we did not order.
Our waiter was just aweful. The best example was the table next to us got seated about 20 minutes after us and left about 10 minutes before us. Every time we got service from our waiter, it was because we flagged him down. The only reason we got our check, after asking, was because our friend got up from the table and chased him down. Even then, he got distracted for another 10 minutes or so before he brought us our ticket.
This was the worst meal we’ve ever had at El Vaquero. As I said before, this WAS the only Mexican resteraunt we would go to in Stillwater. This was not a common meal for us here, but it has colored our opinion of the resteraunt so strongly, that we will NOT be going back to El Vaquero ever again.

God bless this place. Order anything you like to, it’s gonna taste the same. So no comments, if you like one, you like them all…

I’m a big Mexican food junkie. I live about 20 minutes north of the border in California so I’ve lived off of authentic Mexican my whole life. When I moved to Oklahoma recently, I expected ground beef and cheddar cheese in the food here. El Vaq was a nice surprise! Sure, not fully authentic, but most of the dishes I’ve tried we’re excellent. The fajitas are definitely my favorite. The service is usually great and they deliver the food pretty quickly, even when they are super busy. The prices are great as well. I normally take to-​go orders and I love how they include chips and salsa, free of charge! My only complaint is that the salsa isn’t hot at all, but that’s okay.
Overall this is a great restaurant that I love to visit frequently. One of my favorites in Stillwater.

The two star summary next to the rating above where I’m writing this pretty much sums up my take on this place: «Meh. I’ve experienced better.»
I don’t think the people who are complaining about the food or it’s presumed blandness aren’t aware it may be an interpretation of Mexican or Tex-​Mex cuisine in lands closer to the midwest than the southern border, as a couple of the defenders from Stillwater have claimed.
To that end, I really did want to like this place. I stopped here on a whim and liked the place itself. It’s very, very large and has an interesting atrium feature that’s in the center of the dining area. Atmospherics only carry you so far though.
I ordered something basic — cheese enchilada dinner. You can’t screw these up, right?
It’s bland. The sauce is a tomato base with trace hints of oregano and… that’s it. It sticks out in that it doesn’t compliment the entrée, and diverts you to the fact that it has no appreciable taste!
The price for the meal is justifiable and the service is relatively quick.
Basically, if you’re seeking great Mexican, this isn’t your spot. If you’re looking for something that’s close to Mexican or Tex-​Mex in this part of Oklahoma… here you are. Palomino’s (which is owned by the same people that own this place) is a little further in town and is superior to this place.

I live in Stillwater and I was ashamed to see such bad reviews, the people that don’t like it are just looking for American Mexican food. El Vaquero is very authentic for north of the border and about as good as it gets in this region. The staff is a little short on English somtimes but other than that I have no complaints.
And yes the queso is delicious

Pretty standard Mexican food. I wouldn’t say it’s worth any long drive to try but pretty good when it’s next door to your hotel room. oh and I’m pretty sure my margarita was all mix.

I was excited to try Mexican food in Oklahoma; I assumed it’d be better than the Mexican I have had in Philadelphia, New York, Delaware, etc.
Nope, not really.
Well, at least not for El Vaquero.
It wasn’t bad. The flavors were just muted and unexciting. My dish had cooled considerably. It seemed like Mexican designed not to offend anyone. Heavy on cheese, light on seasoning and spice.
They were impressively busy as it is the last weekend prior to classes beginning at Oklahoma State and we were still able to seat a very large party of about 10.
If I had a large group and Mexican was necessary and I didn’t have a lot of time to plan El Vaquero would be a safe choice.

The food was OK, but the place is far too large for the amount of traffic it gets. As a result, the service is lacking terribly and by the time you actually get your food, it’s already cold. I’d find abother place for mexican food.

The food was terrible. There’s nothing else I can say. Well, I suppose I can say that’s what I get for eating Mexican food in the mid-​west.