have a pick up order today at this restaurant and after waiting 20 mins, i kindly asked the staff how long it would take, they told me they dont know, if i can not wait, then i can leave. Wow, thats how you guys do business? treated customer like a joke? the staff so rude and uneducated, especially the guy with port wine stain on half of his face, he keep cursing me out, using the bad word, he should be in the gang, not the restaurant. Horrible service. Please fire this guy immediately, he made your restaurant looks trashy. Read another negative reviews and feel like thats not his first time treating people like sh*t, also lying he's the manager there.
Adri C.
Don't flirt with customers. Did not appreciate this welcome from the host. Beyond that, this El Vaquero has a very large menu, with a large number of options for every meat choice as well as a sizable vegetarian menu. Many dishes include a choice of "side," but it took us several minutes to finally find that these choices are just rice, beans, and guacamole salad. Skip this paragraph if you don't want an unappetizing TMI: This food made us all pretty gassy afterward. I am a huge fan and regular consumer of Mexican food and did not have anything spicy, though I'm good with spice anyway. We all had different dishes and protein choices and not all of us ate beans. I almost never get gassy. I don't know what caused it, but this isn't normal. The food in general was not great, not worth the cost. I wish I thought to take a photo or ask the server to throw it away, but the verde hot sauce I almost used was moldy on the rim and in the cap. I created a combo of a hard beef taco and chile relleno. I should have expected a combo taco to be Americanized, but it was just meat, cheese, and lettuce. The beef was greasy and salty as heck, with a stale hard shell. The chile relleno was good for what I could eat, but the end was burnt? gone bad? idk but it was uncuttable to the point I thought it was the stem at first. A fourth of it was also not deseeded. Other than that, I appreciated that they didn't over batter the pepper, because that's something I see at a lot at other places, which causes it to be too spongey. My friends both got different vegetarian dishes, which they thought were okay but also not worth the price or aftermath. Between the service and the food, I will definitely not be returning to this location. It has better locations. The only thing it has going for it is the decor and size of the menu.
Caitlin S.
What a great Mexican restaurant! All of the food is delicious and everybody that's been is always raving about this place. The service is amazing and the workers are all very kind. The atmosphere of this establishment is very calm and kid friendly.
Tiffany H.
First time trying food from here. My sister took me here for my birthday dinner and we enjoyed it very much. Place was clean and lively and most importantly-the food was delicious. We'll definitely be back and recommend this place for delicious Mexican food.
Johann M.
I hate to do this but what a terrible service. Our server was so disconnected, not even polite. We asked her questions about the menu and her responses were not friendly or helpful, the worst one was when we asked her how big was the bowl of soup and her response was "it's big" with a nasty attitude. We order a small bowl of pozole ignoring her behavior and it never was served. They brought the food and just before we were finished she said we missed the soup right? I told her "yes, but I think we don't need it anymore" her response was "I have to bring it because I ordered it" so I thought "what!? You made a mistake, not me". Anyways the food was ok, nothing impressive, but good enough to not complain. If you ask me, I won't come back. The servers were yelling to each other from left to right work related things. We entered to the restaurant at 9:15pm, the website says the restaurant close at 11 I don't know why the server were acting like they were about to close, at 10pm turned off the music, staring cleaning the floors; so do they close at 10pm or 11pm? Clean that mess with the hours please and make your server be at least polite. I know this restaurant is a franchise and I'm not planning to have the same experience somewhere else. And remember we are paying for the food, is not for free.
Kaoru M.
My usual El Vaquero is the one off of Olentangy River Rd... but this El Vaq off of 161 can be more convenient for us when we have shopping to do off of Sawmill Rd. This location is cleaner, less busy, and overall easier to eat at... but the one thing that keeps them from being our preferred El Vaquero is their salsa. I can't quite put my finger on why exactly, but the salsa here is not the same as the salsa at the Olentangy or Riverside Dr El Vaquero. It's definitely inferior. Tonight especially, the salsa seemed watered down. Really a bummer.... you'd think they'd have the same salsa across all locations.
Tyler J.
Our family eats at one of the el vaqueros at least 2 times a month. We love el vaquero and always refer people to them.
Kirk R.
