Great service and ambience. Good cocktails and guacamole. The entrees are very pricey and only mediocre in quality. Wish they would add some more basic, tasty options, then this would be a go-to spot! read more

Stunningly beautiful, DELICIOUS food and unmatched service. Myself and 3 of my girlfriends stayed at Estancia for a local girls trip getaway and while we there we dined at Mustangs and Burros. Eight thumbs WAY up for this place from us 4 girls. Food was absolutely delicious, the service was genuine and amazing, and the atmosphere/decor/vibe was so fun and unique. Chris was our server and he was amazing with his knowledge of the menu and very on point with suggestions based on our questions. Will be back MANY times in the future! PS If you like red meat then please PLEASE indulge and get the tomahawk steak. I can't stop thinking about how amazing it was! read more

Mustangs & Burros - Tacos are a girls best friend! - Lounges Near Me - La Jolla, California

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Go here if you want to get scammed. The food's nothing special--overpriced and bland. They sneak in a surcharge and don't even show it on the receipt you sign. Straight-up shady. Might even be illegal. read more

I really want to give this place a higher rating as I've had high hopes for a long time! I had seen Mustangs & Burros pop up on the map near me when living in UTC for many years, but the right opportunity never arose to go. Then this year my friend insisted that we get together for dinner for my birthday and as we were going to meet on a Tuesday, I figured what better time to check out a new Taco Tuesday spot then this! I made a reservation for 6 and they did accommodate the request to be outside on their adorable patio next to the fireplace. Upon arrival I was immediately impressed with the gorgeous Estancia hotel grounds as well as how stunning the restaurant is. 5 stars for ambiance alone. But things got shaky quick. While our server was nice, there was definitely some trickery happening. We were initially asked if we wanted chips and salsa and later asked if we wanted another bowl of chips without any indication that we were going to be charged for all of this. It is not common practice for a Mexican restaruant to charge for chips and salsa, so imagine our surprise when ~$18 of our bill was just for chips and salsa...not okay! We then literally asked if they had a Taco Tuesday menu and he proceeded to inform us that while they did not have a physical Taco Tuesday menu, there were specific tacos that were $7.00 on Taco Tuesday and pointed them out. He then left and took a very long time to come back for us to order. Once we ordered, ate, and were given our bill we noticed that the tacos were all being charged at $9.00. We asked about this and he told us then that all Taco Tuesday orders had to be placed by 8:00pm. First of all, he knew we were there for Taco Tuesday as we had the entire conversation about it and gave us the information without ever mentioning there was a time limit. He also walked away and did not come back for an extended period of time to actually take our order. Our reservation was also at 7:00pm, so there is zero chance we ordered after 8:00pm, unless he is saying that he didn't take our order for an hour, which would also be a huge problem. He then had the audacity to bring the check back saying he gave us a discount for the tacos, but then proceeded to go ahead and add on gratuity, which wasn't there before. Honestly, very disapoining and super poor customer service. I would have gladly brought guests from out of town here because it's so pretty, but I will very likely never be back just because the nickle and diming is ridiculous. read more

Fancyyyyy!! This restaurant, an indoor/outdoor Mexican place attached to the Estancia Hotel in La Jolla, is pricier than you think. It's also really beautiful, and a great place to take out-of-town guests. They offer a short and traditional menu of Americanized Mexican fare - chips, guacamole, a variety of soft-shelled tacos, fancy dishes with baked salmon, $100 steaks. During the pandemic, it is invaluable to find an outdoor space like this one. Make sure to make a reservation far in advance, and note that they are overflowing with weddings on the weekends. The night we went, there were two weddings going simultaneously! so you will absolutely be subjected to whatever music the DJ happens to be spinning. Which is not necessarily a bad thing, depending on your music taste :) Bring a steep credit card and your fancy friends! read more

Pretty pretty pretty pretty good. I really enjoyed the crab tortilla soup and the birria tacos had a lot of flavor. Service was great. Ambiance was perfect with the outdoor seating read more

Mustangs & Burros - Birria de Res Tacos - Lounges Near Me - La Jolla, California

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Overpriced the customer service isn't great. The food is expensive and you have a way better experience offsite for same price and much better food. read more

