El Cazador Mexican Restaurant — Restaurant in Cleveland

El Cazador, an unassuming Mexican restaurant, beckons passersby with its seemingly bustling atmosphere and constantly overflowing parking lot. Over the years, I had frequently noticed this establishment but refrained from stepping foot inside due to the overwhelming number of parked cars, which left me pondering whether it boasted exceptional cuisine or affordable prices, if not both. Recently, however, I seized the opportunity to dine at El Cazador, only to discover that the wait was hardly justified. My firsthand experience shed light on the reason behind the consistently occupied parking lot—an agonizingly slow service that effectively entangled patrons within its walls.

Housed within a renovated former Long John Silver's building, El Cazador is lamentably cramped. While several hosts were dutifully attempting to seat guests, a single server bore the burden of attending to the entire establishment. It took a staggering 15 minutes for our server to acknowledge our presence and procure our drink order, setting an inauspicious tone for the meal ahead. Regrettably, it then required over 40 minutes to receive our food, despite the fact that there were only two of us and our order was uncomplicated. Throughout this ordeal, my drink remained empty, an ongoing testament to the server's inability to keep pace with the swarming masses. Astonishingly, despite the presence of half a dozen other employees who seemed content to merely observe, none offered their assistance to the beleaguered guests. Even my attempt to solicit the aid of one of the busboys in replenishing my drink proved futile.

Upon finally receiving my meal, I was met with a disheartening reality—cold, insipid fare that failed to justify the agonizing 40+ minute wait or the $14 price tag for just my plate. Satiated by the obligatory chips and salsa that I had reluctantly consumed durning the time I was trapped there waiting for my food, I found myself reluctantly abandoning the desiccated pollo loco that adorned my plate, its potential for gustatory delight unrealized.

To compound my frustrations, I was then compelled to endure an additional 15 to 20 minutes in a desperate pursuit of our elusive server, all for the purpose of settling the bill.

Ultimately, the apprehension and unease that accompanied nearly two hours of my time spent at El Cazador dissuade any possibility of a return visit. When considering the underwhelming and frigid culinary experience, the notion of revisiting this establishment becomes even less appealing. With sincere doubt, I conclude that I will most likely not be gracing the doors of El...

What a strange place. It was full and bustling, but we were seated in a timely manner. The place had a strong smell of chemical air fresheners when walking in, from the bathrooms right by the door, and of chemicals used to clean the tables. At least we were seated all the way at the back so I couldn’t smell them from there.

The bathrooms were not clean, and as I mentioned before, smelled strongly of air freshener (it really ruins my appetite).

The menu handed to me was disgusting with gooy greasy drips on each page (i had to go to the restroom to wash my hands!)

We order in a timely manner but our food came out almost too fast-like literally 5 minutes, we didn’t even finish bleeding the chips and guacamole in front of us before our dinner plates arrived.

The food was interesting. The fillings were tasty. My spouse ordered quesadillas…but it came out like a steak taco with some cheese on it. I had a combo with a taco, chalupa, and tamale. The chicken taco I liked the taste, but it was reminiscent of chicken noodle soup, and I didn’t see cheese on it. The tamale had a good amount of corn to filling and decent taste-though more middle of the road rather than like a great tamale-the ends were a little hardened, but the middle was nice. The chalupa looked like a salad on my plate, I could not see the shell. It was very messy and difficult to eat. I didn’t realize it would be full of beans.

So, the chalupa and quesadilla were kinda or recognizable as such, very restaurant specific items apparently.

The tables had LOTS of adverts under glass. It was very jumbled and distracting from the meal. The other decor was bright and appropriate, but with all the people coming and going and gabbing and then the adverts on the table and the weird smells, it was just not getting me excited about our food.

The chips were ok, even good. I used them to eat most of the filling in my meal. The salsa and guacamole I found a bit salty but my husband liked and he is picky.

We were in and out very quick with warm dinner and enough to fill us. The price wasn’t high. I wouldn’t go back unless they stop cleaning with smelly chemicals and get rid of the air fresheners in the bathrooms…and get the place to feel cleaner, but smell more...

Really upset that I have to write this because I have loved this place for the past two years but this past Mother’s Day, I took my mom here because it’s one of our favorite places in town. The waitress ignored us right off the bat and helped the other couple that came in 5 minutes after us. I asked her if it would be okay to sit anywhere because their sign says to “please wait to be seated” so we weren’t sure to sit ourselves or to wait. She said yes so we went to sit on the patio. She finally brought our menus and when the food came out she just put the plates down on our table and walked away. Didn’t even ask if we needed anything else, just gave us the complete cold shoulder. She never came back to check on us, refill drinks or anything. I had to get up to go ask for more chips and salsa and a menu (we were going to do a desert). She brought out more salsa finally but no chips so I then again had to get up and go ask for more chips. Finally got our desert and I told her the bill would be separate. She never came back out so we went up to pay. She was just sitting around with other workers and of course rang up the whole ticket as one. She was absolutely terrible and we were so excited to go here for Mother’s Day. We should have gone to our other favorite Mexican place down the road. We will definitely not be coming back after being...