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3 Courses, 2 People, $20. Juicy Burgers & Tender Ribs. You Choose!
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I have to update this because my husband and I hit El Cam for Game 6 of the World Series and it was amazing- just for us though, not our Phightin' :(
We got to the bar well before game time to ensure a great view of the tv. Our bartender (Josh I believe...) was incredibly helpful and friendly. I started with a gin & tonic (where the gin pour was epic) and my hubby got one of his whisky/scotch/ryes on the rocks. Josh then convinced us to try the chili. This was the best recommendation I've received in MONTHS. The chili, or amazing seared bowl of meat, was delectable! I ordered the seitan sandwich (also tasty), but man, my wheat meat could never have this chuck beat. The chili is served with crema, jalapenos, and tortilla shells, which are INTEGRAL to the meal. Overall, amazing.
To top it off, we finished with a Border Dog (special for the Series). $2 for a hotdog wrapped in bacon, topped with baked beans and a three cheese sauce all tucked in a grilled potato bun. Another epic win.
And we won't even talk about my apple cobbler (served is a large skillet- definitely for 2!) with vanilla ice cream and mint. Delicious.
Just fell in love with El Cam all over again :)
My husband and I frequent El Cam because we live right down the street. We always enjoy a delicious… Read more »
I've had some great experiences at El Camino...I prefer to sit at the bar since their bartenders are awesome. (Elaine in particular! I'm vegan and she always goes out of her way to let me know which options on the menu are safe to order.)
It can get crowded on weekends but during the week it's a great spot to grab a drink & good eats. They always seem to be playing my favourite music, too.
Mexican themed bar and restaurant.
Food: not bad, but below average for this price point.
Service: friendly but slow.
Come hang out if you are in the neighborhood. No reason to make a special trip if you are not.
This is a fun, lively place! They have some unique apps and really yummy entrees. My non-veg friends said the veggie wings taste like the real thing! The menu is vegetarian friendly and the service is great - so are the margaritas. It gets crowded but its a really good time. It is reasonably priced but the portions are ginormo (leftovers yay).
So, being from Texas, I cannot tell you how stoked I was to hear about this place. I was so stoked in fact, that I actually squealed a little bit when my friend told me about it. I have been a bit homesick lately(especially because I have not had a breakfast taco in 2 weeks) and was excited to hear about somewhere that might make me feel a little bit at home.
Well, here it goes:
Salsa- Uh, hmmm. We don't serve Pico De Gallo as salsa back home. It is usually to spice up a taco, or burrito, or taco salad or something. They also served verde salsa. Both were not bad, kinda tasty actually. Just not what I know as Tex-Mex.
Burritos- I ordered the Carnitas. They were good, but kind of small for 10 bucks. More like a taco than anything. I will try the enchiladas next time(oh yes, there will be a next time).
Taco salad-(my friend ordered this) HUGE. And my friend loved it, she got it with shrimp.
Margaritas- Not bad. Not bad at all. And only $5!!!
Also, Sunday-Thursday, they have half-priced draught beers and margaritas from 10pm-midnight. Can I get a what what?
So all in all, it was an OK experience. The waitress was a little too distant for my liking, when we were done eating, she just brought us the check. I kind of wanted another margarita, but felt we were being rushed out of the door.
El Camino Real is solid good times. I'm a sucker for al fresco dining, and that's one of their strongest assets.
Now onto the important stuff: food. While it's not fancy, the portions are HUGE! Worth every penny. I ordered the taco salad with seitan, expecting a medium sized plate. This one was HUGE, with greens, tortilla chips, black beans, corn, and seitan aplenty. The dressing was tangy and spicy. I still managed to polish it off, anyway....
Another thing I love here? The pickle chips, with their spicy chili dipping sauce....yum. While I've not ordered my own barbecue here, I've tasted the ribs, the texas toast sandwiches, and fries - and damn, are they good.
The one weird thing about ECR is that the servers always have a deer-caught-in-headlights look. I have no idea why, but they always look lost. Chill out dudes, I won't bite your head off.
I'll be the first to admit that I'm no foodie - or rather, I'm a foodie for street food, ethnic cuisine, and cheap eats. ECR manages to accomplish huge portions of Tex Mex food at a good price. I dig.
