I'd like to address right up front that Alvaro's Tacos has pretty good food. My guests all said they were good tacos, and I agree. The rice and beans though, are bland and boring, and just a basic accompaniment. These were left almost entirely untouched, and we ended up tossing the lot. Where Alvaro falls short, is in his lack of honesty, fraud in general, and extremely poor customer service.
I booked Alvaro's for a party of 60 well in advance, and had a long stream of questions and answers about service and food over the weeks preceding my party, as numbers adjusted etc. About a week before the party I received an email from Alvaro, stating that he had me down for a 7:30 pm serving time, and asked if that was the latest he could begin service (he stated they will arrive one to one-and-a-half hours early for prep in all previous communications). I went into a bit of a panic, as my party was at 6pm, and I requested service no later than 6:30. He agreed to this way in advance, and had confirmation emails etc. When I replied no, that he was to arrive around 5 pm for prep, and start service by 6:30, he stated that he couldn't do 6:30. Panic again. I sent him copies of our correspondence with the agreed upon time, and he replied that he had made a mistake, and was looking at another booking for a different date. Yes, no problem, 6:30 was fine. "Will you be here at five?" His reply, "Approximately, yes." Okay, so I didn't have to rush and find a new caterer after all, which was nice, since I had already given him my deposit.
The party starts at six, people are arriving, but still no taco cart, and no call. Later I get a call about some direction details from the caterer, who eventually arrives at around 7 pm. I complained that he was two hours late, and he tells me that Alvaro had him down for seven PM service at my house, and that he had just come from another event. Great. For the next hour he sets up and cooks the food. Service starts just before 8 pm. Some of my guests have already left, and many had already eaten. (My wife, worried that there wouldn't be enough food, had her mother and sister make 150 enchiladas, along with rice and beans, and chips and salsa.) So, full and sated from the emergency, just-in-case food, people make their way to the taco cart. Everyone enjoys the after dinner taco snacks, and they are almost entirely eaten. We are left with about one pound of chicken and another of pork. The beef went really fast.
Also of note, is that Alvaro quoted 27 pounds of meat for 60 people. The meat on the grill was clearly a fraction of that. If I had relied on an honest quote and arrival time from Alvaro, and not had the enchiladas, my party would have been an utter disaster, with everyone hungry. Needless to say, this was very disappointing. I paid the employee the full price despite my dissatisfaction, as this was no fault of his, and opted to take out my frustrations on Yelp. Anyway, here's what I thought of the food.
Tacos: The beef was pretty good, the favorite of most, and the pork was tender and spicy, and my favorite. Some of the chicken meat was on the dry side, and just okay, but the cilantro, onions, and salsa made them just fine. The tortillas were heated to order, and everyone loved them.
Salad, rice, and beans: All bland and simple.
Condiments: made well in advance, and perhaps leftovers from the previous event, but they were fine.
Grilled Jalapenos and pickled carrots: Difficult to review, as these were included in the quote, but did not make it to my party.
Flavored waters: We got the lemonade and strawberry flavors, both of which the kids all really enjoyed.
Salsas: They were appropriate for the tacos. Not spicy, but pretty good.
Quesadillas: I paid $30 extra for these. The kids liked them. My complaint here is that they were all made at once, and placed in a steel bin next to the condiments, and got cold and congealed pretty fast.
Taco guy: I don't recall his name, but he was clearly aware that I was frustrated, and did a great job all night. He was very friendly and professional.
If Alvaro's Tacos had shown up as promised, and had the agreed upon quantity of meat, I would have been happy to give them at least four stars for service and tacos, despite the rice and beans. The fact that he outright lied and cheated earns this dishonest character the dreaded one star rating. read more
