Address: | 9155 Hearst Dr, San Simeon, CA 93452, USA |
Phone: | +1 805-927-3872 |
Site: | m.facebook.com |
Rating: | 3.2 |
Working: | 11:30AM–9PM 11:30AM–9PM 11:30AM–9PM 11:30AM–9PM 11:30AM–9PM 11:30AM–9PM 11:30AM–9PM |
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Steve Sterry
I wish to share the following complaint about this restaurant, which we visited on October 19, 2015. In March of 2016, we decided to submit a formal complaint to the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing after we were unable to make successful contact with the restaurants owner. Our complaint was then dismissed after the restaurant declined to accept arbitration of the complaint, because, as I later found out from an attorney, we did not specifically ask for inside seating, after we were involuntarily given an outside table. Although I cannot find fault with the food, the overall treatment that we received at this restaurant was, in my opinion, terrible. The letter below was taken from an email that I composed on October 19, 2015, the evening we returned to Santa Maria from our terrible experience at this venue: "This afternoon, we drove seventy-five miles up the coast from the hotel were we usually stay in Santa Maria. We decided to stop at a Mexican restaurant, El Chorlito, in San Simeon, about ten minutes away from Hearst Castle. We arrived there about 5:45 PM. When we walked into the restaurant with both Daisy and Montera [our service dogs], there were people sitting both inside and outside. Jeannie had put on her coat, because she felt cold. I asked her if she wanted to sit inside or outside, and Jeannie replied that she wanted to eat inside. When the server came over to seat us, however, we were not given a choice, and he put us at an outside table. I suggested to Jeannie that we ask to be moved into an inside table, but she did not want to create any problems and therefore we accepted the outside table. During the time that we were eating our meal, the sun set, and it became colder and colder. Daisy began to fuss, as she usually does when she knows that Jeannie is going to have a migraine headache I decided that we should go inside and have a cup of coffee. When the server took us in, he put us at a segregated table in a separate room, I asked him why he didnt put us in the regular dining room. He told us that it was because he did not want our dogs to bother the other customers. When I explained that both were service dogs, he insisted that did not matter. We finished our coffee, and while Jeannie took the the dogs to the car, I told the server I wanted to speak with the General Manager. I was told that the GM was not in, and he was the acting manager tonight. When I told him about my concerns and about the fact that I felt we were being discriminated against because of our service dogs, he became surly, insisting that the restaurants policy was legal and that they did not discriminate against service dogs. When I asked him why we were not asked whether we wanted inside or outside seating, he insisted that the policy was that all pets and service animals were only offered outside seating, and if we wanted otherwise, we should have let him know when we arrived. When I further asked him if it was standard practice to ask newly arriving customers without service dogs if they wanted inside our outside seating, he admitted that it was. The bottom line is that Jeannies migraine got so bad that, when we arrived at Hearst Castle, she decided that we needed to go home. When I explained the situation, the Hearst Castle ticket agent refunded the cost of our tickets; but we still end up by paying for an extra night for the hotel, the meals that we consumed, and the cost of travel from Santa Maria to Hearst Castle."
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Marlena Price
My One star was ONLY for the waiter who helped us somewhat. But this place was probably the WORST Mexican restaurant I have ever been to. Like many, my husband and I were taking the scenic route home from up north. San Simeon was the town after Big Sur so we decided to stop for a bite to eat. At first chips were impressive because they were hot , but after about 2 noticed that they were very bland, or maybe stale. I ordered the 1 enchilada place with rice and beans... and my husband was so excited to order the beef fajitas. Now when you think of fajitas, you think the plate will come to you sizzling hot freshly cooked, right?? Well not here. They were not sizzling at all. My husband who is a line cook, could tell the beef used were like beef strips reheated. Cooked earlier in the day no doubt, and then reheated with the peppers & onions... reheated not cooked to order with the sizzling skillet that 99% of all Mexican restaurants do with their fajita dish. Not this one. My Enchilada was ok.. cant really go wrong with that, but my issue was with the rice. No flavor. It took me years to perfect my rice, and this one had no flavor, and was dry as if the pot burned, and they salvaged as much as they could to serve, but the burnt taste or dryness was still there. Our bill was about $35.00 and i only ate my Enchilada, and my husband ate the flour tortillas and some of the peppers, and you would think the waiter who picked up our plate would have asked how was it, but nope! This place is near hotels, so i am assuming tourism is their clientele, but this is definately not authentic Mexican food. I honestly would have rather have gone to Taco Bell for an Enchirito, and that says alot.
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Bill Brummal
On a recent, two nights stay in San Simeon, my wife and I checked this place out for dinner. It was just a short walk from our hotel room, and I had been driving for about three hours, so we figured : "Why not?". The first thing about this place that struck me as odd as that the only alcohol they serve is wine and beer. No tequila, which means no Margaritas. What the heck? What kind of Mexican restaurant doesnt serve Margaritas? Thats like a Chinese restaurant that doesnt serve rice. They make something called a wine Margarita, which I have never heard of. Well, not to worry. We didnt order drinks anyway, so on to the food.... My wife ordered a chicken tostada, which was very sparse on the chicken...although she assured me it was still tasty. I ordered a basic bean and cheese burrito, served "wet" with sauce and melted cheese all over it. It was enormous, so no complaint about the portion size. However, the red sauce had a slightly sweet flavor to it that I found a little peculiar. Im not saying it was bad, but it was strange. I guess thats just their recipe. One reviewer commented that the salsa was like ketchup. I wouldnt go that far, but it was extremely mild. I like my salsas with a little more heat and bite to it. Theirs just had no "oomph" to it. I will say that our waiter was a nice kid..very polite and professional, and we were pleased with the service we got. The wait time for the food was reasonable, and it arrived to our table fresh and piping hot. Its just the flavors that seemed to miss the mark for me.
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A Private User
After reading the other reviews on here, I feel that I had to chime in after eating at El Chorlito tonight. As others have mentioned, there was a 20 minute wait to be seated, and the bar area was closed due to not having a bartender on staff. After we were seated we were promptly given good chips and salsa, and shortly after our orders were taken. I had the enchilada and chile relleno combination dish, which was made with local shredded beef from Hearst Ranch. Flavor on both items was excellent, and everything was cooked properly. My wife ordered the chimichanga, was was nice a crispy on the outside and was stuffed with good ingredients. Prices were a little high, but what I expected to pay. Not much different that I am used to paying at home in the NYC metro area. The servers were all very polite and genuinely apologetic about any long waits. Free refills were offered on the chips and salsa as an apology for the delay. Overall I was very pleased with the meal and would definitely return.