El Camino

Now revising my rating… because I heard some good news… that I’m not sure if I can share, but it is good enough to take my depression over the loss of ‘beer in a boot’ in south park.
One star because as of 7÷20÷11 El Camino South Park location is CLOSED? What the hell? Just when the neighborhood was getting its act together with a nice range of complementary restaurants, El Camino goes and closes!!! This really stinks. Living only a couple of blocks away this place was a main stay in our going out repertoire. Out of town guests always requested ‘beer-​in-​a-​boot’ when they came to town. I’m not really mad at El Camino, just really bummed. And also very, very afraid for what might go in there… or even worse that it will sit empty because of the few El strango SP residents who like to fight every liquor license. This is just culinary injustice, that’s what it is.
I realize the Little Italy location is open. I’ll probably go there sometimes. But it’s not two blocks from my house.

Good Service… Check… Free cucumber and jicama… with chileee! YAY!
Good Food… Check…Al Pastor tacos with fresh pineapple… YAY!
Good Drinks… Check…$ 3 bootie margaritas with chile rim… Yay!
Black beans and chile heaven… I love this place.

If I could give this place zero stars, I would! My family came here two years ago for my birthday, right after it opened. The food took so long that my tacos were cold when I got them. I was hesitant to go back because of that experience. Tonight, my mom and I decided to drop by and give it a second chance.
When we walked in, the waiter at the front booth barely glanced up at us. When he didn’t move or say anything to us, my mom asked if we were supposed to seat ourselves and he disdainfully told us no, HE had to seat us. His voice was dripping with attitude. He had us follow him while he glanced around for a table. Despite there being plenty of open tables (granted, they were 4 person tables) he told us we had to wait ten mins. I counted at least 6 tables. I would hardly call it busy. We sat and a group of three walked in. He gave them the same attitude when they asked to sit outside and he promptly seated them.
My mom was curious why we couldn’t be seated and asked the waiter. He haughtily informed us that it was getting busy so no one under 3 could be seated at the 4 person tables. She said okay, goodbye, and he gave us a look and a half assed sorry.
As we left, we passed the outside seating and noticed that there were numerous open seats. He never once asked us if we would like to sit there.
After bad experiences with both service and food, we will not be returning. I highly recommend skipping this restaurant.

First time checking out the South Park location last night for Taco Tuesday. I’ll make this one quick & easy.
1. Host guy — a little less ‘tude would be great! 2 stars for you sir.
2. Waitress lady — you made up for host guy and then some! thank you for your great service! 5 stars for you.
3. Queso dip — 10 stars.
4. Shrimp taco plate that was ½ off ($ 6.50) and included 4 tacos + rice & beans or in our case, the mexican corn side. Hello heaven! Shrimp was plump, flavorful, and amazing. Tortillas were yum. Perfect topped with our corn side & spread of dips from the dip tray! 4 stars.
5. Chelada in a boot — well. you already know how feel about you. heart. 5 stars.
6. Take-​out order at Taco Tuesday price — 5 stars! Forgetting to add the rice and beans — 2 stars.
In summation, this place has character and will definitely be put into the Tuesday night rotation. Be warned, they are very busy on Tuesday night. But fun times, for sure!

