El Cantarito — Restaurant in La Porte

I went to this restaurant to take my family out around 5:00 PM, since we came for a wedding. My grandmother is wheelchair bound for context. We asked the host how long it would be for a table for 6 and that one was wheelchair bound. He stated that the wait would be around 20-25 minutes. So we sat down in the rather crowded and frankly very uncomfortable waiting area and patiently waited. Around the 45 minute mark and watching everyone around us get seated, we were worried that we had been forgotten about. The host stated that “you guys are next in line” so we sat back down at the uncomfortable wooden bench. More tables got seated by people around us. So my father went to the bar and got a round of margaritas, which were nothing to write home about. After an hour of waiting… we still were not seated and as my father pointed out to me, tables that would’ve been able to seat us were taken. So my father asked one of the staff members what was up with the situation. She stated that she was the owner and was not happy with the situation either. Come to find out by the bartender that was not the owner and was the owners wife who is only a manager. We waited another 15 minutes before getting up and leaving. Setting the glasses on the host stand, and my uncle complained on the way out. The host then threw the mostly full glass of strawberry margarita that my grandmother didn’t fully drink at my uncle on his way out, getting the margarita all over the back of his coat. Yes, the host literally assaulted my uncle after discriminating against my grandmother for being wheelchair bound. The amount of illegal activities that the staff displayed were so unprofessional and absolutely disgusting. I am not sure I would eat here if I was paid and given an apology from the owner himself. They have a lot of work to do to. If you get seated in a timely manner, I hope your experience is better than ours. I wish I could’ve reviewed the food and servers but unfortunately we were never able to make it to the...

I wanted to order Mucho Mas but they were closed on Sundays. So I decided to try El Cantarito for the first time. I tried calling twice but their phone said “your call cannot be completed as dialed.” So I drove in and decided to place an order to go. When I got there there was 2 people waiting at the front counter but nobody working there. After 5 or so minutes a woman came out with a to go order, and so I said I wanted to do a to go order. First I asked her if there’s a good phone number to call in for carry out so I don’t have to drive in in person next time. I told her it sounds like their number is disconnected or something. She said she didn’t know, and I asked if there was somebody who did know. She said the manager might know the phone number to the restaurant, but they weren’t around right now. So I’m still not sure how I can ever order from them for carry out without actually driving in. The prices are high, at least double Mucho Mas. Like $14 for 3 tacos and some rice. Then in the middle of my order the lady taking the order asked one of her coworkers to take the order instead, because she had already done a bunch of orders that night. So finally I had my order in and it’ll be ready in 30 mins. They weren’t super busy either, the restaurant was maybe half full. Just overall a pretty irritating experience, so if I can go to Mucho Mas or somewhere else in the future I’ll...

Update: I regularly call in just to find that the phone lines are off the hook, for several hours at a time. I've had this happen in past at least 10 times over the years. And the phone lines will stay off the hook for hours at a time with nobody checking them. Never understood why until today. They placed me on hold... indefintely.... Being as determined for my tacos as I was, I stayed on the line for over 20 minutes. I even heard several nonchalant, casual conversations between hostess/wait staff and customers in the background so there's no reason why they couldn't stop the socializing to take a pick up order really quick. Upon finally giving up and hanging up the line on my side, I've been trying to call back for 10 minutes just to find that the line is STILL OFF THE HOOK!!!!

I love the food. I exclusively do takeout though and about 2 times per week, I’m completely unable to place an order for up to an hour due to their failure to hang up the phone properly. I just have to call and call and call and hope I get lucky and someone realizes the phone was left off the hook.

With the frequency that they make this mistake, I’ve began wondering if they even want my business. It’s incredibly disappointing, especially considering the other take out options that...