Mariscos El Marinero — Restaurant in San Antonio

Stopped in on 4th of July as we were limited to restaurants in the area for a weekend getaway. This was minutes away from our stay and decided to give it a try.

Quickly greeted upon entry and it was definitely a happening spot. Quickly seated and drink orders take for our party of 7.

Service definitely felt rushed but our waitress certainly seemed over extended. There was nothing great about the service - we were never checked on after our food came to the table - no drink refills or anything of that sort so we just made the best of what we ordered.

Chicken quesadillas - very well seasoned meat, a good amount of cheese, however extremely oily as oil was dripping all over with every bite. Regular fish ceviche - well seasoned, had good flavor, was a good side portion (medium), and had fresh avocado on the top. Waitress did come out with tostadas and Valentina for this dish which was great. Mixed Fajitas (beef, chicken, shrimp) - these are not traditional Tex-Mex style fajitas with sour cream, cheese, and pico to make your own tacos. This is more of mixed grilled meat with onions and peppers as well as tortillas. Meat was seasoned well and tasted great but my big complaint was for being a mariscos places, the shrimp was not cleaned. Between conversations going on my kiddos, I quickly ate one and felt the crunch grittiness and spit out the chewed up shrimp to see the black shrimp poop in my napkin. That’s when I realized none of them had been cleaned. This kind of grossed me out and I didn’t clean them out, just ate the beef and chicken on the plate. Beef torta - very well seasoned meat and fillings were ample. Margarita - very artificial/sweet tasting and not overly strong tasting.

Not bad by any means but def could have improved in a few areas and definitely coupe improve service. As we were leaving there was a singing guitar player who’d just arrived which would be great for ambiance but the place has a bit of echo and with it being busy, it was already hard to hear so adding loud live music would intensify this. Wouldn’t recommend for an intimate conversation or small kids or those...

Had the worse experience. Took a friend there that I hadn't seen in awhile since I hadn't been in awhile- I had remembered it being friendly fast and tasty. Server didn't seem to want to be there. Came to the table and without a warm greeting said " what do you want to drink" then left. Came back and asked what we wanted to eat- we were talking so hadn't t made every decision but knew the ceviche was something to start. the accidental start to respond we aren't sure yet on entree- before I could finish my sentence... but we'll have the ceviche to start, she was already walking away. Ceviche came and we were asked did you decide yet ? We ordered the family meal. Another server came to drop it off and I barely got my lemonade refill order in before she had also started walking away. Then our table was a ghost town - we didn't get any water or tea refills. Nobody came to ask if we needed anything after that. Instead we watched our waitress and other staff eat and be on their cell phones- nobody even seemed to want to he there . I had to go to the front counter to ask for Togo boxes and a refill.

It's walk up to pay but we didn't know that seeing as we were ingulfed in conversation. When we went up they just ed asked us where we were sitting and then bluntly told us the total. No " how was the meal" or " thanks for stopping by"

If I'm gonna spend $80 on lunch there , feeling welcomed would be nice let alone my business appreciated.

Menu really is limited to the same items in various ways, food was not as good as I remembered and even if it had been - it wouldn't have justified the attitude and lack of attentiveness.

No it...

This is definitely a mom and pop restaurant with mainly Spanish-speaking staff. The food is amazing! We took our foodie friends here, who cringe on eating San Antonio "non-traditional" Mexican food. They put it on their must-go to list with friends and family now. The service is good. If you can speak Spanish, it's wonderful. Otherwise, use Google and do some research to communicate and you'll be fine.

Yes, it can be LOUD at times with the Mariachi band, but that's part of the experience. The Mariachi band isn't always there. The waiting area is not existent. It's outside or 3 people max waiting inside standing. So, be prepared to wait in the heat with minimal outside benches or go when the sun sets. Don't come hangry because there may be a wait. The best time probably to go is between lunch and dinner, 2pm-5pm. I went once at 2pm and it was quiet and there were plenty of seating.

This is one of those local restaurants I don't want to share but the food and friendliness are so worth it!

Note: I've been holding off for 2 years on this review. The various times I've been, there weren't homeless people lingering around. Some of these "homeless" people may have come from working all day and this may be their go-to for cold beer and mariscos. Don't go to places to judge folks; it's a higher being's...