El Vato Tequila and Taco Bar

This place is the bomb! Great food, great tequila, great atmosphere, live dj spinning, cool vibe, & heartbeat. Good food good prices. Great porch for people watching also. Service can be sometimes slow on weekends.

I went yesterday with my girlfriend great attention and delicious food definitely we come back again

This has to be one of my favorite places to eat in Brickell. I came here one night with some friends. The service was great, food was delicious, and the prices were cheap compared to other restaurants in the area. Five of us ate for under $ 100.
I had the Churrasco sandwich and chicken flautas with a sweet sauce and both were sooooo good! The only thing that is bad is parking. You basically have to do valet. They always have great music too. Although it may be hard to hold a conversation with others when the music is too loud. But nonetheless it’s a great place. Can’t wait to go back!

I went to El Vato with my guys form work. The décor is absolutely awesome. Super cool with cool cars, giant tequila bottles, car parts, bikes hung on the wall and of course your gratuitous Day of the Dead items thrown in here and there. We were sat and served chips and salsa to the table. The salsa was pretty darn good, more of a roasted chipotle salsa than a fresco, but I was down with it. The chips were fresh baked. Nachos for the table with steak, came out fast, but not as huge as you would expect an order of nachos to be. Which was fine, so I thought, since we had each ordered entrées.
Some guys got the burgers, which looked pretty good & they were happy. A couple of the guys got the build your own burrito options and it was a good size. But only one of the two burritos actually had a normal size portion of steak, the other was more of a bean and rice burrito, with seriously about 4 pieces of meat in it. My friend didn’t even want to finish it so I took the half home, since I’m quite fine with a bean and rice burrito. But Unilocal,there was seriously only two pieces of steak in my half. Once guy got a quesadilla and it was appropriately cheesy and meaty, but how can you mess up a quesadilla? Now, on to my tacos. I ordered one battered and fried mahi taco and one grilled shrimp taco. Both had a serious portion of meat, but the taco shell itself was so tiny, that the shrimp didn’t fit into it and everything fell out. The flavors were wonderful on the shrimp taco, but the taco shell itself left much to be desired. The shrimp taco was $ 4.50 and the mahi was $ 5, and each were smaller than my hand and not worth the money. Maybe on $ 1 taco day I’d be back for them, but only then. However, I wouldn’t even order the mahi taco again. It was quite bland. Perhaps a tostada would be more appropriate with these size taco shells to meat ratio? I digress. All in all, the food was decent just small portions and a bit stingy on certain things. I may go back to try the happy hour and just get a nacho or an app to share. The happy hour deals look pretty sweet and on Fridays, HH is 12−6pm.

Bottomless mimosas good food and good friends what more can you ask for. Oh yeah and they have a car sticking out of the kitchen how cool is that ;) loved it!!!

Two words TACO TUESDAY! Every Tuesday they have $ 1 tacos (small tacos that come in corn tortillas but can be in flour tortillas if you request) and $ 5 margaritas so I definitely recommend going if possible. The last time I went the steak tacos were the best second were the carnitas and my third favorite was the chicken (too dry). I have also been on other nights and had the fajitas which I recommend. The only downside to this place and the only reason I can’t give it 5 stars is the service. On each occasion I have been disappointed in the service and how long it takes to get refills or get food when the place is not busy at all. Overall give this place a shot I think you will like it!

Jeez, where to start? The name «El Vato» actually means «Low class dude» sort of like a «Cholo», which is no surprise because it totally reflects the attitude the manager and the bar tender have. Specially the bar tender. He looks like a bum but he claims he is the owner. He has a beard and he is kind of short with glasses. I requested more Tequila in my Margarita and less ice and he took the glass from me and said: «You are not getting anything» Whaat? I asked him to call the manager and he said he was the owner. All I can say is that I wish the owners knew this low class employee treats the clients with less than courtesy. He showed that he could never be a manager, let alone an owner or a business. He will remain an employee because that’s the attitude he has.
The food is less than authentic and the margaritas a joke. Management should go to México to taste the food and drinks to realize that what they sell is purely a cheap attempt of Mexican cuisine.

Super unique themed restaurant. We had Sunday brunch there and everything was quite delicious. There is a special of bottomless mimosas or bloody mary for $ 20. The food is very reasonably priced and the selection of tequilas is pretty extensive.
With the fall weather in South Florida, the outdoor seating is highly demanded. We enjoyed our brunch with the sights and sounds of Brickell, the tastes of well made Mexican hybrid dishes, and the fine spirits of Mexico.

