Review El Caporal - Grand Rapids

The service was perfect. The workers were very kind and pleasant. The food was very tasty and delicious. Good portions for lunch. The atmosphere is diner style so not extravagant but good for lunch dining. I hear they're opening a brand new restaurant so I look forward to that!

The food is pretty good it’s authentic and it’s very cheap so it’s not bad. This restaurant wants you to seat yourself and wait for a server and then once you’re done you go to the front and pay for your meal. I don’t really mind it but for some they might. I wish the menu had a better description of the ingredients in the menu items for example it only said tamale but there are many different types of meats and salsa to put into a tamale. I’d go again though because it was pretty good for a group of me and my friends.

Read a lot about not clean or bad service but I didn't experience either. My first time here and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Friendly staff (super busy) and great food that came out quickly and correctly. To top it all off, it was really inexpensive I had the steak torta and a tamale and both were fantastic. Will be returning soon

Delicious food. Amazing service. Only wish is they had a salsa but they just have a traditional red and green. The grilled onions are a treat. Highly recommended.

Seriously great food every Single TIME. Good environment. Tacos have onions, cilantro, perfectly seasoned proteins. Corn tortillas. Most entrees served with a side of grilled whole green onions, and jalapeños. Love love love. Best in GR.

The BEST authentic Mexican restaurant around! It seriously does not get any better than this. Our go to is the Alambre (with shrimp!). Served with corn tortillas and a plate of roasted onions/jalapenos. One order is large enough for the two of us.. especially since they deliver a basket of fresh chips and salsa as soon as your seated. The service is always fantastic and the food is phenomenal. Easily one of our favorite restaurants in the area!

This is my favorite place to get a real taco. Nice friendly staff. Order comes up quickly. I also get the refried beans with cheese, guacamole and chips. They have the best chips thank you Tacos El Caporal!!!*

The food is always good here. They messed up my moms order but gladly fixed it no issue. You can count on a returning client forsure.

Good place for Mexican. The food was fresh and the service was quick. The food seems very authentic, well as authentic as you would want. The grill they cook on is visible while you pay or depending on where you sit. They go through a lot of meat and onions. The food being cooked looks very fresh and healthy. I would definitely eat there again. The taco combo came with a side dish of assorted vegetables. The onions were delicious!

The food is great for your Hispanic or Latino people like me; the food is taken from some parts of Central and South America, and the people there are nice!

It was very busy, the food was good and tasted authentic. Could create a better line system for takeout customers

This is my favorite Mexican food in town. We almost always get take-out and everything travels well. Anything barbacoa, is amazing!

A friend took me here for lunch raving about the food.  I had the shrimp tacos which were fabulous!  I really loved that the salsa was fresh, packed with flavor and with a little kick, too.  I will definitely recommend this place to friends!  It's a casual, family atmosphere and our waitress was a delight.

I had a really great experience at Taco's El Caporal. Not only was the food absolutely delicious but it was affordable too. I was easily able to find vegetarian options and there were options for my non-vegetarian boyfriend too. I ended up getting the tostadas which were really fresh and I also got some horchata which balanced the meal out well. The only annoying thing was that there were people sitting down to be served and also people waiting in line so it was unclear what to do but I definitely plan on going back. It was worth the 10 minute drive outside of downtown.

Tacos el corporal. This is by far our favorite authentic Mexican restaurant! The food is absolutely delicious, and the staff is always friendly.

Great food, good prices. One of , if not the best Mexican family restaurants in Grand Rapids. Generous portions of cooked to order items. Wait times are to be expected for freshly prepared food. Love the food,prices and friendliness of the staff. My only suggestion is that you double check your order with server. Purchase wet burritos at least once a week. Last two visits was given dry. Also noticed new cooks and less flavor in our order this time. Items were still tasty and generous. Just not as ordered. I hope this restaurant pays more attention to the details and continues to deliver the excellent food and values we have solicited our friends and family with.My family and I will continue our weekly indulgence regardless of the minor errors.THE FOOD IS GOOD!!!!!!!

Best Mexican restaurant. I am Mexican and every time I feel like eating Mexican food this is the BEST play to go. The price is reasonable and their Tortas are amazing. I really recommend.

Good gorditas but the cleanliness of this place is the least bit to be desired. Tables full of trash and floors not swept all day.

While in Gramd Rapids on a business trip I found myself craving authentic mexican fare. After searching on Urban Spoon for "just the right place" I ce across this place. The previous reviews were not wrong. The food was fantastic! When I first arrived I was greeted by a young, and might I say, quite cute waitress. She was gleaming with a smile that melted my heart. Unfortunately, for me anyway, she had on a wedding ring : (. I ordered what I knew was too much food but couldn't help it for I wanted to try everything. I had two asada tacos and a pastor taco with corn tortillas. I also ordered two tamales. Again, this was too much food but consumed it all. They were OUTSTANDING!!!!! I will be back to try other dishes the next time I am in town.

