abel's mexican restaurant

the place was so cold i left my coat on until the food arrived.  themenuwas unreadable and did not describe the food properly from what i could read.  ordered a chicken taco salad and it was more like a soup.  i was not happy and will not go back again.  this used to be a nice place, what happened.

since i discovered abel's, i can't stand to eat any other mexican food. we go there at least once a week. the food is delicious, the wait staff is fantastic. i'm trying to eat my way around themenuand everything i've had so far has been wonderful.
try it. you'll be glad you did.

summary:  authentic mexican food, fast & great service, affordable prices

abel's mexican restaurant serves up delicious, hot, authentic mexican food sure to satisfy any palette - it sure did ours!  the building is a little difficult to find, but it is located in the shopping plaza on the southeast corner of 50th and n. macarthur.  the exterior needs a little updating, but i find the colorful, hand-painted (i think) walls and mexican decor to be absolutely charming.  abel'smenucompromises of many, many options for everyone; if you want to be a carnivore, veggie or seafood lover, abel's has options for you.  and as long as you buy food, chips, homemade salsa and queso are served as your initial appetizers.  our server (his name escapes me) was fantastic!  he served the entire lunch crowd alone, but was still able to attend to everyone's needs, questions, and deliver the food in a timely, efficient manner - i would say he was definitely accommodating.

as for the food that we ordered, my husband ordered the super grande burrito (chicken) and i got the fajitas combination (shrimp, chicken, steak).  both came within minutes, and were large portions!  they were served hot; husband had to wait a moment before devouring his burrito and mine came out on a sizzling plate.  both tasted delicious.  the fajitas come with rice, beans, guacomole, and sour cream; all tasted like they were homemade and fresh, especially with the tortillas.  in the future, i believe i will still order the fajitas, but i'll choose the steak one; the shrimp and chicken were great, but i think the marinated steak was the best for their fajitas.  oh, and the fajitas came with their homemade tortillas - which were very, very good!  

i know there's a lot of mexican restaurants around, but abel's has always been consistently delicious, fast service, and speedy food delivery.  you really can't go wrong with abel's, so if you haven't tried it, please put this on your wish list and do so.  plus, the prices are so affordable!  great stuff to be had here!

tip:  if you have a meal that serves homemade tortillas (which, by the way, you can request more as long as they are endless), try them with the sweet syrup.  it's a nice, simple 'dessert' you can have at the end without ordering a dessert itself.  

heads up:  be prepared for a lot of food!  their portions are rather large, and in general, mexican food can be heavy.

we ate here on march 9th and enjoyed it, so we returned tonight march 12th. carlos (server number 7) was our server this time and he was awful! no drinks or a greeting for 20 minutes, our queso, chips and salsa were empty by then. we had to ask someone else to refill them. then he sat and talked with his friends about how broke he is while (i can see why) our food got dried out and cool under the warmer. we had to ask another server if it was ready. he set it in front of us, and went back to talk to his friends-again. we finally had to get another waiter to bring our check.
the vegetariano platter was great the first night-all spinach enchiladas. tonight they must have run out of spinach because there was some spinach in them, but mostly they were canned mixed vegetables in a tortilla with cheese on top-gross! themenusays spinach, not spinach, peas, carrots, bell pepper, onion, and a little spinach. we won't be going back!!!

won't go back. we have eaten there about 6 times. went dec 2013 and themenuprices went up again. the corn tortillas they use for the cheese enchiladas are greasy. taste like pre-made and dried out. then they add chili on top and don't even put extra cheese on top anymore. then microwave to heat up. they give you very little rice then spread it across the plate like they have given you a large serving. the beans don't have much flavor and are half mashed and half whole. my child had a child plate almost 5.00 and had water. waiters don't ask if you need a refill on drinks, however the drinks are in large glasses. we did not order a appetizer and my husband had the super burrito. we gave the waitress a 4.00 tip and our bill was 39.00 and some change. i used to order the 3 enchiladas w/rice and beans. now that themenuhas changed it's 2 enchiladas with rice/beans and it's 2.25 higher. more $ less food. i know what good mexican food tastes like because i lived in san antonio, tx for 48 years and started eating mexican food when i was 4 yrs old. going to have to try another place. may try chellinos again but i know there prices have gone up in the last 4 years. so frustrating. abel's cheese sauce tastes like they make it with canned milk. strange taste. sorry just can't go back.

i keep coming back!. man oh man! the best mexican in the okc metro that i've tasted...after 9pm they only have their tacomenubut it's cheap and extremely tasty! ask for the grilled jalepenos too... the drink selection is one of the best i've seen with the ever popular horchata and tamarindo, among other aquas frescas, a fresh fruit case, freshly made salsas and sauces, excellent service and it's one of those places where all of the locals go!


