El Rincon — Restaurant in Castroville

Stopped this morning to get tacos from the drive thru. After about a 30 min wait, I finally got my tacos and headed home. Went to pickup my bag of tacos and there was a huge amount of grease leaking from the paper bag and onto my car seats. Upon further inspection, there was as excessive grease due to the incorrect order that I was given. Apparently it was someone else’s entire order according to Luis who answered the phone. He said he had my order still and to bring back the food to swap out. I asked if they would be kept warm and he said yes. This was already an inconvenience because I don’t live in Castroville, I live about 15 minutes from the restaurant. When I get in, I speak with the manager Hugo and tell him about the inconvenience and about the huge grease stain on my car seat. He says I’m sorry do you want me to make a fresh order? I tell him I just want the tacos that were already made and my money back. I told him I couldn’t even confirm that I paid the correct amount because I wasn’t given a receipt. He focused on this and went through two different computers to tell me that I had correctly been charged and that it was just a mixup of the orders handed out. Luis and the girl working the drive thru appear to back this up. I tell him I understand but that it’s been a huge inconvenience of my time and future time to clean my seats due to this error. He walks back to the kitchen and doesn’t reappear for several minutes. I catch Luis’s attention again and ask what was going on and he says that Hugo is remaking my order fresh. I’m very frustrated at this because it is not what I asked for. When Hugo comes back out with the order I tell him he did not listen to my needs and that it was not acceptable. He tried to argue with me that the fresh food is what I wanted and I told him that I wanted the food I paid for and to be compensated for the inconvenience. He was actually arguing and trying to speak over me in front of his employees who had gathered to watch and customers who were waiting to pay. After seeing that I was not backing down, he opened the register, pulled out a $20 bill (which did not cover the cost of my order), and slapped it on the counter and said “Here, I hope you’re happy!” I was not happy, I was extremely disappointed with how the whole ordeal was handled. I confirmed his name, took the money and tacos and left because I was livid with the way I was treated. He was extremely unprofessional and his staff’s incompetence is likely a direct result of his poor management. The food we received that was fresh tasted awful. The beans were sour and had gritty, undercooked pieces in them. Keep in mind that I ate at El Rincon three days prior with the same order and it was superb. I won’t be back again and I hope no other patrons experience anything close to the embarrassment that I did. I hope the owners see this and take action...

5* all around for this wonderful restaurant. All the staff is friendly and professional. Even when they are swamped and tables are full, they still tend to each of their tables and are always happy to help with whatever you need. Tables are generally bussed very quickly, and the greetings are always warm and inviting. My family and I enjoy this restaurant greatly, and it is an amazing feeling to have staff remember what we like in the way of drinks and add-ons for food. Seating is comfortable and can accommodate your needs as there are several tables and several booths. Picking up food in drive through can take a really long time, but considering that food is made fresh and a lot of people order their meals at the order microphone instead of calling an order in ahead, the wait times are not unreasonable. Especially during peak times. Being where it is located, parking can be a bit of an issue, especially if you prefer to park in the front. But I've not ever had a problem as they do have extra parking...

We went in to eat after a rosary service in San Antonio and we should have left! The restaurant was dirty the tables were full of dishes and the waitresses were so loud laughing at who knows what!! Finally one of them comes over to seat us and takes our order. I got a Gordita with Asada meat. When I got the Gordita it was SO TINY AND FILLED WITH BEANS!!! Really?? I have NEVER had a Gordita with beans and so I knew exactly what was happening. They are cutting corners on the meat!!! I called to complain and the manager was like the building is old and the Gordita’s do come with beans and he will make sure the menus have that stated on the menu, SURE THEY Will! There is another establishment in Castroville called the PORTAL and they are way BETTER!! I told him maybe you should go see what your family is doing over there. THIS PLACE IS A DISASTER go...