I'm not sure why the reviews are so negative. This place is absolutely gorgeous. I got two drinks and they were amazing. I got there on a busy Friday afternoon and they were able to take care of us right away. The service was good, they came check on us many many times. The food was also good, I will definitely go back. read more

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Watermelon and tacos are great but the service isn't good at all. The place is beautiful, recommend atleast trying once! read more

El Encanto - Watermelon is a must have! Spicy & refreshing - Bars Near Me - Kirkland, Washington

Came for brunch. Just a couple of comments. The Raisin French Toast, TORREJAS, was just one slice of bread cut into three pieces. The middle of the toast was underdone and had a mushy egg texture and certainly no raisins in the french toast. Syrup was watered down. No side dishes, just one slice of bread dipped in egg sauce. Really, for the price they couldn't add a hash brown or something on the side? And that cost: $18 plus a tip for one piece of bread. One piece of bread cut into three slices. The coffee cup was taken away quickly and no offer was made for a refill. They don't offer just a simple cup of brew coffee. Staff seemed more concerned with taking away plates than offering service. The egg dish was sloppy, soupy, nothing special. The beans with it were way too spicy for being with the eggs. Overall, it was one of those meals that had you thinking you could make the same thing at home for under $5 in ten minutes. For $55 dollars I would expect a lot more. That's a lot for scenery. Way too much. read more

Great view right at the water. Perfect on a summer day. Try the guac with chicharron and Mahi Mahi Tacos. Have a baby in a stroller? Good luck with the stairs read more

I've taken several people here from out of town, and they've all loved this place. I love the smoky salsa, Chile relleno and the mole chicken. you just can't beat the views! read more

Not Mexican ambiance at all, the Ribeye tastes ok but it comes on top of a bed of almost raw onions, if you are going to cut the beef please remove the fat, this place added it as a piece of the steak. The queso fundido was too little and they served it with stale chips. We asked for a little bit of salsa, as the food is not spicy at all, and they brought us two of their salsas, the diabla and the picosa, none of them are spicy and yet they gave us again stale chips and then they charged us 18 for the salsas. Very disappointed, we saw the people come, eat and leave, this place doesn't motivates you to stay to have fun, it is a cold, very plain place Not recommended at all. read more

Where to start... Hostess was more concerned with her Snapchats than answering questions or doing her job... $15 for extremely bland "Diablo" salsa and 10 stale chips. Not kidding. Slow service, took 10 minutes to ask for water & another 15 minutes to receive a watered-down cocktail. We were one of 5 parties in the establishment. Ambiance is cool though, kinda hard to mess up a waterfront view. I wish I was lying. Carillon can do so much better than this read more

Great space, but everything else lacked. Food was bland, and the service was sub par. Never got asked for more rounds of drinks, and when asked for recommendations as it was our first time, the waiter said, "everything". Not helpful at all read more

This was our second time visiting. We waited a year to try again since the first visit was so underwhelming. $300 for some drinks, chips, salsa and a couple of entrees that were app size. We left hungry, This visit we entered the restaurant and waited about 4 minutes for anyone to come to greet us. Zero warmth or even a hello from this host should have warned us. btw they were not that busy, even though it was a beautiful week-end day. We were seated outside (our request) and saw no one but the bus person in the area. We asked busser if we could order a drink and after hailing the busser for 4 rounds of water, we finally saw a server come outside but of course not OUR server. He did say he would get us our drinks. By this time, we had sat for aprox 20 minutes. The drinks didn't come and after another 10 min my husband went to the bar and told the bartender we would be leaving in 2 min if no drinks. He said no problem they will be out. We waited another few min and walked out. We could see there was no service happening outside and could see the frustration on those who were seated outside so we left and went next-door and had a lovely meal. We wont try again. read more

Service was slow, portions were small and overpriced. Got our food 10 minutes before the drinks came out. They have a pretty small menu, and were out of multiple things we tried to order. Ended up walking across the street to finish our dinner. The aesthetic of the restaurant was the best part. read more

Pretentious, overpriced and the food is just ok. If this is your kind of vibe, try it out. The only redeeming quality is the view.

Great authentic food great service amazing staff guided us through the menu. Can't beat the view of lake Washington from the restaurant. Try all the salsa they will not let you down read more

Beautiful setting (sat outside), host was very friendly, service was fine. Food was underwhelming. Maybe stick to drinks for a happy hour but wouldn't go back for the food. read more

November 2023 reserved the private back room for a team dinner (11 people). We were happy with house margaritas and tasty mexican food. Dishes appeared at random times so we didnt have a smooth dining experience. Super loud, such that we played a little musical chairs in order to hear one another. Very awkward to have to shuffle past people in one private dining room to get to our private dining room. read more

