I really wanted to give this place 5 stars based on the food and drink; however, the non-food-and-drink issues knock a star off....
when we first arrived, we were greeted by some way-to-loud music being blasted throughout the restaurant by some random DJ dude sitting outside (this was during sunday brunch time). since the music was so loud inside, we opted to sit outside (which wasn't great either since the music was still fairly loud & it was on the chilly/breezy side). when we got to our table outside, the fabric seats had a bunch of random food/grease spots.... when we got our menus, they were covered in nasty food/grease splotches.
thankfully, things started to turn around.... our server was a very pleasant gentleman.. and, we ordered all our stuff immediately since we were pretty hungry and dining around 1p. the cocktails came out pretty quickly, and they were excellent. I tried the el pepe (fig leaf infused gin, ancho verde, guava, coconut bergamot) and the mariachi (vanilla vodka, passion fruit, pineapple, mango, lime, cava). both drinks were very nicely balanced. you tasted the alcohol up front without having the bitter aftertaste. the fruit flavors were fresh yet did not overpower the drinks. I think they were $15 a pop, which I felt was very fair considering the quality and number of ingredients in each cocktail. these were among the best I've had in town.
onto the food...
- elote ribs (corn ribs dusted with brown sugar and PL tajin & sprinkled with cotija cheese and microcilantro): this was a great way to start the meal. while the corn itself was probably not the most freshly prepared, the flavors of the toppings were great. I usually think mayo and more tang when I think "elote", and those were absent from this dish, but it was still pretty great. I'd get'em again.
- baja shrimp tacos (fried shrimp marinated in pico de gallo, topped with charred cabbage slaw, pineapple-habanero aioli): I'd return for these tacos alone. these were great. the tangy slaw paired perfectly with the wonderful shrimp. I love the tortillas that they use. they're tasty and durable. they hold up nicely to all the filling without falling apart. definitely get these.
- jerk chicken tacos (marinated & smoked jerk chicken paired with a mixed cabbage slaw and habanero-thyme mayo): this was good too, but not nearly as good as the shrimp tacos. I liked the heat from the jerk chicken. some tasty tacos, but I'll probably try a different taco when I return.
- bean & rice: I tried this as an add-on to one of the taco plates. pass. the beans are fine; though, I'd prefer some monterey jack instead of the small sprinkling of cotija cheese.. and the rice was just very, very mediocre.
as much as I liked the food & drink, the main thing that would give me 2nd thoughts about returning was the overall service. While the host & servers were very pleasant, the food just took too damn long. the drinks and appetizer came out in a timely manner, but our tacos took forever... it looked like there were a couple bachelorette parties going on, but otherwise, they didn't seem too busy.. and those big parties had already been served their food before we had even ordered. I'm pretty sure there was only one server for the whole place; this was definitely true for the outside area (which is the majority of the seating for the restaurant). there were a couple runners, but they weren't servers... and, it turns out that the sole server on duty was also the sole bartender on duty. maybe I just came at a bad time and/or someone called out sick. i dunno. read more