Favorite Mexican food in GR. This is a very low brow restaurant. If you are looking to be impressed with your surroundings, this is not for you. If you want some excellent food, it is.<br/><br/> If you are interested in take out, call in your order first and it will be waiting for you on arrival.

Loved it!!!. Wow. Could not be happier that I stumbled across this gem of a place. The food was amazing, and got tons of great quality food for a very reasonable price. Highly recommend the guacamole. Will be back for sure!

Best Mexican in town. I found this restaurant by error, but am sure glad!!! Their meat is so flavorful so whatever you eat is good. My favorites are the beef tacos and the beef quesadilla. When they first opened most of the employees did not speak English, so that gives a clue as to the authenticity of it being Mexican. Unlike some complaints on here, I have no problem conveying my order because most of them now speak English, and the service has been pretty good. As with any restaurant, if you go right at the lunch or dinner hour you may have a wait. When they first opened they only had one room with eight tables but sometime in the past year or so, they have opened up to the next building, thus, there are two doors. Don't miss it if you want REAL Mexican food.

If you are willing to accept chatty waitresses, rude service and a long wait- then the food is not bad. But it's not worth my time.

I loveeeeeeeeeeee this place they have they best food ib michigan by far i just wish they had people that apeak a little better. Engishi i ununderstan . Its there second languag. .....wich mmake. It understandable the food makez up fr it

Tasty food. SLOW service. Was told 20 minute wait for a to go order...waited 50 minutes. It was good but I won't be in any rush to go back.

MexTastic!. For an experience from the mesas of true mexican culture...this is a venue NOT to be missed! <br/><br/>Some might say the ambiance is to be desired, however, if you have ventured into any TRUE mexican restaurant, this is about as authentic as you can get. No frills, basic service, frugal aesthetics. Signage and notifications are handwritten. No refills on the Horchata or Jamaica! LOL!<br/><br/>However, if you crave the fiery sensations of homemade salsa on your tongue or the texture and mild spice of chili peppers and flavorful pork, beef or chicken....this is the place to be.<br/><br/>I love reading all the signs and practicing my spanish. The employees are kind and the restaurant is generous with their portions. With every meal, no matter how large or small, you are sure to get your vegetables. You will receive a small foil package containing radishes, green onions, limes and jalapenos. These are all intended to accentuate the flavors of your meal and cleanse the palate. <br/><br/>When it comes to good mexican food, you must never let the visual of the restaurant frighten you...if its clean and the kitchen is within view, you are sure to find a treasure of tastes that challenge the dull mundane food that is typically served in this region. <br/><br/>Taco's El Caporal is a definite must taste you should add to your list! Their hours are open late, so you can fill your after party belly, pregnant wifes cravings or the insomniacs urges for latenight fare. <br/><br/>Salud!

Delicious, authentic Mexican American cuisine. You're going to want to drag your kill home, as the atmosphere of the restaurant itself leaves something to be desired. The service is pleasant a d they prepare to go orders very quickly. I recommend the tacos dorados.

Like an orgasm. Living in Arizona and California for over a decade, I got accustomed to REAL Mexican food. I searched all over Grand Rapids for it, and ate a lot of food that tasted like Old El Paso from a box UNTIL... someone pointed me towards Tacos El Caporal.<br/><br/>I get the steak burrito, wet with green sauce. It is HUGE, and the first half is so satisfying... my mouth on fire from the green sauce but I don't care. I keep shoveling it in. The second half is awesome too, but I get so stuffed from these things I start hitting a wall. I highly suggest eating here. Let's just put it this way; I now live 3 hours away and whenever I am in GR I make a special trip here to get my Mex fix.