Beautiful and cozy setting, large heated patio featuring a giant fireplace. you definitely want to be seated on the patio, i think this is the best feature of this restaurant. The restaurant located inside the Estancia hotel and it feels very private and secluded, lush greenery surrounds the entire property. My friends and i shared Brussels sprouts as an appetizer. It was just alright, a bit uncooked in the middle, the portion was on a smaller side. For the main course we got rack of lamb and it was simply a perfectly done dish. Highly recommend it, generous portion, well executed, the meat was very tender and juicy. Tips: happy hour daily, valet parking is FREE if you dine or use the spa! read more

Mustangs & Burros - Rack of lamb - Lounges Near Me - La Jolla, California

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Had a wonderful time here - Estancia is one of my favorite hotels in Southern California and Mustangs & Burros fits the vibe exactly. The outdoor seating makes you feel like you are in the desert in the best way possible. We had the common sense and license to chill cocktails - both refreshing and light. The queso fundito was great - actually tasted like real cheese. We also tried the birria tacos and baja fish tacos. I love that you can mix and match the tacos. My favorite item of the night was definitely the birria tacos. We also ordered the burger - was pretty standard but the pretzel bun was perfect. read more

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The tomahawk was wonderful. I had to dine in and order all put on their menu. The service was good and there was live music which was a bonus. I got the beer flight and it was superb. I visit and stay at NHHR properties and mustangs and burro is my top 3 fav restaurants in SD. I highly recommend to visit and dine in! read more

Mustangs & Burros - Lounges Near Me - La Jolla, California

I already had dinner, but my friend was hungry, so we looked for something nearby that was still open after 10pm and agreed to dine here. This restaurant is located at the Estancia Hotel, so the grounds are very beautiful here. We sat outside in the patio in front of the fireplace and looked over the menu. There weren't a lot of options and I later found out that some of the items I wanted to try was on their lunch menu instead. We ended up sharing the sea seared scallops, Baja tuna tartare, and seared Spanish octopus. All three items came out at once and looked very appetizing. The octopus was alright, but I liked the scallops a bit more. The tuna tartare was the best dish of the night to me- too bad it came with a big stale waffle crisp though LOL. I didn't think to ask for chips, so she asked for some and we received a nice bowl of them afterwards. Service was polite and prompt. We were checked on enough and didn't have to ask for our waters to be refilled so that was nice. I want to come back to try their lunch menu and perhaps check out the spa as well! read more

Mustangs & Burros - seared Spanish octopus - Lounges Near Me - La Jolla, California

Well ease of access to this made it easy. I was excited about eating here. The food looked amazing but my hopes were dashed upon my first bite. I began my entree squeezing a lime wedge and a splash of green salsa. As I bit into my taco I was hit with a bland dry bite of fish. Our table wasn't checked on at all throughout the meal. Disappointed with this place. I won't be returning to the restaurant but, the hotel that it luckily sits within, is a must! read more

Mustangs & Burros - (2) BAJA FISH tacos - Lounges Near Me - La Jolla, California

So the Estancia and Mustangs & Burros hold a special place in my heart. We met the guitarist for our wedding there, and we had all of our guests stay here for our wedding. Came here on our first valentine's day as a married couple and received probably the worst service I've ever had in San Diego. We weren't greeted for 10 minutes. Note there were only 2 other tables at that time. When the waitress arrived she was like: Drinks? 10 minutes later we received 1 gin and tonic and 1 margarita. 20 minutes for drinks. Then our appetizer and entrees came out together and the waitress blamed the kitchen for not coursing the meal, (obvi her fault). Then my ribeye was cold and chewy and the flavor was wack. Don't get it. To be fair, the scallop appetizer was fantastic as was my wife's seabass. A manager finally came by and I told her about our lapse of service. Ribeye comped since all I had was one bite and got 30% off. Anecdotal experience but a poor reflection on a place we hold so dear. The restaurant is pretty nice though. Lovely patio and fireplace. I'd give it another shot. It's pretty pricey though. $15 for chips and quac! read more

