Blanco Cocina + Cantina — Restaurant in Phoenix

For a Thursday night at 7pm wait was over 30 minutes for a table for 2. We opted to sit in the bar because we were hungry. There were tons of tables in the bar, indoors and outdoors, but apparently you needed the hostess to seat you there?? But hostess said there is nothing open…hmmm strange

So bar tender immediately comes over trying to rush an order, we’re not ready, then we can’t get her or any other bartenders attention for 15 minutes. The bar is WAY TOO LOUD for 7pm, I’m straining to hear my friend talk. Bar tenders keep avoiding eye contact.

Finally we order, watermelon smash margarita which is good, but on the weaker side.

Food comes, I got the “el jefe” which is supposed to be a mahi mahi taco and carne asada burrito. It’s not mentioned on the menu that this burrito is enchilada style, so it arrives covered in cheese, not what I expected or wanted but I don’t send food back so I deal with it. The carne asada itself has a weird flavor, tastes more like machaca or something, and the meat is cut in big cubes where they should be much smaller. Meat was was overcooked, chewy and not tender. The mahi mahi taco fell apart as soon as I picked it up, should have had 2 tortillas. It also lacked flavor, just tasted blackened but the slaw and chipotle crema had no flavor I could discern. I would have liked more salsa with my food but nobody ever checked on us after that so I had no one to ask.

I’ve been to blanco many times before and had higher expectations. The rice and beans was the best part of the meal.

$52 for a mediocre taco that fell apart, a chewy carne asada burrito burrito, and a weak cocktail … never had my water glass filled… couldn’t get...

My wife and I were so happy to see so many interesting restaurants popping up at the old PV Mall area. We stopped in here a month ago for appetizers and drinks and had a nice time. We decided to come back and try lunch. She ordered the green chili burger. It wasn’t good- the sauce was sweet and cloying, no brightness on it at all and couldn’t taste any green chilis either. I order the $24 Tucson Chimichanga with beef machaca. Yes, $24 for a burrito… it looked great but one you cut inside there was not beef to be found… seriously! It had this weird, odd textured cheese, some huge onions and a couple pieces of chili pepper. $24 and no beef? It was a like thick diarrhea inside, strangest thing I’ve ever been served. Chimichangas are such an easy, simple thing to make, to mess it up you have to be an idiot! Wrap meat (a lot of it for $24) in a tortilla, deep fry, cover with sauce, cheese, sour cream etc. Don’t put a bunch of stupid stuff inside! Why wouldn’t they follow this simple formula? Probably because their diarrhea cheese mixture saves them a ton of money. Mexican food is hard to mess up yet this place seems to only care about how fancy it looks, and how over priced it is. Luckily our server was nice but thought whatever was inside was fine. I’m not a picky eater, trust me. We will never return again, this is just too stupid of a mistake. When you open a restaurant folks remember the most important part is the FOOD. Any counter serve Mexican in the area blows this joke of a place away. I am offended you think people are stupid enough to keep you in business. Reevaluate your food, and now, or I’ll soon be eating in a better place...

Edit: the manager invited us back for a covered dinner, which I appreciate as most places don't give an eff or even respond rudely. There were a lot of people working running around, however drinks took quite some time. The food came quickly but not too soon. It did seem the portion size on the tacos were larger, but take that with a grain of salt as they knew we were here off a lower review. The steak fajitas were actually very good, and if we came back that's what I would order. The old fashioned was still amazing and worth the trip alone. I did raise the rating by one star based on the experience and the care to invite us back.

Original: The physical building and atmosphere are great, and a wonderful location. The Old Fashioned Guay was a great smoked tequila old fashioned, but the food and portions were lacking for the price. The guacamole was $14, and was decent, but nothing better than normal homemade guac. The carne asada tacos had great flavor, but you only get 2 medium sized tacos for $22! The green Chile smash burger may be the best value at $17, great taste and good fries. Overall I'd come back and sit at the bar for drinks, but wouldn't recommend the food for how expensive it is with how small the portions are. Also they're still working out the service as they took 2 reminders to bring water and never refilled it, and they also brought the wrong item.

$77 before tip for guac, burger, 2 tacos, and...