El Tapatio Family Mexican Restaurant — Restaurant in Rainier

Met a friend for lunch there and sat by the window. Nice view over the patio and the river. I had been once last summer for chips and salsa and a margarita on the patio and it fit the bill perfectly that afternoon. I’m frequently disappointed by Mexican food, usually it’s all cheese and beans, flour tortillas and frankly, tasteless. Not so here. I had the chicken mole and my friend had the arroz con pollo (hold the cheese) on the rice. While we waited on our food, some nice salsa and chips were brought to the table with our waters, and our waiter brought out some very flavorful ,spicy green salsa when we inquired about something with a bit more of a kick. Our meals soon followed arriving piping hot. The mole was slightly sweet, but had good spicy hints and was very smooth. The arroz con pollo had a buttery tomato sauce that went really well with the Spanish style rice it came with. Both were served with corn tortillas that were excellent! Not dry nor musty tasting. It was more food than either of us could eat but we are glad to have leftovers in the fridge. Will definitely be back to try more...

My husband, uncle and I came for dinner tonight and we didn't have a good experience with our dinner. My husband said his birria tacos were good, but he didn't get any of the sauce that you dip them in, or any eating utensils, and my shrimp fajitas came loaded with broccoli, carrots and huge chunks of cauliflower, and over cooked shrimp. The menu didn't state what was in it under the name and price, but above it stated that the fajitas came with your choice of meat, bell pepper and onions(which is what I expected). I didn't like the fajitas I ordered and nobody came to our table to check on us, so I couldn't tell anyone, and I wasn't at the table when the food was brought. When my husband went to pay, he told them that my food was not what I expected and that I didn't like it, but they said that I would have had to say something right away, or they couldn't do anything about it. I just expected it to come how it says, with bell pepper and onions. It was a $25 meal and I only ate beans and rice for dinner....

Outstanding Service, all staff members check on you * on that, menu and flavors, a bit flat, but on par for attempting to satisfy every Customer, table salsa, basic and less then medium heat, again trying to please the masses, I got a combo and on this night all was well except the chili rellenio witch was the size of a large jalapeno not a proper problano or Anaheim, and again as with ALL other American style Mexican restaurants skimpy on beans and rice which completely escapes my understanding of food costs. I spent a $20 spot on the 3 option combo and tip and almost licked the plate. For that base price at least serve enough to let me leave a fork load on the plate when I am done. Upside, sweet view, epic customer service, note to kitchen: show us your culture, not taco Bell'esque bland flavors. At this place, I would absolutely LOVE to be there for staff meals, I assure you, that will be the real deal. Ramp up the flavor...