We were a party of 10 that made reservations for 6pm. We all showed up and the space was nice. Lots of TV's everywhere and it had music playing. Waiter came and took our orders for drinks and we all started making our selections for food. The chips and salsa they bring out complementary are so good. We did have to wait because they were making a fresh batch but it was worth the wait. We all had a round of drinks and then put in our order for food and it was about 7pm already. Our waiter then came up to the table and asked us if we would mind moving because they had a reservation at 8pm for the area that they chose to sit us in. We were kind of annoyed by that because we had called the day before to make our reservations. We said I guess thinking it was going to be close to 8 that they would move us. Nope about 5-10 mins passed and he came by and asked us if we would mind moving already before our food came out. Considering that again we had a reservation and they knew it was a large party they should have blocked out more than just 2 hrs for us to be there. We moved and the very least they could have done for us is offer a free dessert on the house for the table but they didn't. Now I ordered the flautas which were served on a bead of beans. The menu said shredded chicken but we were told they didn't have chicken they only had beef so I ordered it. The flautes were lacking flavor and probably could have been saved by adding salt to them and the beans but they don't have that at any of the table. I did try some of my friends chicharrones and those were really good. We left around 8:15-8:20 and there was no one that showed up where we were originally sitting... so we could have just stayed where they originally sat us. We left feeling very annoyed. read more

El Botanero - Beef Flautas - Mexican Near Me - McAllen, Texas

Okaaaay McAllen I see you! I came out here on a Friday night around 8pm, the place was lively, good music on the speakers and it instantly felt like the weekend. With no reservation, I was asked to kindly take a seat in the small waiting area to clear a table. I was instantly greeted with a friendly smile and felt welcomed. I was seated within 5 minutes. I had a late lunch and wasn't super hungry. I couldn't pass up the refried beans and chips since they were wafting in my vicinity, no regrets though, the chips were on the lighter side (not super hard like a tostada) and crispy and you could taste the manteca in the beans which made me smile. Según, I had no intention on eating but I couldn't pass up the aguachile as it came to my table. Twas delightful! The only regret I had at that point was not bringing my appetite. Onto the drinks. Wanted to start off "light" and the Paloma was perfect and refreshing. Not too much on the squirt side, not amargoso (bitter) and the right amount of tequila. During the night they abruptly announced that they were running a 2 for 1 shot special along with LMFAO's "Shots" song and you almost feel obliged to order (marketing genius). I was feeling adventurous and decided not to ask what each shot entailed, but rather to go based off the name. I went with the Perla Negra and for the presentation itself it was worth ordering. All in all, this place is a MUST for your Friday night warm up. Como dice terminator: I'll be back. read more

El Botanero - "Perla Negra" was a 2 for 1 shot special. The presentation alone was spectacular, the Jägerbomb is the cherry on top. - Mexican Near Me - McAllen, Texas

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The place is very nice, good ambiance and music. The service staff is nice and attentive. Food was NOT very good. We ordered the "Tacos gobernador", they were more cheese than shrimp. Also ordered the "Ribeye tacos" and... well, see the picture, it was almost all beans and very little meat in them. Over-priced and food not worth it. Will not come back. El lugar es agradable, con buen ambiente y buena musica. El staff de servicio es amable y atento. La comida NO fue buena. Ordenamos los "Tacos gobernador" y fueron mas queso que camarones. Tambien ordenamos los tacos de Ribeye y, bueno, vean la foto, eran casi puros frijoles y algo de carne. Este lugar tiene precios muy altos para la calidad de la comida. No pensamos regresar. read more

Crazy that this place was not packed! Ambiance, service and food were are top notch!! I could drink their green salsa!! They also have $3 specials. Think one taco. So I tried four different specials along with the flautas. The flautas were amazing, the sauce was the best!!! They also have a dessert that is sweet cornbread, ice cream, cinnamon, flambéed in liquor 43 and then covered with caramel, pecans, and caramel popcorn. I'd pass on the popcorn, but I would have licked the damn plate!! Ask for Dana read more

The food was really delicious. I am only giving them a three star because I honestly think the price is not worth the food you're getting you can get the same food and different restaurants for half the price they are trying to I guess charge you because of the ambience which there really isn't much especially during lunch the service was great. read more

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El Botanero in McAllen, Texas is a fun fresh edgy Mexican restaurant. Started out with the best chips and 3 different salsas and beans. The chips were freshly fried. My party ordered different dishes and all of them were delicious. read more

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Stayed at the hotel next door. Underrated spot. Chic, good music, food is amazing down to the salsa and chips. Service was great too.

