Aquino's Birrieria & Brunch — Restaurant in Pacific Grove

Aquino's is clearly located in the bones of a Chinese restaurant past. Conceptually, it's actually pretty fun. But there is no real attempt at integration -- in fact, the whole place feels a little uncomfortable in its own skin, like a hermit crab squatting in a shell that's much too large for it. The walls are white and undecorated except for a few (admittedly cute) murals, contrasting with the array of colorful tablecloths that inhabit the dining hall. I'm willing to chalk this up to a recent move-in, and hopefully morale will improve. But generally I try not to weigh atmosphere too highly in my reviews, so let's discuss the food. I thought it appropriate to try the birria burrito given this is a birrieria, also also ordered a chicken adobo taco. The taco was quite nice; the chicken was well-spiced and moister than I am used to in chicken tacos. But considering the 3.25$ price tag I was expecting a bit more. What I got is closer to the 2.50$ street tacos that one can find almost anywhere. The birria burrito was also enjoyable. I don't claim to be an expert on birria (I've scarcely tried it, really) but the meat was pleasantly succulent and not oily. The burrito itself was somewhat greasy but within reason. However the consommé was shockingly flavorless. I expected a bit of a kick from the bright red soup but felt... nothing. Ultimately, I wouldn't call the food bad or even mediocre -- it was genuinely good! -- but in a place where competition for good Mexican food is so stiff it's hard to say I would directly recommend Aquino's. It's the type of place I would stop by if I was driving through and was quickly scanning the map for a place to eat. I do think there is easy room for improvement though. It would feel much more comfortable in a smaller location. There were also some eyerolling Cheetos-based menu items, including a bowl of instant ramen. I guess if the Tik Tok marketing pays off I wouldn't blame them. Simplifying the menu and not trying so hard would...

Plastic (pictured) in one of my birria tacos. Smaller piece of plastic (not pictured, but size of the plastic tags when you cut it off from new clothes) in my friend’s al pastor taco. No plastic in any of the carne asada tacos, yay.

We ate all our tacos despite the plastic. Quality was OK, but definitely expected more [quantity or quality] for the price. Agree with another reviewer’s opinion that this is what I expect from a $2.50 street taco.

Even if atmosphere was 5 stars, I would still rate this as a 3-star place because of service and food.

It wasn’t busy, but the person taking our orders seemed to be very inattentive. And the qty of the tacos were a bit mixed up, but that wasn’t a big deal either.

When an employee checked to see if everything was OK, we told him about the pieces of plastic in our tacos. We didn’t ask for a refund; we told him it’s so that whoever made the tacos can keep an eye out for the future. He thanked us and probably made a small apology and gave an unconvincing statement that he would let someone know. He offered no discount and we were not reassured that he cared much about the complaint nor about trying to make sure it doesn’t happen in the future.

EDIT: Changed to 1 star because of the owner’s response on Google Maps where they insist there is no plastic of this type in this restaurant. So what—my friend and I just performed magic and produced MACROPLASTICS in our mouths? lol, OK, buddy. Also, please read what I wrote. I wrote this is what I expect from a $2.50 spot. I KNOW the tacos are priced at $3.50 which is why I expected more.

P.S. - I am surprised the owner didn’t reply to the reviewer who provided a picture of hair in their drink. I bet the owner would say their cooks don’t even have hair that...

Formerly a Chinese restaurant, the decor has not been updated to reflect the new cuisine. This is basically a take-out restaurant that grudgingly accepts a few dine-in customers. All orders are placed at the counter in the front of the restaurant.

Service is almost non-existent: the staff sitting behind the counter only get off their chairs to get your food from the kitchen and plop it down on the table. They never check back to see if the food is OK or if you need anything (silverware? napkins? salsa?)

Speaking of salsa, the default is a watery green tomatillo salsa that comes with chips (extra charge for the chips). When we asked for red salsa, we were told that it was available (again, for an extra charge.) Somehow, a small container of red salsa managed to find its way onto one of our plates. The red salsa was watery and devoid of any flavor and I would not pay extra for more of this.

We ordered a carne asada super burrito, a breakfast burrito and a veggie taco. The super burrito was bland and somewhat burned. The breakfast burrito was unpleasantly hot due to the addition of jalapeno peppers that had their seeds intact -- so hot that my kid only had two bites and called it quits. The veggie taco was disappointing, having almost no veggies besides lettuce and a bit of pico de gallo.

While we were eating, several customers came in to pick up their takeout orders, so maybe there are people that like the food at Aquino's. I am not one of them, though. There's a Mountain Mike's pizza and a Michaels Grill & Taqueria in the same shopping center, both of which offer much better service and...