Vaqueros Cafe & Cantina

One of the best Mexican food in Austin. We had great service from Chris. It was a little too warm to really enjoy the outdoor seating but we will return on a milder day

Nothing great about the restaurant overall. Elaborate menu but nothing stands out. Plenty of parking and usually easy to find one even during peak hours. Plenty of seating area. Bar seating available too. Had us seated quickly, hardly any wait. Service was helpful and attentive but seemed like she had too many tables to cover. Prices are exorbitant for the quality and taste of the food. Chips and salsa are on the house and definitely tasty. Had to add the same salsa to my dish to improve its flavor. Decor inside is rustic and mgmt has tried to make it look more authentic to Mexican style, not sure if it hits the mark though. Food was okay, run of the mill, shredded chicken hardly had any taste. Rice and beans on the side lacked even salt. Vegetarian enchiladas had only raw veggies stuffed inside wasn’t much palatable. May be okay for a 1 time visit.

WOW!! The best fajitas I've had! We ordered the flight off margs, fajitas, and queso flameado. All of it was so delicious! The experience of the queso flameado is a must.

The El Burro was one of the best burritos I've had in years. Great service and even better food.

December 2023: It was time to give Vaqueros Cafe & Cantina a try where my wife and I were hungry plus traffic was starting to back up on Loop 360 to a standstill. The outside was nicely decorated for this holidays and as I walked in was greeted not by an employee but a customer who noticed I was gazing at a life-sized bull who was wearing a top hat. This place was very friendly from the start. The inside was also nice decorated for the holidays and was seated at a booth with a view of nice mural outside disputing a Texas landscape with cowboys (vaqueros). It definitely had great Mexican atmosphere. I ordered the Chicken Fajitas off the lunch menu along with a house margarita on the rocks. I could see they made their own tortillas and a nice tequila collection at the bar. Chips with two types of salsas were placed on our table. I tried them both and the chips were nice and crispy and the salsas were tasty. It was good stuff. Next my order was ready and was actually expecting two or three prepared fajita tacos since it was just the lunch special, but I was actually give the premium experience. Multiple plates were placed down in front of me to build my own tacos. The chicken was sizzling and smelled good. The other plates had grilled peppers and onions, guacamole, pico de Gallo, cheese, and rice and beans. I was impressed and they definitely outdid their competition for lunch specials. The chicken had tremendous flavor, the beans had a smokey taste to it and all wrapped in warm soft flour tortillas. As a bonus a huge crispy jalepeño was included where cut it and stuffed it in my tacos. It was the best fajitas I had in a long time. And the margaritas were very good too. I was extremely impressed with the service and food, and suggested it to my supervisor where now going to have our company lunch here

Carmelo was our server. A last minute lunch with my girlfriend on 10-14-24 @ 1 PM. We had a wonderful time. So relaxing. He was so attentive, friendly & helpful when we asked questions on menu. He has wonderful customer service & made us feel welcome & our meal was delicious. We told him we were in no rush & we were getting caught up & visiting. He checked on us a few times but for the most time, he left us to chat & visit. The classic lime margarita & dark horse wine was so tasty. We will definitely be back & hope that Carmelo is working so we can have him again as our server. The restaurant has plenty of parking. The restroom was clean & well stocked. Thank you, Rose & Cheryl

This place uses false and deceptive advertising. My friend and I decided to try it because it said they had $7 happy hour margaritas. The food is overpriced for what it is but we accepted it because of the happy hour margaritas. When we got our bill it was almost $180! They charged us $17 per margarita because I didn't say happy hour when I ordered the house margarita. The website says house margarita $7. The waiter told me I was looking at the happy hour menu and you must say happy hour before margarita to get $7. But beyond that they did not tell us there were two sizes of margaritas and of course gave us the largest one that cost the most. After speaking to his manager he came back and said he could not charge a $7 for the margaritas because he gave us large margaritas so they would have to be $12 for the happy hour price. That's better than $17 but not much. I will never go back to this place at all. All they do is upcharge. I would much rather go someplace local that is not affiliated with Westlake. I guess they think that only rich people eat there and they should just screw everyone over. If I could give less than one star I would.

Our friends took us to Vaqueros and I regret we haven’t been there earlier. Mexican food at its best! 🇲🇽 Food was amazing. Steak Fajita is by far the best I’ve ever had. Portions are huge. Dips, chips, salsa, queso, house made tortillas.. 🌮 You basically can not go wrong here. Frozen Rita is also outstanding. 🍹 Staff is kind. They have lots of room, inside and outside. Also a kids playground at the back garden. I sure will come more and try rest of their menu as soon as I can. Hats off! 🎩