El Corazon

The overall experience was poor. One waitress working entire restaurant. Food was not good. Slow service. Front door does not stay shut- hence very cold inside. Couldn’t wait to leave.

Great food, kid friendly!

Mediocre food. Dry appetizer plate. Refried beans were a grayish paste. We were very disappointed.

One of our favorite restaurants in portland. Love the casual vibe, family run business. Great vegetarian choices. Delicious and welcome change from Mexican chain restaurants. Love el corazon!

Love the pork tacos nice crispy pork, my trick is to save some of the free salsa that comes with chips and put it on the tacos, rice and beans

Great food! Service is friendly and quick. Had a great time. Would go again.

Great place. Great food. Great service.

The Hatch chili and California burrito are absolutely delicious and the service, atmosphere and price point make this place a go to when we dine out

It is rare that I write a negative review but I felt I had to let them know what was wrong. First the good.. the service was fantastic. Our server was sociable and attentive. The margaritas were great. Now the meal. I almost always get a veggie fajita when I eat Mexican food. When it arrived I noticed it only had red & green peppers and onions.. no mushrooms, squash or other veggies.. certainly not a deal breaker but disappointing since everywhere else has more different types of veggies. I then opened the cover for the flour tortillas. Two were literally broken in pieces and the edges were curled up..it was like they had been over microwaved and were day old. They were not a bit soft and pliable. It came with a side dish if retried beans and rice. The rice was fine but the beans were ice cold.. I did eat the meal but was very disappointed. I wanted to be able to support a local business. I did not complain at the time because I didn’t want to disrupt the dinner of the two other people I was with. This was such basic stuff. I couldn’t believe someone would serve broken / curled tortillas.. please check the basics

The tacos were the best we have ever had. Looking forward to our next visit.

Everything there is fine, not the freshest, not the most authentic but fine service, fine food, not the worst prices. I'd recommend the corn, otherwise meh.

Sat outside, which was lovely. Ordered the chilaquiles and waited a very long time for food to arrive, with lots of updates and apologies, and when it finally came, it was mediocre at best. We were excited to go and really wanted to like it, but probably won’t go back. Will head to Fajita Grill in Westbrook next time I want authentic Mexican cuisine.

As a native Mexican, el corazón is as authentic as it can be.
Salsas, tortillas, and food exactly the same as home

If Joseph is around, ask him about México, an incredible story teller. Will make you feel even closer to Mexico

Enjoyable experience and tasty food. Someone called in ill so the 2 waitresses did a wonderful job doing it all.

A must try place. If you like authentic Mexican, you will love this restaurant.

Food & service was wonderful! Love the open feel of the restaurant. Sangria was the best I have had in a long time. Would definitely come back.

Excellent food! Only two waitresses on who were running around to serve the entire restaurant and outdoors. Overall they did a great job considering only two people on. Highly recommend this place.

We really had fun watching the World Cup final while enjoying an excellent lunch. Joe, the owner, graciously welcomed us, and the service was outstanding.

Very nice authentic Mexican and Salvadoran food. I lived in El Salvador in the 1980’s, and ate where the locals did. The papusa’s are delicious and authentic! Portions are healthy but not too much. The stuffed jalapeños are a meal in themselves. Great evening!

Short staffed, would recommend a bar tender for drinks. Rather then having waiters running around doing all. Floors need a good sweep, dropped something dust and dirt was visible.

Great Friendly Service ❤️

Food was amazing I had the fish burrito and the flavor was outstanding. Joe the owner is such a nice man and he made sure our meals were fantastic. Highly recommend and will be going again soon! Thank you Joe!!!

Great restaurant! Great value! Great people who work there!

This was our second visit in a month. It was delicious and such a great bargain during Happy Hour. We ate off both regular and happy hour menus and enjoyed fresh tasting entre's and drinks. Our friends joined us this time and we made a reservation. It was really fun and conveniently located!

Already made a recommendation, will be back. What else do you want me to say?

When my party of four arrived at 645 the hostess looked at me and said we don’t have room for you. She then just stared at me. So I asked how long the wait would be. She said 30 minutes maybe sooner, and asked if I wanted my name down. I said yes and she begrudgingly took down my number. We went down the street to get a drink while we waited. One hour later we hadn’t gotten a call so used open table to reserve a table. A minute after I did that, she called me. When we arrived I could clearly see she had sat 4 parties in front of me. We sat down regardless, and received limited attention from the waiter, the food took an hour to arrive. After going there at 645, we ended up not eating until 930. And after the wait, the food was mediocre at best.

The food here was very good and as close as we've come to authentic Mexican food outside of California and Arizona (and other places). Laura was very welcoming and attentive and we enjoyed our conversation with her. Comfortable atmosphere, felt like a Mexican restaurant. We had the Chile Relleno and the Fish Tacos (one fish, one shrimp) and both were great.

Great happy hour (both drink and snack) specials. Nice staff as well. Would recommend!

The food is very tasty and authentic. We love the Sun Devil Platter and the distinctive lamb shank. Chicken quesadilla is excellent value for money. The owner is a friendly and informative host. Waiters are friendly and competent.

As always, a great time there. Fabulous service, excellent food.

Great food and experience. We were on vacation from New Orleans and were not looking to eat Mexican, but this was one of the few places open the day after Christmas. We were definitely glad we ate here. A must try in Portland, Maine.

New and improved menu. Really like the option of having 2-3 choices in the entree, so we had chicken mole, a tamale and a fish taco, all for $17!

Very mediocre food. First, note that the menu online bears little resemblance to the two menus (yes, 2) presented last night. The online menu suggests you can order just the tacos for a very reasonable price. But the actual menu only offers a carne asada taco plate, which came with two flour tortillas, beans and rice. The tacos were rather dry and the bland guacamole served on the side didn't do much to spice things up. The beans and rice were also unremarkable. Furthermore, as other diners have noted, the restaurant was freezing even though the outside temperature was in the mid '30s. I do not recommend this restaurant. The service was just fine, but I do not recommend this restaurant.

Best Mexican food I have had! Fresh, light, but still filling. Not that heavy feeling many places leave you with. However, it is FREEZING in the restaurant - probably due to the huge windows. We all kept our coats on. I will definitely return, but not until winter is over.

Best Authentic Mexican restaurant in town! Wonderful ambience and great service. I'm definitely going back very soon!

Very good food but interior is a bit worn and not much in the way of ambiance.

This restaurant is convenient to Longfellow Square where we were attending a show. Drinks, chips and salsa were good. Our food was not memorable. Not horrible, but bland and not what I would have expected after a recommendation I received. The ambiance was nice-though not fancy and the waitress was very good, helpful, friendly but not intrusive. I would recommend for drinks and chips and salsa after a show but not for the food based upon my one experience.

Food is authentic yet creative options. We were a group of four: one omnivore, one flexitarian, one vegetarian & one vegan. We all found dishes that were excellent & accommodated our dietary requirements.

Perfect for dinner and cocktails before a Longfellow show - make reservations though, this place gets busy and for good reason!

Love that the lamb adobo is local. The mole poblano sauce is fabulous. We have trouble hearing in noisy restaurants so went early and it was fine.