El Primo Taqueria — Restaurant in Bradenton

They say hole in the wall restaurants or “Mom and Pop” restaurants have the best food. I agree in this instance, they have some of the best food in a Mexican restaurant around here.

That said - the service is horrible. The young lady taking the orders told me she couldn’t sell me the tamale platter at 735pm because they come with 3 tamales and they had 2 tamales left. I understand it is 25 minutes till closing so I asked her what she could substitute for the missing tamale. She said she couldn’t sell it because it was short a tamale. I really wanted tamales and that was the only reason I drove across town to come here. She did not offer a solution until I provided my own solution when I incredulously asked her if she was not going to sell me the last 2 tamales because of this? Finally she offered to do a la cart pricing for the 2 tamales and I added a side of rice, a taco and a can of soda.

It is ready quickly and in 5 minutes I have my food. This would have been a wonderful visit despite the ordering confusion at the beginning but then she insisted it was take out only. I told her she closed in 20 minutes, why can I sit there and quickly eat it. She proceeds to tell me take out only after 7pm. After assuring her I eat fast and would be gone in 5 minutes, she reluctantly allowed me to sit there and eat my food. At 4 minutes 30 seconds (I set a timer on my watch), she is insisting it has been 5 minutes and she starts spraying cleaner near me while I am eating. I told her I have 30 seconds before I hit my 5 minute deadline. I finished at 4 minutes 45 seconds and left. That was at 745pm and closing time was 8pm.

She needs to take a customer service class because that is not how you treat customers. Especially if you want to grow your Business by word of mouth and reputation. I might try them again in the future but I hope by then the service will better. I would have given 4 or maybe 5 stars if the service had been nicer. Food...

So, first, the food. Authentic as it gets. And oh boy, is it tasty. Maybe it's just my tastebuds, but TacoBell and Del Taco are just plain old wrong. And the pricing is on par, so it's not even a contest, it's like the Majors playing a little league team, and the big guys are loosing big time. How is this possible? The little guys have a secret weapon, flavor. 'Nuff said about that.

Second, the service, for me, is just service, I asked for a steak burrito and two steak gorditas, and that's what I got. Freshly made (everything) and hot (temperature wise, not spicy level, the offer a red and a green sauce for that - I like the green one!) - In styrofoam (The Gorditas) and waxpaper/foil around the burrito. The sauces come in little plastic containers. Plenty of papertowels, because it is juicy and yummy, and oh my lord it's good. Writing this as I eat so I get all my emotion into it! Anyway, the service did come with a thank you and a smile and my questions were all answered cheerfully. Thus, the 4 star review, above average. This is a good thing, a normal level of anything is a 3. A 4 is above average. Finally, a 5 Star is an Awesome level (thus the 5 Star for the Food).

This brings me to the third rating, a 3 Star for the Atmostphere. It's as basic as it gets, but it's not bad, it's just not great or awesome either. This is just what you expect out of an old Ice Cream Shop being transformed into a Taqueria. They do have an awesome drink selection, including a Non-alcoholic Sangria that is pretty special, give it a try! It's tasty to be sure, and goes great with the food.

Overall, I would (and do) eat here every chance I get, mostly lunch at work, but I have had a dinner or two from them as well. They do an outstanding job as far as the food, so treat yourself to some real food and not some recycled plastic...

After being a loyal long-standing customer of over ten years, I placed my normal order of a chicken burrito on 06/05/2024 around 7:15PM. I took one bite and immediately tasted half-done chicken and spit it out. Directly after, I brought this concern to their attention and requested for them to remake my burrito but this time actually cooked without any red meat or blood dripping onto my shirt. Sadly, without any consideration to my concerns, I was told they will not remake my burrito or I will not be receiving a refund because I took a bite out of the burrito. Common sense will tell you, the only way to know if the meat is done inside of a burrito is by taking a bite. I requested to speak with a manager and was told there wasn’t one on the premises. I have never experienced such a difficult time with this restaurant and I felt it was such a slap in my face to be greatly mistreated after being a returning and loyal customer for over a decade! I as well as my family were always treated respectfully and the food was never undercooked or overcooked, rather just right. I am in complete disbelief! They even told me to “never come back”. So many years, time, and money wasted for a business that clearly doesn’t even care! I am truly hurt and sad because they just lost a forever customer and now I have to take my loyalty and...