El Paisano

Fantastic food. Excellent interior with tons of space and seating. Food is on higher price range for Mexican in this area. But very high quality and delicious. Good service and great chips and salsa. Recommend the steak tacos! Went during lunch time and it was packed with staff and customers.

No liquor license yet. I believe the waiter said they would have it at the beginning of June. The restaurant is huge so obviously can handle large parties and probably will never have a wait because it is enormous inside. The menu was large, varied and had many authentic Mexican dishes. The chicken Veracruz that I had was delicious. I hope to visit there again soon and try something else because it looked like they had many many delicious offerings. Had flan for dessert and it was the largest serving of flan I've ever gotten in a Mexican restaurant and it was also delicious. The waiter was very friendly and knowledgeable.

The experience was amazing . Food taste awesome. Very accommodating to my food allergy.Food: 5/5

Ordered take out tonight & once I got home I realized the cheese dip was only half full. The guacamole was brown & tortillas for the fajitas were super greasy. This was my 3rd time trying them & all 3 attempts weren't great. The atmosphere is cute but the food is small quantities & bland.Food: 2/5

Simply the best Mexican joint in town, I don't wanna hear otherwise. The owners and staff are lovely, the dishes are affordable and substantial, and the tallest man in SoIll deserves the biggest tip you can muster. Check out their grocer too, great stuff there.Food: 5/5

Elegant dining at below market pricing. Very accessible space. Could use a touch more of that festive atmosphere for my taste. Pico de Gallo hits my nose like no other.Food: 5/5

Very unsatisfied ordered a shredded beef chimi and a chicken taco salad. Chimi meat wasn't shredded and full of fat. Rice had corn mixed in it. Only ate 2 bites but still had to pay the 29.00 bill. Won't go back.Food: 1/5

For those who prefer short reviews -- get the street tacos/traditional style and maybe nothing else.... To elaborate, the chicken street tacos, quick service, and friendly staff are the only reason for my three stars. The chicken tamale was pretty good but lacked flavor and was not hot. Salsa is not great, rice and beans are pretty good. The spinach burrito was just laughable, I'm not even mad. The tortillas were not spinach, they were plain wheat they likely just ran out of spinach or don't actually have them, it's fine but there was nothing holding the burrito together...no cheese...no beans...beans and cheese weren't in the description so I'll give them that but maybe it should then be described as a vegan option?. It was just wheat tortilla limply hanging around sautéed broccoli, yellow squash, and mushrooms no trace of other listed toppings: onion, bell pepper, tomato, or cauliflower. It was a very weak display of a vegetarian option and it cost like 10.99. I'd happily eat the street tacos again, they were hot and delicious and traditional -- but, for our first time eating here, I was pretty bummed about the other things.

El Paisano is our favorite Mexican restaurant in Carbondale. I always get the dinner special that includes a tamal, enchilada, burrito, taco, chile relleno they actually do these right, unlike some places I've visited as of late tostada, AND rice and beans for $11.99. You can't beat that value! It's also great to go to the little grocery store attached to the restaurant. They carry great snacks and necessities if you want to prepare Mexican cuisine at home.

I almost bought the special plate which has everything for 11$ but than I noticed they had caldo de 7 Mares soup of the 7 seas which most Mexican restaurants don't have. They also have a great frothy horchata rice pudding drink. Even with the reservation of 20 next to us the service was good. My friends got a double order of fajitas which was way too for 4 of us to finish. The best is of course their tacos. Simple and tasty. Add a mango margarita and the meal was perfect