El Pavo Real — Restaurant in New Orleans

I have never been embarrassed in a restaurant before until I attempted to eat here for the first time. It came recommended by a friend whom we met here for dinner. We were running late, so she got there about 45 minutes before we did to secure a table. When we walked in, she was sitting at the table with waters. Our waitress came over, and we asked for the drink menu. She brought over the menus and we started looking at the selections. She returned to ask if we were ready to order anything. When we said yes, she interjected that she had to see our proof of vaccination before taking our order. My friend, whom we met, and my mother (both 60+ years old) cannot attach their ID's to LA Wallet, so they pulled up their medical information on their hospital app. The waitress advised that their proof was not satisfactory because it was not connected to their ID's, and because their names are not immediately next to the barcode/vaccinated status, she could not verify it was theirs. The waitress basically accused them of trying to use a screen shot of someone else's barcode.

The waitress acknowledged that she felt bad for my friend to have waited for so long to only to be "kicked out" after 45 minutes. The manager did not come out to speak to us but instead "from the kitchen" decided that they could not serve our party because this restaurant apparently goes above and beyond the mandate and claimed my mom and friend's vaccination proof (from their private hospital accounts) was not good enough.

I am not judging this place's decision to enforce the mayor's mandate (although some people will make a decision on whether to eat here or not based on that fact alone). It is the way it was enforced that caused great embarrassment to my party. We go out to eat every Wednesday and have not had a problem in any other restaurant in New Orleans; however, this restaurant decided to not accept some of our proof of vaccination. Apparently they also act as medical professionals who can scrutinize personal health information.

The hypocrisy is the worst part, and I feel terrible for my friend. She sat at the table for 45 minutes waiting for us. It was not until we arrived and were ready to order before she was "carded." If the point of the restaurant's policy is to overly ensure the safety of the restaurant, then why was she not checked at the door but instead after being seated in the dining room for almost an hour? We did not make a fuss or try to argue. But we were told we were not going to be allowed to eat there, so we quietly left and went to Metairie for dinner instead (and had a great time). Needless to say, regardless of the evolution of the mandates, we will not be attempting to try this...

This is a double review, since I ate dinner here over the weekend, then Taco Tuesday for lunch. First, the dinner. It was kinda busy (Saturday evening), our server was a friendly young lady who was all smiles. We ordered drinks and appetizers.... chips and salsa are not complimentary here (gotta pay), and guacamole. The chips are fried here and delicious. The salsa is fresh, bright ingredients, with a little "bite", and you get a smooth hot sauce also. Very good. The guacamole was just ok. I had a chicken tamale also. Comes with a spicy slaw and some mole. The tamale itself is beautifully wrapped in corn husks and tied off. It's a lot of masa, and not much chicken, but still great flavor. The mole is spectacular! The spicy slaw is delicious, too. My main entree was Chicken Enchiladas, and I got rice and beans too. The enchiladas are in a guajillio sauce and Chihuahua cheese. Just short of fantastic. Ok, it's fantastic!! Comes with a small habanero carrot salsa. Hot and sweet!! The rice and beans were a disappointment. The rice is just white jasmine rice, and the beans are just black beans with minimal seasoning. I really loved the food for the most part. Our server was fantastic, and we had a great time. TACO TUESDAY LUNCH..... It was not busy at all. 3:30 on a Tuesday..Maybe two other tables of customers. It was happy hour!! Said all drinks 1/2 price. Even with so few customers, it took my server 15 minutes to come to ask if I needed a drink. I asked if the 1/2 price was for beer also. He gave me a long explanation instead of yes or no. I ordered guacamole also, since it was a half price happy hour special, and I didn't know when the server would be back. He was walking around doing things, but there was hardly anyone there. The specials board had $3.00 and $3.50 tacos and a couple of special dishes. I ordered a tamale, and was ordering a couple of tacos from the board when he told me I couldn't get THOSE tacos. It wasn't specials time?? I was going to order 3 tacos off the menu, but I was then told they are 2 to an order. I got pastor, and steak. The pastor was very good, with bits of pineapple. The steak was tender, medium rare, and very flavorful. The tortillas are made in house I believe. Thick and tasty. Both come with chopped jalapenos, 2 cubes of queso, and a great tasting salsa verde. The queso is kind of weird in cubes?? Overall the food was very good both times. The service was two extremes. Also, if the specials are only during certain times, the time should be posted...

Recently I dined at El Pavo Real which my family frequents often. Maybe 10-15 minutes after being seated, the manager walks up and makes a comment about sound. She returned about 5 minutes later and said my son needed to turn the tablet down.

I found it odd as he was so close to the tablet, he could barely hear it. So apparently, the sound was too loud. I find this odd being as though the music of the restaurant was so loud. I could barely hear the conversation at our own table. But not a big deal.

The problem with our evening was that the manager thought it would be ok to place a sizzling hot plate in front of a minor who (you guessed it) burned his hand because not only did the manager not advise us that the plate was sizzling hot, but again, thought it would be ok to place it down without warning. However, the sound of his tablet, she ensured we heard her request to turn it down.

I would recommend and wanted to report this because while I commented and informed my waitress (who will remain nameless) but was excellent and attempted to save our relationship with your establishment and recognized us as regular patrons, the manager shared no concerns for her actions.

The food is excellent, the service from the waitresses is amazing. But this particular manager should be made aware that she should use better care and pay attention to matters that are important and SAFE for the people of this community to continue visiting...