I had ridden by El Camino a bunch of times saying to myself, «I gotta check that place out.» I had been to the Little Italy location and found it a bit too loud with too many people moving around me too quickly. It was odd. Word on the street was that the South Park location was more mellow and chill. Just my style.
I brought two of my female friends with me to check this place out. We liked the décor of the spot right away. Chicklet’s (sp?), Virgin Mary candles and Mexican wrestler masks all over the place. They had two TV’s behind the bar that would bounce back and forth showing old Mexican movies and the Smurfs. Very cool. The lighting was almost perfect. Not bright, but not too dark that you couldn’t see what was going on. There wasn’t a ton of room at the bar, but just enough for the three of us to belly-​up comfortably.
Turns out I had met the bartender a few times through another restaurant and we had that, «I know you but I don’t know how I know you.» look toward each other. After a joke and some chatting we started paying attention to the drink menu. I scanned around a bit and stopped immediately when I saw Champagne Sangria. Was this two of my favorite things combined to magical concoction of deliciousness? I wasn’t sure, but I’d drink a whole pitcher trying to find out.
Two pitchers later, the three of us looked at each other and said two things. 1. Oh my god was that awesome and 2. We need to call a cab to get us home.
We had already eaten dinner, but had some chips and salsa to munch on anyway. The chips were made in-​house for sure and they came with 3 dipping sauces. The first was a mayo-​based sauce. Damn delicious. We got another side of that. The second was a red sauce that had a good kick to it. Be careful with this one. The green sauce was also quite flavorful but had a tiny bit of spice to it. There was something for everyone.
On a separate visit, my girlfriend and I sat at the bar to order some food. They were really nice to us despite the fact it took us a crazy amount of time to figure out what we were going to eat. Once we finally decided what to order, the food came pretty quickly. The place was about 80% full, so it was good to see that the service was still reasonable. My lady had a chicken burrito with some sort of tangy red sauce. She enjoyed it. I got the cheese enchiladas. They were solid. I wouldn’t call this the most authentic Mexican food that I’ve ever had, but it was quite tasty.
The service is good, the ambiance is nice, the drinks are delicious and the food is quite nice. Go check it out.

This location is much quieter than the Little Italy Location, the bar is much smaller, but it’s more of a restaurant than lounge/​entertainment area/​bar. The food in my opinion was slightly better in that there was more attention to detail. I think that due to the business of the other location they overlooked some of the presentation, finishing, but not here. That’s not to say they aren’t busy, but it’s not as much of a hipster hangout, but more restaurant. I like their sweet potato flautas and taco Tuesday specials. Their alcohol selection is much smaller. Even with the outside heaters I prefer to eat inside because most of the Mexican fare is not a heavily heated soup and gets cold fast so if you’re getting shrimp taco’s eat them inside because if it takes you 25 minutes to eat taco’s then your last one will be much worse than the first. Come hungry and leave happy.
El Camino much like it’s other location is drabbed out in Mexicana décor that is overly exuberant and offensive. Don’t get me wrong they have good food and deserve to do what they want, but when it reeks of throw it in your face over the top more than Mexican styling your just compensating for something.

Um. YUMMY McYummerson! First off I appreciate that everything on the menu is locally grown, organic and hormone free! I have found a new love. I love everything about this restaurant, the atmosphere the food and the décor. They don’t have an extensive menu but the food is super quality and so good and of course who wouldn’t want to support a restaurant that resources local farmers? The salsa’s are so delish and the jicima and cucumber pre appetizers are just so simple it’s genius!
I don’t now what else to say other than I really love this place and wish that there were more restaurants like it!

This place has a perfect ambiance and menu with essential items. From Ceviche to potato flautas every thing is really amazing and takes traditional, looking and tasting, plates and spice them up with style. From beginning to end you are left satisfied with every aspect of this place.
To save bills, many restaurants have surrendered the staple chips and salsa but at El Camino they go far and beyond in providing this little detail. *Three choices & warm chips along with jicama and cucumber slices with chile and lime to wait for your food!
Once you’re done they give you a handful of Mexican Canel gomas that render for days;)
Great vibe and great service, overall a perfect little spot.
p. s. wish they had horchata.. .

