The Blind Pig

We ate there the other day. We both thought the food was just right. My wife had the nachos and I had a burrito. Both were carne asada, which was just a little crispy and very tasty. They could have put a bit more sauce on the nachos and also given me a bit more for my burrito. I had a side of refried beans with my burrito. They could have been better. The other choice for a side was rice with chorizo, and next time I will opt for that instead. Judging by what we ate it’s apparent that someone knows what they’re doing and we are planning to try some of the other offerings. The service was just right too.

Walked in. Wasn’t greeted. Took 5+ min to get a menu and a water… Looked over the menu sat there for 10+ minutes not being offered chips salsa or if I was ready to order… I feel like this establishment is for regulars only the whole bar was full of people (assuming regulars) and they were talking with the bartenders and ignoring me. (I sat myself) I Don’t think I will be back. Kind of a bummer because I like Mexican food and live in the area.

The food here was amazing. Thanks once again to Unilocal.Another good hole in the wall restaurant. The service was a little lacking but it could have been an off day for the server.

Wow, ate here for lunch and can’t say enough. Flavors explode off your palate. Recommend; pork wings, smothered baked potato and the to die for shrimp tamale.

So this was not the best first experience… My fiancé and I were sat right away at a half booth inside. Within a couple of minutes we were greeted and received our waters and a Paloma Fresca a few after.
I’m in the industry so I tend to be observant when out to dinner. They are quite unorganized and inefficient (they are still using paper tickets rather than a POS system for one).
When we received our drinks we ordered chips, salsa and guacamole, which came almost 15 minutes later (they ran out of ramekins for the salsa).
Before we received our appetizer we ordered our entrées. Needless to say we waited almost 1.5 hours for them to never arrive. I was really looking forward to the shrimp tamales and ceviche based on rave reviews.
Tables around us were waiting ten plus minutes to get greeted, standing up and getting their own menus. And another couple that came in a half an hour after us received their food. Not to mention the table next to us who left waiting when they came after us as well.
As I said, I’m in the industry. My previous employer was a popular Mexican restaurant so I know Cinco de Mayo can be hectic. My patience ran too thin and we asked for our check before our food came when apparently, «our food was out next» 15 minutes ago.
I’m giving an extra star because they comped our drinks and app. If I do ever come back it will be a Monday afternoon.

Wonderful food! Pig wings are amazing, huge oysters on the half shell, and the avocado bruschetta is awesome!

The blind pig, well I went in blind despite the Unilocal reviews. Unilocal reviews looked amazing, pics looked good, but atmosphere and food missed the mark. Service was good which is why the 1 star otherwise it would be one! Order the nachos, salsa was good but meat and cheese were cold. We were hungry so at it anyway. I was excited about the tamale but it was not good, small and expensive. 12.00 for one tamale that was VERY small!!! Then there was my brother who is in town with us. He loves tacos and order 3 different kinds. Chicken was dry and cold according to him, and the beef was cold and not good. Again being hungry and not one to complain he ate them and said something to us in the car. The mahi taco was good he stated. So you might try that if you dare to go here! My fiancé got a pambazo! She said it was good I wouldn’t try it and even though she loved that she agreed she would probably not go out of her way to come here. Also seating was very poor we were packed in tighter than sardines at a high top. This is a very bar styled atmosphere and cramped seating was uncomfortable and disruptive to the meal.
Update: we are all in the bathroom the next morning! DO NOT GO!!!

I seem to have a thing for pigs… in this case, she claims to be blind! So what. This swine has amazing taste, ambience and service ! Just like her Uncle Sal, next door. On a recent visit with a group of friends I have to admit that the name threw me off: Blind Pig, you say? Well! It doesn’t sound Mexican! Do not judge a cantina by its namesake. Or a pig by her ummm ethnicity ?? After all, Uncle Sal is Italian! Upon entering, we were seated in the corner of this rather small, but cute and quaint place and promptly greeted by our waitress who gave us ideas on drinks and the once over on the specials. She was super patient with our loud group, (seriously. we were noisy.) My drink was the Paloma Fresca: a light, citrusy margarita type cocktail, with the buzz of a grapefruit spritz. It was good, light and refreshing. I ordered the Crab/​Mango/​Avocado Stack. Okay. Mind. Blown. For $ 9. this very robust stack of just what it describes! It was more than enough to share amongst us and still have not eaten it all! LOADS of crab !! Being from California, I can appreciate how pricey crab recently has been. I was in shock at how good it was; fresh and how much was on this appetizer for such a low price! My entrée: I had a tough time deciding because the menu is full of really, good snd inexpensive fresh items ! I went with the Shrimp Tamale as my entrée because it was different. It comes as one tamale with a few shrimp on top and a creamy sauce. It’s rich! Don’t think because it’s only one you won’t get enough, as you will! My husband ordered the Guacamole and Salsa combo to start and again: Soooo good and enough to share ! Cheap beers; a great wine list; great margs and amazing food. The waitress was so friendly throughout our night here with our loud table and our groups indecisiveness and all of us asking so many questions of her ! She never lost it! Kudos to her! Our dinner group is a bit much, at times! Can’t wait for another reason to visit this cute blind swine… and her nice patio before the hot summer hits!

