El Pacifico — Restaurant in Frankfurt

I’m giving this 2 stars because it’s a “Mexican” restaurant in Frankfurt Germany. Otherwise it would have been a solid 1 star.

I ordered a “Michelada” to quench my thirst, instead I received a beer in a slender glass with a single tear drop of tomato juice and half a bottle of tapatio (hot sauce). There was enough salt in this drink to season the rest of my food. The tortilla chips taste like someone is back there licking all the seasoning off Doritos and then baking them with a dash of salt. The quesadilla looked promising, but unfortunately not to my surprise was bland. I was going to get a burrito, but after being informed that “burritos are 80% rice” I got a quinoa bowl instead because “they can’t mess up a bowl right?” Boy was I wrong. The chipotle overpowered all other flavors. The cherry tomatoes did nothing for the dish and the bay leaves left in the dish were unpleasant. I ordered a soft drink and typically the waiter brings a can so that the customer can pour the drink but that wasn’t the case here which was odd.

The space itself was cringe. It felt like whoever made the design decisions went shopping at the Mexico City airport and quickly grabbed discounted stereotypical Mexican souvenirs to decorate every little corner of the interior. Service was ok. The waitress was kind but looked like she could use some help.

All that being said, I’m fully aware I am currently IN Germany. However, that shouldn’t be an excuse to give people food that not only is over priced, but under or over seasoned. If you’re going to do something, do it right. Otherwise, don’t do it.

This is my honest review, as a Mexican, with a culinary and architectural background.

Respectfully, please, do better not only for my culture, but for your...

Bring your own sandwiches, you'll need them while you wait for over 1h. I don't know if there's anyone Mexican working there, but the 2 Portuguese staff(owners?) at the counter were loud, petty and were bickering during my entire 1h30m lunch. It was literally non-stop, I wasn't even sure if they realized that some customers could understand them, but looking at their tired, worn faces, I don't think they cared much about anything.

When we came in, the "owner" asked if we had a reservation, we didn't (more on that later), but we got seated right away anyways. We had tried to call to reserve, but no one picked up the phone. We then saw that each time the phone rang, the waiters would hang up right away. One waiter actually answered the phone twice (!), he's probably going for Employee of the Month.

I asked for a juice, thinking they'd make it (you know, if you sell a juice, you usually press the fruits in order to get said juice). Nah, she just opened a bottle of Raps and that was my juice. Seriously?

It took 1h from the moment we sat until we got our food (1h for a burrito and a tostadas). The food was OK, nothing special about it, but had already been sitting on the kitchen counter for a good 5min. The waitress thought this was fine, but offered to "have a new one prepared". No thanks, we already waited an hour for this one, are you kidding me?

The service is extremely slow, the food is average, but the worst of it all were the people behind the counter. Loudmouth whiners, complaining about their private lives. Eating there left a sour taste in my mouth that not even that cheap Raps juice could wash away.

The sad thing is that I'd rather go to Chipotle than to ever return...

I rate this Place 3 star because of 2 things. First I made a reservation at 6pm and due to traffic could not make it on time tried to call the restaurant to tell them but no one pick up. Ok that’s understandable maybe it is busy, when we arrived the place was not that packed but they were only 2 waiters and we waited for 3 mins then a server came and ask if we do have a reservation without saying hi or hello, and to answer him I said yes and I was about to tell him that I tried to call to let them know, but he cut me off telling me that our table is available until 8 pm. (I find it rude the way he deliver the message and he was not friendly at all) that’s a minus point, first impression counts. The table that we sat, was a little discomfort, because of the set up of the chair. I was facing the bathroom which I could see people coming in and out( this really bothers me wherever I go) then my friend facing the wall, it was fine but on her left side she could see what is happening in the food service area. Maybe if the set up of the chair is other way around or move the portable wall closed to the wall, ( rearrange the chair) anyway her sight is better than mine after all. That’s the second minus point there for me. The food was good and plated well( I would go for the round plates though instead of rectangular, but that’s preference after all it was tasty) our server was friendly and the Margaritas is delectable, a must try. The interior of the restaurant is nicely decorated as well as the table and the bar. Above all it was a great evening, definitely will come...