Being the co-​owner of an El Camino has intrigued me about coming here for as long as I’ve know this place was here! I always wanted to get a photo of the car in front of the business with the pink sign in the background but there always seemed to be some stupid mini van stealing the glory spot.
But one night, oh it was ours!
I can best describe El Camino as «hipster Mexican food» but hey, there is NOTHING wrong with that because they clearly have the right idea on what amazing food tastes like!
We asked our waiter if we got a discount for driving an El Camino to their business and I don’t think anyone had ever asked that question. Got his head thinking and maybe when we go back there might be a discount?! Hint hint!
Our waiter was seriously the coolest, nicest, hardest working server I have ever had ANYWHERE. Usually I get a little weird when it comes to tipping people because I feel like most people don’t do enough to earn their tips (i know, it sounds horrible) but his guy definitely earned his and we tipped him well! I can’t remember his name but he was super helpful with recommendations on what to eat for first timers and led me to the garlic lime shrimp tacos! YUM! He was so attentive to my iced tea levels during the meal that I hardly even noticed it was getting lower and lower! I think I floated out of there with the 500 glasses I sucked down! The tacos were ahhhhhh maaaaaa zing! I was so full that I think I only managed to eat 2 or 3 and gave the rest to my husband! The appetizer plate of chips and AMAZING salsa/​chipotle dips was a meal in itself and there wasn’t anything that wasn’t quality! And the homemade rice and beans were incredible! Usually I don’t eat beans that often but I scarfed those down!!!
The décor is super cool with a mix of luchador, El Camino’s with mariachi band members near by, roses, and day of the dead! Love it!!! The counter tops in the bar area are made up of a collage of El Caminos! How cool!
The restaurant is spacious and the outside eating area has plenty of room too!
El Camino is perfect for those nights when you want Mexican food but don’t feel like swallowing a brick and keeping it in your stomach for days on end. El Camino is filling and delicious but definitely light and healthy!
Can’t wait until the next time that I go back.

I went here before checking it out on Unilocal!,which is a rare occasion for me. Thus, I had no expectations.
I loved the ambiance. I want my apartment to be exactly the same as El Camino. The awesome Mexican folk art on the walls, the spinny Jesus and Mary light thing by the bathroom, the candles, the booth design. Loved it!
Then, they brought us some jicama and cucumber sticks with chili powder. Refreshing and delicious. This was followed by chips and a trio of sauces — spicy red salsa, salsa verde, and a ranch-​like white sauce that I kept going back to. I loved them all.
My bud Erin D. bought the table some guacamole, and it was outstanding. I hate hate hate cilantro, and I didn’t get a single piece, so I was stoked. (Few things bother me more than a guacamole with a 1:1 avocado to cilantro ratio.)
I had already had dinner before coming here, but my man Adam T. and I couldn’t resist ordering the sweet potato flautas ($ 8 for four small flautas and a salad on the plate). Sweet and savory at the same time, these flautas were outstanding. The salty cheese on top really made the dish.
The check came with about 20 pieces of chicle, which was fun.
I didn’t think it was too expensive, and I am a self-​professed cheapskate. The prices were right in line with other sit-​down Mexican restaurants, and the food here is actually fresh, local, and organic (according to the menu, I did not ask to see proof). I’d say it is a great value.
Service was fine.
I’ll be back to try the rest of the vegetarian options, no doubt.

el camino el camino the front is like a car the back is like a truck, the front is where you drive the back is where you…
I enjoyed this place! I didn’t really have any expectations coming in, as I didn’t read many of the reviews (gasp, bad Unilocaler!), other than knowing it served up Mexican food and had funky décor, which are two of my favorite things in life!
They start you off with chili jicama and cucumber, which is awesome because I am an enormous fan of jicama doused in chili. You also get chips and salsas! Yes that’s right, salsa plural! The chips are good and crispy. There was a creamy red salsa, which was pretty damn spicy, a yummy green creamy salsa, which I believe was cilantro based, and a chipotle aioli type dip. The green salsa was my favorite by far. I enjoyed the chipotle aioli, but it was a little strange eating it with tortilla chips, probably because I am accustomed to eating aioli with potatoes.
I got the cheese enchiladas locas and mah boo got the tacos carne asada. Both were super delish and very generously sized, which made up for the slightly higher than average pricing. I even had some leftovers for lunch today! They also came with mexican rice and black beans with queso on the side. The black beans were definitely some of the best I’ve had. We also ordered a pitcher of sangria, figuring at 20 bucks it would be the same price as if we each ordered 2 glasses. However, I believe the pitcher gave us four glasses each. AND we got it for 15 bucks, apparently we had arrived about a minute before happy hour ended! I freaking love this sangria; it has notes of cinnamon flavor which is both distinctive yet subtle, and altogether awesome.
Overall, food is bomb, prices are fair for the portions and deliciousness you receive, and the décor is ridiculous in the best way possible. Check out the votive candles and sugar skull shrine by the bathrooms!

