Mariscos Villa Rica — Restaurant in Veracruz

What a shame no one cares. We went to this restaurant for Sunday lunch the place was busy which is a good sign. We get seated right at the front sea view all lovely. Our waiter Bryan comes over with a menu and we order two drinks, brilliant. They arrive a bread basket and dips all good. We order our meal soup for my wife followed by a piece of fish rice and vegetables. I order a small octopus cocktail and a prawn hamburger all good. My wife's soup arrives she starts as it's a hot soup. My cocktail doesn't arrive my wife keeps eating her soup my cocktail doesn't arrive we finish our drinks order a bottle of wine they don't have it but they bring us an alternative no problem. My cocktail still hasn't arrived there are tables all around getting food served cocktail even. My wife turn around and says here comes our main course. At the same time a different waiter turns up with my cocktail. I say no it's okay return the cocktail that has taken 30 minutes to get here I will just have my main. The waiter puts it down the whole thing is stone cold and I have to call him back. He takes it away and brings it back a little later. I think the whole thing has been reheated in a microwave and some French fries put on. The dish is edible but only because I want something to eat. The waiter arrives and clears our plates and asks us is everything okay. I say no it's bad he just clears our plates. He comes back and asks us if we want any coffee or dessert I say no we will just finish our wine as we have quite a bit left. He leaves us alone and we finish the wine. I ask for the bill it comes with just the food we ordered. When I come to pay with my card the waiter asks do I want to put a tip on. Its a joke right I know how poorly wait staff are paid in Mexico I normally put 15% on without thinking about it. But it is my only weapon to tell them how bad its been this place is not cheap it's not some taco stand down a side street it's an expensive restaurant. So I laugh and say no tip and he takes my card payment and leaves. At no point does any management or supervisor come over and talk to us there is no sorry you have had a poor experience. Nobody cares and...

Excellent restaurant located in such good location. Sea views to enjoy a wonderful meal and the delicious fish and seafood of Veracruz.

This place is commonly known for the fresh fish that is served here, as well as the high quality of the products. All ingredients were hand made, such as tortillas that you can tell they were prepared right before being served.

Octopus is very well cooked in Villa rica, being very tender and cooked to the right point. You can eat it in tacos, ceviche, grilled or with a homemade sauce which is an absolute success. You can try this sauce with octopus or jumbo shrimp, but I personally recommend tasting it with the octopus.

Also, the tuna tostas are really well made. The tuna is freshly cut in thin slices and served on top of crispy tortillas with some grilled onion strips and avocado.

Another plate that I definitely recommend is the “tacos mixtos”. 6 pieces with three different tacos (2 each): octopus, cazón chicharrón and shrimp with sweet chipotle sauce. All three were delicious, but the sweet chipotle sauce wins the prize.

I also wanted to try the famous “Arroz a la tumbada” but unfortunately it was not as good as expected. The rice cooking point was exceeded and the flavors were not that interesting.

I came to this place two different days, and the first one the service was excellent, with a very attentive server and staff that recommended a lot of dishes, making the dinner very enjoyable. Waiting time for the food was good, and when something was missing they quickly addressed it. However, the service on the second day was not as good as the first one. Maybe because it eas busier, but we had to remind a few times about the food to come.

Price here is a little bit above average, but the location and quality of food makes it worth the try. Obviously cheap if exchange to other currency ($30-$40 per person) Overall this is a very good restaurant to enjoy a wonderful meal in...

Went there excited after reading all the positive reviews and left there disappointed and regretful. The welcome started off great with a table available with a view, question about my allergies. The restaurant has a nice atmosphere and there was live music,the evening sounded promising! Then after placing and receiving my starters I was literally forgotten. The waiter never came to check on me or even ask for my main dish order. I had to request it at another moment and when I received it had to ask 2 different waiters for cutlery. The starters (crab meat) was good, however the main dish plantain with seafood was awful. It had a strange acid/vinegar taste and was topped with the one item I mentioned being allergic to (which was not listed in the menu btw)and wasn't informed when placing the order. At the end of that dish, the waiter finally asked if I enjoyed it and I told him I didn't and that my evening was awful as no service was provided. He tried to compensate with a courtesy drink and other adjustments which is at least something. As customery, I gave a tip but made sure to inform him and the staff at the front that the service is not up to standard and that I would not be coming back. I guess there was more interest for other large party tables and therefore I couldn't receive decent service. I have gone to other very simple places and have been give excellent service, here it is clear it is not a priority! I forgot to mention that at no point did I receive any explanation about the menu or even an offer for an English version menu (which exists since it's on Google, ended up looking on my phone the whole time). Would highly recommend to go and spend your money elsewhere! This place is definitely not worth it, too expensive for the quality of the food and non...