So the food was pretty good! I had the fish tacos and enjoyed them. My friend liked her meal, too. Which is a bummer because…
The service, was weird! Our waitress was super pushy and asked me if I was ready to order a drink like 4 times in a matter of ¹⁰⁄₁₅ minutes. I told her sorry, that I’ve been talking (catching up with a friend) and haven’t had a chance to look yet and she pointed out that I basically might want to stop talking and look because they were closing in an hour. Rude!
At the end when our check came I asked her if we could get separate checks and she said they can’t do that, but that we could split it. So I wrote down the dollar amount (to the penny) that each of us were going to pay. Both amounts ended in something like .16 cents and .18 cents. I explained who was paying what and she tells us that she can’t do cents either and instead has to round it to the nearest five or something??? WTF? So she said it would be rounded up to .20 cents instead. So you can’t charge me .18, but you can charge me .20??? I’ve never in my life heard of such a thing!!! I don’t even care about the extra cents, its the principal of the matter. And as a business if you’re having technical difficulties (or whatever) you shouldn’t charge the customer the extra cents, no matter how little, it’s not my problem! The proper thing to do would be to take a hit and round it down (if anything) and get your crap together! Ugh, the whole thing was frustrating. Plus, she was so rude about it!
Listen up: If they charged 200 people a day for a month an extra .05 cents because of this «issue» or «incapability» they would take home an extra $ 300 a month! Something seems super fishy here. Just sayin.
Anyways, I’d say give them a go because the food was good, but if service is shotty or weird things happen don’t say I didn’t warn you :/

The food is always to die here. I had the corn tamale with cilantro cream sauce and shrimp. Tacos pastore was very good and the fish tacos were so enjoyed at our table. We also had a avacado mango and crab stack. Service was also great and Liz did a great job with us.

Can’t believe the nachos aren’t mentioned more in the reviews here. I love this place and frequently go for lunch.
Nachos are fantastic, especially with the al pastor pork. The care Asada is very good as well. Both varieties come with the amazing white cheese that this place has, I can’t get enough. For further cheesiness get the wild mushroom quesadilla. Tacos and sandwiches are good too, I prefer the chicken milanesa. Not feeling nachos? Try the smokehouse baked potato.
I’ve never had a problem with the service. They are always friendly and quick. Try this place out; very affordable good food. Oh and GET THE NACHOS!

Love that I found the blind pig!
Their food has always been tasty and affordable. The guacamole, salsas and chips are a must, they are so good! I’ve had the torta ahogada but I substituted the carnitas pork in place of the chicken and it was delicious. Also their mac and cheese is one of the best that I’ve had. Its not your typical mac, using white cheddar and throwing some spice in it.
Its never been too busy when I go but service isn’t the quickest. Also the place is a bit lacking on creating an atmosphere.

Pros: shrimp tamales
Cons: wait time over an hour, food was overcooked, service was SLOW… And not friendly staff
Read the other reviews. Go elsewhere

Seriously? I’m not even sure where to begin. The menu has a weird mix of twists on Mexican favorites, Italian food and macaroni and cheese. Their prized dish, the shrimp tamale, is really 3 small, week-​old shrimp, served over an overly sweet polenta mixture. We finished about 3 bites.
Who serves guacamole in a coconut shell?
The drinks were another low point. Served in soft drink style glassware my martini became some mix that was more like a margarita, and the «Mexican mule» was an over-​sold limeade.
The service was terrible, and slow. One of our party requested hot water to calm her stomach and they literally said that they had NO HOT WATER in the whole restaurant. I question, then, how they wash their hands or make their coffee. The waitress was super snotty and not at all fun or friendly.
They charged a 19% gratuity on our $ 100 bill for 6. I’m a big tipper but that would be a bit presumptuous even at a fine dining establishment. Clearly they get you because they know you wouldn’t tip otherwise.
Pass, pass, pass… drive a bit further west and go to barrio urbano or another joint near camelback. This place is no good, at all…

Reasons to Avoid:
–GLASS IN FOOD
–POOR SERVICE
–NEARLY NO ONE IN THE RESTAURANT ON A TUESDAY WAITED 49 MINUTES
–COLD FOOD
I came here with a group of five. We showed up for lunch at noon. There were four other customers total besides us at the restaurant.
We didn’t get our food till 12:49pm. The waiter didn’t say sorry or even try to offer an excuse for the delay.
One of the people I was with found a piece of glass the size of his thumb in his food. The majority of the food was cold or skip the simple request given of «no onions».
I strongly suggest skipping this place. Between the waiter not really caring about the customer experience and the glass. It’s not worth the gamble.

