El Loro — Restaurant in Clear Lake

Working in town & staying just down the street. I’ve visited 3 times. Here are my 3 experiences take it how you want it. 1st time was later in the evening. The visit & food were very good. 2nd visit I walked in to order food to go. At first the host didn’t want to sell me a beer while I waited for my food because they can’t do that in Minnesota. He reluctantly gave me a beer after I explained to him we were currently both standing in the state of Iowa. By the time I got my food the gentleman at the bar who was there when I walked in had ordered his food after I ordered mine, had it served, gave it back because something was wrong, got his food back, ate, had his left overs boxed, asked for his check, paid, & was walking out the door when I got my order. I had to ask a waitress where my order was. There were 2 other people in the restaurant. When I got to my room they forgot half my order. I called & was told to come back if I wanted the rest of my food. I didn’t call to get anything for free or complain I just wanted them to know how my experience was there. 3rd time I visited (my bad I like Mexican & it’s literally 1/2 a block away & isn’t fast food) I again ordered to go. Got a beer no hassle but when I got back to my hotel my order was again missing food. I guess it’s my fault for not checking my order before I left. Called & was offered a free beer & my beans/ rice for the mistake. I appreciate the offer but I’d rather just have my order right. I guess next time I crave Mexican in Clear Lake I’ll just go around the corner to Taco Bell. As of now they’ve got me for about $10 of food I ordered & didn’t receive. It’s a shame because the food is pretty good....

No! No! No! 9pm Fri. Seated right away, as we (2) were the only other customers beside a group of 8, who was already seated. Waters, chips, salsa, and a weird ranch sauce came to the table immediately. Two women came to take our order, which seemed odd. We shrugged it off since neither was writing anything down, thinking one was going to remind the other one back in the kitchen of what we ordered. That turned out not to be the case. Must not have worked out for the group of 8, either. Practically every one of their plates and orders were messed up and mixed up. My order of three crunchy tacos came out as 3 soft shell tacos, individualy wrapped in tinfoil. My husband started in on his single enchilada. Blech!!! Cold as ice and that was not enchilada sauce. Not even close. One of the women brought out my crunchy tacos and we had to ask her to just take the enchilada away, stating how terrible it was. The tacos were even worse! The shells were crunchy, alright.....hard as rocks. The ground beef was mush meat, barely perceptible as a meat product. Perhaps that's why each taco was loaded with sour cream to cover the awful "ground beef". My husband and I each took a bite, and that was more than we could stand. We let the woman know the tacos were inedible and to take them back, as well. She acted like this must happen often. No biggie deal, took up the plates and said ok, like she knew we weren't going to like their food to start with. We offered to pay for the chips and salsa but the host said it was fine. Seems like they're used to people leaving...

HIDDEN GEM ALERT! This place was delicious. My wife had the Fajitas Tropical, I had the Mahi Mahi Fish Tacos, and our 2 year old had a taco. We started off our meal with chips -n- salsa and quickly added some Queso Dip. The salsa was tangy, bright and refreshing while the Queso Dip was savory and creamy with a hint of spiciness. Also, they use a quality chip. First, the Fajitas Tropical was what my wife ordered. I tasted it and I thought it was good. I could definitely taste the pineapple in the dish. I did think that it could have been warmer and more flavorful, but it wasn’t bad. My fish tacos, however...Wow! Each taco is about a 3-biter and I really recommend the Salsa Más Picante (super spicy salsa) to put on top. My plate was complete with 3 tacos and lime slices for squeezing. Do yourself a favor, squeeze the lime onto your taco. The Fried Ice Cream dessert was basic, but good. I personally love hard-packed and hard-frozen ice cream and this dessert delivered the goods. I did not use the restroom facilities, so I am unable to report about those. The wait staff were both friendly and timely. I barely had my lemonade gone when they were bringing another. So, here’s the breakdown: The taste of my meal was phenomenal, a 10/10. The cleanliness of the restaurant was great, a 10/10. Finally, the value of the food vs. cost. I thought that the fajitas were a little pricey so I am going to give the experience an 8/10. Therefore, that’s a 28/30 = 93.33% = A. I would definitely return and plan...