El Patron — Restaurant in City of Albany

I’m giving El Patron Mexican Grill and Cantina one whole star just for the spot it’s in. I don’t know what this building was originally meant to be, but the stained glass windows are giving a definite church vibe, while the topless ladies 1920s frescoes still up at both ends of the main dining room are more “Grand Central Station” vibes. There are plenty of existing interior Art Deco 1920s elements. It’s a REALLY NICE space. The decent sized bar is at the back of the space. The exterior has a GREAT, bright paint scheme (oranges and blues - FUN!).

Disclosure: I don’t eat beef, pork or poultry. That’s usually not a problem for me at American Mexican restaurants. These days you can pretty much always find fish options and nachos etc. When I first started reading the menu at El Patron I was worried. Pretty much everything I was seeing had chicken or pork. But this is a LARGE menu and when I slipped a few pages I found not only does El Patron have a Vegetarian menu. They even have a VEGAN menu! I was impressed.

I wanted to try as many things as possible. But the portions here are what I would describe as HUGE.

My plan was to try as many different tacos as possible. But I ordered stupidly. I’m pretty sure I could have mixed and matched more types of tacos if I had thought it out. Each “full taco order” is 3 LARGE tacos. And if you get the whole meal option it comes with a PLATTER that is half refried pinto beans and half Mexican rice (both very tasty and extremely filling).

I started with Guacamole and Bean Dip. The guacamole is made from avocado puree. I’m not a fan. I wouldn’t get it again. The Bean Dip is really Queso on top of refried beans. Which, let’s face it, is DELICIOUS.

FYI: This food is Salty. With a capital “S.” Drink your water so you can enjoy all the salt!

The first tacos I ordered were Grilled Shrimp. Honestly? They were DELICIOUS. All they had were grilled shrimp, lettuce and a little cheese. They came with spicy salsa (actually spicy…) and pico de gallo (very good). I ate the first shrimp taco plain. It was really good. Then I ate one with the pico and another with the spicy salsa. ALL DELICIOUS.

Then I ordered the Vegan Tacos. Which were even MORE filling because they are refried beans, sliced avocado, lettuce and tomatoes served with a side of the spicy salsa. Also, DELICIOUS.

I wanted to try the Vegetarian Tacos and Grilled Fish Tacos. But I couldn’t even finish what I ordered.

Excellent value...

Leaving work today I decided to take the top off the Jeep Wrangler I rented and enjoy one of the 5 days a year in Albany where the sun is out and the temperature's are tolerable. As I drove down the highway and garnered numerous stares I couldn't help but feel like a Boss. I'm sure the glances were for no other reason..... and what better way to celebrate a day of being the man then eating at El Patron. After dodging the bullet spray from the neighboring tenants I made it inside and was immediately welcomed. The queso was the same as every other Mexican restaurant this side of the Mississippi, but the salsa was actually really good!! I ordered the steak burritos covered in queso with rice and beans. The rice and black beans were the same as everywhere else but the steak burritos were really good. Absolutely packed full of tender steak!! Unfortunately there was only steak. No tomatoes, no cheese, no cilantro, no anything. But I digress. As I could see the sun starting to go down through the window and by the sirens from the ambulances constantly meandering by I knew my day of being a "Boss" had come to an end. Although I will be back for those...

Service was great. Food was delicious and flavorful, even the rice which I usually am not a fan of but ended up eating all of it. The house made salsa was very good that they brought out in the beginning when we were seated and came complimentary with chips. The blue margarita (El Patrone-a-rita) that I had was by far one of the best I have had and was authentic compared to other restaurants pathetic attempts at a margarita that always fall short and disappoint me. The tequila to house made margarita mix ratio was spot on. I have no complaints with our visit for yesterday's lunch. Everything was great! I would return and eat there again. Would have rated 5 stars except the proper place to park was confusing and I didn't see a parking lot established specifically for this business (unless it was up a side street and I overlooked it) which would help for such a busy area that has minimal availability for parking on the streets. I had to park next door in the garage's parking lot. Other than parking being an issue, everything else was great! We had a Great Authentic...