Koquio — Restaurant in Duluth

TL;DR: If you value your time and want to eat in a reasonable time, do NOT order here.

Ordered 2 fajitas, 4 tacos and a guacamole (~$60). Did not get it after waiting 1 hour and 40 minutes.

Timeline (from texts): 10:26 pm - Placed order online, said it will be done at 10:39 pm

10:50 pm - Arrived at restaurant, I went up to the server station since there was no host in the front. Asked about my pickup order and was told "Hah, it won't be done for a minute. We are backed up." I was like, ok... and started waiting at the bar. Observed that the places was decently filled so I was OK with waiting a bit.

11:26 pm - After waiting 35 minutes, asked if my order was ready. They asked for my order, I showed it to them, they said OK and went to the kitchen with no further response. Observed at this point that they had ~15 people at the bar and 3 tables. I was thinking about canceling at this point but thought it would be done soon.

11:42 pm - Asked about the order again and this time, the employees in the front went back to the kitchen and packed the two fajitas. Then, was told that the tacos were not ready yet.

11:55 pm - No further updates other than the "Waiting on the tacos." I decided that I've waited too long (1hr 40min) and asked to cancel the order for a refund and left.

During my time at the restaurant, there were two other people waiting for a pickup order who've also waited 1hr+ with me, but fortunately for them, they got their orders at the end.

I am very unsure why it even took this long since there was only 3 tables with people as well as the 15ish people at the bar. The lack of response from staff was very frustrating since there was no justification for the wait. If this was a "bad day", I sincerely hope this is one of the worst ones. I will not be back to find out if this really...

I had high hopes and expectations for this place. I kept saying I hope it’s not one of those nice places who make their food sound good, but turns out to be mid. That’s exactly what happened.

First off when we got seated it was the usual how many? “2” and then it either follows with an “alright follow me, or right this way” or something along those lines. We got hit with a “Come on”, just a come on. Then we got seated with no menus and like 1 minute after sitting down a server tries to give us food that belonged to the table in front of us.

All these encounters already made it kinda meh… Our server comes and it’s her first day, but she is guided by someone. No worries, that’s fine. Tells us about the taco tuesday special which is what we were there for. Then we asked for waters to drink.

5ish mins pass we get chips and salsa and no water. Some chips were SUPER SALTY some were bland. 5 more mins and no water to wash back the super salty ones. We ask the guy server for water, he said sure no problem. Didn’t get water from him. Our server comes back and asks “would you like ice water?” We said yes.

Our tacos came out before our appetizer. The guy server said “yeah it’s in the oven right now” Okay no problem.

Tacos were SO DRY….. We got 2 pastors, 1 chicken, 1 carnitas. The chicken was crunchy, like dried out to the point they were crunchy. The tortilla was cold and dry on the edges, but also soggy lol. They weren’t enjoyable one bit.

The nachos were pretty good. Lots of beans though and lacked kimchi and meat but overall the best thing we got.

I was realllllly hoping to enjoy this place…. Sad and disappointed.

Ice cream from Sunny’s afterwards was...

Now serving brunch on Thursdays - Sunday! The chef comes from Nobu and the menu is definitely upscale Latin Asian fusion. Great vibe and decor. Bar has a great stock of bourbon and tequila. There is only one stall per restroom, which felt small for the space. The floor could use a deep clean, but they are overall clean. There is mouthwash in the restrooms which I thought was a cute detail. We had the kale bowl with shrimp and the kimchi nachos. Both were light and fresh ingredients, we didn't feel weighed down after our meal. The kale bowl was practically a kale salad with fresh queso, croutons, light lemon dressing, and a protein of your choice. Solid healthy option, but nothing to brag about. The loaded kimchi nachos were well balanced, but lacked something and I couldn't put my finger on what. Amount and cheese types were perfect, sauce was complimentary, portion for $11 was super generous. The bulgogi needed more flavor. I added some Valentina for more spice because I got more pickled than spicy on my palate, and I was looking for some heat. It was good and I would order again and maybe add some green salsa and pico to wake it up. I wanted a full on party in my mouth. It was so close.

There is a stage for a live band and a great outdoor patio. We were there during brunch on a weekday.

The ice cream shop in the back is good. Definitely homemade on-site. We got the pleasure of seeing them in action. We sampled strawberry, cookies and cream, ube, red bean, and coconut. All delicious. We purchased coconut and cookies and cream.

Definitely returning to try the tacos and brunch. Recommend you give...