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I very, very rarely give out 1 star reviews but this place might have been one of my worst dining experiences I've ever had, so it is very much warranted. Aside from our server being a pleasant, nice guy....everything else truly was disappointing. I'll start with the over priced apps and entrée items. First off, our waiter asked us if we wanted chips salsa and guac to start - of course we assumed the guac was something we would be charged for, but I've never seen a place charge for chips and salsa especially when it's offered by the waiter like they do with bread and butter at other restaurants. The salsa was so bad too so when he brought it out, after all 4 people in my group tried it nobody wanted it and pointed out how bland it was. They charged $12 for this too! It was eventually taken off our bill but I thought the whole thing to begin with was pretty crazy. When our entrées came out, similarly to the salsa, everything was super bland lacking flavor and even salt! We ordered all of the various tacos (Baja fish, chicken Al pastor, and birria), the octupus, and brisket. The restaurant charges you what you will pay for a higher end meal as well, to make matters of how poor and bland the taste was. Not one person at the table was happy with their entrée. The waiter comes to our table after our main course was finished and asked if we wanted any desert and we decided to try the churros. Thankfully those were good, however, it took longer for them to bring out the one order of churros than it did our main course. To make matters worse....the hostess then comes to our table to tell us that we have to leave because we exceeded their 2 hour table limit....meanwhile we were not told about there being a time limit on the table, there was no mention of it anywhere, and they took forever to bring the damn churros. Do yourselves a favor and do not come here....they lack common courtesy and basic cooking skills and will charge you 60-70$ per person at least. read more

the food was dry and lousy will not recommend this place to anyone. waiter higly recomend marys chicken mole extremly dry. not worth the money i paid. i would expect better food from la jolla. read more

I had such high hopes for this restaurant by the description on their resort website. But the experience was far from their reviews... let me start by saying I went off season, however you think a "resort" in la jolla would be able to perform in all seasons in socal. I had reservations for a birthday which I communicated to the restaurants multiple times. When I arrived they seemed like they were closed, they have ample and beautiful outside seating but did not have heaters which made the experience worse. Our waiter was uninviting, he did not introduce himself, welcome us or inform us about the restaurants experience. We were very excited to be there and he seemed the opposite, we had to ask him to bring water to our pet, which he completely ignored from the beginning, even though on their website they boast how pet friendly they are and have a pet menu. We ordered a ceasar salad which was good, but the "salsa" Macha steak was terrible. The meat was tough, undercooked and under seasoned. But we looked past it since we were celebrating and the spicy mezcal margaritas were good. When I'm came time for desert and order the chocolate Bavarian concha, it came icy cold with no birthday candle or even a brief mention of it. We asked for hot coffee since it was cold and the dessert was even colder, the waiter said they only have espresso, we asked if they would make a latte, they said no... even though I could order milk separately. That was the last straw, we asked for the check, they asked us if we were staying at the resort which we said yes, he then brought a check with an added "service charge". When I asked what the charge was for he said it's like a resort fee, which I replied to that we were already paying a resort fee since we were guests. I hope that they are able to improve their service and food here, the restaurant has great potential. But I will not be returning. read more

I came to Mustangs & Burros one day for dinner after a work event. The grounds of the Estancia are very nice, although it was a bit dark at this point, so I wasn't able to take it all in the way I would have liked to. It took a while (read: a WHILE) to find someone so that I could be seated, and then it felt like they forgot about me after bringing the menus because I had to flag down the waiter. I ordered the Chips & Salsa with Guacamole appetizer, which was plated interestingly, with a strip of guacamole down the center of the plate. The vegetarian tortilla soup was just OK for me, and probably a bit cilantro-forward. I also had the short rib tacos, which again were fine, but nothing remarkable. The meat was really stringy, though. Note that at 8 PM on this particular Thursday night, it was quite loud inside. The restaurant was obviously a popular location. So, if you're looking for a quiet place to dine, you might be better off with somewhere less well-known. On the whole, Mustangs & Burros was a meh for me. read more

Mustangs & Burros - Vegetarian tortilla soup - Lounges Near Me - La Jolla, California

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This restaurant is located in Estancia Hotel where my wife and I got married. They could do so much better, but unfortunately, the food quality and the service was horrible. I've noticed that when you go to La Jolla or Del Mar, the service is horrible and the food quality is terrible. At one time they had a very good menu with simple food, such as chicken nachos but they decided to change it. Whoever decided to change it should be fired and sent to South Dakota to live. They were charging $12 for one fish taco. The food was mediocre again as well as the service was mediocre. Our server name was Ivan who lacked any enthusiasm according to my wife. To the owners of estancia Hotel, please stop screwing up with a menu. It is a simple restaurant and it should have simple high-quality food. If you can't do that and close the placed down. How your restaurant got 3 1/2 stars is beyond me. Listen to your pat or you will go out of business again. read more

