El Cayo Restaurant — Restaurant in Fajardo

I loved my food but dining here was a terrible experience! It was all outdoor seating and there was a bar. We sat down by the ocean and it was all great at first and I was excited to have a nice birthday dinner. There were ravens nearby our table. I had to clean off some bird poo right next to our table, no big deal. As I threw the tissue with said poo away at the garbage can, I noticed a lot of flies there, a hint of things to come. Appetizers appeared and ravens started coming close to us for crumbs. They were not too bad, and would run away when shooed. But still, somewhat distracting our relaxation. The main dishes came. They looked great and we start eating, it's delicious... and flies showed up. I've never seen flies going after hot fresh food like this. I looked like a crazy person shooing them non stop. LOL They also went after the cherry on the pina colada. They were especially interested in the pork chop. It was not 1-3 flies it was like 5-8 😳 so we asked the waitress if we can move to another table where there will be less flies? She said to be honest it would just be the same!! Ok so I asked for boxes and packed the food away. The mood was totally ruined. We ordered cake for birthday and at least they had a candle. Then we were beset by mosquitoes!! They started feasting on our legs!! Again we had to fight for our lives... We only ate 2 bites before packing the cake too and leaving with like 6-7 boxes. As we leave we see a big bottle of bug spray that was not offered to us. Don't dine in unless you want to battle the forces of nature in Puerto Rico!!!

Pest issue needs to be looked at or indoor seating offered!

Service: Waitress was good at first with explaining the menu, but after taking our orders she just stood at the counter with her back towards us and I had to literally hold my arm up for minutes before one of her coworkers would tell her to come over. I had to do this like 4 times to ask for help. Keep in mind we were the only 2-3 tables in the whole restaurant and she was not busy at all. Terrible service for the price tag.

Food: Mostly tasty and presented beautifully. Empanadas were supposedly delicious. Queso frita (fried cheese) appetizer is just ok. The tostones were plantain cups with chicken and they were pretty hard and dry and not the best. The risotto I ordered with red snapper was delicious! Would actually go back here for the risotto! The pork chop was gigantic and I was told it's not salty enough. The grilled chicken was too salty or saucy.

Environment: Very nice AC and perfumed bathroom. Outdoor seating overlooking ocean with occasional breeze, may be subject to pests. Nice Christmas...

I'm writing this review with the intention of providing help to the El Cayo management.

We arrived at 12:15pm. We were seated at 12:18pm. Our waiter took our orders at 12:30pm. Drinks arrived at 12:45pm. Our area was completely empty, we were the only ones in the front area.

Our appetizers arrived at 12:52pm. The area where we were seated slowly was being occupied by other clients. At 1:20pm all the tables in our area were full. At 1:50pm people that came way after us were eating their main course.

At 2:00pm I went directly to our waiter, asking if our food was coming out. The waiter answered "I have to check" and kept on walking without making eye contact. At 2:10pm we talked with our waiter, and with attitude answered, "I been to your table like about 7 times", which isn't correct. The waiter served us our appetizers at 12:52pm and never came back.

At this point, our waiter and another waiter tried to justify their poor client service, but sadly their arguments fell short of the truth. In a matter of minutes, our food came out of the kitchen, this was at 2:20pm.

Our waiter told me that the tickets had to follow the order in which they are received. I answered, "exactly", we were the only ones here and our order was taken by you at 12:30pm. The waiter stopped talking, because no more justification could ammend this unpleasant client service experience.

We promptly ate our food, which was ok, 2.5 out of 5, we paid and left at 2:40pm. At any moment was there a "I'm sorry", "Please forgive us", "Please return and this situation will not be repeated". They just didn't care. The waiter never took care of us.

This was an experience that I was not going to write, but as I said in the beginning, my intentions is to help the El Cayo management so they can strenghten their weakness and improve their employee's roles and duties, so they can provide an excellent and professional...

I recently visited "El Cayo Restaurant" and unfortunately, my experience left much to be desired. From the moment we arrived, it was clear that the service was not going to be good. We had to endure an agonizing wait of an hour and a half just for our food to arrive, which was completely unacceptable. When the food finally arrived, our disappointment grew even further. The Mahi mahi with coconut "arepas" was served cold, completely ruining the flavors and textures. Another fish dish accompanied by rice and beans was marred by overly salty beans, making it a struggle to enjoy the meal. Additionally, the "Carrucho" (Conch meat) Salad was lacking the freshness and flavor one would expect. The dissatisfaction didn't end with the food; the service continued to disappoint. Upon receiving the bill, we were shocked to find that we were given the receipt from another table, one that was twice as expensive as our own. To add insult to injury, the staff had already included an 18% gratuity on the bill without our consent. Realizing the mistake, we promptly approached the cashier to rectify the situation. However, instead of offering a swift resolution, it turned into a full-blown ordeal. After much back-and-forth, the staff reluctantly agreed to refund the other table's receipt, but not without tipping themselves 18% once again without seeking our permission. This repeated occurrence of tipping without consent was truly unprofessional and left a bitter taste in our mouths. All in all, "El Cayo Restaurant" delivered a disappointing experience with both its service and food. Considering the high prices charged, I cannot recommend this establishment. The prolonged wait time, cold food, excessively salty beans, and mishandling of the bill were all major letdowns. Save yourself the trouble and seek dining...