It's very interesting to read some of these reviews. People complain about price or size. If I'm looking for a large portion I'll got to azteca where it's just re-heated microwaved American Mexican food. This food is simply transcending. We brought one of each taco that was available. They were simply incredible... the lime, the extremely FRESH mahi mahi. The rib, the barbacoa was absolutely incredible. It was truly an event for the taste buds. The queso fundido was not just cheese, the way it was prepared with the perfectly seasoned chorizo! It's making my mouth water just thinking about it. Let's talk about the guacamole. I haven't had GOOD guacamole since Mexico.... It was perfect. Also had their own margarita. $16 I believe... but so is any drink in an upscale bar or restaurant. This place is NOT TO BE MISSED for true foodies. And if I want cheap stuff and large portions go somewhere else, these are high quality ingredients with romantic ambiance and a Great Lake view! HIGHLY RECOMMEND! Can't wait to go back! read more

El Encanto - Bars Near Me - Kirkland, Washington

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terrible waiter, and we all got food poisoning. even without that, it's way overpriced, $25 tacos that are bland, $20 guac, etc. we sent back an entree of shrimp, as it was (a) very little meat, mostly shell and shrimp brain, and (b) small portion for an entree. presentation was lovely though the waiter said "I thought you weren't going to like it", but refused to take it off our bill. we didn't have the time to sit and argue but that was absurd. the worst part - we got food poisoning. 6 of the 8 people in our group were sick within 24 hours. anyone who ate the side of corn got sick. However - the chips and salsa are pretty good. 10/10 recommend and it's free read more

Portions were really small and overpriced. Really wanted to like it but wouldn't eat here again or recommend.

Service was good. Loud even when half empty on a week day lunch. Food was not good in our opinion. Ordered two different items under sandwiches. Bland and tasteless, took half home, but we both tossed them. read more

Super disappointed. Celebration of my son's 25th Birthday and the service was poor. The support staff was attentive but our main server, Courtney ... I believe, was distracted to the point of not even delivering his Birthday dessert. We just left. Food was ok to good. But leaving there feeling sad. read more

This place was recommended by multiple people and I'm not sure why. It is in a great location on the lake with a fun atmosphere, but the food was horrible and completely overpriced. One margarita was $23. Three shrimp tacos each consisted of a small tortilla, one large shrimp, and an over abundance of tasteless slaw and crema. Was a very disappointing experience. read more

I really wanted to love this place. Fun and beautiful atmosphere. Great cocktails. The food was just average at best. Want to give this place another try after they have been open longer. read more

This restaurant is amazing! The food tastes delicious and the location is right ton the water serving a Tulum, Mexico vibe ambiance. The cocktails and appetizers were delicious before the main course meal. The service we received was pleasant, kind and fast. El Encanto definitely deserves more than 3 stars on yelp. I am shocked. As a picky eater who has celiac disease (gluten-free) and is lactose intolerant (dairy free) I found great menu options that did not sacrifice on quality or taste. read more

This wasn't Mexican food. This was crockpot meat on a tortilla. The whole dinner was over in 30 min that's appetizer and entree in 30 min for 145 bucks after tip . The drink was good though so they had that going for them I guess. read more

I love Mexican food and really wanted to like this place, but don't have anything positive to say. I wouldn't say the food is "bad" - but there's nothing memorable about it, other than you spend $30 for tacos. I realize this isn't a neighborhood taco joint, but encanto seems more focused on being cool than delivering a quality product or service. read more

Not worth it. Food was not great. Chips were stale, tacos had no flavor, zero beer on tap, food was overpriced for what it was, drinks were very weak and had no flavor. It was very loud, but it was a gorgeous summer evening. Service was passable but not fabulous. Lots of better choices out there. We won't be going back. read more

The ambiance is spectacular. Nothing like it in Seattle. The views of the ocean were amazing. It felt like we were in Europe! The food was not worth the price though. Small portions and sub-par flavor. Did not impress us. read more

Restaurant and ambience were beautiful. Wait staff was rude and felt super rushed to leave restaurant so they could flip table. Food was not good would not recommend unless you're going for drinks and view. read more

NOT A PLACE FOR PEOPLE OF COLOR, NOT AN INCLUSIVE PLACE with the ethnicity of ironically the restaurants name, despite the spanish name staff was inconsiderate of my RESERVATION REQUEST. On website it states "outside seating upon first come first serve" , however when we arrived for the reservation of a party of 4, with a request on reservation website & upon request on an arrival of 20 minutes before 2:00pm reservation the host mentioned "there was no outside seating available " however, there were multiple outside tables open & available, and clean. The host mentioned "none were available ". We got seated inside, 5 minutes later I asked host once again, if we could please be seated outside because there was opened seating, however she just walked away & said she'd be back. But 5 minutes after that she seated another party in the outdoor seating. My party & I got up to leave & that is when the hosts finally came up & said "what is going on why are you guys leaving " & I mentioned my concerned to her which she claimed "there was no opening when you arrived, I pointed out the seating which was cleaned & opened upon our "reservation" & "first come, first serve" , & she acted the victim and lied by saying "the table wasn't cleaned" however IT WAS. Would NOT RECOMMEND . read more