So the atmosphere was awesome for this second visit. The service was great again, had a male waiter this time and he was very good. Came and refilled out chips once, cleared plates in good time as we were done, and just overall really nice. Again, didn't feel rushed at all which was prefect because we were watching the phillies game so stayed awhile after our meal. One dissapointing part though.. the smore bread pudding i was so excited for, completely not what i was expecting. It was basically two less dense chocolate brownies with a graham cracker sitting on top and marshmallow ice cream. Of course it tasted good but I wouldn've thought it would be a bread pudding with a graham cracker crust or something, not just a graham cracker thrown on top. So that's my only negative part about this place.
Fried pickle chips, delicious! Make sure you let them cool, they taste so much better when they're not burning hot.
This place is amazing! I just went there tonight. Wanted to get a good feel of the mexican and bbq… Read more »
el camino real is like the facts of life theme song. you take the good you take the bad you take em both and there you have the fact of life....
the good : nachos -big healthy portion and loaded with artery clogging goodness, fried pickles- its pickles and fried and most of the sauces/salsa. now the bad: maybe not bad but definitely below average ..the ribs- dry and over smoked, size of the burritos- i feel like i am eating a taquito, they taste decent though, the margaritas- bit water down and the construction- if u sit by the window during a cold night the restaurant has the insulation of a cardboard box. I think the other bbq hovers around ok, a different take on mexican and in my book different is usually ok w/ me.
Went here before the grand opening party of "The Velvet Lilly" (right next door). I was told it was good here and the person who told me was very right. The bartender Anthony was super friendly, mixed a perfect margarita and gave great food recommendations.
The Waygo BBQ Brisket was amazing as were the vegan wings. I'm ready to go back.. the food was awesome..
I've eating at El Camino Real twice now and both times really satisfied with my meals. Lunch for the first visit and dinner the second. Got the veggie wings both times as an appetizer and they are excellent. Got the cactus and potato burritos my first visit and the BBQ seitan the second. Service was very attentive but with a more casual attitude. Great place to have a relaxing meal and a few good brews.
Read Catherine L.'s review - and my sentiments are echoed.
A close friend and I came here for dinner. When we had trouble finding the place (we were at the "A Full Plate" end of Liberties walk, we called on the phone and a nice man came out to get us and walked us over. This, alas, was the best part of the meal. Things got progressively worse and worse.
First we were seated (inside - at our request) and our drink order was taken by a clearly overworked, spread-too-thin male server (who was very nice and tried his best - 3 stars for him).
After taking our meal order we waited, and waited, and waited...
And waited some more...
And finally asked harried server to please bring our chips and salsa (as he had just brought some to another table nearby). We were starvin'!
The smoky salsa and salsa verde arrive - in hot bowls "fresh from the d/w" and thus we had warm salsa. Yech. And the salty chips were "chipettes" (or to be mean - crumbs.) smashed to smithereens.
OK, things aren't so great - but we await our entrees.
Wow - Impressive looking - I order a single beef shortrib and feel like Fred Flintstone. This thing is HUGE. Gi-normous! Like a brontosaurus rib. Alas - there is no sauce. My friend orders an "OK" pair of Chicken burritos that are no better than Qdoba.
So here's the kicker... About 3/4 through the entrees, frantic server appears again with a siz-pack of sauce. He gives me a bottle of HOT and a bottle of SWEET. I pour out a bit of the sweet onto my plate (disregarding the crust around the rim of the squeez bottle) and dip my meat in. UGH!!! Racidity Central.
The HOT sauce is not rancid - and has a nice flavor but it just to hot for me.
My appetite is now officially GONE.
And shortly thereafter, so were we. I will not return.
Such a disappointment.
"Meh. I've experienced better." Two stars sums it up.
I came in for dinner this evening and had the Gringos Burrito (add steak) dinner. I ate at the bar. The bartender was okay. She didn't say much, but took my order right away. The food came out pretty quick. The burrito was cut in half for me. Alright. Additionally, it was drizzled with crema and had a dollop of guacamole with two slices of jalapeno on top of the burrito... yeah, on top. After forking and knifing my way through this project, I was still hungry and not really satisfied with what I ate. With the added steak ($4), this was a $12 plate that left me wanting. Unfortunately for The Real Camino, I can get a steak burrito that I struggle to finish at Dos Segundos for $11.
Kind of a bummer of a meal. Service was okay, but I left very unimpressed by the food itself. Probably won't be back soon.
