El Camino Real Restaurant in Philadelphia

Cornbread was hard as a rock when they bought it out to me. I couldn’t even cut it. After I complained, they came out with a nice fresh piece of cornbread. As expensive as this place is, I was expecting better quality food. Waitress seemed to be avoiding us after the complaint. My sister didn’t even like her meal, but she didn’t say anything. I would not come back here.

Sat for an hour and half before got food. Forgot about us though there was only one other table. Felt as if they wanted us out but pettiness prevailed and we waited for our food. It came out mediocre, especially for what this place once was, but probably good for most young people or suburban people. I do not recommend this place if you have standards and/or a tight schedule. It’s hard to believe she literally forgot for an hour and half, I think they wanted us gone. Not a fan at all. Glory days are over due to FRONT OF HOUSE

This was late night reasonably crowded! Only good thing bout this review would be the margarita! I tasted the alcohol!! Keep this in mind when tasting their food to simply put it it’s made for a heavy drinker with no taste buds left cthu..Gordon Ramsey help! When dinning outside they ask for your credit card for an open tab really to avoid dine and dash! I couldn’t post with out giving stars…but you needed to know!

This place is only decent if youre looking to get tipsy. The drinks are the only good thing on the menu. I had eaten here a few nights ago and ordered burritos while my partner had the tacos. Both were flavorless no seasoning what so ever. The entrees were 15$ and they came with no sides. We had to leave after eating… to go eat. I had read reviews before going and was honestly shocked at how bad the food was. We won’t be back there are much better mexican places in philly.

The service was abysmal, borderline insulting. Food was mediocre at best. This is not a revenge post, this is just how we were treated and the ultimate quality presented.

Food was good the vibes were good. We also got a marg pitcher. It’s a great place to chill with friends and it’s decently priced.

Meh.. all the meat is so processed… taste like plastic… they were playing britney spears in a mexican restaurant… waitress sucked.. literally only brought me one beer while we sat bc she only checked on us once… we asked her for her recommendation on the food and she couldn’t give us one… its not authentic mexican and its over priced… chips and gauc was $15 alone…. I do not recommend going for dinner.. maybe for a couple drinks tho.

Ate here with friends on 08/28. Awful food - like awful, awful, awful as in dry and mostly flavorless. Wait staff couldn’t be bothered. Made eye contact several times with wait staff for service and they pretended they didn’t see me. Worst dining experience I’ve had in Philly. Will absolutely not be coming back. Save your money. Save your time.

This place used to be 5 stars years ago. Today it’s quick turnover, low quality, small portioned, high priced food. Specialty drinks still ok, but don’t go for any authentic “Mexican” food.

Is it the best Mexican food I have ever had? No, but it’s solid and I like that their food menu and drink list is extensive. It has a good atmosphere as well. You can’t go wrong by checking it out.

Great little spot on 2nd street.Environment: CozyFood: I’d get get into this again on a Tuesday.Drinks: would go out on a limb for again (recommend the Sangria Marg)Overall good vibes and would recommend to a friend! As a city place in a more gentrified area like NoLibs, the price is a bit higher but just as expected being across from the Piazza. but if you know that going in it’s a pleasant experience!

Drinks and vibe are pretty good. All of the Mexican food was pretty lackluster and my brother got food poisoning from their pulled pork...

The restaurant seems to lack stuff there was no hostess and no bartenders. Seems like the servers were making their own drinks. The food was terrible . I ordered the birria tacos and did not like them. The meat was bland and the tacos just tasted off. I told my server and the manager came over shortly and made it seem like it was a problem that i did not like my meal. I then ordered the taco salad which was worse then the tacos. The lettuce tasted like plastic. The best thing on the plate was the guac. The plate was also dirty . I then ordered the cinnamon tres leche which was pretty good but we finished it in 2 bites. Also the tip is automatically included when the service is disgraceful Overall i don’t recommend do not waste you time

Great food, drinks, and outdoor seating . Automatic gratuity which is fine but I would have tipped MORE than 20% for such a nice experience. Food came out fast for a busy Saturday dinner, and all the staff was very friendly and attentive.

The manager, Ann, was very unpleasant and the food was average. If you eat outdoors waiters will forget about, you leaving you waiting just to be serviced for a long amount of time. They lost me as a customer. Don’t waste your time or money.

go on a week night when it’s not crowded, sit at the bar, chat with your bartender, & enjoy a draft beer pour from a cowboy boot. a great time is always had by all.

The margaritas are totally remarkable and the food is far better. I attempted to eat early lunch for this visit and the morning meal taquitos were totally astonishing. The accommodation I get was suberb.

El Camino is a chill spot to grab some good food and decent drinks. Great location in NoLibs!

It’s always a pleasure to visit here. Food is always great, great service and good drinks. I’m happy the regular menu is back as well.