FOOD POISONING WARNING: My sisters, mom, niece, and I dined here July 8 for a 6pm reservation. We were staying at the hotel and it was our last night. We ordered the queso fundido, guac and chips, ensalada fresca, two orders of the albondigas, beef tacos, gelato, and churros. All seemed well until just a few hours later. Three of the five of us soon became violently ill. My sister immediately felt pain in her stomach after the meal. I, too, felt some digestive discomfort so I drank an Alka Seltzer. The five of us went back to one of our rooms and continued to chat. At around roughly 9:30 pm, my sister started vomiting. By midnight, both my 77 year old. mother and I were vomiting too. The three of us continued to vomit, have diarrhea, and stomach pain for the entire night. At 6 am, I called upon my other sister in another room. She called 911 and my mom was taken to Scripps by ambulance and she drove my sister and I to the Emergency Room behind her. We are waiting for a response from the hotel and the health department will be informed. Such as shame as this obviously tainted the entire experience. It was really most concerning for my 77 year old mother who has complex medical problems. Just wanted to report this to avoid anyone else having this experience. I've had food poisoning in India and Mexico and this was the worst- from a four star establishment in La Jolla. I really hope the Estancia does justice and compensates us. read more

Food not that great and WAY TOO expensive for what it is. The guacamole was $26, needed salt and could bet it was store bought. I got the chicken mole, it was terrible. Dry chalky chicken with undercooked yam. My husband got the fish taco and that was good but still not worth the price. We went bc we stayed at the hotel but didn't eat there again during our stay. read more

aco Tuesday @estancialajolla is next level!! With free valet and dog-friendly grounds, I knew it'd be a perfect date with @outanaaa and her boi @jaxson.the.minidood Just drool at these tacos from back left to front right: BIRRIA DE RES: prime beef chuck, onion, cilantro, avocado salsa BAJA FISH: chipotle aioli, pico, cotija cheese, cabbage, salsa verde, cilantro CONCHINITA: pork shoulder, achiote, butter orange, pickled onion DUCK CARINTAS: cabbage, pickled onion, cherry-tamarind glaze, chicharon And if you're not craving tacos, the crispy salmon with Yukon potatoes, baby arugula, street corn, chipotle aioli, charred lemon DOES NOT DISAPPOINT. read more

We came to this place with some pretty high expectations. The restaurant is beautiful with an old-world charm and a great outdoor seating area. Unfortunately, that is where the good things come to an end. Our server was fine. Wasn't bad but didn't do anything great either. One thing we noticed is our server did not ask how our food was and my guess is he already knew. We had one dish out of five that was good and that was the Chicken Mole. Now onto the bad.. Birria Tacos - The meat was very dry & lacking flavor Crispy Port Belly - Three small pieces that were very chewy w/ no flavor over a bed of Salsa Verde. A $11 dish at the most and that would still be an overpay. Scallops - Didn't smell or taste fresh. I can't imagine any chef letting that out of the kitchen. Absolutely horrible. Iron Steak - The theme is lack of seasoning with no flavor. Below average dish. Everything was way overpriced and the quality did not come anywhere close to that price point. Very disappointing. read more

Mustangs & Burros was the only saving grace from being so underwhelmed by staying at Enstancia hotel for the MLK weekend. The hostess and waitress were extremely friendly and welcoming off the bat! Lovely and cozy ambience. The Goods: - Flautas with the queso was AMAZING! Good enough portions to share. - Chile Relleno was unique and tasty! - Wonderful outdoor ambience with hacienda style decor and huge fireplace - Ample portable heaters for those cold dinner nights - Enthusiatic and kind waitress! Aiight: - The inside was pretty noisy. Perhaps opening up the windows would help alleviate this. - The burger was an amazing portion but it was a bit cold. It would have been 100x better if it was nice and hot. Fries were great though! Whaaack: - They ran out of pork belly :( Whereabouts: Located behind the lobby of Estanica La Jolla. read more

