El Camino's — Restaurant in Vancouver

My experience at El Camino was disappointing, and I would not recommend this place. My visit took place on a Friday evening around 5:20 PM. We initially asked for a spot on the patio, but the hostess warned us about the intense heat. Since we only wanted a quick drink, we decided to go ahead and sit outside.

The trouble began when we ordered our drinks, a passion fruit margarita, which arrived promptly at 5:35 PM. To my surprise, the margarita was extremely sour, as if it had been overloaded with lime juice. I tried to mix it to see if it would improve, but unfortunately, it remained undrinkable. What was even more disappointing was the lack of attention from our server. She seemed preoccupied and was engaged in a casual chat with another server at the bar, twirling receipts in her hand, instead of attending to her tables. We tried to make eye contact with the hostess, hoping she would intervene, but that didn't prompt any action from our server.

Finally, after 28 minutes of our drinks sitting untouched on the table, the server noticed and came over to our table. However, her response to our complaint about the undrinkable margarita was less than satisfactory. She merely raised her eyebrows and nonchalantly asked if we wanted a replacement. At that point, we had lost interest in trying anything else from the menu and declined her offer.

The poor service was the most significant issue with our visit. It's frustrating when staff members are more interested in chatting with each other than attending to their customers. I believe that checking on patrons and ensuring their satisfaction should be a priority for any restaurant, especially during peak hours.

It's evident that El Camino needs to take a closer look at their staff and possibly implement secret diners to evaluate the quality of service. While I understand that staffing can be challenging, it's essential to ensure that the staff represents the business well. The lack of attentiveness and poor response to our complaint reflect poorly on the restaurant as a whole.

In conclusion, I would not recommend El Camino based on my experience. I hope that the restaurant's management takes this feedback seriously and works on improving their service quality. Customers deserve better, especially when they choose to spend their time and money at an...

The food was good but the wait, confusion and poor customer service does not justify going. We were there around 6 weeks ago on a Saturday afternoon; the lunch/brunch crowd was not a factor in what transpired as table traffic moved pretty briskly. After listening to our server's "your order's coming right up" multiple assurances for roughly one-half hour but seeing other patrons seated after us being served their orders promptly, bizarrely at the forty-five minute wait time, the maitre'd inexplicably and without explanation came to our table to "confirm" what we had ordered. Another fifteen minutes went by, first with our server once again assuring us that our order was coming out shortly while refusing to explain the maitre'd 45-minute late confirmation, then avoiding all eye contact with raised hands or even coming near our table. Finally, after another fifteen minutes and no food, she apologized, saying that sometimes "things in the kitchen get mixed up". Twenty minutes later our food showed up, with our server cheerfully saying after a few minutes "Wasn't it worth the wait". To which we said "frankly no".

Kitchens screw up, so do wait staffs, that happens and we as customers understand that. But the best thing to do is "own up". Clearly, the fault for this fiasco did not lie with the kitchen. Between the server and the maitre'd, our order was not processed to the kitchen in a timely fashion and no one followed up, even after multiple inquiries. We could even write that off. What was galling and insulting was that none of the server or maitre'd (or the putative owner to whom we quietly tried giving a heads up about the service) would even acknowledge that fault lie with them, not the kitchen, as evidenced by the maitre'd "order confirmation" inquiry some 45 minutes into our dining "experience".

Food's good, they comped our two coffees and Bloody Mary, but I'd elatedly pay the freight to get back 45 minutes of waisted time and frustration with a staff that simply doesn't listen to...

I've been here a number of times and for the most part, the food and service have been average. That is until last week when I dined with three friends and received some of the worst service of my life. First off, the server only gave attention to the two men at my table while ignoring me and another female except to briefly take our orders. Once our food was finished, our server didn't come by to our table for at least thirty minutes although the restaurant was dying down and tables were emptying out. When she finally came around to ask how we were, one friend said we were done and another asked for the bill. After fifteen minutes of not getting the bill, a friend went up to the bar to ask for it. After taking so long to get the bill, the server rushed us in paying it although some people in my party were trying to figure out if they could treat the rest of the group to our meal. As we went to leave the server asked if everything was okay (which I later realized only happened because someone in our party left a zero tip because they were so frustrated with the service) and I explained what we were upset about. Instead of apologizing she offered excuses and tried to blame us for the issues that occurred. On top of that, our party saw her talking to her manager at the bar as we left and although we couldn't hear what she was saying, it felt as though she was complaining about our table based on the interaction we just had with her. While she may have felt frustrated after hearing us tell her we were unhappy with her service, she should have waited until we left to talk to her manager about it. Overall, it was a disappointing experience and I don't see myself going back...