El Puerto — Restaurant in Hastings

Haven't been here for several years, not since before the remodel. I used to love it, the food was good, the portions generous, the service was excellent, and the prices were reasonable. unfortunately thats all changed now for the worse. Finally got to stop in last night after church. The place was busy which I took as a good sign but.... First problem was we were taken to a booth in back near the restrooms, this booth was so small and tight that children couldn't have sat in it. After a few minutes holding our breath wondering what to do, we simply sat at a very small table across the aisle. Moving on, opening our menus (without slapping one another in the face!) I was quite surprised to see that the prices had risen substantially from what I had remembered from our last visit. Ok I thought, gotta pay for the remodel! My wife ordered a combination of some sort and I ordered a burrito supreme. BTW the chips are now flavorless and greasy and nasty and the salsa is bland tomato puree. Our meals came out really fast... suspiciously fast. I believe they had been under a heat lamp in back just waiting. My smallish burrito was a gas-station quality thing with some unseasoned dubious quality ground beef inside and some flavorless cheese on the outside. My wife's dish was only slightly better. I know it had a chili relleno as part it and was one of the worst chili rellenos I've tried. Service was not as I had remembered either as they were inattentive and couldn't be bothered to say "thank you" apparently. We paid the check and left extremely disappointed that this once fine restaurant has degraded to this state. Unfortunate because Hastings as everyone knows doesn't have much to choose from for eat-out style dining. We will consider it a lesson learned and...

Many Friday nights throughout my childhood, my family spent time here. Vivid murals line the walls and booths surrounding this authentic Mexican cuisine. All our servers have smiled and politely taken our orders. Once upon a time I misunderstood a dish, the Whole Tilapia, and after seeing the error of my ways El Puerto let me choose a more fitting entrée at no extra charge.

The menu offers two pages full of "combination" meals without pictures for guests who have been there prior and know what they want. The rest of the menu is standard to every other sit down restaurant. Immediately after having been served drinks, tortilla chips and house-made salsa is brought to the table. El Puerto serves traditional Mexican rice, enchiladas, poblanos rellenos, burritos, etc. Glass bottles of coke and Jarrito's, the...

I wanted to like this place, I really did. It was recommended to me by a friend, so I opted to go there with my mother and sister.

I knew something was suspicious when our food came out within five minutes of us placing our orders. I ordered the lunch fajitas and one taco on the side.

First of all, the ground beef in my taco was GREY. The whole thing was flavorless as well! The “guacamole” that came with my fajitas was the farthest thing from any guacamole I’ve had before. It had the consistency of yogurt, and it tasted nothing of avocado. The beef in my fajitas was GAMEY. It tasted as if it were months old..

To top it all off, there was something white & GOOEY floating around in my iced tea. What a shame.. Hastings is limited for eats as it is, but I do not...