This place has it all: funky décor, incredible food and exemplary service.
A few friends and I split the nachos, which were much better than any place I’ve had in recent months. I then decided, based on other Unilocalers reviews, to get the shrimp burrito which definitely didn’t disappoint. It was flavorful without being heavy, yet definitely satisfying.
Our waiter was also THE best. He never let our water get more than half-​empty and he even brought pitchers of diet coke out for the girls who were guzzling it down. Big fan of the service here.
And some of you hate the décor, but I found it to be fun and very appropriate for the neighborhood.
I don’t know what to classify this kind of Mexican food as, since it’s not Tex-​Mex or authentic … so, how about I just categorize it as ridiculously amazing? Sounds good to me. I’ll be returning to this establishment again as soon as I can.

Came here with a few friends the other night and I’m already a fan, the dia de Los muertos themed wallpaper and ambience alone was awesome. Not to mention that the food is badass and the people working there are friendly and welcoming. One thing in particular that stands out to me was the Jesus and Mary spinning wall. They are little classic pictures of Jesus and Mary and the background is spinning, its trippy as shit.
Either way back to the food, I had chicken enchiladas and they were awesome. A little spicy but definately filling and I’m always down for black beans and Rice. They also gave us free chips and 4 different in house salsas made without water which were all delicious. One of my friends had a quesadilla with chicken corn and cheese which was huge and also delicious and to top it all off they have homemade sangria that come in BOOTS. See my picture, these things are awesome. I wanted to take it home to me! I would recommend this to anyone around south park that wants a trippy inexpensive Mexican dinner.

I dug the vibe — the décor was kitschy cool and everyone was super nice. But the food wasn’t that great though I give them points for effort — especially with the sweet potato taquitos. I was sorely disappointed with the ceviche — who uses cucumber and skips avocado? Good thing that the tomatillo salsa was awesome or I would have starved.
I guess I’d come back if I was in the hood and someone wanted to go there but I wouldn’t go out of my way for this.

Well, when you do one thing really good, sometimes that’s all it takes. The atmosphere here is perfect! Everything was carefully thought out from the paint colors, tattoo style wall paintings, to the writing on the beams and the nacho libre toy that comes with a kids meal, all the way to the mini shopping bag that creatively holds your bill and some cinnamon flavored gum.
They could serve me shit on a stick and I’d still be a returning customer just for the ambiance! Fortunately, it wasn’t body excrement’s that was served… phew! The margaritas are really unique with cactus juice, and strong to boot (pun intended for the boot shaped serving glasses). Sangria I would pass on, but strong as well. The Sweet Potato Flautas were great and the chicken noodle soup was good too. Nothing mind blowing though.
We got chicken on a stick for the kiddies. Melody (just turned 7), thought it to be «overcooked and dry» for her liking; which it was. So we asked for the quesadilla instead since she was still hungry. That was yummy.
This place is SOOOO cool that The Fonz himself may not have been able to get in!
Fun joint, if not for the food, go for the atmosphere and the strong drinks.
cheers,
T

I’ve been here 3 times and I still love going here with friends.
PROs:
Good margaritas
Yummy Sopa de Fideo
Quick with making the food
Nice staff
Good sangria
Awesome interior decorations
Good for a date night
Short wait time on weekdays
CONs:
Can only reserve for a party of 10 or more
Not open for lunch
Pricey, but worth it
Limited street parking

You will fight over the:
1. Sweet Potato flautas
2. Creamy salsa– ask them to bring out the super size of it when u get your chips
3. Mexican wrestler action figure
You will love the:
1. Carne Asada tacos
2. Seasoned jicama
3. Jesus/​Mary table
Great food in a great neighborhood. You almost don’t want to Unilocal it cuz you want to keep it a neighborhood secret.
I’m a Jesus table fan & love the Taco Tues!

