5 Tacos and Beers — Restaurant in Albany

Folks, I just want to give you all a heads up about this establishment and one particular employee.

The other day a group of us ordered several dishes and margaritas. On the food order their was an item that was mis-ordered by the employee with his name beginning with "A". We were going to eat the food outside due to no indoor dining allowed during the pandemic. We tried to let A know that there was a mistake on the order. He said that the order was placed properly. A even indicated that the person picking up the ordered looked at the dishes and confirmed the order was correct and the person ordering the food was drunk (which was not the case since we just ordered the margaritas and waiting for the food) and the person hadn't had a drink prior. When we asked the person picking up the order which he placed the order he said the food was inside the bag and he took it for granted that the order was correct then walked out. Bottom line, A blatenly lied to cover himself. He mis-ordered and said our friend checked and verify the food before he left which is a total lie. He did not offer an apology and said if we want the other order we would have to pay for it (which we end up doing). R wouldn't listen and had the attitude that he was in the right. Also the margaritas were full of ice and not much margarita mix and tequila in it. The food and the drinks definitely were not worth the price. The tacos which is supposedly their specialty wasn't so special. Bland tasting. We needed the hot sauce to add flavoring and some heat. I had better tacos at Jack in the Box.

This isn't the first time someone in our group has had a bad experience with A. We don't know if he is just a worker there or God forbid the owner. Another person in our group said A also had a attitude problem with him the same evening. A person like this doesn't belong in the food and beverage industry. He needs to find a job that isn't customer facing and people related. We were there to enjoy the experience, not cause issues/drama and not to deal with a holier than thou employee. Judging from other Yelp reviews other customer also felt the service was lacking.

You would think during this pandemic when restaurants and bars are struggling for business or cannot open that they would be appreciative and grateful for their patrons and go the extra mile to present good customer service and food with a smile and not argue with the customer. We weren't looking to have them substitute the dish but at least offer an apology and admit their error. My friend ended up buying the dish she originally ordered.

There are so many other establishments, especially Mexican food in Albany/El Cerrito area that is worthy of your business friends. My recommendation is to not patronize 5 Tacos and Beer and at least instead go next door to Star Pizza for friendly, appreciative service and good food. We were outside for about 3 hours and no kidding there wasn't another customer going in to place an order; For 3 hours we were the only customers. Next time I'm going to Taco Bell. At least I know what to expect and won't be disappointed. If this pandemic continues I frankly don't see 5 Tacos and Beer having a sustained business and part of it is their fault. Especially with the surly service by A and food/drinks...

I so very much wanted to love this place. So often I see it packed nearly to overflowing with people so the other day when I was running errands in the area I decided to give it a try. I appreciate that they had a few vegan options that seems like they were creative. I ordered my first round and it was incredibly greasy and almost no flavor. So I decided to give the vegan menu another try with the second of three options. Again it came out dripping in grease with almost no other flavor. I worked in the restaurant industry from the time I was 16 until I was 22 including Co opening my own restaurant and bar. I then went into consulting and also into catering small events. I am known for my capacity to take simple ingredients and make them very flavorful without a lot of fuss or extra effort. If I could go in and consult with these people, I know I could take their vegan options to a whole other level without needing to change their kitchen setup in almost any way. The team member who took my orders was quite nice and did his best to be helpful and for him as an individual within the company and the experience, I would give him three stars. But the rest of the service was incredibly spotty and unorganized. I give them leeway for the challenges of running a restaurant in an organized way when it's very crowded and in these chaotic times of covid. However food quality is a non-negotiable in a restaurant like this. I gave them two tries and received two very expensive strikes. I was not interested in trying again for a third strike. I am grateful that they even consider those of us who are plant-based and I give them big props for that. I just want them to be able to deliver on it in the way they clearly must with their other food options because they wouldn't be that packed if there are other options weren't actually good. So if you are not interested in plant-based options this place very well might be the restaurant for you. But for those of us excited about opportunity to try different options from the plant-based kingdom, this restaurant is an...

So we went on a Saturday. We were there before they opened and they were kind enough to let us use the restroom. We then went back outside to wait for them to open the brunch. Once we were taken to a table they wanted to sit us at a table too small for the amount of people that we had in our party. We asked if we could move to a larger table or push two tables together in order to accommodate. They let us but they seemed a little bothered by it. We then went and got our food. The food was great very tasteful not so many options. But the options that were there were really good. My brother had horchata to drink and the rest of us just had water. Who stayed for probably half an hour to 45 minutes during that time our waitress maybe game around two times. And was nowhere to be found when we needed her. No one asked if we needed anything or if we would like some more water. Or refill on our other drinks. When we were done we were waiting for the check but it never came so we went up to the front to find out where we paid we were able to track down a waitress that took the payment from a handheld device. And she said she would bring the receipt to our table so after about 10 minutes she came back with the receipt and the bill for the remainder of the people in our party. We did not know beforehand that they added on 18% as a tip regardless of your party size. Not to mention we were charged $35 per person when the flyer in the bathroom said 25 as well as on their website. So needless to say we waited for our change because we would not be adding more of a tip. After we received our change for our bill she did not bring us the total amount in fact only brought us the dollars owed and left out the cents. I know it's just cents what is the principal. We will not be returning. We saw this place on social media and thought we would...