Federales Street Tacos — Restaurant in Kent

For dinner last night we had the Build-a-Bowl with lime cilantro white rice and shrimp. Since this is so big, two of us shared one with an additional side of guacamole. For drinks we had a Tres Generaciones Añejo Tequila and a Paloma.

Although things were busy, service was very fast. We were served only a few minutes after we ordered. This is especially impressive considering that we ordered the shrimp, which is cooked to order. The staff was great - friendly, helpful, and efficient. They obviously take pride in what they are doing.

The atmosphere is comfortable but high energy - a difficult combination to achieve. The art work, including a very colorful mural, is ideal for the mood of the place. The ceiling is covered with brightly colored inverted umbrellas. The music, which is authentic, is fairly loud, but not too loud for conversation.

The selection of tequilas is very impressive. The staff is very helpful if you ask for advice on tequilas that might not be familiar to you. The Paloma was outstanding.

The quality of the food is exceptional. Although it is mostly what we in the US regard as regular traditional Mexican food, presented informally, the quality of the ingredients and the skill and care of the preparation moves it far beyond what one might expect. Notably, the shrimp, which were large and numerous - perhaps 10 in a single bowl order, although we lost count - were ideally cooked. But everything was excellent.

The prices are very reasonable, considering the exceptional quality of the food and the excellent service. The price, not including the drinks, for a filling meal for both of us was $18.

This was our second time at Federales. I am sure we will...

The food was quite good they're still in the early stages for sure. They're still obviously working the kinks out (burrito wrapping takes practice which our person still needs, so much sour cream on a street taco you can't pick it up and have to ask for a fork, etc.). But the flavor was definitely as authentic as my West Coast transplant self has had in Kent. We did have a minor issue, I brought it up to the supervisor just to make him aware and he was very attentive. All in all, I'm looking forward to going back and...

I usually love coming into the restaurant, usually come frequently, but the service that I got today definitely was not like the friendly people that usually serve me. She was unkind the entire time, acted like she was annoyed we were there, and threw the change back at me. She rushed through the process and I had to ask for several items instead of her asking what I wanted on the food. Not to mention she originally charged us for way more food than we had ordered, and acted like it...