El Comedor — Restaurant in Santa Ana

I recently called in an order for two Asada Fries and a side of fries. Unfortunately, both Asada Fries were burnt. One of them was especially concerning, as the plastic plate it was served in had become inflamed. When I picked up a fry with melted cheese, I noticed the cheese had fused with the plastic, and a piece of the plastic actually came off, leaving a visible hole. This was clearly a food safety issue.

I immediately contacted the restaurant to report the problem. The gentleman who answered the phone was polite and apologetic. He offered to remake the order, but I explained I was too far away to return at the time. I requested a refund instead, and he informed me that it could only be processed in person. I told him my husband would stop by the next day.

However, I ended up going myself. I spoke with an older gentleman, who I assume is the owner. He was dismissive from the start and claimed he was unaware of the situation. When I referenced the phone call with the staff member, he stepped away—presumably to make a call—and left me waiting without saying anything. When he returned, he said he would “let it slide” this time, but insisted that I should have brought the food back. I explained I wasn’t nearby when the issue happened and couldn’t return immediately.

He then showed me a sample plate and claimed it was normal for the container to look that way. I respectfully disagreed and expressed concern over the clear health risks of serving food on melted plastic. I mentioned that I have been a loyal customer for years and had never experienced anything like this before.

Rather than respond with professionalism, he became defensive and began raising his voice. I calmly asked him to lower his tone and explained that I understood mistakes happen—I was simply looking for a reasonable resolution. He finally issued a refund, but it was not the full amount, and there was no apology given. His approach was unnecessarily rude and confrontational, especially in contrast to the respectful customer service I received over the phone.

My husband also mentioned that the day he picked up the food, the restaurant appeared to be very busy with students from the school next door. It’s possible the food was rushed or overheated, resulting in the damaged plate. Regardless, this was a serious safety concern that should have been handled with more care and...

Okay let me give you the actual in depth look, been here many times the food is good but main reason why this place is a 1 star is because they cheat you ( not adults but kids )out of your money. I've seen this many times and it has even happened to me once before I started taking notice. This one employee in particular always does this to kids and it's starting to get on my nerves ( light skinned brown tall Mexican ) who does this all the time. All this place gets is kids so they take advantage for example a kid asked for less ice in his mocha because it was filled to the top with it but they said "sorry we can't do that" never heard that anywhere else but here also if you don't ask for a receipt then these penny pinchers will give you incorrect change on purpose ( asked for my receipt and I was missing $1 ) he said it was a mistake but clearly it wasn't. Point is whenever you make a purchase here please ask for a receipt and don't be afraid to ask for your proper change kids. As for me and my team, we will be looking...

OK, for starters like any Mexican restaurant in Santa Ana- they don't just serve Mexican cuisine. They cater to the community so, they also have cheeseburgers, candy, sodas, and they also have Mexican drinks. The food I got pretty decent and the prices are on the medium side- not too high not too low. They Have table service so that's a plus. The staff are pretty friendly and understand English as well. They even accept credit cards- that was a nice surprise. Here are the downsides- they have no restrooms, the place looks a little dirty. Not dirty like there's animals crawling all over the place and they never clean, I mean dirty as in they need an upgrade to the place because who knows how long they have been there. Condiments such as extra mustard, ketchup or mayonnaise costs you extra. So while the place does seem good to grab a bite-I recommend having the food to go. All in all not a bad...