El Parián de Tlaquepaque — Restaurant in Jalisco

TLDR; Food = decent. Service = far below subpar. The decor compared with 'similar' priced restaurants within a 3 minute walking distance FAAAAAAAAR FROM comparable so I'd suggest to keep on walking.

People always forget to review it in a unbiased manner, they either love the food or have never ventured outside their comfort zone and tried a few other places. To compare with and truly understand how basic of a restaurant this is.

We only decided upon this place because there was a folklore dance about to take place right in front of this establishment (this is a positive for this restaurant...when they have them). The appeal of this establishment was far from enticing but it was convenient for the upcoming show & the appeal of a different dish were.

We looked for a waiter or anyone who would attend us or show us to our seats but were unable to so we walked in and around the place for under a minute, then we waited by the entrance (pacing back and forth.) We weren't approached so we sat down till a minute or so passed and then were approached by a menu hitting the table--- not hard just without warning no verbal response it was more of a startle as we thought it was a local vendor, a simple hi even a rude what do you want? or any #^$&$ noise would've sufficed than the blank stare.

When we were about to order we did it quick right after we gave our drink orders we gave a quick glance and new immediately what we wanted for me it was the enchiladas, but when I ordered them he then pointed out what they didn't have, it made the menu... even less appealing. We went on a Wednesday at 6pm maybe on the weekends they have a broad or full menu but w.e the food we ordered was... edible not magical were I would order seconds or suggest this place for anyone who would ask me for a nearby restaurant but if they were just hungry...to just try their luck with a street vendor.

The restaurant's decor was basic... nothing that stood out, nothing social media worthy especially with a handful of other restaurants within walking distance that both offer amazing food & is SM worthy with the artistic decor. This is good if you're just looking for a cold drink (real good, as it's not from the kitchen.) to forget about the rest of the mediocrity of this place and that you could have gotten to see the folklore dance & then gone to a chat worthy place.

Anyways...

Go for the drinks(like...

When we arrived we were immediately told we could only order the parrillada( their most expensive dish) because that's all they had available. We were seated in an area far from the stage. When we asked if we could sit closer to he we were told we had to order a tequila bottle in order to sit there. That was fine we decided to stay where we were because we don't drink tequila. We order drinks, our choice was beer, the waiter kept insisting we order tequila, and when we made it clear we wanted beer he gave us a choice between Corona and Estrella and we were told that's all there was, even though the menu gave about 5 different choices. We wanted Modelo, he said "no, we don't have Modelo, only those two." We ordered Corona and as they were bringing the bucket we noticed on a different table some Modelo cans. The beer was brought by a different waiter and we asked if he had Modelo, he said yes and brought us the bucket of beer we wanted. When the first waiter came back we asked why he had told us there was none to which he replied that the Corona and Estrella were on ice and beer tastes better that way, that Modelo was in the fridge and he did not think we wanted it. Then the food came out, the chicken and chorizo were undercooked the whole platter was lacking in taste. But we ate the rest, drank and enjoyed the music which was the only highlight. When the bill came we found that 15% was added for tip. Normally we would not mind, we like tipping fairly. But given the horrible service we received and the unpleasant experience we felt this was the cherry on the cake! We will never return, we don't recommend this place!!! There are many other restaurants in this plaza, I would say take your pick, it will likely be a lot better than...

Beautiful place over all. Amazing music fantastic Mariachi and visitor vocalists. The atmosphere was very hospitable and friendly. A few down sides; servers take for ever when you request something else so order your lemons your ketchup, salt etc. before they leave (I mean if they are serving other people, even when the place looks half empty, the place is pretty huge, so give em a break, the place is literally built in a plaza so come with patience, relaxed) and be mindful of your wallet (it is a tourist attraction so prices are insane for the quality of the food you are eating. The bacon on my 'Camarones a la Momia' where not cooked all the way and it was wrapped in too much of it (one peace of bacon wrapped the cut in half jumbo shrimp, 3 times plus another bacon and on top of that not cooked, basically warmed) for a jumbo shrimp cut in half. It is a restaurant bar after all. If you want to enjoy insanely great mariachi music and enjoy great variety of alcoholic drinks this is a fantastic place to be. Will go again to do just that. Went here for my birthday and to cross it from my...