Love this place!!! You cant go wrong with anything on the menu, its all insanely good. Dont cheat yourself and make sure you get their wings, theyre immaculate!! They most definitely have one of the better happy hours in the city which features: $3 tacos quesadillas and bottles of select beer, $4 select Draft Beers, $5 Spirits and ~margaritas~, and to top it off 1/2 price wine. The atmosphere is always great and the decor on the inside is on point for sure! Definitely try it out if you havent!!

Fantastic place. Lots of indoor and outdoor seating. Tons of drink choices. Great selection of beer. Food wise there are so many great choices....you cant go wrong.Like most things in the city finding parking is the only seed bump.

Very nice set up restaurant, went with my wife and we felt the fajitas platter(no matter which meat optionshould be more of a traditional fajita order with meat and peppers sizzling to your table and not on a bed of rice which takes away from the "Fajitas Flare". Aside from that the drinks were very good(strong)!! And staff was nice as well. A lot of seating space which is great if youre going as date or in big groups.

chips & queso & fried calamari were great but the entrees were terrible.their strawberry limeade was really good & their customer service skills are great as well. Just wish the kitchen did better on their entrees.

32$ for a watered down lemonade rllong Island ice team ruined my whole night. Ribs were dry af, fajitas were dry as well. Overall bad experience I understand paying for quality but 232$ for r plates and two drinks is ridiculous were not in NYC Lmao cmon now

My first time was great, even though they forgot to put the chicken in my nachos, they corrected it and I must say the chicken was delicious! My second time going I ordered a chicken nacho to go and when I got home it happened again...no chicken in my nachos..I was very upset about that! Not sure if Ill be going back anytime soon ...The service was great,the drinks were amazing but Ill give them a break before going again!

Cantina style bar/restaurant. Inside and outside dining. Food was good. Tacos and burritos and other Mexican food. Was surprised at the price point. A little too expensive for this type of place. 20% gratuity automatically added to check.

The worst service at a restaurant that I have ever experienced. We came here for cinco de Mayo, I understand that it’s a holiday, but this place cannot handle busy nights. I worked in restaurants all of my life, and this was unacceptable. We waited 4 hours for a table (we were told it would be a 3 hour wait). Then we waited another hour and a half after sitting down to get our food. We ended up leaving and not paying for two dishes because we didn’t even receive them. We went to talk to the manager and he was very rude. Did not even offer to compensate our meals or drinks. What a joke. Spent 5 hours total here and didn’t even get our food. Don’t come here.

Amazing service from my bartender Avery! On a slammed Saturday night she was able to take my order olus 4 others without writing anything down. The drink was made to perfection. The food that came out was piping hot and came within 10 minutes of ordering. Great atmosphere, great staff, and amazing food.

I will never go to this restaurant ever again. I order my two kids strawberry lemonade drinks. My kids sips the drink and they said it was nasty and it tasted weird. As I go to open the lid off the cup you smell alcohol in the drinks. I taste the drinks and they was extra strong. The waiter argued with everyone at the table down saying it was no alcohol in it. It took 10 minutes for the manager to come out to only say sorry and give us 15% off our food and walked off.

I used to really like this place but the management and wait staff needs improvement. I witnessed a waitress rudely ask a customer if they knew how many ounces were in their pitcher, the manager raised her voice at table that had questions about the pricing of their bill bc communication was unclear.I ordered the Baja fish tacos and didn’t like them, I took one bite. I notified my waitress and gestured for her to take my plate and she abruptly told me she would get her manager. Once the manager came I repeated that I didn’t like my food and she refused to take it off my bill because nothing was “wrong” with the food, even though I was going to order something else.I am completely dissatisfied with this establishment and hope the wait staff can improve their people skills.

The Brussels sprouts were delicious but the guacamole was the star of the show. The spicy shrimp and smoked lamb tacos were good too. I would definitely recommend dining here.

I’m sorry but it really should be illegal to add a gratuity especially a 20% gratuity to a table of two people. The food was mediocre at best. The hostess was miserable so that started us off on the wrong foot. The only good thing was our waitress, she did her job well.

The food was excellent! Just know 20% gratuity is already included.

Their drinks are deliciously flavored. They have a great menu. I ordered the Nashville chicken which can be on the high spicy level for some.. it was a flavorful level for me. Parking is pretty hard in this area, but consider parking at the ACME. We chose to sit inside, but the outdoor seating is pretty well insultaed with warmth if that is a choice for you.

El Camino Real catered our wedding over the summer of 2021. Manager, Josh, was thoughtful and responsive throughout our wedding planning during a pandemic. Once we secured an outdoor location, El Camino made our park restrictions work. The food and drink were delicious. The staff was generous and so so kind. Thanks for making our wedding possible!