Nothing special here. This place always seems the least crowded in MBV. The bartenders are not friendly. The food is mediocre at best. They need to step it up. I was not impressed with the crowd here at night. I will walk by this place without thinking twice about going in.

This place is owned and operated by Baja Fresh. The old BF was not making that much dough, so they pulled the sign down and added the El Vato signature.
Not that bad, but I am not convinced that the food is that much different than the original. So, for a BF masquerading as a real Mexican place, I give it 2 stars.
I had the carnitas burrito and had gut rot for 24 hours. The chips were good while I was going at it, but I am not sure if that is what made me feel whacked. The tequilla collection is impressive. The margaritas are not that exciting either.
The owner is Greek. He needs a real Mexican to tell him whats up.

I like to think I’m a positive person so let’s start with the good points first.
–The décor is really cool. It’s got a lot of personality and fun touches like the car in the middle of the space that you can apparently eat in and the funky tire-​sinks in the bathroom.
–Yay for giant big screens. These are a big plus now that it’s football season. This has gotta be a great spot to watch the Dolphins and have a beer.
–The salsa is unreal. This is almost a bad thing because it sets your expectations so high for the rest of your meal.
And here’s where is goes a little downhill…
When we went it wasn’t even busy but for whatever reason we had pretty crummy service… Flagging the waitress down, getting the wrong stuff, taking forever to fix it, hair in the food. All of that stuff on our first visit was enough to turn me off.
I ordered a veggie meat taco that was pretty awful. They don’t really do much to the meat substitute. SPOILER ALERT: You gotta season it like regular meat. Fellow’s stuff wasn’t too great either.
All the pink sparkly glitter and salsa in the world probably can’t convince me to come back. Sorry but it wasn’t that great.

I don’t see where the negative reviews are coming from! I’ve had several meals here and all have been tasty. The tacos are good but the drinks are better! Great for a night when you’ve had a lot to drink, LOL.
The service is iffy if they’re busy… but be ‘patient’ people. I think a lot of people forget what that word is in Miami.
Give it a chance. What’s the worse than can happen? :)

I’m new to the Brickell area and decided to try out one of the restaurants that are close by for dinner. Since I LOVE Mexican food El Vato seemed like a great choice. I hate to say it, but I don’t think there was one thing that I enjoyed about this place. My boyfriend and I waited to be seated for about 5 minutes because no one acknowledged us when we entered, even though the inside was practically empty (only 6 other people were dining at the time). Then once we were seated we didn’t see our waiter for another 30 minutes. Eventually, we realized that there had not been a waiter assigned to our table for some reason… and we had asked to be waited on a couple of times too.
I was hoping that once I got my food the bad service wouldn’t matter. We each ordered three tacos and they weren’t anything special. The flavor was alright and they were pretty tiny! I’m originally from Orlando so I may be spoiled in a way since prices for food tend to be much cheaper than in Miami, but I was at least hoping for some good quality for about $ 3 a taco. After spending around 2 hours (due to slow service!!) in the restaurant I left hungry. I don’t think I will return here for dinner. It’s a shame too, because it’s in a good location and the atmosphere was pretty cool with good music and sports playing, but it just wasn’t enjoyable for me. I’m hoping that there are other Mexican restaurants in the area that are much better!

I’ve enjoyed this place for a couple years now. I used to work in the area and went for lunch regularly. Now I’m not — but still make it a point to come back from time to time.
Highlights:
Anything they serve they can prepare vegan. Just ask. If you have vegetarian or vegan friends — this is a great place to come to make everyone happy.
The flautas are delicious. The smoky white chipotle sauce — order it with the chips and salsa too. When they first opened it just came with it. It’s like crack — so good. They also come with a jalapeño jam that is fantastic!
Chimichanga — yes! Get it! Fantastic. Big and filling. So many flavors going on — mix it all up and just enjoy!
The Ensalada — delicious. Get it with chicken, carnitas, or steak — it’s amazing no matter what you choose.
Soups are good here. And hearty. You can have a soup and 2 tacos and be set for a meal.
I’ve read several reviews here that it’s not real Mexican food — hello… it doesn’t have «Authentic Mexican Food» on the sign outside. So it’s not really fair to judge them there — you want that seek it out. But they are a Tequila and Taco bar. Their tacos (which they do claim are authentic on the menu) are pretty darn good and right up there with what I’ve experienced elsewhere — simple, delicious. Onions and cilantro. The way it is when I go to a real Mexican joint down in Homestead. The other stuff you can add to it are guac, pico, queso — not things that come on a real Mexican taco in my experience — though I have NOT been to Mexico. :-)
For fun — make sure to use the restrooms — super awesome sinks. All of the chandeliers in the place are pretty awesome as well.

