Los Vaqueros Cantina & Grill offers traditional Mexican fare in a fun, ‘south of the border’ atmosphere

Anyone looking for authentic Mexican fare in the Hemet and San Jacinto Valley need look no further than Los Vaqueros Cantina & Grill, located off Hwy. 74/Florida Ave., on Hemet’s west end of town.

Serving fresh, authentic, Mexican favorites, Los Vaqueros is the best place in the valley to enjoy a truly enjoyable Mexican meal in a venue that offers a real “south of the border” atmosphere.

With its interior modeled to look like any adobe villa one might find in Mexico, Los Vaqueros features traditional, authentic art and decorations; quality meals; daily food and drink specials; and a multitude of entertainment options – all at reasonable prices.

Los Vaqueros features a full bar set apart from the dining area, that offers a variety of wines, specialty margaritas, domestic and Mexican beers, and other drinks made to order.

Ray Visco, Los Vaqeros’ general manager is so passionate about the restaurant, he calls it “his baby.”

Visco, who started with Los Vaqueros as assistant manager when the restaurant opened its doors 16 years ago, explained, “We’ve had to build from nothing and little by little created a destination restaurant for generations to enjoy. I’m already seeing this.”

“Being an independent restaurant I have great freedom to be creative with menu items and marketing ideas,” Visco explained.

To make their patrons’ experience more authentic and memorable, Los Vaqueros offers a variety of entertainment options to keep guests in the mood for a fun festive meal out with family or friends.

From offering live music on Wednesday and Thursday nights, special guest band nights, Karaoke and DJ’s that play music by request every Friday night and even an Elvis Karaoke night, the fun at Los Vaqueros never ends.

Visco thinks what keeps so many patrons coming back is that the restaurant “is kind of a blend of Mexican “Cheers” and Mexican Knotts Berry Farm.”

“The restaurant just has so much character.” Visco explained.

Patrons can watch fresh, handmade tortillas being made daily from the tortilla bar located in the center of the dining area, while a trio of musicians move throughout the dining room offering traditional Mexican ballads.

Whether you are looking for a comfortable afternoon meal or a relaxed evening of dining out, guests can always expect to receive excellent customer service provided by Los Vaqueros’ knowledgeable and well-trained staff.

Once patrons have ordered their favorite margarita or ice cold cerveza to get their meal started right, Los Vaqueros offers more than a dozen quality appetizers large enough to share with your dining companions. Some of their appetizers include queso fundido, jalapeño poppers, and carne asada fries.

Two of Los Vaqueros’ most popular “aperitivos” include their Nachos Supreme – served with your choice of shredded beef, ground beef, or chicken; topped with beans, red sauce, cheese, guacamole, sour cream, pico de gallo, and olives; and their Los Vaqueros Platter – served with a combination of nachos, cheese and beans, quesadillas, buffalo wings, chicken strips, guacamole, sour cream, pico de gallo, and olives.

Los Vaqueros also offers a fresh seafood selection with eleven different seafood-based meals; authentic soups including albondigas (meatball), caldo de pollo (chicken), cocido (vegetable beef) and tortilla; and a large selection of nearly a dozen combination plates, chimichangas, enchiladas, tostadas, and sizzling-hot fajitas.

Los Vaqueros featured a variety of nine different house specialties, platos grandes, burritos a la carte, nine different children’s plates – each for $6.99, more than a dozen different side dishes, and a variety of deserts to satisfy anyone’s tastes.

For those who prefer a vegetarian meal, Los Vaqueros offers a number of veggie plates as well, including spinach enchiladas topped with chipotle cream sauce and served with black beans and rice, a veggie burrito, veggie fajitas and a veggie plate.

With all their food and drink offerings, Los Vaqueros offers something for everyone.

During a recent visit, our waiter was very helpful and described for us the various daily specialties and menu favorites.

For our appetizer, we decided to order the Los Vaqueros Platter. We were definitely not disappointed by the portion size.

For our meals we chose the chicken chimichanga – a crispy, deep fried burrito served with rice and beans, guacamole, sour cream, and tomatillo sauce; and one of Los Vaqueros’ “Famous Grande Fajitas” – that includes shrimp, chicken, and U.S.D.A. Choice steak and includes beans, rice, guacamole, sour cream, sauteed fresh peppers and onions and your choice of handmade flour or corn tortillas.

For desert we chose to keep things simple and split an order of Los Vaqueros’ El Greengo, consisting of mint chocolate chip ice cream rolled in Oreo cookie crumbs, with hot fudge and whipped cream garnished with cinnamon sugar buñuelos.

Needless to say, we brought home more food than we managed to eat at the restaurant.

Los Vaqueros offers drink specials on house margarita, beers, well drinks and happy hour appetizers for only $4.99 Monday through Friday 3 p.m. until 7 p.m. They also have Margarita Mondays when they serve their house margaritas for $3.99 and fruit margaritas for $4.99 all day.

The restaurant also features an early bird dinner, Mondays through Fridays from 2 p.m. until 5 p.m., a pronto lunch special Mondays through Saturdays 11 p.m. until 2 p.m., a quick and easy lunch buffet weekdays 11 p.m. until 2 p.m., and a champagne Sunday Brunch from 10 p.m. until 2 p.m.

Additionally, kids eat free Tuesday & Sunday nights after 4 p.m.

Los Vaqueros offers a large room for those planning a special event. For those wanting to enjoy Los Vaquesros’ food offerings for their own party, Los Vaqueros also offers catering.

As Los Vaqueros says on its’ website, “Don’t live in Hemet? Well, come on over anyway. It will be worth the drive.”

Los Vaqueros Cantina & Grill is located at 3909 W. Florida Avenue, Hemet CA. For more information they can be reached at (951) 766-1192 or online at losvaquerosrestaurant.com

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Contact the writer: [email protected]

Trevor Montgomery, 47, moved last year to the Intermountain area of Shasta County from Riverside County and runs Riverside County News Source and Shasta County News Source. Additionally, he writes for several other news organizations; including Riverside County based newspapers, Valley News, The Valley Chronicle, and Anza Valley Outlook; as well as Bonsall/Fallbrook Village News in San Diego County and Mountain Echo in Shasta County.

Trevor spent 10 years in the U.S. Army as an Orthopedic Specialist before joining the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department in 1998. He was medically retired after losing his leg, breaking his back, and suffering both spinal cord and brain injuries in an off-duty accident. (Click here to see segment of Discovery Channel documentary of Trevor’s accident.)

During his time with the sheriff’s department, Trevor worked at several different stations; including Robert Presley Detention Center, Southwest Station in Temecula, Hemet/Valle Vista Station, Ben Clark Public Safety Training Center, and Lake Elsinore Station; along with other locations.

Trevor’s assignments included Corrections, Patrol, DUI Enforcement, Boat and Personal Water-Craft based Lake Patrol, Off-Road Vehicle Enforcement, Problem Oriented Policing Team, and Personnel/Background Investigations. He finished his career while working as a Sex Crimes and Child Abuse Investigator and was a court-designated expert in child abuse and child sex-related crimes.

Trevor has been married for more than 28 years and was a foster parent to more than 60 children over 13 years. He is now an adoptive parent and his “fluid family” includes 13 children and 15 – but soon to be 16 – grandchildren.