El Burro — Restaurant in Mainz

Avoid. Zero stars if Google would offer it.

Came for a late lunch around 2pm on a Sunday. Waited two minutes before a tall bearded waiter came to the door. We asked for a table for three, he eventually seated us at a large corner table.

One minute later, a waitress comes to the table and condescendingly asks us: “Who let you sit here?” We responded somewhat shocked: “Your colleague, the tall man” who had since disappeared. As if we had snuck in when no one was looking like mischievous children, she pointed at a customer at a nearby table holding a baby, and sneered: “That man with the baby?” Becoming increasingly frustrated with her excruciating and hostile treatment, we said: “No, your colleague with the beard,” pointing at the waiter who had reappeared across the dining room. Rather than politely excusing herself to check with her colleague as a reasonably competent person would (or offering to seat us elsewhere), she shrugs: “Well you can’t sit here.” No thanks, we’ll spend our money somewhere more deserving.

If a restaurant can’t bother to hire staff that are willing to be minimally polite to customers (and certainly not openly hostile) no need to give them any business. Do yourself a favor and avoid this place as long as the wait staff treat paying customers this way.

UPDATE: The Restaurant’s response is quite dismissive and suggests the review is lacking facts: Here they are: (1) a waiter seated us at a table, we did not choose the table; (2) the table did not have any sign indicating it was reserved; (3) the waitress who then came and told us to leave was rude and hostile and never apologized for what the Restaurant now concedes was a internal communication failure on their part; (4) she refused to speak to her colleague who actually seated us to come up with a solution; (5) she told us we could not sit there but never offered to seat us elsewhere (contrary to what is suggested in the restaurant’s response).

Obviously, we have a different understanding of hospitality than this Restaurant, and can agree to disagree. There are many excellent restaurants and Innkeepers in Mainz who welcome customers warmly and kindly in all circumstances. I...

Very surprised how well-rated this restaurant is.

We went hoping they'd have more authentic tacos, but it's a version of Tex-Mex. That would've been fine, though, if the dishes had actually lived up to our expectations of Tex Mex.

First, I ordered a basil lemonade expecting a taste of lemon, some sugar. It was essentially basil water.

Then we ordered pico de gallo and guacamole for the table expecting appetizer portions to share. Instead, the bowls of dips were about the size of tablespoons when they finally arrived 20 minutes after we'd ordered them.

When our entrees finally came (after the orders of a table of six that had come in 15 minutes after us), we were asked , "Who had the hard shell tacos?", which was strange given we were never asked which sort of shell we wanted. After we sorted out what was in the tacos (difficult because all the fillings at El Burro look essentially the same), my wife got her 'enchiladas', which were so unlike any enchiladas we'd ever seen that we thought the rice-filled (she'd ordered grilled veggie filling), slightly grilled wrap without any hint of the advertised tomatillo salsa (or any baked-over cheese) she received was actually a burrito. But our waiter confirmed this was El Burro's 'enchilada.'

For me, this doesn't even reach the fairly low bar I set for 'solid Tex Mex.' It's also unclear why our orders would have taken so long to prepare given the narrow filling options on the menu (just 5) and that it doesn't look like any of them would need to be prepared on a customer-to-customer basis. We won't be back, and if you're an experienced Tex Mex fan, I wouldn't recommend it.

I should also say though I'm writing this in English, our interactions with wait staff were in German. I'm fluent in German and my wife is German. There's no chance this series of issues was due to communication problems related...

I recently visited this Mexican restaurant hoping to indulge in some authentic tacos. However, the experience was incredibly disappointing. The tacos served here had nothing to do with the vibrant, flavorful tacos you’d find in Mexico. Instead, they felt like a bland, European interpretation tailored to local tastes—what I would call “white tacos".

The tortillas were lifeless, lacking the freshness and texture of authentic corn tortillas. The fillings were uninspired, with no sign of the bold spices, savory meats, or fresh salsas that make Mexican tacos so irresistible.

To my surprise (and dismay), the tacos were filled with chili con carne. For anyone familiar with Mexican cuisine, this is almost blasphemous. Chili con carne is not a traditional Mexican taco filling—it’s a Tex-Mex dish, and it has no place in a taco if authenticity is what you’re aiming for. This choice alone demonstrated a lack of respect for real Mexican culinary traditions.

Adding insult to injury, there was no lime or salsa served alongside the tacos. Lime and fresh salsa are essential components of a proper taco experience, providing the acidity and brightness needed to complement the flavors. Without them, the tacos felt dry, lifeless, and entirely incomplete.

What was served here wasn’t just a bad taco—it was a bad Tex-Mex attempt, disguised as Mexican cuisine. If you’ve ever had real tacos in Mexico, you’ll immediately recognize the difference. This was clearly a dish catered to European tastes, stripped of all its authenticity and character.

Unless you’re content with eating bland “white tacos” with chili con carne, I wouldn’t recommend this restaurant. For a true taco experience, you’ll have to look elsewhere—or better yet,...