I am so shocked by a few reviews saying that El Camino Real has bad service. I have been here 4 times now and the service was always perfect and amazing, but.. I'm not the kind of person who thinks waiting 30 minutes for dinner on a busy night is outrageous. .. and I'd wait an hour for well made delicious fresh food that has imagination. Big praise to the bartender whose name i forget (woops) and Deva. Friendly staff that is fun to talk to.
I have tried a number of things at ECR, but so far I think the veggie wings are my favorite. The wing sauce is great, which is a big deal to me since I'm a bitttt of a wing snob. I'm not a vegetarian, but i love seitan and the way they prepare it is perfect! I highly recommend the dish to veg people.. and the meat eaters. Mind you, they're a little spicy! I can't handle much spice, but these were so delicious i couldn't help myself. I even talked them up to a guy next to me at the bar and he was intrigued. He even ended up grabbing a taste right off of my plate. Having those wings in front of you is surely a good way to make new friends.
Another thing I love.. the decor! It's really cute inside. It's cozy and comfortable. Not intimidating. Between that and the welcoming staff, this is a great place to eat whenever.. or to get a drink at.
I need to return as soon as possible to try the brunch.. and the burritos, which i've heard are amazing.
Basically... El Camino Real has the three B's.
*BBQ
* Burritos
*Booze
So great!
My ideal way to enjoy El Camino: Go in with a couple of friends on a weeknight, sit at the bar, order from the Texas side of the menu.
The pig wings are amazing! I'm going to assume these are actually the wings of angel pigs from heaven, cause that's exactly what they taste like! They also have an unexpectedly great brunch. The brisket hash, seriously, will cure every hangover ever. There are really extensive selections of tequila and whiskey, if you're into that kind of thing. They also have one of my favorite beers on tap- Lancaster Milk Stout!
I've found that you get your food faster and hotter when you sit at the bar. Also, the bar service is wonderful. Elaine is just awesome. So friendly and quick to refill your drink. You'll be BFFs with her before you leave and she'll remember you when you return.
Bleh!
Our waiter was spread too thin caring for a very large station including tables outside the restaurant.
We had to remind him 25 minutes after taking our order that we ordered chips and salsa, and "could we please have our chips now." The food arrived and it was good, not mind blowing. But the salsa that accompanied our chips was served room temperature not chilled. Ugh. Plus the chips were smashed into bits; there were hardly any chips that were complete triangles.
About 15 minutes after the entrees were served, the waiter stops by to check in. He says to my friend (who ordered a rib), "I think you need some sauce for that." He places a caddy on the table of six different barbecue sauces for her to try. Each bottle has dried sticky barbecue residue left on the squirt cap. Gross.
She said the sauce she chose was icky and awful.
We were totally lookin' to get out of there.
My Ranty Favorite Meal
by Ally G.
1) El Camino Real specializes in Northern Mexican food and Texas BBQ. Most of the menu items consist of meat. Even though their seitan dishes are quite satisfying, according to my carnivorous and vegetarian friends... The focus is mostly on the meat. It's all about da meat! But if something isn't perfectly catered to a vegetarian need, just chill... they try hard to meet your needs :D Try the interestingly cheesey side of corn!
2) For all you real foodies out there, you know and can appreciate ECR's fine choice in ingredients. Everything is either fresh or homemade! You won't find any of that nasty canned crap in the kitchen. So um... for those who say otherwise,shhhh, just chill... have another bite and savor it. Try the beautifuly smoked wagyu brisket.
3) The service might not be ECR's strong point. But cut them some slack... How many packed tables do you see? A LOT. All the folks there are way cool; trying their best to make everyones experience enjoyable! So call over your server, be patient, relax, just chill... enjoy good company! Try the Texas peach tea while your at it!
4) For all you Top Chef fans... Guess who's going to be in season 6! None other than ECR's lovely executive chef, Jen Zavala! (definitely the hottest contestant in Sin City).
5) Lastly... seasonal fruit cobbler... enough said.
El Camino Mac & Cheese Update: Bland and dry... no longer rich and creamy... I waited a while before… Read more »
Came here a couple of times for a late night bite. The place was very busy and very loud, and the margaritas made me sad. Service was OK - not bad, not great.
The food, though, was awesome both times. I don't care that it's not the same as that one time you were in Mexico. The guacamole is one of the best I've tried, and the veggie wings are pretty much my new favorite food in Philly.