Left item off order and when called to complain they said they could not refund and i had to go to restaurant to pick it up. i insisted on talking with manager and she first tells me they can't refund money because carryout was thru 3rd party service hired by Vaqueros... huh?? finally agreed to reimburse the missing item, no sympathy or caring even with reimbursement we (the customer) lost. Last time we ever eat at Vaqueros... not willing to pay over $70 for bad service, small portions and so/so food!
jmolnari
4 adults and we all tried a different dish. Pre-order came with basket of crispy chips, red salsa, and small dish of ceviche. For entre, I had the Pina Rellena a La Crema o Estilo Nayarit: stuffed pineapple with seafood mix, cooked in a cream of mushrooms and topped with melted cheese ($21 -- maybe a little heavy on the cheese; BF had a 2-tail lobster & seafood mixed dish (market price -- about $70); friends had a crab enchilada & shrimp quesadilla combo ($13) and a pasta dish with seafood mix ($19). We were all happy with our meals. Margaritas were standard, but tasty. Staff were very polite, attentive (but not overbearing). We would certainly go back!
glenno602
I paid with my credit card and didn’t leave a tip because of the poor service and when I look at my bank account they tipped themselves $10.00 and if that wasn’t enough they stole my credit card information and went shopping, I had to call my bank and cancel my card and dispute all the charges they should not be in business with this kind of practices they should be in prison
They dont list some entree prices and they charged me 70 dollars for one entree. Mostly shrimp. Do not go
Robert H
Authentic Mexican food. The Molcajete Kora seafood boil is incredible. Live music on Sunday. This is one of the best Mexican restaurants that I have been to in the USA.
mcclintock20
I'm a chef and love to try out new places. I was very impressed, my food was excellent and the portions are huge! It was well worth the wait. The hostess was very friendly and welcoming. I don't waste my time writing bad reviews, I just don't go back. They were critically short staffed, like most restaurants these days but still nailed it. Definitely going back! (If you're still reading, the restaurant business is hurting for help badly, be patient and be kind please! In spite of this, the staff provided me with a great experience, wel worth the trouble)
Lupe_4483
The food was awesome, but beware, our waitress wanted us to give her a tip plus the service fee, the service fee alone was 74 bucks, 18%. So on reality, she expected us to leave 33%!!!, I asked her, what do you mean? The service fee should be the tip included, that is why it was 18%. Our total was little over 400. She said no, the service fee is not her tip, it goes to the people that clean the table and the receptionist. ?? So expect to give 33% for service fee and tip!
Kay-Lynne S
We were in town for just one night and searched for a great place near our hotel and saw some good reviews on El Barco. We love a good Mexican style menu and food, so we were eager to give it a try. While they did a GREAT job with social distancing tables, we were disappointed with the food. Honestly, it was kind of bland (we ordered the Enchiladas Mexicans and the Fajitas Quesadilla with Chicken). Maybe we should have tried the seafood, it seems as if that is their specialty. Other than that-check out the beer prices (see the receipt).
have a pick up order today at this restaurant and after waiting 20 mins, i kindly asked the staff how long it would take, they told me they dont know, if i can not wait, then i can leave. Wow, thats how you guys do business? treated customer like a joke? the staff so rude and uneducated, especially the guy with port wine stain on half of his face, he keep cursing me out, using the bad word, he should be in the gang, not the restaurant. Horrible service. Please fire this guy immediately, he made your restaurant looks trashy. Read another negative reviews and feel like thats not his first time treating people like sh*t, also lying he's the manager there.
Don't flirt with customers. Did not appreciate this welcome from the host. Beyond that, this El Vaquero has a very large menu, with a large number of options for every meat choice as well as a sizable vegetarian menu. Many dishes include a choice of "side," but it took us several minutes to finally find that these choices are just rice, beans, and guacamole salad. Skip this paragraph if you don't want an unappetizing TMI: This food made us all pretty gassy afterward. I am a huge fan and regular consumer of Mexican food and did not have anything spicy, though I'm good with spice anyway. We all had different dishes and protein choices and not all of us ate beans. I almost never get gassy. I don't know what caused it, but this isn't normal. The food in general was not great, not worth the cost. I wish I thought to take a photo or ask the server to throw it away, but the verde hot sauce I almost used was moldy on the rim and in the cap. I created a combo of a hard beef taco and chile relleno. I should have expected a combo taco to be Americanized, but it was just meat, cheese, and lettuce. The beef was greasy and salty as heck, with a stale hard shell. The chile relleno was good for what I could eat, but the end was burnt? gone bad? idk but it was uncuttable to the point I thought it was the stem at first. A fourth of it was also not deseeded. Other than that, I appreciated that they didn't over batter the pepper, because that's something I see at a lot at other places, which causes it to be too spongey. My friends both got different vegetarian dishes, which they thought were okay but also not worth the price or aftermath. Between the service and the food, I will definitely not be returning to this location. It has better locations. The only thing it has going for it is the decor and size of the menu.
What a great Mexican restaurant! All of the food is delicious and everybody that's been is always raving about this place. The service is amazing and the workers are all very kind. The atmosphere of this establishment is very calm and kid friendly.
