El Pulpo Restaurant — Restaurant in Dallas

First time coming here. I came here with 5 friends for a girls night out. When we came here the place was pretty packed so I was expecting for the food here to be amazing. Unfortunately, I was very disappointed.

As soon as we sat down the waiter brought us chips, salsa, and queso. The chips were good, but they were cold. The salsa was watery and flavorless. The queso was also very disappointing especially since it was cold.

I'm not really a seafood fan so I ordered a hamburger and fries. This was a big mistake. The hamburger meat was just a frozen patty, it was dry, and it had no seasoning. The fries where also just frozen fries, but those did have a little bit of seasoning. However, that didn't do much to add flavor. Everyone else actually ordered seafood and they seemed satisfied with their orders.

The staff was really friendly, but I think the service could have been a little better. They did come by our table often, but they seemed more pre-occupied on seeing if you wanted to order anything else rather than actually checking up on you. The bathrooms are also suprisingly clean and the bathroom attendant is really friendly.

To drink I decided to try a Michelada. I personally did not like the drink just becauee I'm not really a fan of tomatos or beer. After being moved around so much a waitress offered our whole table a complimentary round of drinks. I ordered a mango margarita with chamoy and tajin. This drink was really good and quite strong. However, the drinks weren't really consistent. 3 other people also ordered the same drink and all 4 margaritas looked different. It also took a while to get our drinks, bit they were free so I'm not really complaning.

The thing I really liked about this restraunt and the real reason I think its packed is the ambiance. When we arrived there was a Paquita la Del Barrio imitator performing. They really did a great job at entertaining the crowd. Afterwards there was a Mariachi perfroming and I also really enjoyed hearing them sing.

Overall this place was kinda disappointing. I do recommend coming here for drinks and entertainment, but based on my experience I wouldn't come here...

The food and service is quite an experience. The steak was burned and overcooked and had absolutely no seasoning. With every bite, my esophagus was scarred because of how hard the burned meat was. I ordered the Steak Ranchero which was priced at $28. It came with rice that was cold and mixed with the liquid from the Pico De Gallo. The refried beans were alright. The flour tortillas you can tell they were store bought and not homemade, which is okay I suppose. The waitresses never checked up on us unless we waved for their attention, maybe they're understaffed, it is new years afterall, so I'm not upset about that. The food tho, yeah that sucked. My father in law ordered steak fajitas, and he didn't take anymore than two bites (I forced myself to eat my steak cause it was 12:30 in the morning and I was not going to wait for more food). I suppose if all you want is loud Mexican music and beer, then this is the place for you. My review is mostly towards the food. The atmosphere, was... Dirty and unappealing (dirty walls and floor). Prices are too expensive for the quality of food and atmosphere that they provide.

The tortilla chips were hard and... Stale-like. The salsa was extremely spicy and flavorless and the cheese dipping was cold and also flavorless.

This is my honest review, hopefully someone else had a better experience.

Edit: Just took a look at my mother-in-law's chicken... Holy overcooked chicken. I can probably use it as a ninja star.

I also posted a video of a cockroach on...

The safest place to go and enjoy an authentic meal, and be with family, no need to worry about some random gringos having too many margaritas and coronas, and forgetting their manners. The security person has your back, and the restaurants safety in mind. Quicker than you can say guacamole picante, the tall long hair in tactical gear will usher the poorly behaved gringos out the door. As the coronas kick in and bravado sets itself off, drunken people will be met with martial arts full contact from the well trained federalas taking no nonsense from the squad of sloshed miscreant. Clenched fists , arms, flying kicks will find their way to each person trying to test the skills of a single security guard. Don’t try and take the wrong side of the ballyhoo, you think it will somehow make a difference?, no! You will be met with no less than 2 well aimed headshots for your participation by rooting for the team of gringos. I feel safe knowing my family and friends and the staff is safe from suburban housewives and hen pecked husbands trying to act like hallmark movie hoodlums. Stay in your lane, be well behaved, drink sensible, entitlement will not be your ticket to the south of the border racism or condescension or border...