El Bocho — Restaurant in Richmond Hill

Disappointing. We went at 5p on a Monday, for an early dinner with our toddler. The food, the service, all not good. We could see that they play live music and can imagine that it's probably a lively bar and a great place to grab a drink but we don't recommend it for dinner.

We waited an hour for our food. There was one other table (a larger party of 6) and then only 2 takeout orders that hour so it's fair to say for a large place like they are, they weren't busy and should've had the time to be attentive and not take an hour for food.

The service was nice, but they were not friendly, attentive, or helpful. They would only come to the table to take our order, or bring the food. They did not come to check on us, clear plates (we were stacking up appetizer plates getting ready for the dinner and even when she brought us a drink she didn't clear the plates, I had to call her to come back to grab them...) We had to flag them down for re-fills or new drinks.

The food. Ugh. Firstly, the cuisines are all mixed up. They are a Mexican restaurant that serves an Italian side salad with their entrees. The salad is a feta cheese, mixed green salad with balsamic vinaigrette. Why would a Mexican restaurant serve an Italian side salad? Why not just put rice or beans on the side? They also slathered their entree's with a spicy mayo sauce that is typically found on sushi... Weird that they wouldn't use salsa instead... They used a mayo coleslaw for my fish tacos, a polish eastern European coleslaw which was overpowering, soggy and not good. The rice was also overcooked, it was dry and burned (to black) for some pieces. Ridiculous as they could be just using a rice cooker that would cook it properly... That cuisine is confusing.

It also was searing hot, but not cooked fully through. That's a sign of an amateur chef. If you're food is so hot it burns someone's tongue (mine) but yet it's still cold on the inside, then you're not cooking the food properly. The quesadilla was super hot on the outside but yet the cheese wasn't melted on the inside and was cold (see pic). This is a sign you are not cooking your food properly.

We left a mess, as my toddler did drop tons of food on the floor. As we packed up our food to go, I was looking for the server to ask for a broom so I could sweep it up for them (as we typically do in restaurants, we don't like to leave a mess), and they were no where to be found...

Just overall a terrible experience. We don't recommend it. Maybe it was because it was early before their dinner rush that the service was bad, but it doesn't explain why the food wasn't cooked properly, or why with 2 servers and a staffed kitchen they couldn't manage 2 tables and 2 takeout...

The food is the main reason I am posting a review. Considering the rating on google and a pretty decent recommendation from a friend I was surprised how disappointing the food was.

Mexican cuisine is up there in my top favourite, but that doesn't mean I'm exceptionally picky regarding it. I've just never been so disappointed. It was essentially flavourless. I got the chicken tacos. It's as if the chicken wasn't seasoned, even though it looked as though it was, and it was dry! The tacos in general were dry. My meal was dry and bland. The salad wasn't anything special.

The majority of the time my friend and I were there there were no other patrons. For that reason it can't even be said that it was so busy and perhaps the food dried out under a heat lamp or something... Additionally, it makes little to no sense that our server was so inattentive and didn't check on us much, since we were the only customers. He also didn't ask how the food was... Maybe he knew it wasn't good. He wasn't rude with his words but he was just too carefree and again, inattentive. The remainder of the meal I boxed up and took home I added my own salsa and sour cream and seasonings to try to give it more life.

The actual vibe of the place, although it was quiet as we were there late afternoon/early evening on a weekday... What I thought was interesting was the decor and the semi-circular booths along the wall. The table wasn't dirty but it was sticky like the wrong cleaning product is damaging the wood finish. No one likes a sticky table to eat at. It's nice there is patio seating too. If it hadn't been a heat wave sitting out there could have been nice. The patio is open into the restaurant, which was aesthetic but it did not lend to having any comfort from AC, if they even had it on... Honestly, there are too many restaurants around to ever have any reason to return to this one.

I was trying not to be so harsh... But after writing my review I looked through more reviews and see that anyone writing a low star review, as I am, almost ALL of them say the food is BLAND, flavourless. And honestly it is the truth. I'm very shocked this place has a 4.5 star rating overall. This place has a deceptive...

Okay so, El Bocho.... I used to live across the street from the restaurant, I remember when it opened up. To be honest with you, in that neighborhood, at the time, I didn't think they would last very long at all. The neighborhood had been changing in that area of Richmond Hill which I called downtown I guess. Turns out, it ended up being one of my go to restaurants and in the evening, the busiest place on that strip of Richmond Hill.Their tortillas, which are fantastic, and having a full bar, it was obviously a no brainer for me to frequent it.. In fact, that's where I watched the Toronto Raptors win the big one.... The way they're playing now a days, maybe that team should come to this restaurant for a refresher!! I got to know the staff well - really nice people and eager to please - and tried many of their dishes. On Friday and Saturday nights, they have live entertainment which is always fun, and the crowd gets involved as well. Of course, after a few those fancy margaritas they serve, people are feeling pretty good by then. It's a family oriented place so kids have and do come. They have a small patio with 3 tables, and in the evening its fun to sit on that patio and watch the "life" in Richmond Hill... You never know what you're going to see! The food itself is authentic Mexican food but mostly what I like about it, it's not jam packed full of spices unless you ask for that. I'm not much of a spicy food person, but it can be extremely hot if you want it to be. I've not seen a dish come out of that kitchen that I didn't eyeball and it all looks good...not just the food on the plate but the presentation as well.....Word to the wise, its not a large restaurant so I would recommend calling ahead for reservations, although reservations are not necessary. Come by for an authentic Mexican breakfast as well on the weekends....