El Coqui Puerto Rican Cuisine — Restaurant in Santa Rosa

WARNING THIS BUSINESS PRACTICES FALSE ADVERTISING FOR GLUTEN FREE OPTIONS. NOTHING IS GLUTEN FREE HERE (VEGANS BEWARE.)

Came here from my hotel on 8/27/2021 after searching for places online that have gluten free options listed on their menu.

This business advertises on their menu, at the top:

"Gluten Friendly Menu--all of our Entrees and Appetizers are Gluten Free with the exception of the Empanadas and Bacalaitos (Cod Fish Fritter). There is no Gluten used in our Rice, Beans, fried Plantains, or meat. However, customers who are allergic should note that some items may have been prepared near or with some items containing Gluten and should ask their server for further details. Our rice, beans and plantains are also vegan."

I ordered the Canoa con Carne Molida $17.95

Described on the menu as: "Whole plantain stuffed with seasoned ground Angus beef and smothered in melted Monterey Jack cheese. This entree is not served with additional plantains."

I told the waitress that I have Celiac disease, so my food has to be gluten free. Usually, when gluten free food and non gluten free food is made in the same kitchen, this lets the waitress know to tell the kitchen to use a new skillet or clean off a corner of the grill and change gloves to prevent cross contamination to the best of their ability.

The waitress immediately told me that the Canoa con Carne Molida isn't gluten free. I said, "okay, then I'll have the picadillo."

Nope, according to the waitress, that wasn't gluten free either.

I said, "okay your menu says that all entrees except the empanadas and the bacalaitos are gluten free. So what on the menu is gluten free?"

She told me nothing is gluten free because every item is cooked with oil that has gluten in it, because they fry all of their empanadas and items containing wheat in the oil that they use in every dish.

The menu explicitly says, "some items may have been prepared near or with some items containing Gluten and should ask their server for further details."

That's not the same as "every single dish that is labeled as 'gluten free or wheat free' on the menu is actually made with oil that was mixed with wheat flour, rending it not gluten free."

My husband and I left the restaurant after telling the waitress that if nothing was gluten free, then we were leaving.

This restaurant needs to immediately stop falsely advertising that their foods are gluten free when they're not. People like me with Celiac disease are wasting time and money (parking / rideshare) to go to restaurants that advertise themselves as gluten-free friendly when they're not.

This restaurant could end up hurting someone who trusts that their menu is telling the truth and doesn't mention it to the waitress, because it's already labeled as gluten free.

If they're cooking their vegan items in oil that meat is also cooked in, they need to stop falsely advertising that their items are vegan.

I wouldn't be upset if they weren't gluten free and didn't advertise as gluten free. I'm angry because they are false advertising and someone could...

Taking advantage of the tall street-facing windows during the day, El Coqui is awash in sunshine which adds to the brightness of the interior walls, colored in sunset orange and ocean blue. Pictures of famous Puerto Ricans, family, the flag of Puerto Rico give you the sense of a restaurant that has a proud feeling of home.

From the appetizers to the mains, everything was full of flavor and very well made. We started with a round of appetizers -- the Bacalaito, the Empanadilla de Res, and the Isla de Puerto Rico (a sampling of Mofongo, Maduros - sweet plantains, and Tostones -  green plantains). The Bacalaito (cod fritter) was crispy and crunchy with a toothsome center. The Mofongo had added garlic that just melted in your mouth. I wanted to eat all of the perfectly dark and caramelized Maduros, but I was good and shared with the table. The Empanadillas had a perfect ratio of filling to pastry. The delicious filling of the Empanadilla -- ground beef, Puerto Rican spices, olives and a hint of raisins -- was my favorite. Our party ordered two and that was a good idea.

As the mains began to show up, the table was getting pretty full, but being the troopers that we are, we worked it out. The Chicharron de Pollo came first. Well seasoned dark meat with peppers and white rice. Next was the ample Canoa con Carne Molida. Served like a savory plantain sandwich, the filling reminded me of the empanadilla filling, but with added cheese and without the raisins.

Placed on each of the tables is a bottle of the housemade Pico de Piña. If you’re a fan of heat with flavor, then definitely try some with any of the dishes. The condiment is essentially pickled peppers, onions,and spices. It will add a kick of vinegar and heat taking any of the dishes up a notch.

Our desserts were two different kinds of flan. One was the more traditional Puerto Rican flan that had a texture similar to cheesecake. I really enjoyed the light caramel on top as it mingled with the flavor of the firm custard underneath. We definitely had no problem eating the custardy goodness of these desserts.

At El Coqui the staff is very friendly and the atmosphere has a laid back vibe. The noise level was great for talking as the music just added to the overall ambiance. Would I go back to El Coqui?...

It was my husband’s first time dining at El Coqui. We brought our infant daughter in her stroller and had a nice corner spot that tucked in the stroller. She does well in restaurants.

Our server came up to take our order. I did not have a chance to look at the drinks but my husband ordered a beer. She brought back the drink and handed it to me over the stroller. There seemed to be some intentional awkwardness in handing it over the stroller instead of putting it on the table. I asked for water which she never brought. Food for the table next to us came up before our even though we ordered 10 minutes before them. Our server never came back, not once. Food was delivered by another server. Original sever never checked on how we were doing. We saw her serving one other table across the restaurant with a good many visits to that table. Her hospitality was wonderful when asking to upsell on desert.

The food, overall: Salty. Presentation: Lacking. Beans spilling over the side of the teeny little plate. Dinner portion could use a larger platter. It was difficult to cut my pork chop without displacing other portions of my food off the plate. The pork chop was unnecessarily salty. The stewed beans were so disappointed compared to the very popular Puerto Rican restaurant in San Rafael. The rice is also very salty with an abundance of capers. My husband liked the chicken thighs. The avocado salad was a slice of avocado and way more raw onion than anybody would know what to do with. Bottom line was that we felt less than welcome and the...