I've visited El Portal about seven or eight times because of its reasonably priced food and proximity to the journalism school. But the food is so-so and the service has ranged from terrible to OK.
El Portal has cheap daily specials. The portions are huge. Make sure to indicate what kind of meat you want in your food. They normally didn't ask me.
The seating area is spacious and they have a TV.
The service is lacking, but I think they're trying to work on it. But don't expect them to stay open until their posted hours. The cashier once told me they close shop 30 minutes before closing time if there aren't any customers.