This place is about as Mexican as an Italian cow. But then again, Italian cow is damn tasty. Well, any cow is tasty. But I digress.
The point is, despite the Clint Eastwood posters on the wall (back before he was busy reforming Hmong teenagers and training female boxers), this place has pretty seriously tasty food and way tasty margaritas.
I can't speak about table service, but every time I've been here, the service at the bar was great. My margarita glass didn't remain unfilled for more than half a minute or so. I've only ordered the burritos (fish a couple times, steak a couple times). They're good, but much smaller than the head sized chunks of flatbread and meat you'd get at any of the chain burrito places. I like them better though. I'd rather my meal not be a competition between my stomach and three pounds of white rice.
Yum yum yum! After watching 5 hours of Food Network on Sunday, nothing was going to satisfy my appetite but I have to say I am pleasantly pleased with El Camino.
The potato and cactus burritos are the perfect portion (or perfect to share as a snack) and are SO good! I also had some of the gringo burrito. I have definitely had better burritos especially since this one was a little dry.
The service was great and I'll definitely be back for drinks and to try something from the "Texas" part of the menu.
You must go to this place you will not think you are in philly anymore! the streets are clean and the setting is beautiful. 10-12am happy hr every night of the week this is a great deal! they even bake their won chips! food is good drinks are cheap=you gotta check it out!
El Camino has become one of my favorite spots in Northern Liberties. After a couple dozen visits under my belt, I still say they have the best margaritas in town! The food is always super fresh, the service is awesome, the prices are reasonable.
My only negative comment about El Camino has more to do with the management's response to yelpers. They recently let my favorite (and their best) server go partially because of the negative reviews here. I'll be going in less often now because they let their best server go to appease a small group rather than actually take a step back and look at the real issues.
I guess no one can please everyone all of the time.
Oh, and don't miss the fried pickles and pig wings!!
El Camino Real, known as The King's Highway, was a 600 Mile stretch of road in California connecting… Read more »
I want so badly to love el camino real...mexican and bbq food in one place? This is basically my dream come true. I went to El Camino the first night it opened, and I've been back there probably around 10 times since...maybe only 5 of those times have been for food, the rest just to sit at the bar and drink.
I have never had a bad experience sitting at the bar drinking, in fact the service has always been stellar...probably due to the fact that elaine was working the bar and her service is impeccable. My gripe is when you actually sit at a table and get food. The servers are nice and helpful but it seems that they're either stretched thin, working too many tables....or they're just slow - but I dont think that's the case. I have sat at a table on more than one occasion and waited far too long to be server a drink, or had my order taken. More than once I've waited over a half hour for a drink to come...and over an hour to even get my food....and asked how my meal was? forget it.
BUT my biggest gripe is that the 5 times I've been there my food has come to me cold. once it was burned and cold. I'm not sure if this is the servers fault or the kitchen staff but 5 times going there and this happening is kind of ridiculous. The sad part is that the food is actually really good...why can't I just get it served to me hot?
Long story short. if you want good service sit at the bar or come on a weekday when its not busy. The food has great potential and I'm sure I'll return here in hopes that my food isn't cold.
El Camino Real does some pretty decent Tex-Mex, but if you're looking for something better head to Dos Segundos. ECR's food is reasonably priced and certainly not disagreeable. The Gringo Burrito is great and super filling (I go no meat on it just so I can finish it!).
If El Camino Real would just drop the hipster BS, it could be a really great place. The environment puts on the "ironic Mexican cantina" airs, right down to the waiter with the ironic hipster mustache. The whole place is a little too cool for school. Not incredibly non-slacker friendly.
I like El Camino Real. I'll admit that it has its faults, but overall, it's a relatively inexpensive spot to have a few drinks and fill your belly. I definitely love how they take the term Tex-Mex seriously, and split the menu in half! I was really happy with my burrito. It was big, but not too big, and pretty yummy. We also ordered a pork BBQ sandwich, which, once dressed with some sauce, was really good. And huge! The guacamole rounded out the meal, and the margaritas made me smile :) So yeah, its definitely not the best restaurant around, but it'll fill your belly and not empty your wallet! Not to mention, the weeknight 10-midnight happy hour pretty much just kicks ass!