First time trying food from here. My sister took me here for my birthday dinner and we enjoyed it very much. Place was clean and lively and most importantly-the food was delicious. We'll definitely be back and recommend this place for delicious Mexican food.
I hate to do this but what a terrible service. Our server was so disconnected, not even polite. We asked her questions about the menu and her responses were not friendly or helpful, the worst one was when we asked her how big was the bowl of soup and her response was "it's big" with a nasty attitude. We order a small bowl of pozole ignoring her behavior and it never was served. They brought the food and just before we were finished she said we missed the soup right? I told her "yes, but I think we don't need it anymore" her response was "I have to bring it because I ordered it" so I thought "what!? You made a mistake, not me". Anyways the food was ok, nothing impressive, but good enough to not complain. If you ask me, I won't come back. The servers were yelling to each other from left to right work related things. We entered to the restaurant at 9:15pm, the website says the restaurant close at 11 I don't know why the server were acting like they were about to close, at 10pm turned off the music, staring cleaning the floors; so do they close at 10pm or 11pm? Clean that mess with the hours please and make your server be at least polite. I know this restaurant is a franchise and I'm not planning to have the same experience somewhere else. And remember we are paying for the food, is not for free.
My usual El Vaquero is the one off of Olentangy River Rd... but this El Vaq off of 161 can be more convenient for us when we have shopping to do off of Sawmill Rd. This location is cleaner, less busy, and overall easier to eat at... but the one thing that keeps them from being our preferred El Vaquero is their salsa. I can't quite put my finger on why exactly, but the salsa here is not the same as the salsa at the Olentangy or Riverside Dr El Vaquero. It's definitely inferior. Tonight especially, the salsa seemed watered down. Really a bummer.... you'd think they'd have the same salsa across all locations.
Our family eats at one of the el vaqueros at least 2 times a month. We love el vaquero and always refer people to them.
Left item off order and when called to complain they said they could not refund and i had to go to restaurant to pick it up. i insisted on talking with manager and she first tells me they can't refund money because carryout was thru 3rd party service hired by Vaqueros... huh?? finally agreed to reimburse the missing item, no sympathy or caring even with reimbursement we (the customer) lost. Last time we ever eat at Vaqueros... not willing to pay over $70 for bad service, small portions and so/so food!
4 adults and we all tried a different dish. Pre-order came with basket of crispy chips, red salsa, and small dish of ceviche. For entre, I had the Pina Rellena a La Crema o Estilo Nayarit: stuffed pineapple with seafood mix, cooked in a cream of mushrooms and topped with melted cheese ($21 -- maybe a little heavy on the cheese; BF had a 2-tail lobster & seafood mixed dish (market price -- about $70); friends had a crab enchilada & shrimp quesadilla combo ($13) and a pasta dish with seafood mix ($19). We were all happy with our meals. Margaritas were standard, but tasty. Staff were very polite, attentive (but not overbearing). We would certainly go back!
I paid with my credit card and didn’t leave a tip because of the poor service and when I look at my bank account they tipped themselves $10.00 and if that wasn’t enough they stole my credit card information and went shopping, I had to call my bank and cancel my card and dispute all the charges they should not be in business with this kind of practices they should be in prison
Restaurantji Recommends
They dont list some entree prices and they charged me 70 dollars for one entree. Mostly shrimp. Do not go
Authentic Mexican food. The Molcajete Kora seafood boil is incredible. Live music on Sunday. This is one of the best Mexican restaurants that I have been to in the USA.
I'm a chef and love to try out new places. I was very impressed, my food was excellent and the portions are huge! It was well worth the wait. The hostess was very friendly and welcoming. I don't waste my time writing bad reviews, I just don't go back. They were critically short staffed, like most restaurants these days but still nailed it. Definitely going back! (If you're still reading, the restaurant business is hurting for help badly, be patient and be kind please! In spite of this, the staff provided me with a great experience, wel worth the trouble)
The food was awesome, but beware, our waitress wanted us to give her a tip plus the service fee, the service fee alone was 74 bucks, 18%. So on reality, she expected us to leave 33%!!!, I asked her, what do you mean? The service fee should be the tip included, that is why it was 18%. Our total was little over 400. She said no, the service fee is not her tip, it goes to the people that clean the table and the receptionist. ?? So expect to give 33% for service fee and tip!
We were in town for just one night and searched for a great place near our hotel and saw some good reviews on El Barco. We love a good Mexican style menu and food, so we were eager to give it a try. While they did a GREAT job with social distancing tables, we were disappointed with the food. Honestly, it was kind of bland (we ordered the Enchiladas Mexicans and the Fajitas Quesadilla with Chicken). Maybe we should have tried the seafood, it seems as if that is their specialty. Other than that-check out the beer prices (see the receipt).