El Sombrero Tapatio: A Family Affair in East Portland

A version of this article about Mama Elvira and El Sombrero Tapatio entitled, “Mama Elvira’ builds loyal following” was printed in the Hollywood Star News in June 2026.

I’ve been eating at El Sombrero Tapatio since I moved to East Portland in 2019. Opened originally in 2002, it’s a mainstay of the restaurant scene in Parkrose. Mama Elvira, the matriarch of the family behind El Sombrero, is the heart and soul of the kitchen, but this restaurant is truly a team effort—relatives and close family friends all contribute to its success.

Elvira and Parkrose

Elvira Navarro, who is originally from the state of Jalisco and immigrated to the United States in the 1970s, has been cooking in the kitchen at El Sombrero Tapatio for the past 10 years. “Before that, she was a waitress for 10 years and a busser before that,” said her daughter Flor Guitron Navarro, who translated. The restaurant will turn 25 in 2027.

Flor’s uncle Juan Guitron and his wife Martha Guitron bought the restaurant originally—which already had the name “El Sombrero Tapatio ”—from the previous owner, Patricia, who wanted to retire at the time. They knew it was a good opportunity then; it is currently owned by her uncle and her dad.

Elvira and her family have seen a number of changes in Parkrose over the years. They used to see a lot of corporate people in the mornings with a busy time at lunch. But that changed during COVID, with a lot of people shifting to working from home. The arrival of Cascade Station drew people away to eat there, too. However, they do see a lot of people come over from Vancouver to eat there.

“I think right now, we’ve seen a big change with a lot of community members coming together to make Parkrose thrive more,” said Flor. We have the Parkrose Coffee Shop, and they’re regulars here, which we love.” The family at El Sombrero tries to go there and support them. “We even did a collaboration on a drink once, which was fun,” said Flor.

And they happily continue to serve the local Parkrose community, the Mexican community, and the large Portland community of people that love good food. As Elvira says, “Everyone is welcome here.”

Love in the Food at El Sombrero Tapatio

For Elvira, the energy she adds to the food in her kitchen is as important as the ingredients and the recipes, many of which she brought with her from Mexico. “She puts a lot of love and care into her food,” said Flor. “And people keep coming back to dine with us because of it.”

“Whenever she’s making the mole or the chile verde, she always makes little plates of it and goes around and asks all of us: ‘What do you think?’ She always looks for our approval and often asks for feedback from the customers. And she’s always reminding us to take good care of them.”

Enchiladas Suizas from El Sombrero Tapatio. — My personal favorite dish: Enchiladas Suizas, filled with cheese and accompanied by rice and refried beans.

Most Prized Recipes

As I mentioned above, Elvira brought a number of family recipes with her from Mexico, and some of the most beloved ones that she makes are the chile verde and the mole. And more recently, the birria, which they added to the menu about three years ago. “We had it as a special, but we sold out so quickly and people kept asking for it. So my mom decided to leave it on the menu,” explained Flor.

As for what Elvira’s menu favorites are, she said, “Everything!” But when I asked her what her favorite thing to eat is, the answer was, “les frijoles”—the beans. And boy, are those refried beans good—some considered them the best in Portland. Flor said, “Usually what she eats, it’s really busy in the back. But she just goes and heats up three tortillas and adds beans to them.”

Hospitality

Along with the food, hospitality is very important to Elvira and the family. “One of the key things for us is we want to make people feel like family the minute that they step into our door,” said Flor.” A lot of their customers are regulars, and they know their usual orders. For Elvira and the rest of the staff, taking care of them doesn’t feel like a job but a part of who they are and what their family does.

“Whenever my mom hires anybody, her main concern is that they must have good customer service skills.” And the kind that aligns with their practice of treating customers like family. Elvira’s decade on the restaurant floor deeply influences her knowledge about what makes for good customer service at El Sombrero.

And her reputation lingers—she still has customers that eat there because of her. “She has so many fans, and that’s the thing that amazes me and makes me want to build on what she started,” said Flor. “I know that she has a lot of customers that return just to talk to her. And even though there’s that language barrier, she has built such nice friendships with them.”

Parkrose Without El Sombrero Tapatio?

I asked Elvira what Parkrose would be like without El Sombrero. It was clear that this question moved her. She said there would be sadness shared by their customers as well as her family, which has seen generations in families grow up and eat at the restaurant. Admittedly, they struggle sometimes, but staying is the superior choice. “We think about a lot of our regular customers and how sad it would be to not see them anymore,” said Flor. “This is a place where a lot of people join us for good times, bad times, and a lot of life moments.”

“Parkrose just wouldn’t be the same,” said Flor, a sentiment shared by her mother. I am definitely in agreement here.

I’m already looking forward to my next meal at El Sombrero, and am grateful for the good food Mama Elvira and her family consistently offer to Parkrose, and the world. Many thanks to the Hollywood Star News for the opportunity to interview them and write about them in that publication.

El Sombrero Tapatio
10820 NE Sandy Blvd, Portland
El Sombrero website | Instagram