El Puerto Mexican & Seafood — Restaurant in Carlsbad

Extremely Disappointing Catering Experience

I've been a loyal customer of this place for over 8 years, primarily for their delicious street tacos. So, when my husband and I decided to use their catering service for our baby shower, we were genuinely excited. We live just 5 minutes away, and the idea of having their taco tent at our event seemed like so much fun - a way to show our appreciation to our guests.

However, our excitement turned into absolute disappointment and devastation. Despite confirming the catering arrangements both in person and via text messages, they failed to show up at our baby shower. To make matters worse, I was 8 months pregnant, and we had relied entirely on them for the food, leaving us with nothing prepared.

What was even more disheartening was their complete lack of responsibility. When we reached out to them for a solution or any form of resolution, they offered nothing. The person we spoke to suggested we leave our own baby shower to pick up tacos as takeout! It took them 30 minutes to even propose this, with no offer of an extra discount, delivery, or any effort to make amends.

The situation was incredibly embarrassing, especially because we had stated on the invitations that the event would feature "El Puerto Taco Tent: Unlimited Tacos - Come Hungry." This experience has left a sour taste, and we have decided never to rely on them for catering services again. Furthermore, my husband, who often uses their services for work events, has also decided to take his business elsewhere.

I genuinely regret having to leave such a negative review for a small business, but the complete lack of effort to rectify the situation left me with no choice. I hope this review serves as a warning to others. No one should have to go through such an unfortunate experience, and I hope the business takes this as an opportunity to improve their customer service.

After taking an hour and a half away from my baby shower to make other arrangements LOURDES off Carlsbad village drive pulled through and was able to make excellent food for everyone within an hour. I will be...

If I could rate this place zero stars I would. We brought our parents here, who are both elderly might I add, to get a bite to eat and a drink due to the reviews being semi decent. Our mom was overheating as it was almost 90 degrees and humid outside so my husband pulled out a chair at a very long bar of about 9 chairs so she could rest while we stood in line to order. She took a seat as we went to stand in line when we heard a man's voice yelling that she couldn't sit there. Confused we turned and told him that we were in line and that we are paying customers waiting to purchase food. Thinking it was probably a misunderstanding. BOY WERE WE WRONG this large man got more aggressive and very rudely said "you can't sit here until you buy your food. We tried to explain that it was just our mother and she has a heart condition but do you think he cared. He continued to yell "well the people in line before you might want to sit here" so my husband got mad and tried to reiterate that our mom has a heart condition and this large angry man just kept yelling the same thing. DO NOT COME HERE If you or your family are elderly and need to have a seat while ordering food. To have this large man and some lady not knowing the issue run out after us yelling was insane!! WORST customer service we have EVER...

Plentiful Mexican bites abound, including carne asada fries, menudo, and drinks like micheladas and horchata. There’s a small parking lot, credit cards are accepted, and they have indoor dining (not outdoor options) as well as takeout available during covid. Came here on a Sunday around 1pm and there was no wait. Some people did come in and out for takeout orders, but as a whole, the place was pretty relaxed. There’s a bathroom but it’s only available to wash your hands. There’s also a large screen TV that was playing soccer in the background.

Food-wise, the carne asada fries were a bit smaller than I expected, but still good for two people to split. They put a lot of sour cream on it as an FYI. I’d recommend putting the green salsa provided for more flavor/spice. The burritos come with rice and beans, and I did like the adobada meat (the red salsa goes well with this one). Keep in mind the red salsa is also the spicier salsa, for those who are a bit more sensitive to eat. For the menudo, you have the option for corn or flour tortillas, and it’s a good serving size...