Chalco’s Cantina — Restaurant in Dubai

Disappointing Late-Night Experience – Poor Service & Questionable Quality

Last Saturday, after a night out, a group of friends and I decided to stop by for a quick bite. We arrived around 11:30 PM – 12:00 AM to find the restaurant nearly empty, with only three occupied tables. Despite the lack of crowd, the service was inexplicably slow. The waitstaff lingered near the bar, seemingly uninterested in attending to guests. After waving multiple times to get their attention, a waiter finally approached.

From the start, the service felt unprofessional. I placed my order in English since my boyfriend doesn’t speak Spanish, but instead of simply taking it, the waiter made an unnecessary remark about my ability to speak Spanish. It was an uncomfortable and inappropriate interaction—if a guest chooses to communicate in a certain language, there is no reason to challenge it.

The issues continued when our food arrived at staggered times. We were a group of five, yet by the time my dish was served, three of my friends had already finished eating, making the dining experience awkward and disjointed. Additionally, I ordered a Clamato with beer, which was inexplicably served warm. Common sense dictates that this type of drink should be properly chilled—whether through ice or ensuring the beer, Clamato, and glass are cold. I had to send it back just to get it served at a proper temperature.

When it came time to settle the bill, we encountered another service lapse. Two of my friends had Emirates discount cards, which, according to the policy, should apply to the cardholder plus one guest each. However, when the bill was initially brought, the discount was missing. After requesting a correction, the staff only applied it to a single dish instead of the expected four, disregarding their own stated policy.

As for the food itself, we ordered flautas, guacamole, a torta, and birria tacos. The flavors were decent, but the preparation was excessively slow. Worse still, my boyfriend fell ill after the meal, likely due to the overwhelming amount of oil used in the food.

Between the poor service, inconsistent food timing, and lack of attention to detail, this was a disappointing visit. The floor staff seemed poorly trained, and the overall experience fell far below expectations. This was my second and final time dining here—I won’t...

This place was raved so much by a few friends so I was genuinely excited because I love Mexican cuisine. I’ve been to several spots here in Dubai and I dont mind going out of my way to go to their store and experience quality service and flavour.

Came around 8pm on a Monday and we were surprised there was a long table of at least 20+ people and a few other customers in pairs. Quite busy for a monday.

Service was hands down amazing. Staff was accommodating and went the extra mile to ensure each of us were attended but i’m guessing the volume of the orders that night unfortunately had impacted the quality of the food.

Our orders were basic: Frozen Margaritas, Fajitas, and Carne Asada. Frozen Margarita wasn’t the best. Missed the balance in measurement of the alcohol.

Fajitas was actually decent. Nothing special in terms of flavour.

Carne Asada was a bit premium so i had expectations for excellent quality with the price tag on the menu. Sadly it totally missed the mark. Meat was extremely overcooked and dry. Didnt even bother to finish the half.

Complimentary nachos could be served with better sauce too.

The intention here is to give feedback because there's an opportunity to improve, and I understand/respect the hardwork that goes into every dish so hoping Chalco catches up on these feedback from potentially loyal customers waiting to experience quality food.

Vibe of the place was really good. Great location.

Reco to ensure there’s enough workforce to accommodate all the customers and ensure reservation is mandarory for big groups so the rest of the walk-in customers can enjoy the...

Actually no stars but it is not possible to submit without any stars. Having been to other branches we were excited to try this one. Unfortunately despite there being outdoor seating people were smoking indoors which is pretty horrible when you are eating. There wasn't a smoking section. The burrito was pretty bland and was just rice, I couldn't find any beans. As I am vegan I asked if it was possible to change the sour cream and cheese for a little guacamole but was told absolutley not. When the extra portion of guagamole we ordered came we presumed it was part of the burrito order as it was literally a table spoon. For aed 25!!!!! When we questioned this we were told the avacados are expensive. For the same cost in another branch you would get 5 times that amount so are those avacados cheaper??? On a similar note the tacos that were supposed to be a main were barely the size of a starter so very disappointing. Any time we questioned anything with the waitress we were told this restaurant is more expensive, not great customer service. When we had to send the bill back as we had been charged extra for something we didn't have the waitress looked me in the eye and asked me if I was sure!!! Again terrible customer service. To top it all off the margaritas did not come in a margarita glass! Not a great experience when you leave a Saturday night out feeling hungry and annoyed. Sadly not a new place to enjoy, we won't...