El Botanero by 100% AM — Restaurant in McAllen

We came here for Friday dinner with friends. It’s a small place, with the bar on one end, tables in the center and bucket seat benches along the opposite wall. There seemed to be an additional small space for outdoor seating that happened to be closed/empty when we went. This review is somewhat difficult to fairly complete. Did we have a great time? Yes! The servers and managers kept visiting our table for either refills or to check up on us. The place got very busy towards the latter part of the weekend evening. A large family was there celebrating someone’s birthday. The manager interacted with them and displayed interactive bday greetings on one of the many large flat screen tv that line up along the perimeter wall. That was nice and fun. Now for the food and the drinks… as soon as we got seated, we were given a small appetizer which consisted of refried beans topped with white cheese and a side of fried tortillas aka chips. The menu is vast enough, with what seems like a variety of appetizers consisted of singe serving dishes… The dishes we ordered had a touch of uniquely cute presentation from the chef. They were visually appealing, (see pictures). However, the birria my husband ordered was bland, dry and the dipping consome was tasteless. The beef in my burger was also bland. My friends ordered a sope and rib eye tacos that was thinly sliced and hovered in melted mozzarella cheese. they seemed to think it was delicious. My husband tried one of their rib eye. The taco wasn’t bad, but just as the other dishes, it lacked flavor. My conclusion, everyone’s palate is different. Now let’s move to the cocktail drinks. I ordered a baileys carajillo and a vodka with club soda. My husband ordered a mojito and a whiskey sour. My friend ordered a cucumber martini. She thought they were good. My husband and I thought our cocktails were weak. The whiskey sour was okay but the mojito tasted like 7up with extra lime and a hit of mint. My carajillo had more coffee than baileys. All in all, my three stars is a fair balance for effort, presentation, expediency, cleanliness. If you’re looking for a delicious satisfying dinner, this isn’t the place. Additionally, one of the odd things about the bar, if you want draft beer, you’ll have to order it in 32 oz. They won’t serve it in a pint. You’ll have to opt for ordering beer in bottle. If you’re looking for a club-like venue, this is the place. If you’re looking for a place for nice relaxing sit down evening dinner,...

I’ve ordered from El Botanero several times via Uber Eats, and this was my first time visiting in person. The host greeted us right away, which was nice, but after telling us we could sit anywhere, he quickly mentioned the table we chose was reserved, and we had to move. This seemed to be a pattern, as I noticed the same thing happening with other diners after us. On top of that, the host kept forgetting to bring menus to tables, constantly running back to grab them. He might have been new or just not attentive, but it definitely wasn’t the best first impression.

The space itself is nice, and we went in the afternoon when it wasn’t too loud. However, there is a DJ booth, so it seems like the place transforms into more of a party spot at night.

We ordered an appetizer, which took about 20 minutes to arrive, and surprisingly, all of our food came out at the same time, despite ordering our entrées 10-15 minutes later. The food was okay, but nothing remarkable. The flautas were served on a bed of beans, which made them soggy, and there was an overwhelming amount of shredded lettuce. The tacos al pastor are hit-or-miss—they’re great sometimes but inconsistent other times. El Botanero really needs to work on consistency in both preparation and presentation.

Overall, it’s an okay spot with potential, but there are definite areas for...

This place has everything! Saw this place advertised on instagram and decided to give them a try. From the moment we walked in, the staff was amazing. We felt very comfortable and well taken care of. Although that’s not what we were there for, this place would be great for watching a game or 3 or 9. But although they have many big screen tvs, it was not over powering and we were able to still have a conversation. We should have given the menu a look over before coming because it’s pretty expansive. While we were trying to decide, we were served some chips and salsas and a pozole that really hit the spot. The black salsa was unique and delicious. We finally decided on elotes, queso fundido, tacos al pastor, and tacos de ribeye. The elotes were great and both sets of tacos were equally delicious. The only miss was the queso. The flavor was good but the iron skillet was small and so hot that the whole bottom got burned by the time we got to the third taco. We will definitely have to return a couple of more times to try the rest...