North County — Restaurant in Denver

WISH I WOULD'VE READ THE REVIEWS BEFORE...we used to frequent North County pre-COVID. It has been that long since we last ate here. We decided to dine on the patio for my birthday yesterday...what a let down. Let's start with the hostess/greeter. I called about my reservation to confirm I could request outdoor seating (there's no option on the online reservations). She said I needed to place the RSVP before she could make the note in her system. I told her I was in the process of completing it (just had to hit send or save etc.) she put me on hold but...didn't tell me she was putting me on hold. She did come back on the line several minutes later. Then we show up & she is at the welcome area, back to the door, hunched over the phone. No acknowledgement etc. She finally gets off the phone and seats us. Now, understand that none of this would've ever been mentioned if the next parts didn't happen.

We waited for a while for our server to come, in his defense maybe no one told him. In looking at the cocktail menu, they clearely had winter drinks (mistletoe something or other). I asked the server if we had an old menu. He said something to the effect of 4 GMs and 2-3 bar managers later...so I guess they gave up? Note to NC having a seasonal drink menu that's from winter in June pretty much screams - we don't care about you. Do yourself a favor and remove the seasonal beverages, it looks like you're not trying. We ordered drinks and apps. The apps (all of which were raw/cold items. Took a nice amount of time to come out but, they were good (oysters and ahi ceviche).

Then we ordered food. I'm not sure how a bacon cheeseburger can be made wrong. My son ordered it medium, it came out well done. The bacon had no flavor - no exaggeration. Also, flavorless was the chicken tortilla soup. Soup came with add ons (green onions, jalapanos, cheese, pico & cilantro. Son dumped all of the add ins to the chicken tortilla soup and it still had no flavor. They offer green chile - save your self the horror - IDK what it was but it was definitely NOT green chili. Oh and who boils beef for carne asada?

Then as others have said, a 21% service fee. The explanation is so that wages can be equitable, which I agree with 100%. But, just increase your prices, seriously.

Last, the bathroom (at least the ladies) was gross. Trash overflowing, some chemicals badly needed in there. I mean, I'm sure that's the same restroom the staff is using so, it lends itself to concerns...

So they're called North County, which I'm sure is a nod to San Diego CA. So it makes sense that the seafood items would be good...they should reconsider the rest of the menu though. And with that reconsideration, need to get a host/greeter that understands the assignment; and need someone to bust...

Well, technically 4.5 stars. They're so busy and the waiting area seats exactly 2 people on a bench, meaning you may have to stand for quite a while while waiting for a table. Standing room is extremely limited also.

On to the best part... the food. I tried these 3 [street] tacos: Ancho Chile Marinated Beef Brisket, Monkfish, and Dirty Rajas. Details can be found on their website menu. My dad had the Shrimp and Avocado Salad. My mom had the brisket taco also as well as Chicken Tinga. We all thought the food was delicious, especially me. The corn tortillas are homemade and hearty, very fresh and not too heavy. They make an excellent foundation for any of the flavor combinations. It's obvious to me the much care is taken in both designing and preparing the recipes. The ingredients compliment each other so well and have flavors that meld, pop, and amaze. The fruits and vegetables are fresh and flavorful, the meats grilled or roasted to perfection, the cheese added with just the right amount.

My parents had bottled Boylan sodas - ginger ale and root beer. My dad thought the ginger ale tasted watered down but I tried some and think it's because it doesn't have as much carbonation as other sodas. Personally I like that. I would prefer to not drink a bunch of air. I tried the Strawberry Lemonade and even it was delicious. It didn't have as much sugar as other lemonades, which was an adjustment for me, but tasted fresh and handmade by the individual glass... like a cocktail.

Overall, a great experience. If they can fix the waiting area situation, they get my 5 stars! Check out their daily specials; we went on Taco Tuesday where tacos are $1 off! Also, as mentioned earlier, they can get really busy. I highly recommend calling or using the Nowait app to get on the waitlist...

This restaurant is nearby my parents home and my family and I have actually been here several times. I want to start by saying I would have probably given 5 stars if this were the first or second time I visited. I do think their food is typically very good. The most recent time we came however was to celebrate my sons 3rd birthday 🎉 at the end of February. Unfortunately we probably got the worst service we have experienced at North County during this trip. It did look like they were understaffed as our waiter had to switch out and make drinks for other tables. Ordering took a long time, water wasn’t immediately brought to the table and the glasses and cups seemed dirty. My mother also ordered a chipotle sauce on the side for her Benedict and they still put it directly on the dish. We also waited a long time to get the check as I had time to walk my toddler all around the area before we could leave. I usually don’t ding too badly for service issues but this was a lot of things that went wrong. My review of the food was that it was mostly still pretty good. The beer battered fish taco with fruit salsa is something I get here quite often and it remains delicious. I also enjoyed a very flavorful pork taco and the sauce and accompaniments were very tasty. One thing I didn’t find worth it was the more expensive Filet Mignon taco. Unfortunately the meat was overdone and honestly I didn’t think it was a piece of filet it seemed more like regular steak to me. It wasn’t a tender juicy bite like I expected. I do know that North County can do better than what we experienced so I am giving 4 stars but our most recent visit was more like 2.5-3 stars if I am...