Eldorado Cafe — Restaurant in Austin

Overall just very disappointing; want to like this place so came back again, but all I’ve done is assure myself it’s not the place for me; personally would recommend Matts el Rancho, Fonda San Miguel, and Pappasitos much more. This place is def better than chuys but that’s it. It starts with chips and salsa, the fact they want to charge you 8$ for a salsa sampler where most of the salsas arguably don’t even belong on chips is just a bad way to start off. What they call hot salsa clearly is just a spicy green that belongs on tacos not chips. The medium likely is great on an omelette, but when i asked the server for a hot red salsa i was told the only one they have is a mild one. All this fuss about homemade salsas, effectively charging for chips and salsa, and they don’t even respect the salsas enough to serve them on homemade chips. They use prepackaged, overly thick, not fresh, dark yellow low quality corn tortilla chips that are 2$ for the huge yellow bag. Sitos, Matt’s, even freaking CHIPOTLE make their chips in house. Portions of the plates aren’t really bad, but with how bad the chips are you don’t get the classic Tex mex fill up on chips and salsa experience, so you can barely finish your plate. I got the Rene’s enchilada plate and i finished my meal pretty hungry still. The plate was acceptable, but tbh it made no sense. The only short rib enchilada plate on the menu and it’s served with green tomatillo salsa? And sour cream? Not serving these with their chili con carne sauce seems like a huge miss. I can understand the no fajitas on the menu, them clearly trying to press margins serving mostly ground beef, chicken and pork, but acting like we have a steak shortage in Texas is offensive; got sirloin in the queso, literally 2 little pieces. No sirloin enchiladas on the menu feels like a miss too. The whole situation just screams, we could only 2x skirt steak if we carried it but we can 4-8x chicken and pork, and maybe sirloin. Initially you look at the prices and think, how can people call this overpriced, but after eating there a couple times it makes sense; Did get a second plate, because still so hungry it was the super chalupa; this was delicious and the only reason they got a second star Got dessert and the sopaipilla cheesecake is the worst I’ve ever had; way too much puff pastry, burnt, at least way too crispy. Lacks cheesecake flavor, body, creaminess, and is served frankly too warm. Worth noting the place is clean and the staff is super friendly, just a shame they have to sell such underwhelming food. Tough thinking about how good the food would have been at the other places, I’m out 40$ and would have rather just gotten a steak salad at chipotle for 11$ considering what i ate. Could have gotten fajitas at sitos, or Matt’s, or a nice carne asada plate at Fonda, instead I’m just convinced this city has been scammed into keeping this...

It is with much regret I have to update my review. I have been coming here for the last 4 or 5 years. The food always being the main draw. The most recent visit crossed a line for me. I understand this small popular restaurant is always busy, but at times the service, or lack there of is baffling. I have come here on various days of the week, sat outside, inside, and at the bar. The worst service has always been at the bar, but generally because of a particular server or two.

Today was no exception. A rude customer decided to rudely grab me because he and his wife had been "waiting" for a seat to become available. My partner and I were doing the same; it is "first come first serve." I asked three people who were finishing if anyone had requested their seats, and they informed me that no one had. I asked if we could have their seats, which they were glad to offer up. The "gentleman" grabbed me from behind and felt the need to tell me what was going to happen next..."he and his wife were taking the seats, and they had been waiting 20 minutes."

If he had asked me politely or even come to me respectfully I would have totally understood and been accommodating. That is not how he handled the situation though, and the bartender wouldn't serve us chips and salsa because he said he had been waiting. There were 4 customers, and 3 seats coming available. It could have been resolved respectfully, but that was not the case. I could have handled the rude customer, but I have had prior experiences with the same bartender. On prior occasions he had walked past me and never offered service, and another bartender was kind enough to address me. Today was the first time this bartender had ever even spoken to me...and it was to tell me he wasn't going to service me and my partner.

I love the food, but the place is an oasis of "white acclimation." Rarely have I seen POC in this hip Austin "Tex-Mex" establishment. And I have never felt "welcomed." And today was the final straw after thousands of dollars spent in support of this small business, even through COVID.

It breaks my heart, but I've tried to be patient, understanding, and even willing to consider that I might be imagining that "spider sense" tingling...but I'm done.

If you're a POC...you are not welcome here. Stay away, message me for other recommendations in...

Visiting out in-laws for a few days and they brought us here. They’ve been coming regularly since it opened and had high praise for everything. I would have to agree with their assessment!

The restaurant takes reservations and is highly encouraged. We came in a Tuesday night around 5pm and left around 6pm, people were waiting for tables. They have a bar with very few seats, a handful of booths and mostly tables with wood seats. There is an outdoor waiting area as well. Free WiFi. Plenty of staff working and service was speedy. The manager came over and spoke with us after our meal (delicious).

Like most places you get a complimentary bowl of chips (unsure if they are made in house, but they remind me of mission tortilla triangles) and one salsa (maybe my one critique as it was a teeny tiny bowl of salsa). You could get an additional bowl of salsa for $1.50. They also have a salsa sampler, around 7 different salsas ranging in heat.

Our party ordered the chili verde plate, the Brian’s alambre plate, and a variety of tacos/tostadas. I personally ordered the cochinita pibil taco (Tuesday special), thunder rosa taco, and the taco supreme. All were fantastic and hefty for $5 a piece. I felt it was worth it. A note about the sides for the plates: they let you pick your sides! Typically rice and beans are your sides but you could choose mixed veggies, side salad, refried beans, queso rice and more. The menu is def Mexican fusion, offering some authentic dishes and several experimental ones too. In this day and age, always read the menu ahead of time.

Your experience may vary based on time of day and day of the week but overall we enjoyed our time and meal. I would def...