I rarely make it out to Northern Liberties, but I am really glad that we decided to make the trip with our friends on their recommendation of ECR. It was a Friday night, around 7pm or so, and we had no problems finding a parking spot on the street nearby. The restaurant looked pretty busy, but we were seated promptly and had a waiter not too long after that. First test, not having to wait: check!
They have a decent beer selection. My friend and I split a pitcher of Kenzinger and our wives got some peachy, girly drink (which they seemed to like). Second test, good beer selection: check.
The menu is divided between Tex[an] and Mex[ican]. The Tex portion is, you guessed it, BBQ-laden. And the Mex portion is, well, Mexican. We ordered a bunch of stuff to split and everything was very good. My wife was in love with the fried pickle chips appetizer. I had the chili relleno and it was decent. The seitan wings were uber-good. I will def get them next time. Nachos and onion rings were good. Test 3, good, creative food: check.
Service was fine. Nothing to brag about here. My only gripe was that they didn't seem to have sufficient bathroom capacity - just two unisex bathrooms, for which there was a perpetual line. So, bathrooms: fail.
Anyway, for anyone who is still reading this review after I have rambled on for paragraphs, I would definitely recommend checking out ECR if you are in the neighborhood.
Im only reviewing this place to hopefully bring their star average down a bit, knock their attitude down a few pegs and hopefully get the attention of the management/owner or something. I'd love to go back to a place that figured out their service problems.
I want this place to work.
While the food's only alright, the prices are great and service sucks. Bottomless bowls of chips means if you're lucky they refill that tiny thing maybe once during your long period between when they take your order to getting your bill.
I went there a lot for a while because it was convenient but some of my friends vow not to return because they're so annoyed with the service and refuse to put themselves in a situation where they're not likely going to want to tip the flakey servers.
So, to the owners: PLEASE SEND HELP, oh, and can you get me a refill on my drink. Yeah, it's been empty since they brought my food.
If you're reading this update in isolation (not in the sense that you're in solitary confinement, but in the sense that you're not reading it along with my Penang update), I recommend you go to http://phillymonica.ye....
Now, as part of my morning goals for the day, I promised I wouldn't drink or eat carbs, but would instead opt for a salad and go to the gym.
While I did go to the gym, I failed to "not drink." At lunch, I downed 2 margaritas (one with Canton Ginger Liqueur instead of tequila) and a Canton-bourbon-'arita. They were all so delicious I couldn't help but allow one to follow the other.
I did order a taco salad though. Great food, but unsuccessful day, folks. Better luck tomorrow.
I was at El Camino for so long last night that my friend and I started taking shift breaks with the… Read more »
so here's the dilly-o.
ECR was at a yelp event, and they served up some tasty tasty eats.
and so i went. and yes, they do have some highlights...
the burrito (what, plaintains? *and* bacon??) are ah-may-zing.
taco salad? meh.
magaritas? they go down just a bit *too* easy (please take note of this, boys who may possibly want to go out with me!)
chips and two types of salsa? yes yes yes!
crowd that is way too cool for me? servers who take forever and a day? check and present.
so yes. i love you. but i don't. if you could only string together all those good things... le sigh!
The shrimp burrito was fantastic. The service is just as good, if not better. My friend had the big-ass burger and he thought it was pretty good...
El Camino is up the block from my favorite mexican place, Cantino Dos Segundos. I'll admit that I initially resisted visiting because I was afraid that ECR would be too similar to CDS. I only went because I was hosting out of town houseguests, needed a new place to showcase, and also because a favorite server, Deva, had assured me that the food was awesome. She was right. (Full disclosure: Deva was my favorite server at another veggie restaurant, and has switched to working here. If not for her, I probably would not have tried ECR.)
My group of 4 arrived on a Sunday evening, it was relatively crowded, but we were seated immediately at an outdoor table. Conveniently, some crazy karaoke thing was happening over on the Piazza. Nothing like drinking a mango margarita and listening to someone butcher a Biz Markie song. The margarita was strong, or I am a lightweight, because within 4 sips I had the giggles.
Chips and salsa arrived within minutes. I'll admit, these didn't really do "it" for me. The chips have some sort of spices on them. Eh. The smoky red salsa is too smoky for my palate. My three table mates loved them, though. I just think I prefer my chips and salsa a different way.
