El Topo Cantina — Restaurant in Sydney

Service quality since reopening has plumetted.

Arrived at around 6:30pm on a Tuesday night, waited for close to 1 hour with no food being served.

Went in to ask what's happening with the food as there was multiple tables without food at the time. Waitress who assisted with my initial question was dismissive, instead of apologising, advised me that I need to pay first if I was sitting outside. (this is not stated anywhere outside or inside the restaurant). The waitress then began to ask who took my order, after I advised her who it was she then disengaged and began to serve other people as if I did not exist.

Finally who I presume was the manager came and asked if I required any assistance. Had to repeat my question and again was required to identify the staff who has taken my order. I was then informed that my order had not been out through to the system. Mind you they had already brought out our table numbers (152). You would think this is one of the first thing that they would train their staff... Taking orders and putting it in the system so the customer receives the food.

After waiting for over an hour was told 'sorry' and that I could re-order my food if I wanted to. This was obviously not the option I chose and subsequently left to eat elsewhere.

Would not contemplate returning given their poor training of staff and dismissive staff when simply enquiring about food we had waited for over an hour to arrive.

Avoid if possible, gyg is just down the road and you don't have to wait an hour or more to be told they didn't put your order...

I’ve been coming here for years and I’m not going to lie but the last couple of times I’ve come here, I’ve been pretty dissatisfied with the service I’ve received. My partner finished work early tonight (which rarely happens for us so this late date night is important for us) and we decided to head to El Topo for taco Tuesday to enjoy the cheaper deals. We ordered 3 rounds of x3 tacos which one of them was wrong and the 10 wings. For $16 the wings were really tiny. We couldn’t get any of the frozen margaritas (apparently the batch hadn’t been changed in 2 weeks and they hadnt changed it ahead of the taco Tuesday deal?) which also run as a cheaper deal on Tuesday’s. It’s expensive to eat out these days and we’re more than happy to pay a higher amount if the service and food are on the same benchmark. We also wanted to order a share dessert. However, apparently they had run out of every single dessert on the menu. Again, we watched our food slowly die in the window. Staff just don’t really acknowledge the food at the pass and when you’re sitting right in front of it, hungry, watching your food just sit there and numerous staff members walk past it, its a little frustrating. It’s important to note that we only come on Tuesday’s to grab the taco and margarita deal and share a dessert. We don’t live in the area and as I said I’ve been a loyal customer for years. We make the effort to trek it to El Topo and as said the last couple of times. The service has been disappointing. Kinda just feels like it was one thing...

What an absolute hidden gem this place is, I have driven by so many times but under recommendation we decided to have dinner here. The interior is colourful, fun and exciting. The music is a real flashback for me too. The service and attention to detail is top notch, very friendly staff and the place is really clean too. We ordered the chips and they were amazing, crispy and well seasoned. The cheese quesadillas were loved by the kids, but the adults couldn't keep away from them too. The tortilla they used is actually really good. Light and fluffy. Not heavy at all and the cheese was gooey and stretchy. The birria quesadillas is a must, best thing we ordered. They were amazing, especially soaked in the accompanying broth. I ended up pouring that broth onto everything. The tacos were great too, fresh tortillas and very generous and tasty fillings, we got the chicken, beef and pork tacos. The beef burrito was giant and really good, again the kids loved it as much as the adults. Heaps of filling and really tatsy. We topped it all off with the churros and chocolate sauce. Crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside. One thing you don't see in other places is that they had like 20 different hot sauces, i tried a few of them and they were all so good, a nice range of spice too to try. Brilliant cocktails too that didn't seem watered down and a great range. All in all, great place with excellent service and amazing food. The price was really good too. We'll be coming back for...