I've always enjoyed El Portal on Ming and Ashe, but living in the NW I find there are so many options from here to there that I never make it "there" anymore... So I was happy to see the new El Portal West location coming to Calloway and Brimhall.
The location can be a little ackward to get into... not as bad as Frugattis but it does have that flavor... the shopping center it is in is brand new, and looks like it belongs along a river walk, not calloway and brimhall.
There is a nice entry to the restaurant and a wierd layout to the seating area... there is a main seating area and then boths off the the south of the building... kinda secluded... and another seating room to the north with the kitchen to the east... and then off to the right of the entrance is a sliver of a bar... kinda of a wedge that seems unnatural, like it was an afterthought in the design. All in all, the layout seemed to cut up the restaurant too much, and if your waiter had tables in more then one area (main, private booths, secluded room) then your service suffered for it.
I've been there twice now... each with different results... the drum roll please...
1st Visit - This was a unplanned trip, was driving buy, saw the sign and was hungry so we swung in. There was a short 15 min wait and then we were seated at a booth in the main area. The decor is nice, but the real treat is along with chips and salsa you get this bean queso type dip... oh wow... it was great... and free is always good. I can see this being a hit over the summer... a cold corona, chips, salsa and queso... Yummy...
So far so good.... and it kinda went downhiill from there. Service was very slow... we saw our waiter so often (not) that I wasn't sure who to ask for the check. My wife had Chicken Fajitas and I had some combo shrimp plate... kinda an around the world of their offerings...
The Fajitas were ok... though it was almost all bell pepper and chicken, not much else in the veggie department. My dish was was good and bad... the shrimp empadas were no good, the spicy style diablo shrimp was good, everything else was just ok... in Bakersfield... just ok isn't good for a mexican restaurant.
We sat forever waiting for refills or the check, finally flagging down the busboy for help. But I couldn't tell him who the waiter was, but he found him.
At the end of the night, we didn't like the services, loved the chips and queso... and wanted to give them another try on the food.
Sooooooooo... we went back, this time with the kids... it was Wednesday actually. Slow day for them, though they had a few large party's in the room to the north... We got seated immediately.... the table was right by the main entrance to the main seating area... bad spot as everyone walks by you and you feel l ike you are in the way.
We got seated, our drinks were a little slow out, but out came the chips and salsa... and QUESO!!! It tasted burnt... what a let down... we asked for more... that same burnt taste... yuck. Our poor waitress had to shuffle between our table and tables in the room to the north... she may have had tables in the private booth area too... I'm not sure... the main dining area was not busy, but that back room had maybe 3 tables of 14???
Anyway... we went through 3 baskets of chips with no food and starving kids... when the food finally came out... it was cold. My daughter went with the Cheeseburger and Fries... I know, mexican restaurant, but she's 6. The burger looked like it was pulled from a vending maching and microwaved... the fries looked ok, but tasted bland. My wifes Chicken Fajitas tasted like the top to the fajita seasoning fell off and all the contents fell into her batch of fajitas... They were soooooo salty and I like salt and it was too much for me. The tortias came out 20 mins before our food did, so they were cold... we ask for more, and we never got any more. I had the enchilada suizas which is a staple to me... easy enough for a place to get right and a nice tasting meal. Mine were on the cold side, but I could taste that if it was warm it would have been ok by me... the beans on both our plates had a hard layer of cheese to indicate how long they were sitting.
Service is it's biggest down fall... the staff didn't seem to be managed... no body was watching the floor. It doesn't have to be the Blue Note (I loved watching how the staff paid attention to all detail there... I couldn't put down my glass of water before someone was over to refill it)... but someone needs to be running this ship, because bad service and cold food will only be forgotten by someone with too many margarittas in their system.
All in All, we probally won't go back til they get the kinks worked out... Bakersfield has so many good Mexican Restaurants...