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Great spot. Well priced. Good service. Great ambiance. Good stuff. Highly recommend. Birria was amazing

I've been here a couple times and both times have gotten the Crab & Shrimp Chile Relleno and the last one I got was huge! Not too cheesy and the sauce is what makes it so delicious. Tastes great reheated as well. Last time, we also ordered the duck enchiladas as a starter and those were amazing. The sauce in these enchiladas is also really tasty. Portion size is small though, so it wouldn't make a good entree, but to share it was perfect. Drinks are actually pretty good here too and they have a full bar. I've sat outside and they do have heat lamps, but it can get pretty chilly so bring a jacket. Service is good; could be a bit faster, but the atmosphere is very relaxed and not pretentious at all. Valet parking only - free if dining at the restaurant. read more

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The hotel grounds were beautiful, and so was the restaurant itself. Make sure you dress worm if you are going to dinner because they have limited heaters outside and inside the restaurant is chilly. It took a while to be greeted by our server, and we were 1 of 5 tables at the restaurant. We ordered our drinks and they came quickly. I had questions about the menu, and our server was able to answer all of them. We had the guacamole and chips to start, the presentation was nice, and the chips were fresh. For dinner, I ordered the Salmon Entree, and my husband had the chicken mole. Both were flavorful and photo worthy. I also ordered an alpastor chicken taco, which they forgot about, and I had to remind them, and still they left it on the bill. The last thing we ordered was a chocolate 3 leches cake with a crunchy crust. The cake was moist milky and chocolately. All in all, the food was fantastic when it showed up the atmosphere was visually pleasing although chilly and the service was a bit lackluster. read more

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Pretty solid. The venue more impressive than the food had the short rib Pizole it was good. One negative is that you had to get the bartenders attention to order something. He was pretty into getting those glasses clean. Nice spot good venue. If I could give 3.5 stars I would. read more

Mustangs & Burros - Lounges Near Me - La Jolla, California

Caramelized scallops: Delicious! The huuuuge scallops were cooked to near perfection albeit being a bit oily Mole-spiced salmon: we requested for salmon to be cooked to medium rare, but it was more like medium to medium well by the time it reached our table. The mole wasn't too impressive, but but the fish was fresh nonetheless. Service: excellent Ambiance: classy yet casual read more

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I honestly don't even know where to start. I don't think I know enough words in the English language to describe how dissatisfied I was with this meal. The salsa was very bland, the queso was gross and our entrées were unfathomably terrible. How this place is in business blows my mind. To top it off, our bill was almost $300. The money is not an issue, I frequent upscale restaurants in San Diego and am used to paying for dinners, in that price range. I will never emotionally recover from this. I hate to be so blunt but I feel like everybody needs to know this. I am only giving this place one star because you have to rate it to leave a review, otherwise I would give it -5 stars. I have had better Mexican food at El Torito, for a fraction of the price. OK, I will admit that the stuffed churros were pretty good. So basically, I paid $300 for churros. Never ever again. read more

I've been coming here for a couple of months now and just had an amazing time with my boyfriend to celebrate my birthday, our two year anniversary, and of course, Valentine's Day. Our server, Jose was very kind and informative and all of the servers were so amazing and funny! Henry and Evan had great recommendations, Corey made great drinks, and Alberto, David, and Elian always make me feel so welcome. Thank you to all at Mustangs & Burros. read more

Mustangs & Burros - Our 32 oz tomahawk steak was worth every penny. - Lounges Near Me - La Jolla, California

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Beautifully designed. I work in the area and came for a friends birthday happy hour. Note this is not a reflection of a hotel guest experience. Here is my experience: Pros: location, complimentary valet, nice outdoor seating, ambience, inviting, happy hour. Cons: food selection was decent but overpriced quantity and location, servers didn't bring menus by for quite a long time and we had to ask a few times, valet parking hassle, had to ask for a spoon with my soup order, single stalled bathrooms, tight seating. Would I go back? Maybe for business meeting but if I were staying in the hotel, I'd go once then explore some places in UTC or downtown La Jolla. The cons sound more harsh they reality, but it's just my opinion. read more

