Cafe El Portal

10/22/09

Fantastic ambience, Extremely Poor Service

by aggoplin

On the surface Café El Portal is perfect, the quaint location on Elizabeth St. and cute décor. Once you look past the surface and meet the staff, the quaint location and cute décor seems to be the only thing nice about it.

I don't care how good the food is, I would never want to spend my money at a place that employs such unaccommodating people. I was so turned off by the staff (including manager) behavior that I couldn't even enjoy my food.

Bottom line, if you are not a "people person" then maybe working/managing a restaurant just isn't the right profession for you.

**The staff's attitude seems to be a repetitive issue on these reviews.

• Pros: cozy
• Cons: rude staff

03/26/08

I'm stunned by all these glowing reviews

by PickyJew

Those who deride the service are right on. As we walk in we see a sign advertising happy hour 4-7. We were seated at 6:45. There was one other table of customers and two tables of staff eating yet it took so long for a waitress to take our order that when I ask her what beers where in the happy hour she said it was over. I explained we had been sitting there for 15 minutes but she wouldn't budge. so ridiculous that i went with a diet coke out of spite! And then it took forever to get the bill and our change.

As for the food. It was okay but I've been to mexican places in Texas and California and you can't compare this one to them. Its solid for New York, pretty much on par with the average place here and that is all. I'd like everyone who thinks $16 chicken mole is a bargain to take a trip to East LA! And the chicken was boney and fatty and pretty much the same quality you would get in cheap mexican. My girlfriend had a chile relleno special which I must commend. Tasty sauce, cooked nicely, but something about the seafood inside tasted funky.

The salsa verde was great but the actual chips SUCKED. not a fan of the red salsa and never a fan of paying for chips to begin with. I guess this place plays well to the "I have no problem paying double digits for guacomole and chips" crowd but I was not impressed.

• Pros: cute place, good chile rellenos, corn on the cob, salsa verde
• Cons: terrible chips, poor service, overpriced mexican

11/18/07

great food, bad service...

by lilbotpaw

This restaurant holds a love / hate relationship with me. On many occasions it has taken me forever to get the simplest things, i.e. getting my drink, an extra napkin, the check... etc. It's one thing if the restaurant is packed and we cant flag our waiter/waitress down, but even when its practically empty, the service is still terrible. There have been times when other tables whom have seated down after i sat down receive their food, my friends & i would have to 'remind' them that we are waiting for our drink (shouldn't that be the first thing you do after taking our order?) Half the time they're doing other things and never paying attention to the customers, but I can give it to them that they are generally nice (never have i encountered a rude wait staff). You would think that they're working on tips... Granted that service is a ZERO, i must confess that their food is amazing (their guacamole is unbelievable)! which is why i keep going back. Service stinks, but hey, their food makes up for it.

• Pros: everything on the menu
• Cons: SERVICE - need to be alert

10/13/07

Best Mexican. Get there before 8!

by raajkumari

I absolutely adore this place. I love the atmosphere, food, drinks and price. The pitchers of margaritas are a great value (get the cucumber margarita!) And the shrimp and fish tacos are delish. It's a small place, so get there before 8 on a Friday or Saturday night. You will continue to come back to this place and will not be disappointed.

• Pros: Food, Price, Atmosphere
• Cons: Small and there's only one bathroom

03/02/07

Good specials, great margaritas

by scarabaracs

My husband and I were able to scoot our way into the very packed and teensy restaurant. The table was small and I felt like I was constantly getting elbowed by other diners. Aside from the body jarring, the food was delicious. I had a special which was a pepper, filled with rice, raisins, meat, and other goodies, smothered in a nut sauce--sounds dreadful or too-too, but it was surprisingly light. My husband was happy with his carnitas and kept raving about the margarita. Wine list had some nice choices. Our server was very nice. Kind of a hectic night, not sure if this is the usual. Definitely felt like a local destination, a few hipsters, one family, some older couples, and a few models talking about their day's work and agents. I'd love to go back and I'm hoping that next time I'll get a seat with more space.