We loved this place so much we dined here for dinner two days in a row! We were in town over the…read moreweekend for the Pokemon World Championships, and by the end of the first day, we were famished. Fortunately for us, El Dorado was conveniently located a block away from Moscone South (yes, I had my eye on the restaurant ahead of time and had made a reservation).
The first night, Jorge greeted us warmly and walked us through the menu. The restaurant's vibe is neighborhood casual, though still appropriate for a date night or nice family outing. We wanted to try a little bit of everything, so we ordered the ceviche trio, the empanada sampler, and the pescado frito, which is a pan-seared red snapper entree. For dessert, we had the churros and mango mousse cake. Everything was delicious, and our favorites were the original ceviche, the veggie empanada, the fish, and the mango mousse cake. For drinks, we ordered the chicha morada and pisco sour - both refreshing and yummy! Jorge was also our server, and service was excellent throughout dinner. We enjoyed everything so much and joked about dining here again tomorrow. Pretty sure Jorge did not take us seriously!
The second night rolled around, and I couldn't stop thinking about the veggie empanada and pisco sour... so we dined at El Dorado once more! We did not have a reservation this time, and thankfully the restaurant had a couple of open tables. We told the host (not Jorge; sorry, I forgot your name!) we had dined with them last night, and he chuckled. Pretty sure he thought we were kidding! This time our server was Ayduri, who was very sweet and attentive as well. We got a full order of the veggie empanada, the shrimp causa (kind of like a tart potato salad with shrimp), the churrasco entree, and their seafood pasta special. For dessert, the chocolate cake. Another chicha and a maracuya (passionfruit) sour this time. All the items delivered - especially the churrasco, which came perfectly medium rare, just like we requested. And, to our pleasant surprise, the dessert was on the house, because we dined there twice in a row!
All in all, El Dorado is a gem in SOMA. Granted, I do not venture into SOMA often, so my palate only knows so much. But I'm confident you'll find something to love here. And chances are we'll be back again the next time we're in the city.