08/10/09

Used to be a favorite...

by front0

Before last weekend, my husband and I found ourselves here a couple of times a month and really loved the place. But our last Dos Caminos meal started off with dirty water glasses and plates (guac & salsa bits) followed by a dirty cocktail glass - salsa mimosa anyone? These things can happen and can generally be easily resolved, but our waitress made the process rather painful. My entree arrived as a 'steak' taco instead of the 'fish' tacos I ordered. Again, our waitress came by to assert that she had HEARD me order the steak tacos (I haven't eaten red meat or poultry for 17 years). At the end of the meal, we were brought coffee full of grounds and 'floating' crumbs and something the manager described as 'curdled heavy whipping cream' to lighten it with. He sent our watress over with fresh coffee and the standard creamer and she delivered it with an astringent 'Let's see how THIS works for you!' Worst of all, we were REALLY apologetic about asking for these things to be corrected and almost embarrassed that things kept going wrong with our meal. The manager seemed dismissive of the whole scenario even after being shocked by the mess our waitress brought us for 'coffee'. Does Dos Caminos really think that their customers are asking for too much by requesting clean tableware, the food that they ordered and food that is edible? These are all things we could have accepted as 'accidents' had they been resolved quickly and curteously. If you feel that the blatantly careless service and disgergard for cleanliness standards would detract from your enjoyment of the fabulous food, avoid this place.

• Pros: Food ALWAYS fantastic
• Cons: Worst service EVER

06/25/09

This place is awesome

by SiamaX

This place is awesome!

• Pros: tasty food
• Cons: price

05/08/09

I watched the thug manager harass a neighborhood resident

by kgrubby

We had the most horrendous dining experience ever. My girlfriend as I was at the restaurant on Thursday Evening around 11 PM, May 7th. We watched and videotaped on my cell phone the manager of the restaurant and staff, go out and harass a local neighborhood resident who was standing on Houston Street minding his own business, according to the police which the restaurant staff called, who was waiting for his brother to bring his extra set of apartment keys because he had been locked out.

We watched the staff, and I don't know what they were on, but they were peering through this wrought iron outdoor garden fence at him. Real paranoid behavior. The cops came. Obviously from what we could hear of the conversation, this was a 50 year resident of the neighborhood standing outside of his building waiting for a relative to bring his extra keys.

People like this come in and ruin neighborhoods. The food is terrible. This is purely tourist trash. I agree with the previous reviews. You have to be a poor consumer to waste your time here with all of the wonderful options New York City has to offer.

• Pros: We watched Drew Barrymore Get High at the Table Next to us
• Cons: Food is Bad! Attitude Poor! Service Poor! They'll harass U

05/08/09

Tourist Trap, Don't Waste Your Money

by drvictor

I had read great reviews. Obviously, they were written by the owner. The food was mundane. The service was less. They are far overpriced. I watched the couple next to me do lines of coke on the table in full view of the staff. I was there with my family. I would NOT recommend this place to anyone. They have a great location if you like a mouth full of soot from the passing trucks. I wish I could get my money back. An awful experience.

• Pros: It's outside
• Cons: Poor Poor Non Existant Service

03/29/09

Worst Experience Ever

by LindsayBrownA

I have NEVER had a worst experience than this. It was my husband's birthday. I called to make the reservation. I explained it was a birthday and I wanted my own cake brought out.I brought the cake the day before. I called to remind the hostess the day of, then faked a bathroom break when we arrived just to make sure everything was a go after we were seated outside. It started to rain and we were moved inside. The inside was dark and stuffy. The food was really bad and EXPENSIVE! The server was distracted

The server brings out a cupcake with a candle. The whole surprise was ruined and the server just ran off.

Now it just GETS REALLY BAD: this female comes over and asks what the problem is, no introduction, just attitude. she says with a snotty voice as that she is the manager, and again what the problem is. I explain calling, bringing the cake, calling again to remind, then confirming after we arrived. I explain how important this was. To this she responds, "So what do you want, the cake?" Then she storms off, brings my cake back in it's box, and the bill (over $200) , throws it on the table, and walks away without a word. No apology, no name, and the server never came back. I honestly think this woman was psychotic. My biggest regret was that we even paid the bill. When we walked out with our damaged cake in a box, everyone seemed to look away.

This whole experience surpasses bad and borders cruel.