I’ve been to the other two sister restaurants in the same plaza, but had not yet checked this one out. It was a weeknight, and they were not all that busy, so it was a good chance to try out some of their popular dishes.
The oysters Rockefeller /​chips + salsa were really great appetizers. It was my first time having oysters that way and will definitely not be my last. The salsa was fresh and chips were perfectly warm and salted.
For the entrée I got the chorizo pizza — mostly because I like house made chorizo and wanted to give this unique twist on a pizza a shot. When it arrived on the table, I saw all the fresh cabbage on top and remembered the last time I had lettuce /​cabbage on a pizza was the time I tried a taco pie in Idaho — which was an epic fail.
This didn’t fail as bad, because it gave the pie a nice crunch /​texture alternative. But the next day, as you might imagine, it didn’t quite hold up. The flavor combination just wasn’t ideal and not something I’d order again.
That said, the service was solid and the appetizers were really good so when I come back I’ll just try something else.

Showed up at about 9:30pm on a Friday night. The inside room was 100% full and the outside was about 30% full. Stood outside. Nobody came and acknowledged me. Stood inside the doorway. Nobody acknowledged me. Stood at the bar. Nobody acknowledged me. Meanwhile, my date had just grabbed menus from somewhere an sat herself on the patio. By the time i finally got someone i basically said «oh hey, nevermind there she is» so it isnt like we sat somewhere that the staff didnt know about.” This ordeal lasted maybe 8 minutes…
Sat down and after about 3 minutes, someone dropped off water. Then another 3 – 5 minutes passed by and someone came and got drink orders. We got our drinks, finished our drinks, and… you guessed it, nobody. So we hollered at someone that worked there to close our «drink tab.» They did and we left.
I’m not sure how long we were there but I’d say an honest 30 minutes between waiting outside like a dork and waiting outside at the table before we called it quits.
To make matters worse, none of the heaters outside were on. Half the time we were there someone was fiddling with it. As it turns out, the last thing you want is a cold date. And before you say it I’m not one who wants a bunch of attention. I don’t. But I do want someone to –heaven forbid– seat me and take my order! They looked like they literally had twice the business they were staffed for.
Apparently we weren’t the only ones with this experience because a table near us (also outside, family of four) got up, tossed cash on the table, and left. They had it too. The other 4 tables outside with us that were occupied also had no food — and they were all there before we waited around on the sidewalk/​lobby/​bar waiting for someone to seat us.
I can’t stress enough how laid back of a person I am when it comes to dining. No joke, I’ve had food come to my table with hair in it and I didn’t complain. The wrong food was brought to me and I didn’t complain. I’ve had drinks spilled on me and I didn’t complain. So to warrant me to rate the place low like this hurts me. But I’m pretty sure most people would have walked away long before I did, some without paying (if you have to get up and track someone down to close your bill…). But the fact is that Blind Pig was attempting to race the figure –8 with a unicycle against legitimate race cars.
The food must be out of this world for it to hold 4 stars with this kind of service.

OK those were the best shrimp tamales I’ve ever had in my life. Perhaps the only shrimp tamales I’ve ever had — but they were OFF THE CHAIN.
We had the pig wings and taco toes (spell check refuses the real spelling) they were very good but my Mexican husband claimed the filling was too spiced — not hot spicy but too much of the flavor
$ 32 for everything. Whut?!?

Holy yum. Great from start to finish. Raul it’s a great bartender. Sangria is amazing. Tacos are super filling.
Crowd is full of regulars and everyone is nice. Hidden location in a strip mall. It is worth the search.

Love this place! First time checking in and reviewing (because I’m trying to give back to the Unilocal community more), but I’ve been here a bunch of times.
Start out with the Pig Wings — best BBQ ribs you’ll ever have (well, pork ribs — my beef ribs are pretty hard to beat). Never was much of a ‘dipper’, but the dipping sauce for the Pig Wings has got me dipping wings in blue cheese now.
Then, go for the Shrimp Tamales. Grilled shrimp on sweet corn tamales, smothered in a creamy sauce that’s got a citrus-​tart kick that contrasts perfectly with the tamale. Amazing.
Then, finish off with the Key Lime Pie — best Key Lime Pie I’ve had anywhere!