-----25 jul, 2013-----

best tacos in okc. if you can get past the boring atmosphere and cheap furnishings, you will find you get top notch service and some of the best mexican food around! the things we find they do better than other mexican restaurants:
1. tacos - the street tacos are so good and they're heaping, so if you want 3 just order 2 and you'll have enough leftovers to make 3! the tacomenuis available all day, but after 9pm it's the only thing they serve along with quesadillas and tostadas. at $1.99 each the tacos alone are worth the trip!
2. fresh fruit - if you are looking for fresh fruit, come to abels. they have a great selection and if you catch the fruit artist at the right time, any ladies in your group will walk away with a beautifully carved flower out of a strawberry or melon piece. he's very talented!
3. salsas - the house salsas are very flavorful and not too spicy.

the service is usually very good, although many of the servers we've encountered speak very little english. they are all very friendly and helpful!

abel's has a special event room too, so you can have a family reunion, birthday or church/work/school group function.

returned on friday at 4:30 pm. we were the only couple there. i again had had the super grande burrito with salsa chili sauce and my wife had the chile relleno. see pics. food was fresh, delicious and perfect as before. antonio, server 9, waited on us as he did the last visit. unfortunately we only saw him once after the food arrived (at that time we asked for a refill on salsa and cheese dip) and that was when we were finished eating. doesn't make sense to ask 20 minutes after the food arrived if everything tastes good.

antonio did suggest another item to try next time which earned him points. so the service was better then last time but not by much. remember we were the only table there when we arrived and one of five tables when we left. the nice young girl handing out chips and salsa asked us how the food was before antonio. then he came over immediately after and asked the same question. i hope you shared your tips with her. i would hate to be there when it's busy. better service but not sufficient. we will give them one more try but at a different time.

also take note that almost 80 diner written reviewers have single digit reviews and 25 of the have only reviewed this restaurant. that tells me that abels is stuffing the ballot box.


-----10 feb, 2013-----

first time and overall i would give it 3 stars. my wife ordered the i ordered the beef super grande burrito. i was told by antonio that it came with cheese sauce. i asked if it came with other sauces and he repeated that it came with cheese. i asked the server for a side of refried beans and he said that the burrito had refried beans in it. the burrito arrived was the size of a bread pan served with guacamole. very fresh and delicious. beef was seasoned perfectly but it had alot of onions and cilantro which was fine to me. it didn't have beans in it as i was told. a man came in after we got our food and ordered one. the salsa, queso and chips were real good.

after our meal we asked for two to go boxes and two sopapillas. we on got one to go box so i had to ask for another. we had to wait 10 more minutes because antonio took 3 orders before worrying about getting us out the door by getting us the box be forgot. as we were leaving the guy that ordered the same thing as me was getting his food. guess what it had a chili sauce on it. upon arriving home i looked at theirmenuonline and sure enough the super combo burrito doesn't come with cheese sauce. you can choose from 3. sour cream, salsa chili or cheese. so the servers don't know the menu.

1. food was top shelf
2. restaurant itself was outdated and could use some fixing up. old chairs and dirty walls near the floor.
3. customer service sucked. don't expect to get alot of attention after the food comes.
4. keep themenuuntil after you order because the servers don't know the menu. or at least antonio didn't.
5. the only have beer. so no margaritas.

wait staff could ruin what could be a delightful experience.

themenuat abel’s is a perfect mix of your traditional tex-mex fare (think fajitas, nachos, quesadillas), but the dishes that shine are the ones unique to abel’s. the problem i found is trying to decide which one to order! choices include everything from seafood entrees like guiso de camaron (shrimp cooked in salsa verde) to platillos mexicanos such as the palo alto plate (mexican beef tips [as opposed to american ones??] – cooked with tomatoes, jalapenos, and spices topped with a sunny side up egg.) prices for main dishes served with rice and beans run anywhere from $8.99 to $14.25 depending on the entree.

table menu. one of the best texmex options in oklahoma city....consistently good north of the border "mexican" food. my favorites are the steak, tongue, pork, and chicken tacos off the secondary menu. each table has a one pagemenuthat lists only tacos, quesadillas, burritos, and tortas. mix and match these items to add variety to your meal. the tacos are consistently good and quesadillas are excellent. they also have a top notch roasted green chili salsa, but you have to request this little gem.