• Pros: The outside cafe
• Cons: Management, Service, Food, Price

01/19/09

Excellent Guac and Margaritas, HORRIBLE everything else

by bicoastaldiner

Dos Caminos SoHo is popular mostly because of its trendy SoHo location and the abundance of celebs that frequent the restaurant. Overall the restaurant is just average. First of all, the seats are in EXTREMELY close quarters. You literally feel like you are sharing a table with the strangers next to you! I ordered mild guacamole and it was probably the best guacamole I have ever tasted. The prickly pear margarita was great too! The appetizers were a disaster. The smallest little tacos I have ever seen and they were soggy. The crab empanadas had the consistency of bodily fluids. For my entree I got the Dos Enchiladas. I LOVE enchiladas but what I had was awful! Has the chef ever tasted and enchilada before? My date got the shrimp quesadilla that would have been decent they left off that awful sauce and if the shrimp wasn't so tough. We couldn't listen to each other speak because the music was so loud and we were sitting so close to the people next to us. I couldn't believe how much our bill ended up being with such mediocre food! Save your time and don't waste your hard earned money on this dump. I take that back; order some guac, grab a margarita or two, and then go elsewhere for some real food.

• Pros: Guac, Margaritas, Service
• Cons: Seating, Entrees, Seating, Loud music, Seating

01/18/09

Take the one less traveled: it will make all the difference.

by toughbutfair

If you come across two roads (dos caminos), trust me, take the other road. This is my second visit to Dos Caminos and my first time sitting in the back in the actual restaurant section. The crowd and the service were the best two things I can say about our dining experience.

We started with the guacamole and two Camino de Oro margaritas. The guacamole is good. And the margaritas were tasty as well. Unfortunately, half the chips were soggy and inedible, so we had to taste each chip and throw out the soggy ones.

We ordered four appetizers and asked that they come two followed by the other two. They all came at once and to the waiter?s credit, he took the two back and brought them later. The first starters were tuna and red snapper ceviche. The snapper ceviche was actually very nice and flavorful. The tuna ceviche tasted like semi-frozen gumdrops with ponzu sauce and excessive chiles to cover up any unpleasantness.

The final two appetizers were Ensalada Noche Buena and Asada tacos. The salad was flavorful and quite nice; however, we could only find two pieces of goat cheese in the entire salad. The same salads at the tables of others around us appeared to have generous servings of goat cheese on top leading me to believe that someone in the back may have helped himself to a quick snack. The Asada tacos were soggy and cold.

We split the Camarones en Cazuela for an entree. I rate it a five out of ten. The flavor was ok, the shrimp was tough. It was served at the proper temperature.

We split the chocolate fondue for dessert. It was actually quite nice with both the flavor and presentation making a nice ending to a disaster dinner.

What can I say? As this restaurant is part of B.R. Guest, I expected much much more. For a fine dining price, I must at least try one thing and say ?wow, that tastes really interesting.? I hate to say it, but a nice margarita and taco bell would have satisfied my Mexican craving for the evening just as well.

• Pros: Nice crowd with good margaritas.
• Cons: The food, the food, the food

06/09/08

just no

by whateverrr

Went there with my boyfriend for his birthday. Showed up a bit early, we had 10:00 reservations. I had requested an outside table and the host on the phone said it's "first come first serve" (whatever that means, they should accomodate those who make reservations first in my opinion) We showed up and went to the bar. The bartender asked a server how the margarita for a table worked out to which the server replied "i don't know, f*ck it. first he wanted salt then he didnt. i dont care" (RIGHT next to us he said this) which seemed so unprofessional to say in front of guests. The host rolled around, didn't remember us, we told him we had already checked in and he was like "oh" and he waved his hand at us like ok ill get you later...We both got the guac, it was good. He got shrimp ceviche i got lobster, both lacking flavor. I got the asada tacos. 3 TINY tacos for $15, and they kind of sucked. The server hardly talked to us or seemed interested, was very shy, i didn't even know his name. (We never sat outside by the way). I guess I'm very critical because I work in high dining establishments but the service all around seemed amateur and the food was nothing to write home about. Not worth the money in my opinion.

• Pros: good guacamole
• Cons: bad everything else

05/30/08

They Rip You Off -- and I don't just mean with the mediocre food

by smak54

We went to Dos Caminos Soho for my fiancee's birthday and while it was about what we were expecting -- very average food, good/strong drinks and a festive atmosphere -- I am quite certain that they tried to rip us off after the meal. We had a big group and some people paid in cash and other by credit card, yet when the bill came, they charged those 10 people paying with credit card an extra $20 or so each. I noticed it and called it to the server's attention, and he offered some half-baked explanation along the lines of, "Oh, the other guy rang it up and he must've forgot to include the cash." I didn't want to make a scene but now that I reflect on it -- a big table of young adults, all drinking, likely not paying close attention -- I'm quite certain the servers tried to put one over on us, which is obviously deplorable. This place is not worth the trouble. Once a place gets this big and profitable, they apparently could care less about their customers.

02/20/08

Good guacamole!!

by jefernan

I have been there several times and I like the guacamole but if your looking for a big serving don't bother. I tried the shrimp ceviche and the tacos which were both average. It was nothing to rave about.

• Pros: Guacamole
• Cons: Ceviche