LAS ISLAS EN PONCHOS — Restaurant in Vancouver

Somone put a lot of money into this business. The service was excellent. The atmosphere was good.

The bathroom was updated and clean. But it all crumbled down hill from there. The waitress didn't tell us that on "Fridays " after 9pm they had a live performance 15 man mariachi band. They were playing in the size of your typical mini mart sized building.

It was so loud me and my guests couldn't hear or talk to each other or communicate with our server.

We got our free chips and salsa. The salsa was very watered down. Typical. I already expected that. Nobody around here makes good salsa.

The food on their menus looked 100. We left because it was so loud from the mariachi music. It started to hurt our ears. We boxed up all our untouched food to go. And other customers were leaving as well because it was so loud. Customers inside were plugging their ears with napkins and fingers because of the loud music.

So I paid for our food. The bill was about 82 dollars for 5 orders of ceviche and drinks. I tipped because that's the kind of person I am. I know those waiters couldn't help it but just do their jobs. I wasn't going to take out my frustration on them.

At home we all un boxed our food. The food "looked" good but when we tasted it, it had absolutely no flavor. It was very very bland. And the ceviche didn't have the basic ingredients like tomatoes or avocados or cilantro. Who in 2016 doesn't put the basics in ceviche. I paid 14 dollars per order. At least they could have had the basics down. But the chef dropped the ball too.

I had to add more to it just to try and enjoy it. I wish I had tasted it at the restaurant and had them fix it. But it was too late. We all ended up throwing our food away. A couple bites into it.

My ears still hurt a couple hours later after leaving from the restaurant. I felt like I had severe noise damage to my ears for the first couple hours.

Over all this was a horrible experience. I don't recommend anyone going there. Especially on Friday evenings.

I would like my money back. This place is horrible. Save your time and money. For the price go to red lobster or Joe's crab shack.

And have...

Maybe a year ago I see this dude that goes by Mexi Papa, who is often with Mark Weins in the SW and Mexico, go to Las Islas En Ponchos and put it on YouTube. Been on my list ever since. Since then, my expectation was that I was going to be head over heels like Tears for Fears for the shrimp empanadas with queso. They were delicious, however...

I did not imagine that I was going to eat the best crab I've ever had. The patas de jaiba has this butter garlic chili...just GOTdamn ridiculously tasty sauce with sliced red onions all over the plate. When you get a good chunk of crab out of there and spoon some of that sauce and onions on it, it's just so damn satisfying. Best crab ever. Even better than BBQ versions I've had. I was so full that I only really tasted the fajitas that I got, which were absolutely awesome in their own right. I just didn't have enough room and my wife also loves fajitas so that was a good take home anyway. The michelada was pretty standard and tasty, but the mangoneada was top notch. They use mango puree and blend it with ice and that's what makes it great, rather than just using juice or some mix. Good dose of chamoy in and on the glass with a tajin rim..great drink that comes with or without alcohol. This place is largely a seafood restaurant in Nayarit fashion, a small Mexican state just north of Puerto Vallarta, but you can get this food on 4th Plain.

The band was supposed to start at 7:30, but didn't start until 8 so I only caught the opening, but they've been advertising a band once a week on their Facebook page so keep an eye out if you care. It is LOUD in there though so be warned. And just because I feel like throwing something random in here and also because Linda Ronstadt has become popular again because of The Last of Us and her music brings back memories of my mother, many people don't know that she is half Mexican and had a very successful career across the border. This is probably my favorite of hers from Mexico https://youtu.be/rJfXiOrK7t4, where they said she would never succeed and they would never accept her, but...

I'm going to start this off by saying I'm not one to usually do this, but I feel like I have to warn everyone just so that this doesn't happen to anyone else! My uncles who visited here came to enjoy themselves for food. One of my uncles had about 4 thousand dollars in an envelope on him because he had plans to go get a car after dining here with my other uncle. Well, my uncle was on his way out when he realized he accidentally left his envelope on the seats at the table. They quickly returned to the table and realized it was NOWHERE to be found. They alerted the female worker/waitress working there and told her what had happened and had asked to see the camera footage to get to the bottom of this. When they showed the footage, the time frame of when they left and forgot the money there on the seat and when they were eating had been CROPPED!!! And when confronted about it, they claimed they had no idea what had happened! They demanded an explanation, and nobody all the sudden couldn't explain the chopped footage!!! My uncle is very, very old and works very hard for his money! The fact that this place has proven to be unfaithful to its customers is unsettling! Again, I don't usually go out of my way to do this, but it's been weighing heavy on me and my family and hopefully this being said can warn people of the kind of staff that are present! I don't want this happening to anyone else who decides to come here. We will be getting into contact with some legal help and the authorities to investigate this...