El Patron

Reviews 4

PE

Peter Salzman

The menu is fun -- definitely fusion: We saw Mexican, Colombian, Peruvian, and Cuban. Decor is also fun. The place looks like the owner definitely put time and effort in the external facade of his restaurant. It has the look of a touristy Mexican bar. Seats and tables are comfortable. Theres nice spacing between tables and theres a few choice window seats Service was so-so. Our first server was a young guy who may have been South American. Attentive, helpful, quick. We liked him. The 2nd server was a short Mexican looking guy. He was a bit too impersonal for my liking. Not unfriendly, just not friendly. A smile wouldve gone a long way here. As for the wait time for the food, we were actually OK because were a family that likes to talk, however, I strongly suspect that most people would be genuinely pissed off if they had to wait the same amount of time that we waited for our food. Guacamole en Molcajete: B- The molcajete was impressively seasoned. Ive rarely seen such a nicely seasoned molcajete. Nice work! Any fresh guacamole is going to be good, but there were two main problems. First, we asked for medium spicy, and what we got was as bland as can be. Zero flavor. Furthermore, the guacamole was in very bad need of lime because there was zero lime in it. Seriously? WTF? We asked for some cut up limes to put into the guac, but the waiter must have forgotten about it because we never received it. Empanadas: B A little strange. Small. The doughy outside is not dough at all...it has the texture of polenta. The filling is good enough. But the cilantro and chimichurri sauces you get with the empanadas are solid As, perhaps A+ even! Nachos Machos: C- More of a sloppy joe than nachos. I didnt care for the tortilla chips...they were a bit too mealy. The whole thing didnt have any flavor. The jalapeño rings were flavorless. How did they do that?!? The meat was flavorless. The cheese was flavorless. The whole thing was a flavorless pudding of flavorless meatycheeseysoggychips. Think "wet hamburger tossed on some low quality chips". Im sorry, but bad quality nachos is a crime against humanity. Theyre the easiest thing to make, and so delicious. Theres no excuse for bad nachos. My recommendation to the chef: 1. Get better tortilla chips. 2. Use a more savory cheese. Cheddar, for example. 3. Put some of the chips on top so not all the chips are soggy. 4. Your salsa, chimichurri, and pico de gallo are great. Use one of them on the nachos! 5. Dont smother the dish with meat. Sometimes less is more, you know? 6. Please use jalapeños that taste like jalapeños. 7. Serve it with some of your delicious pico de gallo, chimichurri, and cilantro salsas. 8. Less wet ingredients. Ropa Vieja y Sucia: B Not bad. A bit drier than many ropa vieja Ive had, but good flavor. I enjoyed it. Flan: B Pretty average flan. I liked the consistency, but there was a lack of caramel sauce on it. It really couldve used more sweet caramel on it. Tres Leches: B Tres leches is one of those desserts that, IN THEORY, should be the best cake on the menu, but IN PRACTICE, often is less than great. Sadly, this tres leches falls under that category. Yes, it is yummy, but Ill tell you exactly what the problem was. It was too dry -- the cake was too tall, so the moisture and the condensed milk wasnt able to soak all the cake. The bottom part of the cake was sweet and moist. The top part was dry. The moisture couldnt reach the top. Cappuccino: C Weak. Tasteless. Flavorless. I asked for an extra shot of espresso, and I could barely taste coffee. Awful!

MA

Marivic F

Three stars for food, what they lack is their service. We were a party of three awkwardly waiting by the small standing space to get seated. Fine, Ive been in smaller places and made due. We were seated nearby and our waitress, Yuliana took our drink orders of two frozen mango margaritas served in Patron bottles and appetizers. We decided on the table side Guacamole and empanadas. Both were delicious, however, I know you did not have fresh avocado in your cart so please dont play it off like this wasnt prepped conveniently. Our entrees were two of the Patron Combo which has an enchilada Suiza, a pork tostada, and a taco (beef?) and a full order of Enchiladas Suiza. Every dish has beans and Mexican rice. Perfect, the food and margaritas were so good. Yuliana stopped by once and the gentlemen couldnt wait to clear our tables. Now, for the check. The party amount stated four people and already had an 18% tip in the bill. I am not a cheap tipper. You get my order right, bring my plate hot, and make my drink strong, I will always default to 18%. Mediocre at best for everything, 15%. You actually show love and care to your customers, I give 30%. Cash. Times are tough, its the holidays, whatever. You depend on your tip. I let it slide, thought it was odd but alright. The bill was split between two cards with the exact amounts written on the back of the check. I informed the man who took the check that the amount are written with the last four digits of each card. He ends up handing it over to a guy with a fawkhawk (the hell we still doin that?!) wearing a secret service earpiece. The bill comes back and he splits it down the middle! Far from what the amounts were supposed to be. I had the intent of putting more tip in but I guess they wanted more money the sneaky way. I cant go back to this place until I see more recent and positive reviews. Take-out option?

A

A Private User

I had a nice time at El Patron Mexican Grill in Flushing with some notable exceptions. The guacamole made at the table was a nice touch and the ceviche was divine. I ordered the Salmon Garibaldi as an entree. Others at the table ordered carne and it was very good. Described as an encrusted zucchini preparation, the Salmon Garibaldi was anything but. It came with a thin creamy sauce. We told the waiter and he did come and take the dish away. When he returned he came back with the same piece of fish with some julianne zucchini thrown on top. Very disappointing. Does their kitchen know what encrusted means or are they so arrogant that once a mistake is made they stick to their guns? The word on the street is that they are fine for the $7 lunch but really cant handle dinner. Too bad, very nice environment and the music was swinging. Leo, the manger, was informed and did nothing. I also emailed and got no response. Will not be coming back.

A

A Private User

Came here back in February for my birthday, had about 16 people with us and we were pretty much the only patrons in the restaurant so youd think that the server would have been attentive especially since our server happened to be the owner of the restaurant. Service was lousy, never filled our waters, never came back around to see if anyone needed their drink order refilled, food took way to long and came out cold plus I attempted to eat the big 4lbs burrito and after 4 bites had to run to the bathroom and vomit everywhere. When I confronted the owner he told me there was nothing wrong with the burrito and in fact he had had it for lunch. I was very upset. Also the restaurant is advertised as having Mexican cuisine but the new owner is Colombian and so is most of the food on the menu.