TOSTADAS — Restaurant in San Jose

This business follows COVID guidelines to protect their customers.

We got there about 11:30 in the morning. This was my gf and I first time being there. Appearance was clean. They already had customers inside and they were being separated by plexiglass and distance.

We decided to eat outside. The waitress was new. I would say that it is a bad combination. “first time customer”+ new waitress = sub-par experience. Not in any way am I blaming the waitress. Sometimes you can tell when you have a seasoned waitress or has really good training. It is also the reason why I gave them a three star and not two.

As we sat there, we ordered our drinks. I decided to have their “agua fresca” (fresh water) which was a mix of ingredients. Cucumber was one of them. It was refreshing and came in a glass. My gf just had water. Sometimes at the very least you want to drink water, just in case nothing can quench your thirst. Well not here the water had a taste.

The wait was long after our order was taken. We waited for over 30 minutes. It was a bit bothersome that you can hear the employees laughing, and still no food. I am not saying they should not have fun but, if that is all you are doing? As a first time customer, it left me looking up at how high other businesses have their standards for customer service. I have been to very shady hole-in-the-wall and have had best customer service, great food, and fast service.

Presentation of the food was nice. Check out the pics! Had a gourmet look to it. That’s is all I can say about that. One we got passed the presentation part the actual food was cold. This was ready for a photo shoot not for a customer. Beans tasted like the canned stuff, and were cold. Rice seemed to be microwaved, and it was cold. The chicken flautas tasted good with the cream and guacamole. It was also cold. I ordered the torta de asada. At this time in the evening I still have not brought myself to try it. Yes, I brought it home. I am old school and tortas have this bread that has two lines on it. The name of the bread is called telera. Maybe 2.5 inches high. Sliced vertically like a hot dog bread. Traditionally used, nothing like the bread in the picture. That looks more like small French bread.

This is just my experience, not every style of cooking is for everyone. The style they use is...

Excellent Mexican Restaurant with High-End Drinks and Well Presented Food offerings but with a surprisingly casual vibe and good prices. Honestly, one of the "best" Mexican restaurants in the Bay Area. Notable features are the numerous hand crafted cocktails, an intuitive menu with many selections, and both indoor and outdoor seating in a safe San Jose location. Overall, highly recommended to visit this place if you enjoy Mexican food but want a higher end experience than a taqueria. This has a more upscale feel to it if you look at the food and drinks, but feels more casual overall. Highly recommended and one of my favorites now, no lie.

[The Vibe and Location] The location here is great, super easy to find and there’s plenty of parking. No dedicated parking for the restaurant but I had no issue. The vibe is awesome, as there’s always latin music playing in the background. They have plenty of Mexican aesthetics placed around the restaurant. There’s bar seating, indoor, and outdoor seating here. On the outside it may look deceiving but once you enter - you know that this place is going to be good. The service here was great and everyone was really friendly. I didn’t feel rushed and my food came when I ordered it in a reasonable time.

[The Food and Drinks] The drinks are absolutely excellent here. Well prepared, good liquor content, and they’re presented in a way that really impresses you when they’re served. Highly recommend the Cadillac Margarita here as well as the Paloma. They weren’t filled with sugar and had the right balance of liquor and flavor. The food comes on these really cool wooden serving platters which just add to the feel of the restaurant. It was served to perfection, taste was on point, and it comes with this amazing Aoili sauce which just makes it that much better. One of the best Mexican restaurants in the entire Bay Area.

[Recommendation for Owners] Recommendation is that they change the exterior to match the amazing food and drinks. If you pass by this place, you wouldn’t think it was as good as it was (as it kind of looks like a hole in the wall taqueria, but definitely isnt!). Possibly change the signage or add some decor to the exterior to speak to the...

I want to like Tostadas, I really do. The menu is a fresh twist on both brunch and Mexican restaurants, the food is gorgeous, and the meat very well prepared. That's where the good stops.

First, some advice. Get on the Yelp waitlist before you arrive. The wait is astronomical, which is a testament to the food. This does, however, provide you with plenty of time to speak with your group (which brings me to my next point).

Second, bring earplugs. The music is so loud, the bass cranked so high, and the interior so poorly sound designed that you will not be able to speak to anyone in your group. Nonetheless you'll lose your voice because you need to yell your order to the waitstaff standing 2ft away. The staff is considerate enough to take your vocal cords into account and not come to your table. See next point.

Third, bring a snack or go nextdoor to Grocery Outlet to eat while you wait for your table. Why do so when you're going to brunch? Because it was 90 minutes from when we sat down to when we got our food. Fwiw, I rounded in favor of the restaurant. A very long time to sit and stare at your group (reminder it's so loud that you can't talk to the person next to you). A long time for your water (which didn't arrive until ~25 minutes after sitting down) not to be refilled. And a heck of a long time to not have the waitstaff stop by your table for anything other than that one time they took your order.

Once we got our food, we were very happy with it. However, we were very much not happy with the level of service. All it would have taken was for the waitress to checkin and say that the kitchen was running behind, keep our water full, respond when we tried to wave them down, and maybe, maaaaaybe, offer something to nibble on while we waited. And really we didn't actually want the latter, but as a former waitress myself, the above is the absolute minimum we would do for customers in a similar situation.

Tl:dr Food good. Prepare for a loooooooooooong wait (2.5+hrs from arrival to food on table). Don't bother expecting...