El Comal — Restaurant in Paris

When I say this is truly the WORST resturant we have been to in Paris, we mean it with no exaggeration. The restaurant must be paying Google and The Fork to hide bad reviews because it was clear looking around the small restaurant that we were not the only ones bitterly Disappointed but the food , ambience and atmosphere.

The restaurant is tiny, which is not unusual in Paris. However, there is no ambience, decoration or vibrancy expected from a Mexican restaurant. The seat placing is so badly arranged that the waitress sat us by the door of the restaurant despite most tables being empty. We didn’t protest but every time someone had to open the resultant door to pass, my husband had to shuffle left and right to let people pass him in order to open the door. Why on earth would you have seating placed exactly at the entrance of the restaurant . The waitress was expected to seat people , take orders, serve food and also assemble the food in the kitchen between all of other responsibilities! Most of the time she was in the kitchen assembling the food- not washing her hands between touching the food and touching her iPads, taking away dirty dishes etc. I didn’t not come to a Mexican restaurant that is apparently been run by an international chef to have my food made hurriedly by a waitress !

The menu has literally 3-4 food choices and just 4-5 drink choices. We ended up ordering a caris based cocktail and a margarita. The drinks arrived within 15 seconds of us ordering which led me to believe it was not freshly prepared as cocktails should be. What we were served was a not a cocktail but an icy sorbet of a really tangy drink with hardly any alcohol- it just ice and fruit/ salty juice.

The starter of guacamole was plain, no flavouring but out of all the dishes this is probably the safest and palatable to eat. When the mains arrived, we were aghast and truly upset to see how amateur the dishes looked. I ordered the tacos which were so bad. Again please refer to the photos - it tastes no better than it looks. The worst one of the tacos was the mushy beans which had no salt, no like - essentially zero flavour. The texture of eating mushy beans with no flavour or seasoning was a huge effort and just a unenjoyable experience ! There is no flavouring, no salt, no sauce to help you swallow the food. The burrito my husband got was not a burrito - but a wrap with sweet potato, salad leaves and the tiniest amount of cheese. Again there was no rice within the burrito, no sauce to accompany. We are the food quickly and hurriedly left to go eat something else.

It is 2024, businesses can’t get away with running business of such substandard level, advertise it as a Mexican restaurant where they claim the chef is from Mexico when it simply is not the case. Restaurants like this should be called out for cheating the customers. Please don’t get foold by the 50% discount at thefork - even with the discount, it is truly the worst food and worst restaurant we...

I recently visited Paris and ended up stopping by El Comal a total of four times during my trip!

My first visit was completely by chance. My partner and I stumbled upon this charming little restaurant near Père Lachaise Cemetery, and there was something about it that drew us in. We arrived just before closing, but the host and chef welcomed us with such warmth. That night, I had some of the best Mexican food I've tasted in all of Europe.

I couldn't resist returning several times, even popping in once just to grab a quick lunch of tacos and a soda. What truly sets El Comal apart isn't just the fantastic food, though-it's the owner/chef himself. He is such a gracious person, and you can tell that his passion for cooking is woven into every dish. His story is inspiring, and it’s clear that this is more than just a restaurant for him—it’s a labor of love.

I highly recommend and I’ll be back every...

Finally, authentic Mexican tacos!

We came across this restaurant during its soft opening (terrace seating only) and am really glad we did! We shared an assortment of meat and vegetarian tacos. The tacos all had flavor (not spicy) and were served with delicious homemade sauces for those who like some heat.

However, what really stood out are the vegetarian tacos and the homemade tortillas and sauces. These details are not easy to find and will have me coming back for sure!

Please… start bottling and...