El Palmar Mexican Restaurant — Restaurant in Syracuse

I had the opportunity to order take-out from El Palmar, a Mexican restaurant located in Syracuse. Regrettably, the overall experience fell considerably short of my expectations, particularly in regard to the highly acclaimed molcajete dish, which ultimately proved to be a profound disappointment. Allow me to elaborate on the factors that have compelled me to express this unfavorable critique:

Lackluster Molcajete Dish: The molcajete dish, renowned for its prominence in Mexican cuisine, failed to meet expectations. Firstly, it lacked the crucial inclusion of salsa verde, thereby compromising its essential flavor profile. Furthermore, there was a noticeable dearth of meat within the dish, leaving us dissatisfied and raising concerns regarding the value proposition relative to the cost incurred.

Unpleasant Shrimp Encounter: To exacerbate matters, the shrimp we ordered exhibited internal impurities, tarnishing not only our appetite but also instigating apprehension concerning the establishment's adherence to proper food hygiene standards.

Watery and Peculiar-Tasting Beans: The serving of beans provided by El Palmar Mexican Restaurant was equally disheartening. The excessive liquidity and peculiar flavor rendered them less than satisfactory. This inconsistency in quality and taste further compounded the overall culinary experience.

Disproportionate Pricing and Lack of Value: El Palmar Mexican Restaurant charged an exorbitant price of $35, exclusive of taxes, for the molcajete dish that contained an insufficient quantity of food for just one person. Such a cost, considering the underwhelming and unsatisfactory nature of the experience, left us feeling disillusioned and disenchanted. The quality of the cuisine did not warrant the associated cost, resulting in a lack of commensurability between price and value.

Inadequate Customer Service: Regrettably, the conduct of the restaurant's personnel was unprofessional and deeply concerning. Not only were disrespectful comments made about my mother, but the owner also went so far as to fabricate a falsehood, claiming that we had already consumed a portion of the molcajete dish before taking a picture. Such baseless accusations and dishonesty are utterly unacceptable and further reflect unfavorably upon the establishment's customer service standards.

In conclusion, my experience with El Palmar Mexican Restaurant was profoundly disappointing, even as a native Mexican. Allocating a significant sum of $60 to an underwhelming Mexican culinary experience only served to intensify the sense of disillusionment. The failure of the restaurant to provide an authentic Mexican dining experience, coupled with the unprofessional behavior of the owner, leaves me with no desire to waste any more of my time at that establishment. Consequently, I cannot, in good conscience, recommend El Palmar Mexican Restaurant to those seeking an authentic and enjoyable dining experience, as it regrettably falls short of being a genuine Mexican...

Checked out El Palmar before the Syracuse LDS Temple Open house. We had a group of 10 & eek. We all thought this place was terrible. Our service was really bad. I felt bad for our waitress. I felt like she was the only one there working & it did get pretty busy. But I think she might have been the only one cleaning tables, greeting customers, taking orders, & cashing everyone out. So my review was based only on our experience there at the time we went. We asked initially if we could split the bill before we ordered & she said “yes but it would be split at the end of the meal” so we were like great, we all ordered. It took like 30 minutes to get any kind of water refill, which they finally ended up just bringing us a pitcher of water, which was more ideal especially for our large group. The salsa didn’t have much flavor at all, mostly just a tomato-watery taste. No one at our table really ended up eating the chips & salsa. I ordered cheese enchiladas with green sauce. It took a while for everyone to receive their food. My cousin was actually done with his meal before I received my meal. It took an additional 10 minutes for the waitress to bring me & my boyfriend silverware after we received our food. She was busy greeting other tables & taking their orders, which is great. But when you have customers waiting for silverware to eat their food & now their food is just getting cold it seems like that should have been a higher priority & all she had to do was drop it off. It was truly a mess. My boyfriend ordered the Sopes with asada. He didn’t love these. Said they just tasted like oily bread with toppings. Everyone was not super satisfied with our service & the food. We waited forever for our check & then finally went & asked. They don’t bring the bill to your table, you pay up front. When we went to pay up front & tried to split the bill, she then said she could not split the bill. Such a pain with a large group like that & trying to venmo the correct amounts. I would not...

A couple of weeks ago my wife and I had been wanting to try this place for a while — we live nearby and finally had a night free, so we stopped in around 7:50 PM. The dinner rush was clearly over, and there were plenty of open tables, so we figured we were in for a quick and easy dinner.

Nope.

One of the staff members saw us and said she’d be right with us. Then she proceeded to serve food, take an order, and sit in the back for a bit while we just stood there at the front like lost puppies. After about 10 minutes, she finally remembered we existed and sat us at a booth that hadn’t even been wiped down. She dropped the menus off at another table and asked someone else to clean ours. That person wiped the table and walked away — no menus, no silverware. So I went and grabbed the sticky menus myself and sat us down like we were in our own dining room.

The table was sticky. The menus were sticky. Honestly, everything felt like it needed a good scrub — including our hands after touching anything.

We sat for another 15 minutes before the waitress came by and asked what we’d like to drink. My wife asked for water. I asked for a soda. And then… nothing. No drinks. No chips. No salsa. No waitress. Just 20 more minutes of silence and confusion. We looked around and saw staff members’ kids hanging out in one of the back rooms. The whole vibe was just off.

After 45 minutes in the building, all we had were empty stomachs and rising blood pressure. We finally got up and left.

No idea if the food is any good — we never got that far. But I can tell you this: we won’t be back. It was dirty, disorganized, and just a weird...