We're not in the Duluth area all that often, but decided to try out El Dorado today based on Yelp reviews.
I'm torn between a 3 and a 4 here. My wife would probably give it a 4.5. If you "like it hot", you'll do fine here, but they seem to go a little overboard for my tastes. My first warning was the salsa that came with the chips -- One of the hottest I've had in recent memory. Also, I bit into a few uncooked spots in two of the chips - Never a fun experience when that happens. That was probably the tipping point between a "4" and a "3" on this review.
We noticed a large dish on several of the tables and the server told us it was the El Dorado Molcajete, described on the menu as "Grilled chicken, steak, and sausage strips. Cheese quesadilla inside. Served with green onions, banana pepper, tomato slices, avocado slices, and queso fresco slices. (Cooked with our delicious spicy home made salsa). With corn or flour tortillas." The server (but not the menu) mentioned that it was a serving size for two people. Unfortunately, the waitress described it as "very spicy", so that was out for me (especially given my experience with the salsa). If however, you like it hot, you should give this a try.
So instead I went with an asada steak quesadilla (which I'd noticed in some Yelp reviews) and a pollo taco on corn tortilla. The quesadilla was good, and a great value for the price. The taco was quite good, but the tortilla was a bit hard on the edge; not up to the quality and taste of some other restaurants around. I'd probably go with a flour tortilla here next time. Both the chicken and the steak had great flavor.
My wife went with the Carne Asada a la Mexicana, and quite enjoyed it.
When we arrived at 2:30 or so on Saturday, the place was about half-full, but it was packed by the time we were done around 3:15.
I do wish they communicated better about paying at the counter. It's table service, where the server takes your order at the table, but they never bring you a check -- You just are supposed to know that you go to the counter when you are done. Since this isn't "normal" restaurant behavior, they should make sure the server tells customers this when they take away the dishes.
When my wife asked me whether or not we'd received the check yet, I remembered reading this tidbit in another Yelp review, and then watched someone at the table behind us go up to the counter.
Overall, would have loved to have seen:
- A "less hot" salsa. Many Mexican restaurants that have "very spicy" salsa will have an alternative available.
- Better chips
- Better corn tortilla
- A heads-up on paying at the counter read more