El Marinero — Restaurant in Warwick

Being from SoCal, I was exposed to Mexican food early and often. My favorite Mexican fare involves seafood--not many are aware that Mexican cuisine features some really savory ways to cook fish, shrimp, squid, and other fruit of the sea. You can just imagine how delightfully surprised I was when I spotted this restaurant--"El Marinero" (The Sailor), taking over what used to be a Greek diner.

I went for what sounded to be really scrumptious--Fish Zarandeado and Shrimp Zarandeado--and judging from the photos I am sharing here, you can see I was not disappointed. The menu is certainly pricey but the quality of the food justifies this. Our server kept pressuring us to get an alcoholic drink in the friendliest of ways so I gave in and ordered the Margarita Mangonada. I was impressed. The drink was expensive but unlike other places where they just serve the $15 margarita in a larger glass and that's that, El Marinero bothered to create a work of art. It's so cute! There's a yellow duckie in a pool of margarita with the tequila nip bottle turned upside down, slowly blending into the mix, and a chamoy that added a salty-sour kick, in a carefully salt-rimmed glass. That drink made me happy.

Well, here's the twist. Before ordering alcohol, my husband and I simply asked for water for the each of us, while perusing the menu. The server came back with two bottles of water. So when the receipt came, we saw a charge of $5. When questioned, the server said that they were having issues with their tap water so she just gave us the bottled water. $5 is not going to break the bank but this was not disclosed to us from the get-go. We could have skipped it. Finally, we were paying and about to tip when we see an 18% gratuity on the bill. There were only two people in our party. Nowhere was this written on their menu. Server says that this is the way their owner has had it since the beginning. That didn't sit well with me. I typically tip 20% and sometimes even more when the service is really great. It's fine to charge gratuity but since this is not common practice for a party of 2, it should be disclosed in a very visible way, to customers. For instance, even as a footer on their menu.

Sadly, my experience could have been better. But hey, not everyone will experience what I did and perhaps, after what happened, the management may have even changed their system (hopefully), so customers can have the opportunity to savor the good food and the...

Last night, we visited this restaurant for the first time and had an incredible time. The food and menu options were unlike anything we’d ever seen before. Everything looked enticing, and it was tough to decide what to order. Our waitress was incredibly knowledgeable and helped us make great choices.

One of the highlights of our meal was the michelada topped with ceviche. It was a fantastic deal because I had a generous portion of ceviche, and the drink itself was absolutely delicious. I highly recommend trying it if you enjoy micheladas.

My son, who was initially hesitant about trying something so different, ended up loving the shrimp dish with an orange sauce. He declared it the best thing he’d ever had. I had a garlic-seasoned shrimp dish that was also highlighted on the menu. I can’t recall the exact name, but it was incredibly flavorful. I’ve traveled the world and tried various cuisines, and I can confidently say that this restaurant serves authentic Mexican food.

To anyone who has written a negative review of this restaurant, I challenge you to try it. We’ll definitely be back, and we’re even thinking of coming back the next day. However, we need to pace ourselves since we’re going out a lot.

On Friday nights, the restaurant features a fantastic mariachi band that enhances the overall dining experience. Our waitress was incredibly kind and attentive, ensuring that we had a wonderful time. I’m very satisfied with our experience.

It’s unbelievable that we’ve lived in Warwick for seven years without knowing about this gem. But now, I have a new...

The food at this restaurant was terrible, we walked in and it took a good 10 minutes to be acknowledge And seated . Then the waiter took another 15 minutes to take our order. My wife ordered a “ Pina Colada” And I ordered a “ Pink Lemonade” and they couldn’t make that they stated they ran out. Then once they brought my son and mine drinks. They said they didn’t have a Pina Colada. I ordered a water due to that and through the whole time I was there the Waiter never brought my wife’s water. We also ordered oysters as a appetizer, and the waiter messed that up as well we ordered regular and the guy gave us something with sauce. Mind you the guy even repeated the oder to us. Then our food came and it was even more gross. My wife ordered “Garlic Shrimp Plate Platter” the plate lacked taste, the beans were straight out of the can no seasoning at all, & then my husband ordered “ Chicken fajitas “ there were four to five pieces of chicken that were alive, again no flavor. The sour cream tasted spoiled and the plate didn’t come with rice, only with three tortillas. The customer service is horrible we had to get up to ask them for the check. And when they brought us the check they gave us the wrong check, & the guy stayed right beside me waiting to pay. They also added gratuity for two adults and a child, when gratuity should be for 4 or more. I do not recommend this Restaurant to anyone, there’s a lot of seafood restaurants in Rhode Island that I rather go to. Will never...