Cantina El Dorado — Restaurant in Auburn Hills

As a AH resident, I was super excited to try this place. And honestly, the only reason this is getting three stars is because the food was fantastic.

As someone who has worked in the food service industry for 8+ years, this is review is with good intentions. I want this business to succeed, but there’s much that needs to change.

The Good:

The host: the staff at the host stand are very nice & accommodating. Thankfully we went at a non-busy time so we had a choice of options for tables—the only thing we would’ve had to wait for was a booth & we didn’t mind sitting at a normal table. All in all, amazing girls to greet customers.

The food: y’all, when I say this is some of the best Mexican food I’ve had outside of Detroit! I’ve been a loyal fan of Mexican Village on Bagley in Detroit since I was a kid, & this is an amazing alternative & much more local to me now. The food was hot and correct with our modifications. The man who brought our food was kind & asked if we needed anything else. I got the Quesabirria quesadilla & it was SO GOOD! We also got the elote in a cup to try & it was very tasty as well. The food definitely carried this review.

THE BAD:

The host stand location: whoever designed this—be so for real… the main entrance is off of Auburn Road, so you would think the host stand would be through the main doors, right? NO. There’s another nondescript door off of Squirrel that puts you at the host stand. If you do not go in the door off Squirrel, which 99% of the people did NOT—including myself, you have to literally walk through the tables while people are dining, servers are taking orders, food is being delivered, etc.. Mind you, the actual size of the dining room is small. There’s not a crazy amount of room between tables. I had multiple people brush against me and my friend while we were eating because they all came in through the door off of Auburn. Not to mention there’s a table right by the door on Squirrel so whoever is sitting there is being surrounded with people the entire time they eat. I don’t even know where people stand if they have to wait for a table. Especially when the colder months come, & they will in Michigan! Anyway, my point is that I would recommend moving it to the main entrance doors for maximum efficiency.

The service: we were sat in a section where the server was training someone. No problem! Been there, done that—it can be awkward sometimes but it’s whatever. The main server greeted us & brought our drinks. She asked if we were ready to order & we said we need a minute. Two minutes pass. Then five. Then almost TEN minutes pass before she comes back to us. We place our orders. When I tell you we did not see this girl again until it was time to cash out! And she was TRAINING someone! The trainee stopped by to check on us a few times but it was literally her second day of training (I didn’t make that up, she told us) & she didn’t know where or what most stuff was—& she couldn’t find the trainer either to ask her! The trainee brought us our refills, extra napkins, & boxes when we were done. Our main server walked by us a few times to check on other tables but didn’t talk to us more than three times. When our main server finally did come back with the bill, she said something about “everyone running around like crazy”… It was not busy. There were empty tables & servers just standing around chatting. And I get it. Sometimes it’s slow & you can chat with your coworker for a minute—but only if your tables are taken care of first. All in all, the service we received was not good. Could’ve just been an off day, but first impressions are important🥲

The music was verrry loud. And that’s coming from someone under the age of 70. We were practically yelling at each other the whole time.

4th (and final thing): Please tell me why I was charged an extra $1.75 for a “Non-Cash Fee”. It’s 2024. Most people pay with a card. After the bad service experience, it was the last straw for me. If I go back, I’ll...

THIS rating is STRICTLY based on my experience tonight here (7/11/24). After waiting for about 15 mins passed the time we placed our names on the list to arrive, we were sat by the door because the hostess claimed that may be the quickest to be seated (Fine!). Upon sitting, Tiffeney (I know she spelled it with an "e", as she wrote it on a Napkin and left it on our table in the case that we forgot her name), she came, greeted herself, brought chips and salsa. She then brought our waters, one glass was super visible with red stuff on it, so was sent back. I ordered my drink, which I've had before, The Sex on Playa, it was horrible. Sent it back. She came with another one, worse than the first. She did ask if I wanted the manager to make it, I said, no, that's okay. She asked if she could get me something else, I said, just my food, as I wasn't feeling well and needed to eat. She said, okay. And walked off. Everyone ordered different things. I stuck with the double bacon burger that I had my first time there, when our food came out quickly and accurately. This time . . . NO! I received my food last (the one who wasn't well and needed to eat), it had a huge Angus pattie on the bottom, two additional thin patties THROWN across the top, and Two OLD pieces of bacon stuck to OLD cheese thrown at the bottom and hanging off. The bacon had clearly been taken from another burger and placed onto mine. I had a triple burger, that I didn't order, with old bacon. My fries were cold, BUT my plate was scolding hot because I burned my hand as the waiter handed it to me without warning.

I made Tiffeney aware of my food, showed here, and all she could say was, " I wrote down double" I can take it back. No apologies or a "let me get a manager", because at this point, I've had two bad drinks and now No Food. I told her that I wanted nothing. I then asked if I could just have a fresh glass of water. She left, came back, no water, started bringing to go containers, bags, etc that were being asked for. I silently sat there, waiting to see when she would remember my water. You know the one person at the table with NO FOOD. As she passed out the other other party's checks, she remembered my water, which she sat on the table as we're preparing to leave. I asked her to take it back. That was unacceptable, as the whole experience was. Not once was a manager brought over, nor and apology from her. We watched as other waitresses allow parents to allow their children to literally lick/drink from the ketchup bottle, kids climbing the back of the seats, staff just standing around, people who came in after us esting, yet our food came out dang near an hour (if not) after we sat and ordered.

This is the FIRST Mexican restaurant that I've liked and have returned to due to the menu, good food, fast and accurate service, and the amazing waitress Denise. All of that was on my first visit. My take out orders since, were correct because Denise or Roberto (the manager) made sure of it. This staff TONIGHT was horrible. The service TONIGHT was horrible. And I want so badly to say that I will never return (because I usually won't), but people like Denise makes me want to try again. So, Mon, Wed, and Fri, when she's there, will be the only days I come, should I return. And I NEVER do reviews, so tonight DEFINITELY...

I didn't take pictures this trip, but I will next time.

Went on Valentine's Day with my wife and 10 and 7 year old so we expected it to probably be busy. It was, and the wait area was kind of clumsy with no real direction. Not terrible, just could be laid out slightly better so folks aren't in the way.

Server was awesome. I didn't catch her name but was very responsive and attentive. Never had to ask for drink refills and everything that was ordered was correct. Couldn't ask for better.

Ordered the choriqueso with our chips and salsa. It was phenomenal. The chips tasted fresh and warm, perfect saltiness. Loved the salsa and the choriqueso I would order in a container to go if I could.

I ordered the quesabirria and it's arguably the best taco I've had at a restaurant. Flavor was spot on, perfect tenderness and exact amount of cheese it needed. It was dipped in the consomme before they crisped it, developing that perfect mahogany color. Greasy, but I would expect that. I like to order a couple of things at new places so I have a better idea of what they do well, and I'll say the chicken tamale was not good. Flavor was very bland and the masa was hard/crunchy making me think it was frozen/freezer burnt. Won't order that again.

The wife ordered a steak quesadilla burrito bowl that she raved about. Can't comment because I didn't have room in my belly to try it.

Kids had chicken tenders and sliders (I know, they didn't venture too far away from this, though, ha). They were both good and we used the fries to help mop up the choriqueso.

All and all, we'll be back for sure. Other dishes folks were getting looked great and gave us ideas on what to try next.

Pictures next time I swear!

Edit: We returned and this time we ordered asada tacos and steak and shrimp fajitas. Again, phenomenal! Angie was our server this time and again the experience...