The table shared an order of the seitan wings: deep fried seitan smothered in spicy wing sauce and served with dippy blue cheese deliciousness. These were phenomenal. I followed up with the BBQ seitan sandwich (served on texas toast with coleslaw) accompanied by fries. Conclusion: tasty sandwich (the dry rub was pretty spicy) and amazing fries. My husband tried the seitan stuffed chile relleno. I stole a taste: I wanted to love this. Unfortunately, I learned that I prefer a more simple relleno--stuff it with creamy melty cheese, please, and I will be happy. He, however, loved it.
As for service, well, I know my server, so I admit to being biased. Deva is attentive to the point of obsessiveness. Sit in her section and you won't be disappointed. I didn't, however, know anyone else working the joint. Still, no matter who was passing by our table, they made a point to stop, bus something off, refill a beverage, or answer a question. I will say that when we were first seated, there weren't enough place settings and napkins on the table for four people, and we did have to ask Deva to have them brought out--shouldn't the hostess have taken note of this either before or when we were seated? I don't know what proper restaurant protocol is on this point...
I will definitely be visiting again. I need to try the mac and cheese and grab an order of the fried pickles!
Inconsistency Central! El Camino - stop playing with my affections!
A girl can only take so much. At first blush, your seemingly endless bowl of chips, (which is only as good as your server can replenish, it appears), smoked tomato salsa, tomatillo salsa and chunk guac is all nice and good - until super sloppy, absent and inattentive service starts to wear on you.
But like the good girl that you are, you perserve, because you're patient, you forgive easily and you believe in the restorative power of a good meal. But that good meal never comes. What you get instead is a big gringo burrito that you can't even finish because the whole lot is filled with undercooked overly crunchy rice. Your supporters (i.e. dining companions) also bear the brunt of your poor choices with a burrito and its contents barely cooked through, and a burger that wasn't cooked to the right temperature.
Your cool factor can't save you here, El Camino - especially when you're operating at full capacity - your kitchen and staff can't seem to cut it. Like other people have experienced, you are hot and cold and it seems lately, it's been mostly chilly.
Aw... I really wanted to luuuurrvvve you ECR. I did. I gave you a couple chances to really show me… Read more »
4 stars for food, 2 for really mediocre service by bored-looking waiters who gave my party death stares the last time I was there. Granted we were semi-annoying (party of 8 or so sitting outside that kept needing to add more chairs as people showed up) but I mean, that's what happens at restaurants. There are good happy hour specials and decent margaritas, and I've really enjoyed most of the food I've gotten. I don't think i've really ventured off the Mexican side of the menu, but i loved the nachos and taco salad. The chile relleno with seitan and plantains is really interesting but didn't really work out. However, they do have a way with seitan here, and the veggie wings are awesome.
Last issue: paying for chips and salsa kind of sucks.
Needs work.
Came here last night with some friends. I like their Tex/Mex concept and think they really have potential.
Chips/Salsa were decent. Rojo seemed fresh and spicy. The Salsa Verde was not appetizing. Reeked of some canned high-fructose, homogenized bullshit.
Wings are mediocre and not worth the $14 for 2lbs. Really? the exact same quality wings I can get at any happy hour across this city..you charge $14 for same quantity and quality? Please.
We ordered margaritas and machaca burritos. Margaritas were ok..nothing outstanding. Machaca Burritos were actually very good. We were told they were overly hot and spicy..not the case. The only thing wrong with these is the incredible small portion. They are quite the opposite in size of any burritos you get well, anywhere. More like thin torpedos. No sides as well? Cmon..make em thicker, else serve 3.
Decent spot..great location... nice service, but they're missing the mark in food quality compared to price.
Yup, some things are good, some things are not-so-good. The chile relleno was delish, the jalapeno macaroni and cheese was decent, but the dessert thing (sopapilla? churro thing?) was hard and gross.
You can get the same margarita special (half off pitchers from 11-1) down the street at dos segundos. But I do have a soft spot in my heart for that waiter with the huge moustache....He's adorable, he's attentive, and he's ALWAYS there.
My wife and I really liked this place. It took a minute to get our heads around the tx Mex combo, and I was forced to thorize that they would do one vetter than the other. I was frankly a little tired of Mexican, so i decided to go on the Tex side of the menu. As a result, I was rewarded with a treat -- the Wagyu brisket paltter was a treat -- nothing fancy, but rich and satisfying. My wife enjoyed her taco salad immensely -- it contained a whole avocado as well as a generous serving of chicken.
The service started out slow, but our server, when she arrived, provided attentive aservice.
