07/08/09

Great for tasty and affordable Mexican cuisine

by plasmatorus

Efrain's (the original in Lafayette, though the other locations I've been to are also good) is IMHO, by far, the best Mexican restaurant in Boulder county. It is not without it's faults (merely ok margs and salsa and hit-or-miss service), but the strength of their best dishes coupled with the generous portions and very affordable prices make it a clear winner. Their chile verde burrito is superlative: it makes your face sweat while also being full of flavor. That said, the dish does vary (probably with the cooking staff): some days it's awesome, others, merely quite good. My wife and I also dig their altogether too humble sounding "beef burrito" which comes in an absolutely amazing (and fairly mild) red sauce. That said, the portions are generous and the prices surprisingly low.

Efrain's margs are ok. Served in a mason jar with salt (unless you request otherwise) they are generally reasonably priced and unremarkable

The service can be spotty. Sometimes you get lots of attention from your waitperson, other times very little. In my experience, there is little correlation between business and overall level of service.

Overall, I think it the best Mexican restaurant I've tried in Boulder county. It's nothing fancy, but has great food, great value, decent salsa/margs and highly variable service.

• Pros: Best Chile Verde in the greater Boulder area
• Cons: Quality of service and heat of chile verde burrito varies

01/08/09

Burn your face off green chili, stumble over your own feet margaritas & absolutely satisfying food!

by bananny

I have been eating at Efrain's for many years. My boyfriend of over 5 years now used to live two blocks from Efrain's. Before we moved in together, we used to walk down there for dinner and margaritas just about every weekend. Now that we live all the way out in Aurora, we still talk about how much we miss it. After Christmas a few weeks ago, we were on our way back from northern Colorado and took a detour to Lafayette just to have lunch. It was worth every extra minute we drove, every dollar spent and every extra bite we stuffed in our mouths just because we couldn't bear to leave anything on our plates! My boyfriend always gets the chili verde burrito, which is a dish I dare not tread on. I love spicy food, but this one is painfully spicy. I had a chicken chimichanga. Still spicy, however well balanced by juicy chicken, cheese, sour cream, guac and the lettuce with vinaigrette they serve with it. Unfortunately, we had a long drive ahead of us and it was the middle of the day so we didn't have any margaritas. Efrain's has branches open in Boulder & Longmont as well. I have eaten at both. While all 3 are very consistent with each other, the Lafayette location just seems a little better. The only drawback is the horrible, slow service. I have gone ignored with an empty glass of water (and a burning mouth) more times than I can count. We have sat for long periods of time waiting for the check or even waiting to just place an order. This is the only reason I gave Efrain's 4 stars out of 5. The price, value, food, flavors & drinks are all marvelous! Regardless of the crappy service, I can't wait until I get to go back!

• Pros: Spicy food is REALLY spicy, well flavored, great menu selection, not expensive, chill ambience, good drinks
• Cons: BAD service

07/11/08

Horrible, horrible, horrible service! Why do you employ these deadbeats?

by morganblitz

We were rushed to the bar area for seating and totally ignored by the "We are busy" excuse-ridden waitress. We don't need an excuse, just take our order! Tables seated after us were promptly serviced and maintained. We had to refill our own drinks by returning to the bar, obtaining our own water refills, etc. No return by the waitress from hell other than to give us the bill. Bartender was wonderful, thankfully. Why do you employ these types of "Don't Care" wait staff? We understand that this review will have no impact but we are fuming over a ruined evening because of shoddy service. Skip this one unless you have many hours.

• Pros: Bartender's personality
• Cons: Waitress from Hell

06/29/08

does the trick

by Sortajack

It's not the highest quality food, but its inexpensive and tastey and the Margharitas do the trick, you know?

• Pros: casual and tastey
• Cons: usually packed during dinner and lunch hours

07/03/07

Excellent authentic mex food. Yes, the service is slow when it's crowded just like everywhere else.

by rakehell

This restaurant has excellent authentic mexican food - the best in the denver metro area. I love their chicken enchiladas and chicken chimis. I don't eat red meat but my wife does and she says the tamales are the best she's ever tasted.

Are there times when they are crazy busy and the service gets slow? Of course! What do you expect on a Friday and Saturday night at a good restaurant? Go on a week night or on Sunday and everything will be fine.

Oh and you can order takeout. Mmmmmm.....

• Pros: Excellent authentic mexican food
• Cons: Gets crowded on Friday and Saturday night

12/18/06

Do not miss the Chili Verde Burrito

by geotrash

Efrain's has captured my wife's and my heart for our favorite restaurant in the Denver area. That's a strong statement, because I like food, and Mexican food especially. Don't come here expecting to have your every need catered to at 7PM on a Saturday night. That's not what this place is about. They're packed almost every night...and for a good reason: The chili verde burrito is the finest Mexican plate in all the land, and the Hornitos margarita rocks. They make the margaritas the right way- with tequila, Cointreau, and lime juice. They don't water them down with tons of fake mixers.

The staff is friendly and on average we find the service prompt and efficient. Sometimes when they're busy it might take a while to get a drink or take your order, but that's not the norm and when I have dinner with my wife, I'm in no hurry anyway. The chili verde burrito is worth it!

• Pros: Festive atmosphere, always busy, outstanding value
• Cons: Parking lot is small, but street parking around the corner is quick and easy

08/06/06

they used to be good

by lone_jugler

I was a big fan of Efrain's but recently the service and food have slipped. Just ate there tonight and the waiter didn't stop by to refill a single drink at our 5 person table. The chicken was dry and the flavors just weren't what they used to be. All five of us got something different and only one person was half satisfied with the quality.

• Pros: used to be good food
• Cons: quality is unreliable

03/13/06

Good food!

by si21

Usually pretty busy, and a simple place. But its a pretty good food actually. They could maybe have a better variety of burritos or enchilada's, there were a few interesting items on the menu. They could maybe use a little less sour in the margaritas. Service was good and friendly. Overall, very good.

• Pros: good service, tastful food
• Cons: so so margarita, more variety

08/05/05

Great Little Spot

by mmaypole

I've been coming to this restaurant with my family since I was in highschool. The owner is very friendly as is the staff. I have nothing bad to say about this place. Yes, it's small and noisy and finding a place to park can be difficult. But the food and service is totally worth it. My favorite is the blue corn chicken enchilades. They make my mouth water...

• Pros: mouth watering food
• Cons: parking

09/02/04

Authentic!

by blacksho89

Yes, it's loud. Yes, it's always busy.That's because it's good! The menu lets you know how hot the food is, there are vegetarian options for my stepdaughter, the Efrain's Special burrito will make you cry with delight over the flavor of the hottest chile verde north of Santa Fe! The servers are fast and friendly. If you're looking for chain restaurant food, do NOT go to Efrains. This place wasn't rated Best of Boulder for nothing!

• Pros: Food, Service, Parking
• Cons: , Noisy