Gaby's Latin Flavors — Restaurant in Big Bear Lake

Cannot recommend this place enough! It can be difficult finding a place that both me and my husband enjoy as I'm a vegan and he is a carnivore but we both left Gaby's completely satisfied...so much so that I'm actually on vacation and I'm coming on Google to write this review.

Walking up to the restaurant the door was held open for us which later we found out was by one of the owners. Inside we were greeted by I believe Gaby....either way this person had a warm welcoming smile...you know the kind that actually seems genuine and not just a robotic display.

Once settled into our table Carlos, who held the door open for us, came up to take our drink and app order and actually our lunch order as I already knew what I wanted from reading a Yelp review. My husband asked a few questions about a certain dish but then settled on a dish Carlos recommended. Right off the bat I knew I loved this place because I could tell the people here took pride in their food just by the way Carlos was describing the dishes and flavors.

Drinks came right away as did our chips and two different salsas...one mild and one with a bit of a kick. Chips were fresh and both salsas had a nice amount of flavor.

My husband ordered a stuffed potato appetizer that came out pretty quickly. As mentioned earlier I'm a vegan and being that the stuffed potato app had meat in it I didn't partake but my husband scarfed it down and said it was really good.

Next came our entrees...I ordered the Veggie Burrito and I can't remember what my husband ordered...it had strips of beef, rice and eggs sunnyside up. My Veggie Burrito, which I ordered based off a vegan Yelper's review, was loaded with potatoes, rice, beans and different types of veg. You can choose to have it with cheese sauce but of course I opted not to.

My Veggie Burrito was hearty and out of this world as far as flavors. Later Carlos told us that his wife who is the chef and primary owner is Bolivian which was very much evident in the flavor profiles. It can be difficult when ordering a vegan dish at certain restaurants because they can sometimes mistake vegan for someone watching their diet and the end result will be something that is lacking flavor, light and possibly watery. My Burrito was hearty and so deliciously seasoned that even a meat eater would be able to appreciate.

We chatted with Carlos throughout our meal as he came to check up on us and again I could see the passion that he had for the food they served and told us that they were working on expanding their menu to include more Latin flavors and that Gaby his wife was very hands on in the kitchen. Carlos also mentioned that they have a few regulars that are vegan that come in quite often.

I'll end my review with saying that whether you are a meat eater, vegan, vegetarian...love Mexican or Latin food in general with amazingly personable customer service you'll want to check out...

This is literally the best Mexican/latin food I have ever had. The restaurant crew all were nice especially our waitresses. They took care of me and my family as it was our first time visiting this restaurant. We had heard great reviews about this place and it did not disappoint! The chips and chicken wings were fire! Couldn’t stop munching it down. Literally finger licking good! They were so fast with our food but also carefully made picture perfect, and everything tasted so delicious. I loved my wet carne asada burrito and cranberry lemonade. My family left this place with full bellies as we couldn’t take another bite and letting the goodness settle in and had to take the rest home for another round another time hahha. We went today and it wasn’t busy at all and in a way it made the experience all the better. Food is decently priced and so worth it because everything tasted fresh, it was hot and full of flavor I kid you not it’s literally the best Latin food I have ever had. And they even put on music for us and my little niece danced around the restaurant very happy with her soup of the day and the yummy aguas frescas. Music set the vibe as very welcoming and filled life to the restaurant. It was just a great time with wholesome fun and time to be intimate or bond with good people around you in this setting. It’s a really neat place you can sit inside and look at all the unique wall decor also have the option to dine outside and enjoy the fresh air that big bear has to offer. We said our goodbyes as we had to race against time to get back home to avoid driving down the hill before it get dark. What really stuck out to me and as we me and my family were about to leave parking lot to go back home our waitress smiled and waves us a goodbye! how neat it that to care about there customers from beginning to end. 5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️🤩 no doubt. Please hop on this gem support great people like Gabby and her staff and grab a bite! If you love Mexican food you won’t regret it and I can’t wait to come back because the customer service here is superb! As someone used to work in a restaurant and the hotel business I can say I have a deep appreciation for others who value their customers to help them feel comfortable no matter what and effort putting in through great customer service cleanliness and working behind the scenes to deliver great hospitality and is genuine about it. You don’t get that a lot and that’s why they stood out to me. Love this place, love the staff. Great times. Thank you so much again. This place...

We rolled in about 7:35pm on a Saturday with my wife and we were greeted and told to seat ourselves. We were handed menus and told to come back to the bar when ready to order. We decided and I approach the bar to place my order. Here is where things took a turn for the worse.

I sat at the bar for 8 minutes waiting as I watched the dishwasher wash dishes and not acknowledge me. All the sudden another customer comes in and walks up to the bar. We both sit for another 3 minutes. Finally the dishwasher realizes she should turn around in come kind of cadenced fashion to look for customers. She asks me if I have a to go order. I say no I’m placing a dine in order. She asks the other guy and he says yes. She goes to the back and gets the original lady who helped us. This lady looks at me and says “to go?” and I say no I have a dine in order. And I’m bewildered she doesn’t recognize me she just sat me. Well, did she really? It had been 15 minutes at this point. She turns to the guy and asks him and he says yes, to go. She then proceeds to help him.

Big mistake. In retail or in the service industry, that to go order is money already in the bank. I’m a potential customer. Not only that, I was first and she knew it. She sat me. Needless to say I grabbed my wife from the table and said we are outta here. Passed by and the lady asks if I’m ready to order. I laugh and say “oh we are leaving. You don’t have a clue about service.” She then proceeds to say “good go….good luck at this time of night.” And I said “good luck to you, you are gonna need it.” Leaving I was blown away. Had she simply acknowledged the mistake and apologized, we may have turned around. No, she double down and basically said “bye, get out”. That’s absolutely crazy as a business owner.

You all may feel it’s a bit over the top but I work in the service industry and this doesn’t fly. This is a small town. You live on locals and tourists and it’s seasonal. Customer service should be at least fair. Doesn’t need to be outstanding or exemplary.

Never coming back. And you...