Matt and I were in South Park this evening and he suggested we just look inside and get a feel for the place. We were impressed by the décor: colorful patterned wallpaper in the entry and spectacular black and white murals with Mexican themes in the bar/​seating area, papel picado, a sculpted bull head, and a wall of those hypno-​light up Jesus signs (see picture submitted by Ruggy). Given the awesomeness of the atmosphere, we decided to eat there, and skipped the wait by finding a couple of seats against the wall in the bar area.
They carry mostly Mexican beers so I got a Pacifico and Matt had a michelada, which was not served with Clamato and as I result I really liked it a lot. Instead, it just had lime juice, ice, and Tajin, and was served in a little boot shaped glass! We were served chips and four kinds of sauce, and a little bowl of jicama and cucumber, also with Tajin.
The mahi mahi tacos were solid. The concept of sweet potato flautas is fun, but they wouldn’t be remarkable if they weren’t topped with a cream sauce and cheese. That’s what made it for me. We also ordered a side of Mexican street corn, which was my favorite. Served in a bowl instead of on a stick, it was a little creamy, perfectly spicy (for my sensitive tongue) and much less messy than buying it on the street.
Although they were busy, I feel we were given adequate attention and when our server brought us our check (in a little bag, with chicle), he indicated that Tuesdays are a busy night. That’s probably due to their Tuesday half price taco special. Overall, it’s clear they are trying to do something fun and different, and it’s definitely worth checking out if you happen to be in the neighborhood.

OH no you didn’t!!! Last week we walked into this place at 8:30 pm on a Sunday night. We went into the bar where there were three empty tables. We were not even greeted or acknowledged MAN the waitress walked by my husband THREE times and did not even say anything to him. You would have thought we passed gas or something, no eye contact at all.
The food is not five star and NO ONE famous owns this place. Not sure why the attitude or why we were ignored. After patiently waiting for 15 minutes for SOMEONE to acknowledge us, we walked out.
El Camio doesn’t need our money I guess. This is another place that I doubt will survive the recession if they have this type of lack of service.

After checking out the spot last night, my emotions are extremely mixed. Though there are some innovative aspects to the dinner menu (like substituting chili-​infused jicama for the ordinary chips and salsa), it just seems a bit off.
The décor and overall vibe of the place is pretty impressive. It reminds me of a Mexican eatery I’d find in Austin, Texas. If you’ve ever been to ATX, you probably understand what I’m talking about. They’ve got the tacky-​chic thing going on. Paintings of zebras on the walls, techno-​colored renditions of Jesus, Mexican figurines surreptitiously scattered throughout the interior, etc… Despite the warm, kitschy and welcoming vibe, my beef with El Camino was the price of their food. It’s suspiciously and unnecessarily steep. $ 13 for a chicken caesar salad? Hmmm, as good as it was, a salad shouldn’t eclipse the $ 10 plateau. It’s just not OK. I don’t care if the balsamic vinaigrette dressing was made from scratch by Angelina Jolie and Megan Fox, leafy greens shouldn’t be in the ‘teens. Period.
It’s economics, son. The principals (who also own Airport Lounge) probably dumped a ton of cash into the project and the only way to recoup the investment is to jack up the price of the product. I can’t help but wonder what their food would cost had they shaved off a couple of zeros during construction. If that’s NOT the reason their food is so expensive, I’ll be utterly confused, as it certainly doesn’t live up to the inflated price tag. Good? Sure. Great? Napes.
They don’t currently have their liquor license, but apparently it’ll be delivered in a shiny, red envelope this weekend. No liquor, just beer and wine. I’m anxious to see what they do with the drink menu… and I’ll be interested to see how much of a dent it’ll leave in the ‘ol billfold.
Much like 80% of the cast of MTV’s «The Hills,» El Camino is visually stunning… but slightly lacks substance. However, I’m all about letting their pubes grow, so I’ll give it a few weeks to mature, then I’ll revisit. This place really has potential, so I can’t wait to see how the community responds to the latest addition to the attractive South Park neighborhood.