Eladio's — Restaurant in Mérida

Where should I even begin... We came as a group of friends attracted by positive reviews of this place and excited to try some local dishes. When we entered, the really loud live music hit us hard, as two different waiters competed to have us sit it their sections. One of them was really persistent trying to sit us at a corner table next to the hot kitchen area despite plenty of other good tables available. As a result we changed to another table. The music was so loud, we could not hear each other and the band was mediocre in its best moments and absolutely unbearable the rest of the time. Not sure why we decided to stay anyway, perhaps because we were tired, hungry and still had the good reviews in our heads, but we shouted our order at the waiter and carried on with the madness trying to absorb (and not go deaf from) the local 'folklore'. Soon our drinks arrived - tiny overpriced Aperol spritz, huge but slightly watery pina colada, an equally watery local cocktail and beer (the beer was fine and two for the price of one 🙂), followed by local snacks on the house (pickled vegetables, spicy beetroot, cooked potatoes, vegetable paste of some sort and nachos). A nice concept in general but the snacks were nothing special. Soon after, our main dishes started coming, each more curious than the last. The first were tacos with dry meat topped with boiled egg halves with no distinct flavour nor colour. Second was a brown colour cheese soup with a big block or half-melted half-cold cheese. The broth could be described as salty more than any other flavour and the cheese got hard after a moment and kept splashing back into the soup when eaten with a spoon (we had not been given a knife). The next dish to arrive was guacamole and what a disappointment! Seasoned with vinegar and watered down, the usual creamy avocado taste was not there at all and the dish would have been unrecognisable had it not been for the colour. We left most of it. My grilled fish with avocado sauce which came next was ok but bland. Perhaps the best of all but still not something to recommend to anyone. But the best (worst) was yet to arrive. Just when we thought it had been forgotten, our pepperoni pizza was served. (I know this is not exactly local food but we also wanted one 'safer' dish. ) The pizza or should I say something that a child might have drawn and the chef attempted to make - was a flat bread covered with bad quality cheese, salty brown tomato sauce (similar in flavour to the cheese soup broth but thicker) and plastic-looking orange salami. At this point we simply gave up, paid the bill and left. The waiter offered to pack the pizza for us but we kindly shouted back (the music was still blasting) we were fine 😉 The experience was consistently bad. Do not go there unless consuming of large amounts of salty/bland/brownish food while your insides vibrate from the noise...

Eladio's was recommended to us by an American friend living in Merida. So we went there one evening for dinner. The band was playing and was so loud we had difficulty hear and communicating with our waiter. I ordered a fish fillet, my dinner partner ordered shrimp. My fish can out piping hot, but the shrimp did not come out. We waited an additional 10 minutes and finally after many questions about where was my partner's order, they finally admitted they had no shrimp. So my partner ordered an alternative, which came out pretty quick but by this time my fish dish was cold. Even cold it was okay, I suspect it would have been better hot, but that is the breaks. My partner's was not up to standard so only half eaten. The band had been playing very, very loudly the whole time so no dinner conversation. When the bill can, we had been charged for three drinks we did not order. So there was discussion and finally a manager came over and corrected the bill. I paid and we departed... with a headache from...

I give it 5 stars for the food, service, and ambiance. This is a large bar and restaurant, easily seats 400+. Bar and restaurant seperated, but food service in both. Resturant side is air conditioned, mostly families. It has its own parking lot. I was the only walk in customer. Not a typical local cantina. More upscale. A bit out of place fot the neighborhood. Most patrons were in groups of 3 to 6, or couples. I was only person by myself. For a Wednesday afternoon there was a lively crowd. Live music, no dance floor, but lots of folks dancing between the tables. Music was good, but too loud. Seemed more like a nightclub than a bar. Social distancing was not possible. Covid rules not observed by patrons. Not a place to relax and have a beer. I probably will not go back unless I'm with a group of friends and we...