Food was so great, service was amazing and it was so beautiful in here! Birria tacos are too good read more

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I'll lead with the positives. The customer experience is AMAZING. We were here for my wife's birthday and the staff was extremely accommodating and attentive. They had a nice roulette exercise where you can get a free item. We also brought our own cake. The atmosphere definitely caters to the trendy night life and their drinks are ON POINT to accompany this. I would recommend one of their flavored mezcalitas. The dinner itself could honestly improve. While our choriqueso was amazing, the aguachile I had, had an overwhelming taste of lime. Additionally the way it was served while aesthetically pleasing, made it difficult to eat and enjoy. They are a relatively new place so I will come back and try again. read more

El Botanero - Choriqueso. - Mexican Near Me - McAllen, Texas

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The staff at this restaurant is very friendly and responsive to the customers. I was observing the attentiveness of all the staff even the managers get busy helping place and serve the customers. The food was great I had a couple of dishes myself and would recommend the ceviche and tacos de ribeye. Dessert was also amazing pan de elotes. (Cornbread) not your ordinary cornbread. Gotta try it for yourself. read more

Great location and service r was great. Fun fast casual with authentic food! Will definitely go back.

Our first time but will not be our last. The food was amazing and the service was fantastic! The corn bread flaming dessert is a must! We had amazing service from our waiter, Cesar Sanchez and Danna! read more

Decided to try this place for lunch; solid choice! Ambiance is nice and definitely want to check it out in the evening. Food was really good and affordable. Service was great! Our waitress was very helpful. read more

El Botanero - Appetizer, refried beans, tostadas and some amazing salsas. Great way to start a meal - Mexican Near Me - McAllen, Texas

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We came here for Friday dinner with friends. It's a small place, with the bar on one end, tables in the center and bucket seat benches along perimeter of the opposite wall. There seemed to be an additional small space for outdoor seating, however it was empty when we went. This review is somewhat difficult to fairly complete. Did we have a great time? Yes! The servers and managers kept visiting our table for either refills or to check up on us. The place got very busy towards the latter part of the evening. A large family was there celebrating someone's birthday. The manager interacted with them and displayed interactive bday greetings on one of the many large flat screen tv that line up along the perimeter wall. That was nice and fun. Now for the food and the drinks... as soon as we got seated, we were given a small appetizer which consisted of refried beans topped with white cheese and a side of fried tortillas aka chips. The menu is vast enough, with what seems like a variety of appetizers consisting of singe serving dishes. The dishes we ordered had a touch of uniquely nice presentation provided by their chef, visually appealing, (see pictures). However, the birria my husband ordered was bland, dry and the dipping consome was tasteless. The beef in my burger was also bland. My friends ordered a sope and rib eye tacos that was thinly sliced and hovered in melted mozzarella cheese. They seemed to think it was delicious. My husband tried one of their rib eye. The taco wasn't bad, but just as the other dishes, it lacked flavor. My conclusion, everyone's palate is different. Now let's move to the cocktail drinks. I ordered a baileys carajillo and a vodka with club soda. My husband ordered a mojito and a whiskey sour. My friend ordered a cucumber martini. She thought they were good. My husband and I thought our cocktails were weak. The whiskey sour was okay but the mojito tasted like 7up with extra lime and a hit of mint. My carajillo had more coffee than baileys. All in all, my three stars is a fair balance for effort, presentation, expediency, cleanliness. If you're looking for a delicious satisfying dinner, this isn't the place. Additionally, one of the odd things about the bar, if you want draft beer, you'll have to order it in 32 oz. They won't serve it in a pint. You'll have to opt for ordering beer in bottle. If you're looking for a club-like venue, this is the place. If you're looking for a place for nice relaxing sit down evening dinner, not so much. read more

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Delicioso!!! Servicio excelente de Ana Paola Lo recomiendo 100 % Ambiente familiar y agradable read more

Visiting town for work and had dinner there. Service was friendly and helpful. Chips and salsa were some of the best I've ever had. Tacos outstanding. Great little spot. Nice and clean. read more

Visited for a friends birthday dinner on a Monday . Food and drinks were good but a little over priced . Service was ok, the waitress seemed annoyed and wasn't familiar with the alcoholic beverages. She kept trying to pick up plates and cups when we were clearly still not done eating or drinking. She forgot my drink at one point. They said they ran out of birria tacos and the burrito trio but wouldn't state why when some of the ingredients were the same as other menu options that were available. AT THE END, I was charged an extra drink that I never received and the waitress seemed confused when I walked her through everything I ordered in chronological order. Since my card was already charged at the time of the dispute, she said she needed to see everyone's receipts to verify who it belonged to when everyone had already left. I told her to forget about it and I left . My friend later told me that she noticed a chunk of her cake was missing that they held in the back... another friend payed in cash and waitress asked if they wanted their change back ??? when they said yes she said she would have to go look to see if the had change ??? Just seems like they were doing things to try and get money out of us...never going back read more