Went here last night for a Pub crawl, but since I was hungry I decided to eat something as well.
The nachos and pork tacos were very good! The taco was tiny though :-/​The guacamole at Rosa Mexicano is much, much better!!! The chips and salsa were good– the chips were warm and crispy, my only complaint about the salsa was that it wasn’t spicy at all… not even a hint. I love me a good kick of spice!
Looking forward to coming here again for some margaritas!

So the two best things about this place were the chips and salsa and the service. The chips and salsa were both quite tasty I felt. Clearly above average, but not earth shatteringly amazing. Very solid though. Also, the service was friendly and attentive and they put up with my hell-​raiser son (it was just the 2 of us).
Anyway, I had the salmon dish which was salon served over lettuce, black beans, tomato, corn, and tostadas. The salmon was drizzled with something similar to a chimichurri. It sounded delicious, but it was just ok when I actually ate it. Like every place in this area, it was a little overpriced as well. Not bad or anything, but I see no need to rush back either.

Give me Margaritas and Mexican food and I’m happy. When we arrived it was quiet with only a few people outside and two tables inside. Loved the décor, rustic, a car in the back of dining area. Open kitchen where you see the chefs preparing your food with gloves on.
The food menu is small with all your basic Mexican dishes, Fajitas, burritos, taquitos, etc… We started with some $ 5 margaritas which were very good. Caution you can go on and order several as they do put a bunch of ice in them so they go down quickly. Very good Margaritas and the back of their menu has wow I have no clue how many but every Tequila you can imagine.
Started with their thin amazing tortilla chips excellent salsa and some fabulous guacamole. Definitely great guacamole. I would come back just for it.
I created my own burrito and it was good not great. The only reason it was not great is I felt they skimped on the meat a bit. Way to many black beans.
Out service was excellent. I’m looking forward to trying other dishes. Really cool vibe, reasonable prices, great happy hour, good food, fun laid back atmosphere.

This place wins for atmosphere. Celebrating a friends birthday, five of us saddled into one of their side booths (although I really want to sit in that car!). Thankfully, I did not find the service to be too awful besides the fact they forgot someone’s order. It was quick to prepare so our wait not too long.
Upon seating, We were quickly brought some hot chips and tasty salsa. Little did they know, they should have brought us a bucket of the salsa because we kept cleaning out dish after dish. We split a pitcher of sangria and while I usually love all types of sangria, I really did not enjoy this. Something about the balance of flavors created a strange taste that I do not think anyone enjoyed. Thankfully, we had an order of decent guacamole that could combat the flavor. For our meals, I got a couple tacos that were decent but nothing to write home about. As it was a birthday, we finished off the meal with a flan that was pretty good.
It’s not cheap and for the forgettable food and just decent service, I am not itching to go back.

Mexican food and the heat game projected on to a huge wall… doesn’t get any better. We left where we were previously at because we were tired of the noise and seeing the game twisting our necks. Behold we find Vato Tequila playing the game. Great time and the food was spectacular. Try the queso fundido, carnita tacos, and carnitas quesadilla. Super amazing. Wash it all down with a Modelo Especial and now we’re in business. Miller Light bucket specials were also available. I found my new game night destination when in the Brickell area!

I decided to give El Vato another shot and I have to admit, I think they took some of the criticism to heart and have made some improvements in the last few weeks. I had the black bean soup this time which was pretty good — a vast improvement from the oil slick tortilla soup but still not amazing. The free salsa was much thicker, which was appreciated by the white shirt I was wearing. The salad was good before and was good again this time too. I like that it’s only $ 5 for this nice sized salad. I would go back again to explore the rest of the menu. However, I will not buy any alcoholic drinks here — prices are just too expensive.
I still miss Baja Fresh.