El Pastor — Restaurant in Alaska

My wife and I went for Sunday breakfast with my son and grandson. My grand son ordered a typical American breakfast of eggs, caribou sausage, hash browns and toast with a glass of milk. My wife ordered the Waffle Combo which was a tasty plate sized waffle with whipped cream. Plus two eggs, hash browns, and bacon. I Ordered a Mexican breakfast meal with browned beef, veggies and warmed tortillas. This was accompanied with refried beans. I had at least three tortillas and the meat and vegetables were well prepared and seasoned. It was ample and hot. My son a I both ordered a side of caribou sausage with our breakfasts. My son also ordered one of their Mexican meals that I can’t remember what it was called or what he had. All were very pleased with our breakfasts. They were busy and the two waitresses working were very busy. They require you to wait to be seated requiring the waitress to seat you. That works for the waitresses to balance what you sit and know that you need service but it also takes time and is a distraction to serving the customers. My son and I were drinking coffee and when our waitress brought our breakfasts she asked if we needed refills on our coffee to which we both said yes. She said she would be right back with the coffee. She was distracted seating new customers and getting their orders, cleaning tables and delivering meals to other customers. I tried to get her attention for the coffee refills but she was intend on seating and serving others. I finally got her attention when she was washing the table behind us. I know they maybe short of help but they could possibly solve this by bringing a medium pot of coffee to each table. Or have refill pots available near or on their front serving table that customers could access and fill their own cups. We have been there for dinners and breakfasts before and this was never a problem.

This not a big issue and we will continue to patronize this excellent Mexican restaurant in the future but this is the place to address issues you experience so if they are a problem management may what to fix them.

They are good for families and groups, have a sports TV and an excellent menu. I believe they have a senior and military discount although we didn’t mention it on this visit. We still tipped our waitress 20% because she was working as hard and efficient as anyone could expect. She was not standing around talking or wasting time. They accept credit cards and serve a limited alcohol menu. I highly recommend this restaurant in Eagle River. You have to turn into the large parking lot containing AIH and follow the road around AIH. They are located behind AIH and are not visible from the...

Update (3/14/25): I am pleasantly surprised. I returned to El Pastor this morning and got a California burrito with carne asada and no rice or beans. My burrito was good. The carne asada had great flavor. I’ll have to come back now to compare for consistency.

Original (January 2024): I don’t typically write reviews but I feel compelled to share my thoughts. Prior to new ownership/management, we use to eat at El Pastor nearly two times a week: once for breakfast and once for dinner or lunch. We’ve eaten nearly everything on the menu and we always enjoyed and appreciated the food. However, after new ownership/management literally everything has changed. The tortillas are different, the meat is cooked different, the presentation and composition are different … and not in a good way and now the guacamole is fake. We have left our food uneaten on several occasions. We tried one last time eating there today and the disappointment shouldn’t have come as a shock. I wish the new owner had scrapped the name and menu and started a new restaurant rather than focusing on their new logo and changing how each dish is made, at least it would have been clear that this is not the same place. I could go on about how I dislike the changes to each dish but I’ll leave it at we won’t...

Menudo? More like meh-nudo.

So I was hyped—like genuinely excited—because . I Heard the menudo here was legendary, So I march in, throw down my $15 and proudly carry home the container of what I thought would be rich, meaty, soul-reviving goodness.

I get home, rip the lid off like it’s Christmas morning… and what do I see?

A pale broth. That’s it. Just sad, lonely broth.

At the bottom? A handful—maybe 1/5 of the container—of actual meat. I thought I was being pranked. I even stirred it around like Dora the Explorer trying to find hidden treasure. Nope. That was it. Just a couple chunks of tripe doing the backstroke in sadness.

I mean… $15?? That’s restaurant menudo pricing, not “oops we forgot to include the main ingredient” pricing. A whole can of decent menudo at Carrs is like 8 bucks and actually gives you something to chew on.

If they were running low, just say that. I would’ve picked something else. Instead, I got bamboozled by broth.

I had to sit down and write this because the whole thing was so ridiculous, it felt personal. I don’t know if I got the end-of-the-pot scraps or what....

By the way, a good menudo should have hominy.

Zero stars for meat quantity. One star for broth temperature. Five stars for inspiring this...