Went for a friend's birthday and service was not good. They took a long time to attend us, mind you it was a Tuesday night so it wasn't busy at all. I repeatedly asked 3 different employees if they can put Happy Bday on the big screens and they keep saying yes but never did. I also asked for birthday shots and dessert with the little show they do and it was awful. They ruined the surprise when I had initially said to come at the end and mid eating the food they asked what we wanted for the birthday cake, and my friend heard. Food was good but not worth the price, for a party of 5 tab came out to $235 (without tip) for an appetizer one drink and one entree per person and dessert. read more

El Botanero - Flautas - Mexican Near Me - McAllen, Texas

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This place has everything! Saw this place advertised on instagram and decided to give them a try. From the moment we walked in, the staff was amazing. We felt very comfortable and well taken care of. Although that's not what we were there for, this place would be great for watching a game or 3 or 9. But although they have many big screen tvs, it was not over powering and we were able to still have a conversation. We should have given the menu a look over before coming because it's pretty expansive. While we were trying to decide, we were served some chips and salsas and a pozole that really hit the spot. The black salsa was unique and delicious. We finally decided on elotes, queso fundido, tacos al pastor, and tacos de ribeye. The elotes were great and both sets of tacos were equally delicious. The only miss was the queso. The flavor was good but the iron skillet was small and so hot that the whole bottom got burned by the time we got to the third taco. We will definitely have to return a couple of more times to try the rest of the menu. read more

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Been on my "to visit list" since seeing some social media posts about it few months back. Upon entering was greeted by friendly waitresses. Very clean and trendy vibe. Big bar area stretchin from wall to wall on one end, all the dining right in the center and outside patio Available as well. Complimentary chips, salsa and bean dip, which was amazing. Order the ribeye tacos that came on corn, elote on the cob sections, tostadas ceviche and tuna. Tacos were a bit underwhelming in flavors in comparison to many other taco places around. It wasn't bad, but I wouldn't come here for tacos again. However I will come for the tostadas. Fresh and portion really well especially for the price. Service was great with multiple checkups and bussing the table to make more room for the next round of menu items we ordered. Definitely a good place for drinking and socializing. read more

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Went to try Botanero with a friend, and the first thing we noticed was that place is really nicely decorated. Unfortunately they were short staffed the day we went. Our waitress took forever to come get our drinks, and then again to come take our order. She wasn't in a great mood, to begin with, and you felt she was a little annoyed we were asking questions about the dishes. We did see a much different side to her when a group of men sat at another table nearby and she was extremely friendly, which was just odd. That being said, when we finally got our food, it was very tasty and good. We will probably be back because food was yummy and hopefully service is better then. read more

El Botanero - Mexican Near Me - McAllen, Texas

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Good food and drinks and an okay price! But if you're planning on celebrating or making a reservation here DON'T. I reserved a week prior to my birthday celebration for 11 people and you'd think that would be a priority since it's a lot of people, but we didn't get seated till an hour after my reservation. What's the point of reserving a table if they are not going to RESERVE?!! I had 10 people in the waiting area that consists of two benches and after an HOUR waiting we were crammed into two small tables. My sister told me employees were moving her chair around while she was eating because of their mistake. Aside from taking their sweet time seating us -mind you, they seated many in the time we were waiting- they were indirectly rushing us to order. Ruined my birthday, don't recommend. read more

Everything was great! Cesar was such a great help. My friend's birthday was celebrated here and it was extremely great service! Highly recommend read more

Food was just alright. Tried the Birria tacos, they were dry and felt unseasoned. Service was excellent but that's probably because we were the only people in the restaurant at 6pm on a Friday which felt concerning. read more

Meh. Food was pretty good but overpriced. Small portions. Ambiance was ok. They have music (Banda) and other music that is similar. Ok if you are there for the music and don't mind overpaying for small portions served to look pretty vs taste. read more

Never been to the valley before. This was a place I was invited to, so I didn't know what to expect. It's mainly a place for drinks and fun and the food is just something to snack on! But very delicious! The inside ambience is more of a club which I enjoyed. And the drinks and service were just as good as they were advertised in the pictures! If you're looking for fun, this place is good for it ! read more

Very accommodating to English speaking customers. The food was very tasty and the service was top notch. I highly suggest the fish or shrimp tacos. read more