Encanto Cocina & Tequila Bar — Restaurant in California

I need to preface this by saying that I hate to leave negative reviews. Truly I think I've only ever written one but my experience tonight has led me to share.

My friends and I had a reservation tonight, we waited quite a while just to order drinks. It was a little busy but nothing overwhelming. We looked over the menu, asked the server about tableside guac ,jalapeño dip and the secret taco. She said she wasn't sure about the taco but we ordered the other 2 and she'd be back to let us know about the taco. She returned with drinks and let us know that 2 tables were ahead of us with guac so the wait would be 25 minutes but we could order the regular one. She then said she'd be back to check if they had it available without onions as my friend asked. She returned again and let us know they couldn't make it without onions because it was pre-made. We said skip it. She then left AGAIN without taking our order and said " I have a few things to do and then I'll be back and you can order" UMMM food service 101, we dont do that, take the order and then complete your other tasks.

They brought the jalapeno dip out and it was terrible, it tasted like jar queso from the store that had been re heated. It was awful and definitely not fresh jalapeños as described.

When she finally returned many minutes later she never let us know about the secret taco but did finally take our order. At this point we're an hour and 15 minutes in and just ordering. The food comes and it's truly the most bland tasting Mexican food ever. The Spanish rice had no flavor, it needed chicken bullion, salt, tomatoes, a tomatillo, anything! The beans needed salt, and a lot, it's like they haven't met seasoning at this restaurant. My husband ordered enchiladas and the mole sauce was so flavorless.

I just dont understand how you charge this much per plate for truly awful food. The poor chef was out of the kitchen running the food, totally confused, the server we had was completely unaware of how awful her service was. And then the manager came over to ask about it and we all just sort of said ehhh, and he said please be honest. My friend told him her cilantro rice was covered in cilantro like gigantic chunks with hardly any rice and he says, would you like me to replace it? How can I make it better? How about comp this terrible food and dont serve it to people. I don't want more of something that tastes terrible. He just walked away. He was spenind time at other tables quite a bit so I suspect others felt the same as us.

I am convinced that the people in and around EDH have never had good Mexican food for them to think this food is amazing. It isn't. The service was terrible, the food is by far subpar for charging $20-$40 per plate. The only thing positive I can say about this restaurant is that it is beautifully decorated. Oh and to make it even better, we got home and found out we were charged for the guac...

The food is gorgeously plated, tasty, and get this … reasonably priced for a sit down service. The staff are welcoming. The place is beautifully decorated. Great design aesthetics. Modern, high end resort feels.

I dropped in on a late lazy Fall Sunday afternoon and sat at an interior table with an open window view of street and shops. The Hubs ordered two crispy shell Diablo ground beef tacos (minus the crema) with beans n rice $16. He enjoyed the flavor of the meat. Not bad pricing either. I ordered pozole $18. The bowl was huge, bigger than my Charlie Brown head. It was served with tortillas and the usual condiments (chopped onions, cilantro, oregano, chilies). The flavors were mild. But I had leftovers and the next day, boy the flavors were way tastier ( spot on) with the profile. Mmm. The complementary chips and salsa were darn delicious. The chips were crisp and sturdy and held well against scooping up the salsa and bite. The salsa had great flavors and a nice thickish consistency.

The place is exuding ambiance. Modern, fresh design aesthetics that have unpretentious, upscale vibes but that’s family friendly. Yes meaning bring the kiddos, but parents still gotta parent. Vibing first date, special occasion, or another family dining outing. I was vibing all three feels on a vacation mode feel even though it was just me and the Hubs (old ball n chain for a zillion years).

Besides the interior dining area, there is an outdoor patio and an interior bar. For folks that have a difficult time or just plain don’t like walking stairs, you can park in the upper parking lot to north side of the movie theater. There is another lot as well on the south side of the theater, however the north side is closer. It will bring you to the restaurant level without having to climb the stairs from the ground level. The walk has no incline involved. Even better, I’ll save my glute workout for...

The food was underwhelming the meat was bland and under seasoned and over cooked making it tough to eat clearly these are not authentic recipies. The most applauding part of our experience was the treatment between the staff. The front of house was run by White men and women this included the hosts and the wait staff and the runners and bussers were Latino several times when when the bussers were trying to communicate with the servers there was a communication issue. In one occasion a busser was trying to tell a waiter something and the waiter literally brushed her off and turned his back to her stating to another person that he doesn’t understand that busser who was speaking English. Another instance a waitress refused to help a Latino busser while he was asking for her help in clear English. She starred at him blankly while he was burning his arm with some hot plates of food. It would be good to see the Latino staff be treated with more respect in a restaurant who’s sole purpose is to gain profit from the food from their culture seeing people get disrespected while I’m trying to enjoy my meal is off putting and as a Latina myself seeing this treatment to people of my culture is offensive...