El Dorado Mexican Restaurant - Full bar — Restaurant in Alaska

My five-star review is based on a total customer experience, not just with the food or the décor, but the complete package.Being from out of town, I arrived around 9:00 pm after a very cold, 20 minute walk from the hotel. With not many people there, I was greeted by a friendly hostess, who would also turn out to be my friendly waitress. The decor doesn’t strike me as a complete emersion in Mexican cultural items, but I got a vibe that this building, festooned partially with bamboo awnings had at one point been a sushi restaurant. Nevertheless, there were plenty of sombreros and Mexican art pieces to tell me it was now a Mexican restaurant. The bathroom was a big; single occupancy, lock the door behind you, affair and it was very clean.

When I returned to the table, chips and two kinds of salsa awaited me. El Dorado does the thicker type of corn chips. A nice way to start out. All menu items are realistically priced for the serving size and ingredient quality. I’ll get more into that a little later on here. I ordered the Seafood Chimichanga. It arrived quickly and VERY hot. It was huge! Topped with cold guacamole and fresh sour cream, the tortilla shell was crispy and flaky from the deep fry. Along with the chimichanga itself, the Mexican classic refried beans and Spanish rice were served. Although tasty enough, they were served a little dry from the oven blasting the entree plate took prior to its arrival on my table. The plate was as hot as if just being pulled from a kiln so I never had to worry about anything getting cold. Now for the best part. Unlike so many seafood chimichangas I’d had at other, quite good, Mexican restaurants, the seafood (crab, scallops and fish) chunks were huge, fresh and easily recognizable. Most other places grind their stuffings up so they can adulterate it with other cheap ingredients. This however, was an honest and seriously delicious chimi.

As closing time approached and the bartender across the dinning room, the waitress and I talked and joked a little, it became evident to them that I had a long way to walk back to the hotel. As they were finishing their closing duties they were so kind and offered to drive me back to the hotel as they were leaving soon too. Don’t come to expect chauffeur service as a matter of standard, it just worked out well for me considering the circumstances. They dropped me off in front of my hotel and I never had to shake off a cold walk back to the hotel.

Great food, nice atmosphere and truly above and beyond customer service....

People are love bombing reviews due to the very friendly server(s). Look, the men's bathroom was TOTALLY broken, totally, a trickle of ice cold water from the busted faucet is all you get. NO SOAP NO PAPER... how can the staff have clean hands in this place with facilities like that??

Hi I have worked in kitchens FOR YEARS... I'm one of those hard working garbage wage gringos you all like to pretend don't exist, I KNOW how restaurant kitchens work. WET BURRITOS that are so fast to your table that they aren't even hot all the way through... less than even 5m to our table and the place wasn't even busy, it's premade AND THAT IS FINE — but you are SUPPOSED to bring the food UP TO TEMP in order to SANITIZE IT.... I am so embarrassed, eating with my family and I have to insist that I won't eat my food. My family even asked me to box it up as to avoid hurting the server's feelings. ...If I get sick I will NOT be surprised AT ALL this burrito was DISGUSTING and UNSAFE.

Mushrooms... in the burrito.... is that "traditional"? ... Mushrooms in a WET SOUP "Burrito" ... F'in gross sorry mushrooms in the red rice.....????????? Not on the menu at all neither is any info about serving the burritos wet. I swear they do that just to mess with us, no one eats burritos like this.

Chicken in the burrito itself was stringy tasteless dark meat... $21 ! Pile of slop "chipotle" flooding your plate not even a knife to eat it with.

Some bald manager angrily glaring at me and GRANDPARENTS as we walked in, while jabbering in spanish on his phone... Little tiny cup of salsa with cold stale chips, for 3 people... You aren't getting out of here for less than $20 a plate...

Check my reviews I know what good mexican food is. The dining area is clean, as I said the lady server is very friendly and sweet but the situation in the kitchen, with the facilities, the manager - absolutely uncalled for. They don't refrigerate their half and half singles (wow who would have guessed, its a mexican place), but STILL FOOD SAFETY - FOR YOUR CUSTOMERS... WE ARE PAYING YOU FOR THIS WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING? ... If you DON'T want to SERVE people and DO A GOOD JOB, CLOSE, BEFORE you...

Friendly staff and a welcoming atmosphere. The place has a pleasant, clean decor, and there's plenty of parking. We were able to walk in on a Friday at 6 p.m. and get seated right away, which was a nice surprise.

That said, the food didn’t live up to expectations — especially for the price. I ordered Chipotle, which costs around $18 at lunch but was $25 at dinner here. That’s a steep jump, especially considering there wasn’t much difference in portion or presentation.

Unfortunately, the flavor didn’t make up for the cost. The chipotle sauce tasted burnt and wasn’t very good on its own. The chips were fresh but unusually thick, though the salsa was genuinely delightful. I ordered a piña colada, and while the flavor was good and the alcohol was well-balanced, it was difficult to drink — the ice wasn’t blended properly and the standard-size straw didn’t help. Also, it was served in a beer glass, which felt a bit odd (though that’s a minor gripe).

Service was friendly but slow. Despite three waiters on the floor, it took longer to get a to-go box or the check than it did to receive our food. It wasn’t packed, just moderately busy, so the delay stood out.

All in all, the experience felt subpar compared to other local places like Hacienda. For the price, I was hoping for better food, smoother service, and more attention to detail. I genuinely wish the best for this restaurant, but I hope they take the feedback...