We were served by a blonde young woman named Jill, Came in as a table of 5, only 2 people received the correct food first try. Waited over 20 minutes for Mountain Dew. Sent back a taco salad 3 times and ended up settling with the 4th one because I was fed up. Another person at my table ordered a taco salad that also had to be sent back multiple times. Staff treats you as if you are incompetent. Had to ask 4 times for sour cream after order being returned countless times. Overall highly unsatisfactory serviceUPDATE25 minutes later, we’ve been out of water for roughly 30 mins now with still no Mountain Dew and have yet to be checked on. We’ve been talking loudly trying to alert the server that we’re ready for our check for over 10 mins. Do we need to start breaking the plates to receive service? Also, why is the 20% gratuity added with no debate or regulations for the staff to maintain? Don’t understand why a good server gets 20% when someone can ignore their table and still receive 20%

Place totally fell off! They add 20% gratuity no matter what on a big sign in front of the restaurant. They never come back to the table so are we there once when he took her order somebody from the kitchen delivered our food and then we had to scramble somebody down to get our check! Burnt old tasteless ribs!

Food presentation 🔥.Meals were fresh.Great outdoor seating.

Love this place, love the food and the ambience. Parking sucks tho, last time I visited I spent literally 47 minutes finding one!

The tacos was mushy inside and no flavor. Food was over priced and only thing that was good was the zombie Margarita. Cool place to chill, but I wouldnt choose to eat or spend money there anymore.

Every time I visit Philly I make sure to stop here for food. The margaritas are absolutely phenomenal and the food is even better. I tried brunch for this visit and the breakfast taquitos were absolutely amazing. Service here is always on point and sitting outside is a must!

I was visiting a friend for the first time in Philly and he suggested his friends restaurant. This place is a GEM. Amazing wait staff and their menu is BOMB. We ordered the Sangria, Pina colada and iced tea for drinks. For meals, we had the meat combo (brisket, sausage and pork belly), brisket melt and lump crab quesadilla. The portions a huge and the food was absolutely DELICIOUS. We would 100% recommend and plan to come again!

I enjoyed myself at El Camino Real. The waitstaff was entertaining and attentive. He was the life of the restaurant but of course I dont remember his name. The shrimp appetizer delicious and the texas toast was made perfectly. The salmon tacos were also delicious. I had the pulled pork sandwich with mac and cheese but couldnt finish it so I took it to go...to be continued. I enjoyed how elaborate their drink list was but I didnt drink alcohol and they only had lemonade as a non carbonated beverage. At least our waiter upgraded it to a strawberry lemonade which was tasty.

We loved everything about El Camino Real except the cheesesteak. El Camino Real, big fun place. I liked the window art. The cheesesteak came with french fries. The french fries were heavily seasoned and the ketchup has either a Sriracha ketchup or BBQ ketchup or BBQ sauce, whatever it was, I like the Heavenly season french fries with a barbecuey sauce. The Cheesesteak was just a miss. The roll was big, bready and didnt work with his cheesesteak. They use a cheese sauce which should be able to get through all the meat but it didnt. The meat was a little dry. We loved everything else. Maybe go to El Camino Real and dont get the cheese steak

Brisket tacos were TO DIE FOR. Salena took real good care of us & our endless requests for mojitos. I definitely plan on coming back for the tacos

Went here with a few friends - wasn’t really impressed.We ordered wings, fajitas, a burrito and some shrimp tacos.The wings were probably the best part of the meal - everything else really lacked flavor. The service was friendly and the ambience was nice, but the food was struggling.It’s not bad food it’s just average food. And when you go into a restaurant by the piazza you expect more than average.

I have been here 2x and both times the place was packed. (In door and out door seatingWent during happy hour. Food was okay. Fairly priced. Service could have been better. Waiter was not attentive. Had to ask another waiter for help.

Stopped into El Camino to try the shrimp burritos my friends have raved about. They were very good but a bit on the smaller size for a burrito that you may be used to getting. The menu is varied from tacos to bbq and I would stop in again to try the bbq sampler. Food that night did come out quite slowly however.

I liked this place alot. Can use some cosmetic tweeks but had an authentic feel and taste that made my visit worthwhile. Easy on pockets and awesome drinks. Well lit with loud music and love the decorations which topped off the authentic mexican cusine feel

Atmosphere is spot on; when you walk up its feels like Austin.BBQ brisket was ok (see below), and service was excellent.I would like to come back and try the tacos.Things I would improve:The Jalapeno Margarita was ok but it didnt have any pop at all.The brisket didnt have a smoke ring at all, and the flavor was scraping by with ok.BBQ sauce needs to be served room temperature, not cold. The "spicy" had good flavor minus a sweet aspect. Remove the sugar and theyll have a good BBQ sauce.