Yup. My twitter buddy, @swmichdining, has been RAVING about a place on Division called Taqueria San Jose. So, we used our latest family outing to Grand Rapids to check it out. Unfortunately, he forgot to mention (and, to be fair, I forgot to ask), Taqueria San Jose is, pretty much, a take-out only joint (a small handful of tables, but not enough to accommodate my family of 5). So, we were off to find another suitable destination for tacos.<br/><br/>Lo and behold, Urbanspoon points us here -- Tacos El Caporal. Perfect. A sit down/takeout restaurant which, as it turned out, served up some truly outstanding Mexican food. There are the complimentary chips (although, no salsa, only hot sauce) which were decent, although nothing to write home about. But the rest of it was PHENOMENAL. I got a lot of food here, so I'll just take it in order. <br/><br/>The al pastor tostada was very good; if I had it to do over again (which I will next time I'm in GR), I'd get the al pastor on the tacos instead of the tostada, but the tostada shell, beans, and related accouterments complimented the very, very good al pastor. Except for the al pastor served at the now-closed La Mexicana in Kalamazoo, this was, without question, the best al pastor I've had in Michigan -- meaty, flavorful, well seasoned and slightly sweet without being buried under an avalanche of pineapple. Really terrific.<br/><br/>The tamale was also reasonably good; although the pork needed a little more something. The cornmeal was great. Throw some hot sauce on it and muy bueno.<br/><br/>The tacos diablo -- four shredded beef tacos on homemade, lightly fried corn toritillas -- were really the star here. Although they too benefited from the addition of a little hot sauce, it's hard to find tacos prepared this way in the midwest, and I was ecstatic to find them here. Next time, I might try it with a little carne asada instead to see how that is, but as is, they were great.<br/><br/>All told, this was one of the best Mexican meals we've had in GR and we highly recommend it.

Good food, sketchy service and atmosphere. This place has all the charm of a dirty Mexican bus station. Walk in and you can either sit down and wait for a waitress, or order at the counter for takeout. This distinction is not exactly immediately clear upon entering. I ordered takeout at the counter, and waited so long to get my food, I ended up just taking a booth and eating it there, which felt a little weird, as there was a waitress/counter girl waiting on other customers at their tables around me. It was a bit of a madhouse, with people hanging around waiting for orders, some impatiently as the wait time was very long, and I witnessed at least two incorrect orders that had to be corrected, and some takeout orders that sat on a shelf for a LONG time with no-one claiming them. In that situation, the staff did seem very apologetic and attempted to satisfy the somewhat irate lady who was really disappointed that they were out of tamales.<br/><br/>The food was great. I ordered a carne asada taco, and a pork gordita- both very tasty, though I could have used more cilantro. I was unsure if the takeout would come with the plate of radishes, limes, jalapenos and onions that I saw the dine-in customers getting, so I was happily surprised when I got a foil packet full. The roasted jalapenos were VERY hot, and they kind of overdid it with too much of these tasty garnishes for just two items.<br/><br/>One review stated there are only 10 tables here, but there is a second room that has more tables. <br/><br/>Overall, great food, I would definitely put up with the lousy, albeit slightly entertaining atmosphere to eat here again.

1.99 tacos and wow great tasty food. Doesn't get any better

Awesome...authentic...taco bus <br/>sit down style..the REAL thing<br/>...

Fast, cheap, tasty tacos. Pairs well with beer.

Good food steak taco's at 2bucks apeace nachos burritos 5-6 bucks .big bag of torritilla for 2$ all around good food.

TRY 'EM!. This place cranks-out some really excellent mexican food. Their cuisine has to be considered near the top of the list of all tex-mex joints in SW Michigan. <br/><br/>Only about 10 tables; We lucked out, sat down right away on a Saturday afternoon, and watched as a line began to form for tableservice. BUSY place; Much of their business is take-out. <br/><br/>The room has the ambiance of a diner w/styrofoam cups, paper plates and plastic utensils but the quality of what they serve-up here more than makes-up for all that. You can watch the cooks do their thing and they're in non-stop motion. The waitresses were pleasant and provided everything we wanted. <br/><br/>The complementary homemade chips & salsa were excellent with the salsa (green & red) being served in squirt bottles. I had some really tasty Tacos Carnitas and Tacos Al Pastor. With your entree comes a plate of fresh sliced lime, sliced radishes, jalapeno peppers, and grilled baby green onions. My wife enjoyed the beef/chicken dish she ordered and that I forgot the name of...<br/><br/>If you're wanting some really good mexican chow and don't need serapes and sombreros hanging off the walls, then try Tacos El Caporal. <br/><br/>We will be back...

Cruising southwest for a new restaurant, we came upon this one claiming to be “chief (alright, foreman) of the tacos.” How could we resist? Two entrances make it a little confusing ~ one opens into a dining room and the other into a smaller dining area with a take-out counter and waiting area. The smaller room holds about 8 booths along with the open kitchen, and the dining room holds about twice as much seating area. It was busy this lunch hour, complete with dining-in Wyoming police, and we had to wait a bit for service. Our first server brought us menus, and shortly thereafter, tortilla chips and very spicy red (hotter than the green) and green salsa. Unfortunately, we didn’t get small plates on which to enjoy them but had to apply salsa individually to each chip.  Also unfortunately, there’s a lot of styrofoam used here along with plastic silverware. Another server came to take our order, neither of them spoke much English, and both seemed a little ill at ease with us and we’re not