Puerto 99 Mexican Cuisine — Restaurant in Dubai

I decided to eat out in Bluewater Dubai and I came across Puerto 99, I chose it instead of a French place close by.

I didn’t know what to expect however the interior design and fittings lured me in. It is very well decorated however I don’t judge by the cover.

It did meet my expectations and more.

First of all, the staff for super friendly and took care of me and let me choose table on the terrace I was happy with.

Andreas was my waiter and he was very accommodating also to assist him was a lovely blue eyed girl who I didn’t get her name but she did not leave me waiting for a second and made sure I received my dish as soon as it was made as well as other kind gestures and interactions which made me want to stay longer :)

She also socialised with me and put me in a better mood as I was thinking this will be another boring restaurant.

The did have a live Dj playing pop music which also was cool, and then they had live entertainment in the form of a live singer in traditional Mexican outfit and performing Mexican songs which was really fun and then they had a guy walking around with a skull mask and gently scaring and laughing with the guests and allowed us to take pics which was pretty cool, all this while we were eating and they also had a lady handing out sombreros for us to take photos with.

I showed up moody and left happy and in good spirits and a full stomach.

The view from the terrace of the skyline is wonderful.

The food was good I’d give it a high 7/10, I found the menu a little to niche and slightly over priced, even though there is a minimum 300aed spend you will exceed it with ease, half of the starters are around that price and the dishes hover around 300+.

Dishes are served in a timely manner, staff have excellent communication and anticipation of customer needs,

I still definitely recommend this place as you are buying more than just the food you are buying the experience and it’s a really good one eating waterside and it’s really awesome for taking photos to for your social media inside and outside.

I’m very happy 10/10 with everything else except the food I give it a 7/10, I’m probably being fussy and difficult because it’s not my usual cuisine but I do respect afford and they earned my respect.

The staff and management pays attention to detail and I noticed this because they even iron the table clothes so they are super flat and crease free...

We were a party of 4 attending brunch on Saturday. Starters were OK and but we didn’t go crazy as was informed that mains were still to come. Also given margaritas and we saw entertainers arrive to get changed etc so we ‘thought’ this would be a good day! How very wrong we were. The main course arrived and they had brought out 2 filled soggy rolls between 4 people and one bowl of soup that we were supposed to share!! Seriously sharing a bowl of soup I have never in my life seen or heard of but during covid you are asking us to share a bowl between 4 people 🤦🏻‍♀️ We immediately complained and a manager came over, we explained that we didn’t want to pay 440 dirhams for half a sandwich so he said he would organise a more substantial meal. Without asking us choices, 4 plates came out - a basic spaghetti in tomato sauce, a salmon on mash potato, beef on mash potato and a plate of grilled shrimp which we had already had for starter. This was bad enough but then we realised every dish was freezing cold!! We sent it back and told them we were leaving, asking for a bill that should reflect the fact we had only had starters and how unhappy we were. They offered 20% off and kept bringing us more drinks to placate us. We refused this asking for the manager once again, this time what we can only presume as a senior manager arrived who was so rude and unprofessional, should not be in the hospitality industry and will destroy this groups restaurant. We ended up having to agree to pay the 20% reduction and leave (hungry) assuring them that we’d never go back. Such a shame as it’s seemed so promising at the start. Even the waiting staff agreed that the ‘main course’ was an embarrassment. Could have been great if the manager sorted it out (instead of being very rude) and admitted that we had been served sub standard cold food. Further, if you are delivering a brunch service upstairs as well as down, your entertainment, props etc should all reflect this, it’s very disappointing looking over the balcony at everyone having fun below with sombreros etc but nothing upstairs! An embarrassment of a business for the group and to survive in Dubai with the choices available nowadays, firstly your manager needs to go then his replacement needs to seriously work on...

Possible the worst dining experience I’ve had in Dubai… I live in Dubai, have for 10 years and this was the worst dining experience I have had to date. We booked a table 60 mins before we arrived We arrived and was escorted upstairs to the bar area, nice area, pretty loud for a table of 6 was OK The prices are mad for the quality, I mean for 6 people this would be a 4K meal, we can eat at Clay for less… Service on iPads was acceptable, but when we ordered our “Mexican waiter” forget 75% of the menu so had to come back 3-4 times to repeat order, just take a pencil and pad and write it down… Corona pints excellent Starters and mains arrived 4-6 minutes after order, shank, prawns, cauliflower, tacos - I need an oven that can cook that fast Food was cold and soggy / damp - maybe there was a brunch earlier and this food was left?? Food was awful, cold as above and on the whole was very basic - 1700 AED for prawns - go to Alici next door for fresh cold prawns, we ordered food and they said the menu was a half potion it was double price for a full portion!! 400 AED for 4 Terrible tacos WOW! We asked for the food at the same time - it arrived at the same time - awful and cold… The starter guacamole was superb, Corona pints excellent and that’s were it ended, this was for certain in 10 years living here the worst food experience and most over priced I have ever experienced - in the world. We rejected all the food after one mouthful and the manager reduced this from the bill, 2 x guacamole and 5 x Corona for 700AED…. Thankful but punchy for that food!! We left and went to Clay, had mains, deserts and wine and was less than our potential bill. This is a terrible restaurant, charging more than DIFC prices for less than McDonalds experience - walk on by! Honestly cannot explain how terrible the service, food, aftersales and atmosphere was! This is a place to have fake reviews, rip off tourists and charge over the odds for average food. It should be in Deira or Al Barsha and 75% less price, potentially then is a restaurant. Welcome the owners and managers to speak with me, as I wish to help you and advise what was so bad...