I am truly puzzled. Before eating here, I read the reviews, and people seemed to speak about the food glowingly: "Flavors on point," "More than amazing," and "Best food ever." Satisfied with the reviews, I felt as if I needed to try it--and I did. It was horrible.
When I walked in, the cashier appeared unkempt, and his clothing had stains everywhere. It was noticeable, but I tried not to give that factor too much weight, as it's the food that matters.
I ordered the tacos with each of the meats offered (steak, shrimp, chicken), some chips and salsa, and a water.
The water, presumably tap, tasted so bad that I elected not to drink it.
As I waited for my entree, I sat down at one of the tables and noticed it needed to be wiped down. No biggie, I thought--maybe the server just didn't see it--so I moved on and waited until the chips and salsa were served.
The chips appeared to be store-bought. Now, I buy store-bought chips all the time, so I'm not knocking them; but when I go to a restaurant, I expect more because I am paying for it. I don't want to pay an inflated price for a $3 bag of chips. To make matters worse, the chips weren't good.
The salsa came in a white bowl with salsa streaks running down its sides, as though it had been sloppily dunked from a larger container. At this point, the unkempt server, the dirty table, and the salsa container signaled a larger problem: This place is just outright sloppy and dirty. No attention to detail.
Still, I tried not to be harsh. I gave them the benefit of the doubt. After all, this place had stellar reviews.
I tasted the salsa, and it was horrible. It had no flavor and zero spice. I'm not kidding. Its lack of flavor was truly impressive. How do you make bland salsa?!?
I stopped eating my chips and salsa, stopped drinking my water, and simply observed the food being served to other patrons. The cook, along with the server, would both serve the entrees. When the cook came out, he wore black latex-like gloves. Normally, this is a good sign--people like to see it--but not when the gloves are completely dirty. His matte black gloves had glossy marks, presumably from grease, along with bits of food. They were filthy and needed to be replaced.
But they weren't.
When my entree was finally served, the cook appeared from the kitchen wearing the exact same gloves in the exact same disgusting condition. Did he not know these gloves are disposable?!
Unimpressed, I hung in there. I wanted the food to be good because it wasn't cheap, and I simply wanted a decent meal.
It wasn't. The steak tacos were the best of the three, but I would rate them a 1/10, with 10 representing the best. In short, the steak was bland and thrown off balance by the toppings. These are not traditional street tacos, which are served with onion, cilantro, and salsa. These tacos came with the green salsa (the flavorless one served with the chips), lettuce, cilantro, cheese, and another sauce (equally as bland as the salsa). The unseasoned steak could not be saved by the char. The salsas, cheese, and cilantro did not complement the steak--they made it worse by throwing the taco off balance.
The chicken tacos were no better. The chicken had a tackiness to it. Again, flavorless, but with a char. Like the steak, the flavors were completely off balance and simply unpleasant.
The shrimp taco I could not finish. The texture of the shrimp was unlike any I've had before. When I bit into it, I instantly thought it was likely frozen and probably the cheapest shrimp available at a grocery store. I actually feared I would become sick from eating it, so I stopped.
At this point, I stood up and left. This was probably the most satisfying part of the experience.
In short, I left wholly unsatisfied. I felt as if I had wasted my money. I felt cheated.
I don't get it--how did so many reviewers get it wrong? I can't remember the last time I had such a bad overall experience at a restaurant, at least not this bad.
I ate here against my better judgment. I should have taken the unkempt, unclean server as a red flag. What followed--dirty table, lack of care in the presentation of food, filthy gloves--only confirmed my suspicions that I was in for a horrible meal. It's puzzling that a place like this can have such glowing reviews when every single element of my experience was subpar.
Please, do yourself a favor and find somewhere else to eat. read more