The food is like Taco Bell the service people are rude. They won't be here in 2024 with this kind of attitude. Bad attitude is like flat tire! read more

Honestly both the food & service could do a lot better.. tacos were very bland & it took about 20 minutes for us to be greeted. It is super cute though! read more

I see most reviews give it 3 stars, and I would agree. Very overpriced, very underwhelming, awkward seating where one person has to face the wall from their seat instead of being able to look at the water view. Staff not very cooperative in accommodating seating request. Gave all sorts of excuses while we watched the requested table sit empty the whole time we were there. Ordered the pork tacos, which came on tiny street-taco sized tortillas with a large lump of pork . . . nothing else. Least interesting tacos ever. The spicy Margarita was $23 - and not that great. For a simple two-person meal with drinks our bill was almost $120! Poor value. Chips and sauce were not good either. Heavy, deep-fried chips and a bland sauce. Cactus gives you those free of charge. The lake setting is lovely; the food "not." Go elsewhere. read more

It's hard to make food this bad and charge this much. The price completely out of control.

Beautiful spot! I just hope service and food will live up to the pricing soon! I will for sure give a second chance.

Aesthetics are great. Beautiful view and ambiance. Wait person, she was great for our large group. Poor table service. We were stacking plates to make room. The apps were really good. Fundido to die for, guacamole really good too. Drinks ok, but not for the price. Entrees are just strange. We had to Google it to even understand what it was. The tacos are basic and I would not call them a meal. The chicken was good but the smooshed potato underneath was uninspired. May go back for a drink and apps but not for dinner. read more

Service was HORRIBLE. Our server was didi, the rudest server I've ever encountered. She's was so bitter

Food was fantastic and authentic. The craft cocktails were spectacular. Great vibe, energy and view. It's just a little loud.

So tonight I ordered the Pulpo Asado (grilled octopus tentacle with grilled pineapple and habanero aioli) and the 16 oz ribeye. I will say that I wish the portion of the pulpo asado was larger. We came in at 7pm so perhaps they ran out of larger servings/tentacles. Regardless of the size of the appetizer I ordered, it was grilled to perfection. I'm generally not a fan of cooked pineapple but I actually enjoyed it quite a bit. Those who know me know I pick pineapple off pizza so this really is saying something here. I ordered the ribeye medium rare and it was cooked to perfection. This is probably the best steak I've ever had. The only other restaurant I've been to that offers premium steaks is the Capital Grill and their steak was pretty good. No knock on the Capital Grill but I think I just prefer that charred flavor that El Encanto seems to have down. The drinks at El Encanto were top tier. I got the cinco hermanos and a mango mojito. I really enjoyed the mango mojito (which isn't on the cocktail menu but they made for me anyway) and my group and I sampled each others drinks and absolutely loved everything. The bartender Hugo recommended Dean Martinis and we were all so impressed by drinks we were delivered. To top it all off we were seated at the patio for sunset. Such a beautiful location and sight to see. I really can't say enough about our entire experience tonight. I was here with family but I'll be back with my close friends soon. Highly recommend. Shout out to Heriberto, Hugo, and Haley for making tonight a night to remember. read more

The lake view is beautiful, and I expect to pay a more for that. However this place is WAY OVERPRICED. My group of 2 friends were there for 2.5 hours. The menu was pricey, and we were there early happy hour time, so we each just ordered an appetizer. The food was ok. We ordered the queso dip, instead of being creamy and dip-able, we had to cut it and place chunks on our chips plus there was VERY little of it (three of us shared a child size potion). The Guacamole was ok, but I have had more flavor filled at Chipotle for $4 - El Encanto's was $16 for about the same amount. BUT the topper was... I ordered a skinny margarita (generally $12 - $15 at most restaurants) Well I had three. I never thought to ask how much their margaritas were. Big mistake... Turns out they were $33 each! So almost $100 for 3 margaritas. My entire tab with tip and parking was $150 for three margaritas and some chips and guac. They only validate for two hours parking - so you are on your own if you park longer. That was my first and last visit. So Long El Encanto. read more

We have always loved the view and ambiance of the former Beach Cafe location...but NOT any more. It was the noisiest restaurant experience we have ever endured. People were literally screaming to be heard by their dining partners. What kind of a interior designer would remove all the soft surfaces and replace with fake stucco?? Two stars because the mahi-mahi tacos were delicious, but such a small portion for $24!? read more

Great atmosphere and location, you can't beat the waterfront. One of my favorite places in all of Washington. Food was great and service from Chris at the bar was exceptional and friendly. The fish/pork tacos were amazing. We will definitely be regulars. read more