We went here for dinner after checking into the hotel. It is a beautiful setting! So warm and cozy with a wonderful fireplace and patio lights throughout. Unfortunately, the food was so not worth the price. Quality I would compare to Taco Bell. Drinks were not good either. I had returned one that the tequila was so cheap! I reordered a Cadillac margarita with patron silver. It's was ok. I don't think they know how to bartend. Our party of six ordered most of the items on the menu that included a sampler for the appetizer. Most everything on that plate was fried. Chips with salsa and guacamole was pretty salty. We ordered swordfish and chicken mole tacos. Tacos were cold and hard. Taste was just ok nothing to pay a lot of money for, like we did. The steak plate was the best. Steak was cooked and seasoned well. That meal was the best meal of the night! For desert we ordered fried churros with chocolate and Carmel dipping sauce. That also was not bad. They flew off the table, lol In the end for three alcohol drinks and dinner for six our bill was $360.00. It was worth somewhere around $120.00. Don't expect to much when you go and try to keep in pretty simple. read more

The ambience was great, but the quality of the food and drinks were not good. We wouldn't recommend this place.

A little expansive on the menu. But the best nachos I've ever tasted ... I think I will probably have to drive from LA to this place just to get my nachos fix... read more

Rarely give out bad reviews, but this place definitely deserves no stars for their food and drinks. My staple cocktail when I go out to new places and when not in mood for trying out new cocktails, is old fashioned and very rarely folks can go wrong, welcome to mustang and burros and you can never forget your old fashioned - with two big chunks of ice cubes oddly shaped and not sure what was in the drink - lol. The food - similar to my cocktail, almost impossible for birria to go wrong, since you can always use the dipping to satisfy your tastes but this one I guess they completely forgot the salt, it was so bland that I had to ask for table salt and had to pour so much. The broccoli appetizer was a disaster. 1 star for their amazing live jazz music and great service. The lady at the entrance and the guy who served really nice people. I would never order any food and maybe a neat scotch since they can't screw that up! Great outdoor patio for sure. read more

Have you ever seen a Wishing tree? If you get a chance hang a wish on a branch! My friend has been here many times and didn't know it was there though I was drawn over that way and was surprised! There's a fire to sit by in the Lobby & hanging chairs with quotes in places you'll need to wander & find. People were kind. The place lost a star due to the one time serving of $28 tiny cup size guacamole & two not flavorful salsas!?! I get the $20 drinks though that was a shock when the bill arrived. read more

We have been coming to Mustangs and Burros for 13 years. We absolutely love it here - Spanish atmosphere, music, outdoor fireplace, exquisite gardens. From the menu, we recommend: Octopus, tacos, burgers and any of the drinks. They are all amazing! Our server, Henry, was very knowledgeable, brought in an awesome atmosphere and made our anniversary celebration memorable and fun! Thank you Henry for everything! read more

Really pretty and unique spot! We sat outdoors near the fireplace which felt super cozy. Our server was great! Really friendly and attentive. Ordered the burger and LOVED it! I don't usually order burgers, but this one was awesome. The portion was huge (all sorts of toppings on the burger and fries) and I could not even finish it all. I probably would have taken the leftovers home, but we were leaving town and it wouldn't have made sense. Had a glass of sparkling rose which was nice because it wasn't too sweet. Heads up, it is a pricey menu. The burger was $25 but it was a big portion and you won't be left unsatisfied. I do wish we would have gone there during the day so that we could enjoy the pretty grounds. Overall, we really liked it :) read more

The service and ambiance is great but the food is meh. Not much flavor and overpriced. I was a bit disappointed.

I came for dinner with my husband, the grounds are incredibly beautiful and the dining area is gorgeous. I definitely would give this place a 10+ for it's beautiful decor. We ordered a few appetizers which included the ceviche, wings and fries. I didn't taste the ceviche but my husband said it was amazing, I did try the fries with we're good not great and the wings were not my favorite. I also ordered a NY steak, the presentation was beautiful but I wasn't fond of the taste. It was just ok for me and I expected much more which is one of the reasons I gave this place a 3 stars but also for the 45 minutes we had to wait for dessert. It came out and the dessert was definitely not my favorite. Just to be clear the service was not bad, our server was very sweet and helpful but the dessert did take too long to come out and definitely not worth it for me. read more

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