Dos Santos — Restaurant in Denver

Alright, so here's the situation- Saturday night, busy restaurant, several seats open at the bar. It was close to closing time, 9:40 versus what Google maps quoted as an 11pm close. Hostess thought it was a 10pm close, so warned us that last call was in a couple of minutes at 9:45, but was willing to seat us at the bar so that we could get our orders in more quickly. Ethan, the bartender, was super welcoming, told us to take our time ordering our drinks (you grab the menu via QR code, and it is vast, not just the food options but the drinks are also numerous). I was in a hurry to get my food figured out, but my buddy was just drinking so he made hers while I tried to decide on food. I ordered 3 tacos and some nachos and the Dos Santos Mule. The mule was so good I wound up having 2, so I can definitely recommend that rocket fuel in a sundress! Strong but not a face maker, sweet but only just enough to be friendly. Just to be clear, I would order all of the items I got over and over again, they were all super delicious. The OMFG is a leaf of lettuce with all the good stuff piled on it. The tuna in all of the dishes was fresh and delicious and now that I said that once I don't have to say it again so yay. The surprise flavor was the caramelized leeks. Refreshing and salty at the same time as feeling like something healthy because they're green, but more fun. They are used minimally, so don't be afraid of them. The messiness of the OMFG tempted me to use a fork, but I was already in fun messy finger food land so I went for it. It was so light and almost airy. I didn't miss having a shell at all. Messy and delicious! The Tuna poke nachos were attacked with the tuna and jalapeños and sauce of wondrous delights! I almost ran out of chips there was so much topping, the way a true nacho should go in my book. The jalapeños are sweeter than they are spicy so don't be scared of them, they're nice. The whole thing was in my belly by then end. But I was super hungry so I would advise bringing a friend. The Blackened Mahi taco was my second favorite, the cleanest of all the dishes, yet it came with a range of flavors that come together so well with the perfectly cooked Mahi. The Blackened portion of it didn't overwhelm anything and the drizzle was yummy and complimented both the guac and the Mahi and I didn't Pico could be Caribbean but now I love it! My face off the night was the Tuna tostada. It was basically a smaller version of the poke nachos, but the switch from jalapeños to Sriracha Aioli slices it up quite a bit, but not too far. The tostada was thick enough to hold the pile of tuna and avocado and sauces without being dense. It had a crunch to it without shattering and dropping you a lap full of goo. It was glueed down to the wood plank (oh by the way all of the tacos come in a wood plank instead of plates which was cool) with guacamole which was a bit of a surprise when I went to grab it by the bottom, but messy finger are sure worth that mouthful of festivity. Just hot enough with all the creamy-cado goodness. The atmosphere in the place was lively and sinusitis rest to party. Music was a little loud, but it was late so I think they have that right lots of space inside and a big bank of tables outside with a rail to eat at or there too. Huge kudos to a fun spot...

Making reservations for my group (speaking to the general manager and an event coordinator), as well as the food, was amazing. I would give the food 5 stars. However, the waitress taking our orders had a very poor attitude and told us that they did not accept split checks. 13 people multiplied by drinks and food not being able to be split up should have been communicated when making reservations. She told me that her system "would not allow" split checks and that the owners instruct them to make one person pay for everyone for all customers that come in, but she provided split checks for the table next to us. Another waitress told me that it was how they guarantee tips for themselves, and I found that extremely disappointing and unprofessional. We would have tipped a lot more given the opportunity to pay individually, but the waitress' bad attitude mixed with this rule that we got stuck with soured the evening for my boyfriend's birthday dinner. Many people were missing their food for quite awhile after others were served. I tipped 20% for food taste alone and as a principle that I have for myself as a customer, but I would not recommend coming here unless you can afford to pay for everyone in your group, depending on whether or not they want to 'guarantee' tips for themselves. When I went up to her to pay at her system, she asked me if it was all going on one card. I asked if I had a choice and she said I did only if I wanted to split our 13 guests equally between up to 4 credit cards. That is not professional business practice, and I have never heard of a company forcing that on their customers. They have a point-of-sale system similar to what I have used at a previous place of employment (it was right behind our table), so I know that it is capable of splitting checks. The food was phenomenal and we really appreciated the birthday dessert for the birthday boy. I don't know if we will come back based on integrity of the business. I am happy to update my review if the...

Great, unique flavors, fun atmosphere, fusion-oriented.

We ordered the chicken tinga chips, chicken tinga burrito, and shrimp as well as barbacoa taco.

The chicken tinga chips were probably our favorite of the night!! Big portion for an appetizer and a lot of chicken. The real star may have been the tortilla chips, which I suspect are made in-kitchen!

Chicken tinga burrito was a smaller sized burrito than, say, Chipotle, and was underseasoned. If we had to pick one thing to forgo ordering again, it would be this one. Made great leftovers though and nothing that couldn't be fixed with some salt and chipotle mayo!

Barbacoa taco was delicious! The meat was a a bit dry and unlike a lot of fatty barbacoas, but the flavors were PHENOMENAL. Being Korean myself, I can recognize when kimchi is done right, and they know how to make a good kimchi, which can actually be very difficult. The flavors instantly reminded me of home, which I didn't expect to happen at a Mexican restaurant; perhaps Dos Santos can be billed as fusion rather than purely Mexican.

No complaints with the shrimp taco. Great habanero aioli, well-fried shrimp. Hibiscus limeade was also excellent. Wish they carried a lemonade version and queso as well!

Overall, wonderful experience at this cool, funky little spot. The food is truly fun, unique, and elevated, while the ambiance remains fun and accessible. Will definitely be back to experience the other dishes on the menu and be transported into another flavor dimension.

UPDATE: Went back and had the poke taco, boomer taco and hibiscus margarita... and OMG, makes sense that they named their poke taco "OMFG. It is, indeed, 'OMFG'-inducingly delicious!! Corny, yes. But can you expect anything else from a corn-tortilla? hehehe. Anyway, this was probably the best thing I've eaten this year! I got two!!

Boomer taco was solid, but the melted cotija, while ingenious, was a tad salty for my taste.

Hibiscus margarita was DELISH. You really can't go wrong...