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El Pino Authentic Mexican Restaurant
12/8/2023
As relatively new residents of the Fredericksburg area, my wife and I have been trying out the plethora of restaurants and breweries in the area. A co-worker of my wife said we had to try El Pino, a Mexican restaurant in western Fredericksburg. so last night we had dinner at El Pino Authentic Mexican Restaurant, and the it did not disappoint. It is located on Route 3 just west of I95. When we walked in, we were greeted by a very friendly hostess, who showed us to our booth. It was a Friday night, so the place was doing a very brisk business.
Our server brought us the obligatory chips and salsa. We were delighted to find out that the chips were warm. My wife started with a margarita, and I had a Modelo draft. The maragrita came to the table flaming, which was pretty cool. My wife reported that her drink was very good. As an appetizer, we ordered Ceviche. It came with saltine-type crackers, but we found using he chips was tastier. the Ceviche was full of shrimp and other seafood, and didn't taste too much of lime. Sometimes Ceviche can taste a bit too "limey".
For our entree, we both ordered soft tacos. I ordered Al Pastor tacos, with pineapple. My wife had shredded pork. Both were served with beans and rice. The tacos were wonderful. The pork was cooked perfectly, and not overdone. Very enjoyable. Since it was our first time eating there and we wanted to test out the food, we also ordered an a la carte Chile Relleno and a Tamale. The Tamale was good, but the Chile Relleno was excellent. I get that from my wife, who loves them.
Our server was very friendly and the atmosphere in the restaurant was quite inviting. And though the menu had fairly standard Mexican dishes, they were all very tasty and we will certainly...
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This used to be our single favorite place to eat in Fredericksburg until the staff refused to honor an incorrect order credit. They said they had no record of it - even though I was repeatedly told that all I needed was my name and phone number. There was no recourse, and the manager basically told us 'we don't believe you; tough luck'.
For context, we ordered from here at least 3 times a month, at approximately $40 an order. My family ate here as a group when our pet passed away, and we ordered takeout from here multiple times during the COVID lockdown. I believe we stood out a bit because we always ordered 6 cheese quesadillas with guacamole, which the staff always double- or triple-checked because I guess that was an unusual choice.
In the incorrect order - which, to be fair, was our first - they forgot our guacamole and there were no tortillas for our fajitas, among several other items. At the time, the staff were amazing on the phone, apologizing and telling us we had approx. $15 in credit and to just give our phone number next time we ordered. However, tonight we tried to order, and the credit was 'not found' and denied.
It's extremely hard to rate this restaurant poorly after all our positive experiences, but this situation was poorly handled from start to finish, and our trust is lost. We are disappointed, but look forward to trying some of the many new Mexican restaurants that have opened nearby.
TL;DR: We were denied a promised order credit. If you were promised a credit for a mistake, please keep your receipt, write down the name of the person you talk to, and keep your order number. Do not believe them if they say 'just use your phone number next time you order'. I don't know if this will help anyone else, but it may...
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Two stars is generous. I lived in Los Angeles for 30 years. I worked in Mexico regularly. If this restaurant was in either of those places, it would be out of business. The food is not authentic. It is not prepared fresh. It is not good quality.
I ordered a combination platter to get a sense of the food and tacos ala cart. What arrived at the table was clearly a microwaved pile of food that was worse than a frozen TV dinner.
The tacos that were covered with foil were sent out in raw flour tortillas.. That's Taco bell...not authentic. The tacos were also floating in condensation. Wet, raw flour tortillas... Awful.
The chicken tamales were 99 percent masa and 1 percent chicken.. It was practically comedy when I cut through and saw how little chicken was inside.
There is absolutely no way the rice I had had been made in the past 4 days. It tasted like it was stored in the refrigerator for days with no cover.
Everything was covered with white cheese that you'd never find in an authentic Mexican restaurant.
This restaurant is relying on a customer base that accepts rather than expects. I would never recommend it. They need a manager who understands the kitchen. It could be so much better. But in Fredericksburg this is acceptable. It makes me want to open a Mexican restaurant and show Fredericksburg how delicious authentic Mexican...
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