I've been to El Camino twice now in as many weeks and look forward to going back. Both times we had midsized parties of 5-7 people and got seated pretty quickly. There was a wait for the outdoor seating (picnic table-style), but it was worth it for the people watching and to be able to spectate as the table next to us rang up a $700 bill and then had to cut through their tequila haze to deal with it.
The food was excellent both times, and between the two groups we sampled quite a few dishes, including: Beef ribs half rack (more like Brontosaurus ribs), pork ribs (excellent), pork shoulder (also excellent), grilled corn, seitan, pulled pork sandwich, a single rib appetizer (the "loosey") and sweet potato ice cream.
In short, the BBQ is excellent, but it is texas-style, so the sauces are in squeeze bottles on the table and not on your meat. The draft list is local/regional and the margaritas are delicious. For a small supplement, you can have them add a spicy smack to your marg, which I've heard from several sources is well worth the investment.
When it comes to Mexican food I'm starting to realize that I may have already experienced the best of the best. South Beach Bar & Grille in San Diego has the best fish tacos in the universe (not including Mexico) and Taqueria Cancun in San Francisco makes burritos that have been known to elicit an orgasm...or two. It's very, very sad to think it may all be downhill from here. So I guess I can't completely blame El Camino Real for not meeting my high Mexican food standards, but I still think they could have been a little more unique and savory with their food. My chorizo burrito with pineapple salsa was just that: a tortilla, chorizo, and pineapple chunks. Or at least that is the way it tasted. I ended up loading on the sweet sauce they have at the table to add more flavor to the burrito. The third star, however, is for the great margaritas. Very yummy yummy in my tummy.
I'm pushing the fail button on this place....now. Which pains me, because they make some cheap ass margaritas and tasty fish tacos (ok, so the server couldn't tell me what kind of fish, but still tasty), and we know I'm always on the lookout for a good fish taco (I don't judge you).
But this weekend, with the opening of the piazza, it was busy. Ok, I get it, and I'll give you another chance cause of the crowds (and an extra star - which is why you're at 2). But when the manager asks you how many and you say 2 and they turn you away because they're saving tables, that really boils me up. So if I was a table of 6, you'd be less overwhelmed? Screw you, buddy.
The Good:
Boozy Float - draft root beer (hells yeah baby), Myers rum & vanilla ice cream. Makes me…
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I can safely say I'm not the only one that thinks chef Jennifer Zavala is a marginal and uncreative chef, since she got voted off the first episode of Top Chef. They all agreed that her dish (a chile relleno stuffed with seitan, which was supposed to represent her hot temper) was flat out not good at all, and that it was "clunky." They were even more shocked that she admitted to using seitan all the time. Maybe now that she left El Camino they will get someone who actually cooks meat and cooks it well.
Terrible service, mediocre food, middling beer, and rather high prices
For appetizers we ordered…
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Service here is abysmal. One of the worst places I have been to in Philly (subtract 1.5 stars). Yeah its a casual dining place and I am not expecting professional waiters/waitresses. Still, it shouldn't take 15 minutes to get water and for somebody to come around to get your order. That's pathetic.
Food was terribly slow too. Again, it took more than 30 minutes once the order was in. It wasn't our table either. The other tables around us took nearly as long/if not longer.
It shouldn't take more than 30 minutes at a Mexican/Tex-Mex restaurant to take the order, cook the food, and plate the food for a table of 6. If I had done that in my days as a line guy, the sous chef or head chef would have been in my face for the rest of the night. My bet is that they need a better system with a more experienced expediter to bark at people as needed.
Good luck trying to get the waitress to come back once your food is served too. You should either bring a foghorn or a flare gun. I would go with the former.
As for the food, it is was an eclectic mix of Tex-Mex and Mexican. Some decent choices and most people were pretty satisfied but the restaurant should really pick one cuisine (Tex-Mex or Mexican) and really focus on it solely. Maybe that is just a personal preference after living in CA and traveling to TX so much.
Verdict - I would go back here again for the food but not until the service improves or go on an off-night. The service is just horrendous on a busy night (Thurs-Sat).
Neighborhood: Rittenhouse Square
Category: Moroccan
Philadelphia, PA
Category: Pubs
Neighborhood: Callowhill
Category: American (Traditional)
Neighborhood: Rittenhouse Square
Category: Thai
Neighborhood: Northern Liberties
Category: Bars
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