Cartel — Restaurant in Sydney

I came here for the AYCE tacos on Tuesday and it was very disappointing. The regular price for tacos is $8 and the AYCE was $36 per person. I had high expectations since a friend recommended this place for its service and food quality, however I left pretty unsatisfied with the food quality and the service. I tried every kind of taco they had on the menu which included: beef brisket, chicken, pork, fish, chorizo, mushroom and cauliflower. At first the chorizo taco tasted very nicely balanced with the corn, however when it came around the second time, it was very salty and lacked balance in flavour. The pork and chicken was okay, nothing special but when it came around the second time it was very dry and lacked flavour. The vegetarian options (mushroom and cauliflower tacos) were definitely a miss, it lacked flavour and texture. When the brisket came around the first time it was the most delectable thing on the menu, however when the lady came around the second time, she skipped our table and so we had to wait around 15-20 minutes for our second run of the brisket tacos. However, when the brisket tacos eventually came around to our table (image included), it was very dry, hard to swallow and did not taste like the one we originally had the first time. The fish tacos also tasted delectable when it came around the first time, however on the second round the oil had an off putting taste and the ratio of batter to fish was too thick which overpowered the fish flavour and texture. Usually when i go to an AYCE restaurant, I would like to eat my money’s worth however the food was a miss. Ultimately, this restaurant was a one time experience and I do not recommend this restaurant for those who are looking for good Mexican cuisine near Central.

TLDR; food had inconsistencies in taste/texture, staff was friendly, i wouldn’t recommend if you are looking for yummy Mexican cuisine

I’ve only included pictures of the brisket, pork and chorizo (forgot to take pictures of...

Giving 2 stars because Emily proactively reached out to apologise and offer a partial refund; which I greatly appreciate! However, double check your booking people! I accidentally booked 17:00, thinking I selected 7:00pm. I realised when they sent me an email, the morning of, to confirm the reservation. I reached out straight away and they told me it was “impossible” to change it the day of and due to their policy I need to give 24 hours notice. Honestly, fair enough if they’re booked out, but what’s the point of sending out a email to confirm if it’s too late to make any changes at that point? Send it the day before, or just send a reminder. They charge $50 per person for cancelling under 24 hours, so to avoid being charged $250 for an innocent mistake, I ubered there straight from finishing work at 5 and didn’t get there until 5:45; so already half my reservation was gone. Not to worry, I figured it’s AYCE, I can just order straight away and eat fast… wrong. You don’t order, they bring it out at their own (slow) pace, so I left hungry. Side note: not a good concept for vegetarians, you will be watching everyone else eat for majority of the sitting. Because of the booking mistake, one of my friends couldn’t come but because of their policy they said I had to still pay for their seat. When I filled them in on the situation again, they said that I either pay $50 for a no show, or I pay for their $29 seat. On top of this, the food wasn’t even good. It was cold and tasted bland and home made; not in the good way. 110% was not worth the hype I saw on tik tok. I would rather pay $50 for proper AYCE that you can order. They could have a policy for over ordering/food wastage . I don’t think them pushing for the $29 was worth the potential customers...

This is me and my partner’s first time dining here and it wasn’t the best experience. We had fried chicken wings for entrees and it was undercooked. It had red spots and some red veins. We showed it to one of the waitress and she brought the plate back to the chef. She came back, saying that the chef said it was normal and that it’s part of the bone. We then thought okay we might’ve been wrong but when we checked the chicken again, it was clearly under cooked and it’s definitely not part of the bone. We then proceeded to tell another waitress and she agreed it was under cooked and brought it back to the kitchen. We were waiting, thinking that the chef would’ve cooked it more and bring it back. We were waiting for a good 10 minutes and decided to leave instead because it was taking too long just to cook it a little more. So when we went to pay and asked for an update on the chicken they said they got rid of it. Luckily we asked or else we would’ve been still waiting there. We just wanted it to be cooked alittle more, that’s all. Definitely poor communication. Also fried chicken was $18 for 6 small pieces and undercooked. Although the seasoning of the chicken was really good but it’s not worth it and I’d still rather go to KFC where you’re guaranteed with 100% cooked chicken. Taco was not great either, it was mediocre and we can definitely make it better at home. The only positive of this experience was that, one of the waitress was accomodating and the sauces for the wings and chips were pretty good. Overall we wouldn’t recommend...