crabby in bethany. this place is the real deal! they have the hispanicmenuand the american menu. their pastor tacos are to die for! always clean and friendly! i have been eating here since the beginning. abel recognized my family each time we came, he suggested we try the pastor. than he brought to our table a sampling of all of the hispanic meats and explained what they were in english and told us the hispanic name. where else does the owner try to win you over? i am a fan for life :)

the food is great...the service is not consistent. i think their food is very good and they also have items that you can't get at every mexican restaurant, so if you are looking to try a dish that's more authentic...this is your place! the setting is very casual and sometimes that is what i'm going for. their drink cups are ginormous so you don't have to worry about refills really because unless you are dying of thirst, you probably won't finish the first round. they also have very good guacamole! my only complaint is the consistency in service from one server to the next. i've been in 5-7 times and 3 of the times i've had this one male server (unfortunately can't remember his name) but he has always been outstanding....and i am a server by trade myself so i know what good service is, and due to knowing how things go sometimes i am pretty lenient as far as my expectations go and i'm more understanding that some people. the man that served me today was very short and came off as rude. i was torn between a couple items on themenuand i asked him for advice but he offered up no help and really didn't care either in his body language, so i just had to pick something with no further advice (beef chimichanga). when dropping my food off, i had asked him to hold the sour cream sauce and when it came out it was on there and all over my chimichanga. i know those mistakes are just a part of the business so the fact that a mistake had been made wasn't a big deal at all....i just wanted it taken off of it. he just rudely shrugged like he didnt care and told me to scoop it off. when i ring in something wrong when i'm working, i at least take the plate back and have it fixed up right by the cook or do it myself in the back if applicable. i hate sour cream so i had to
take it off myself, but in my mind it's still gonna be on there when i'm eating it so it put me off to the dish a bit. plus i had to use my personal spoon so i didn't have one for the meal. then he never came back to check on me to see if everything was tasting good and to see if i needed anything else (i needed napkins and a spoon) so i had to get up and go get it myself and it wasn't cause he was busy or anything (a situation in which i would totally understand) it was just due to the fact that he didn't care. maybe he pre-judged me as a bad tipper due to my age...i don't know. i will be back but he won't be serving me again. i good server i was talking about was there and i kicked myself for not sitting his section...i will be looking for him next time i come in.

execellent food and service. order potatoes for side, not onmenubut could make meal out of them.

favorite mexican food. i was raised on mexican food and my family just recently discovered abels and boy do we have a new favorite. first of all, make sure that you always ask for the "taco menu". it's the littlemenuthat the mexicans order from. on it, you will find street tacos (which are out of this world!), traditional quesidillas, and tortas. beware of the tacos cavillo, if you just order "five steak beef tacos" from the taco menu, you will get the same thing at a much cheaper price. the enchiladas verde are the best thing on the standard menu, and remember that if you are sick and tired of rice and beans like me, you can order steamed vegetables and mexican potatoes instead, but you have to ask. it's not on the menu.

also, make sure that you order an aguas frescas. in my opinion the horchata and cantalope are the best!

great food!. i'm so glad that we've found a local place to eat some great mexican food! themenuhas great variety and i'll break down our visit so you might get an idea of what to expect:

we arrived and were seated quickly - it was fairly early for dinner on a thursday night, so no big surprise. it took quite some time to order our waters and then to place our order, so service started out pretty sub-par, but it did get a bit better eventually. the chips and salsa were really good - reminding me of a favorite place from my childhood :) - and the queso was pretty good, too. there was a single side of another salsa, maybe a fire-roasted salsa verde (i didn't ask) but it seemed to have more heat than flavor and i wasn't impressed with that one. (hubby and i have gotten used to heat, that wasn't the issue - just seemed bland and lacking. hubby didn't care to try this one.)

my son is 11 and not a big eater, so he was given an okay to eat from the kid'smenueven though it says for kids 8 and under. he asked for a burrito, dry...he's used to fast food burritos, poor boy. he did like it though and it was a generous portion for about $4, with sides of rice and beans.

hubby ordered a quesadilla dinner. it included 2 small chicken quesadillas, rice, beans, sour cream and guacamole. he tends to be a pretty picky eater, but he was very pleased with the taste...in fact, he shared a bit of guacamole with me and it was wonderful! lots of flavor and just enough salt...great with the chips, quesadillas or i could eat it by the fork, i'm sure! yum! it was well under $11, and it was a fair amount of food, to be sure. the small tortillas were quite full of yummy-looking chicken and cheese.

i ordered a chile relleno dinner. it included my choice of meat (shredded chicken was my pick) stuffed into a relleno and was covered with sour cream sauce - per my choice of meat, i'm sure. it also included rice, beans and a cheese enchilada with chili. it was delicious! probably my favorite spot for a relleno now - stuffed full with meat and the sour cream sauce was spot on what i imagined it to be. the enchilada was plain, but it was a cheese enchilada with chili - not fancy anyway...i ordered the plate for the stuffed pepper! :) it was well under $9 and i was very full.

we had to end our dinner with a small (complimentary) sopapilla, though, and while tasty i thought mine was a little tough - it seemed that the frying oil might have been too hot. hubby and kiddo said there's were just fine, and not tough at all.

all in all, we were quite happy with our visit and hope to come back with some friends soon to share our find...but they'll have to drive down here to our place - haha... :)

great food!. authentic sauces and perfectly cooked meat. this place is typical of the restaurants in el paso. prices are good and themenuoffers a large variety.