Sofia’s

The San Elizario Church is the last stop along El Paso’s Mission Trail as you travel east from Ysleta, and just as you enter the town of San Elizario you will see Glorietta Road angling off to the right, where you will find Sofia’s Restaurant. While not seeming to cater very much to tourists, this clean restaurant nevertheless makes a comfortable stop for visitors to the area as well as many locals who mainly come inside to pick up orders to go.

2005 Comments
I tried to discover Sofia’s specialties by ordering a combination plate, and it turned out that everything was good. Usually when I recommend the Mexican plate it is because no one item stands out, but the combination of flavors enhances the experience of eating the food. Here I am recommending it because everything is so delicious, you do not want to miss out on any item if you can help it.

All orders come with chips and salsa, and these are obviously home made. The beans and rice are enjoyable, and I would recommend ordering lemonade as a drink (the one here is not too sweet and tastes just right).

I made a few substitutions on the Mexican plate since I did not want ground beef, so I ended up with both a red and green enchilada. Although the Red Enchilada was hotter than normal for El Paso, the Green Enchilada actually tasted better and would be my preference.

The Chile Relleno was excellent, and almost as spicy as those served in New Mexico.

The Flauta was thick and filled with white meat chicken– although the guacamole and sour cream were nothing special, overall the flauta was quite good.

I substituted a Taco Deshebrada for the one with ground beef, and this was probably the highlight of the meal– the shell was crispy as it should be, the meat was not greasy, and the cheese complemented the flavor.

2025 Comments
Two decades later I was able to return and have a much anticipated meal here. The food was as I remembered, meaning that it was worth the trip. My comments are much the same as on the first visit.

Chips and salsa

Although it is not unusual to have a great salsa with a Mexican meal in El Paso, it is a little unusual to have two. I don’t know if they are rotated or if they always have the two I was served.

Fideo soup

Fideo Soup came with the meal as a free appetizer. It looks filling in the photo, and was even more so in reality, but I managed to eat it and the monster sized plate that followed (hint: it helps to go late in the afternoon on a very empty stomach as I did on this occasion).

Plato mexicano with an extra enchilada

In this photo is the Mexican plate that I had waited so long to try again. The only difference is that instead of substituting an item for an enchilada I got the full plate and ordered an extra enchilada, so I would have both red and green. This time I got the Taco with the standard ground beef, and it was good when I added a generous amount of the green salsa to it.

The Red Enchilada was not as spicy as before, but was my favorite out of the two enchiladas. The Green Enchilada was still as good as I remembered and was still not very spicy. I would still want to order both of them on future visits.

The Gordita came with ground beef, and like the taco was good with green salsa on it.

The Chile Relleno was not as spicy as it apparently was on the first visit, but was very good. One of the best features was the cheese which stays soft throughout the meal.

Additional Comments
Most of the items were covered with white Mexican cheese, and not only is the food made with healthy vegetable oil, it is used sparingly enough so that the food tastes light instead of greasy.

Sofia’s is one of the places where I can say everything is good. Not only is this the case, but so far it has withstood the test of time.

This is also one of the Mexican restaurants where the food is easy to digest.

RATING: 24

Mexican Food Details

Chile Index:
Cooking Oil:	Vegetable

 

Special Ratings

	Red Enchiladas
	Green Enchiladas
	Chile Relleno
	Flautas
	Tacos Deshebradas
	Beans
	Rice
	Chips
	Salsa