El Barco: User Reviews
El Barco
1035 N. Ashland Ave. - Chicago773-486-6850
Word of moouth said Go. Chips and two salsas, one excellent, the second was hot plus - much too hot for the average palate. The whole red snapper takes 40 minutes - not mentioned at the time of seating. My dish was the boneless with a mild Adobo sauce (20 minutes). The fish was OK but if I go back (unlikely) any fish will be ordered grilled with no sauce. The Adobo sauce (bland would be a better description) did not compliment the fish and it needed a little lemon to put some zip in the fish dish.
Service was OK; the restaurant pipes music to the outside seating (very nice setting for dinner) that is much too loud for enjoyment. Went inside - any conversation is challenging. The inside was half full and loud.
Margarita's come from a mix - the waitress was honest when asked - settled for beer. Some friends said that El Barco is an absolute favorite place to go - after having been, the reasons that El Barco would be anyone's total favorite absolutely escape me. Its OK, the portions are large, the corn, rice and veggies on the side are plentiful - my guess is that many consider quantity to be quality. It isn't.
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The food here was horrendous. We both got the the Mariscadas platter for two people, which is essentially all seafood. All of the food was overcooked except for the oysters. It did not have flavor at all and wasn't even prepared or served with any sauce, so therefore, not sure how this was suppose to be mexican at all. It was as though the food was frozen and the cook coooked the hell out of it, which resulted in rubbery gross seafood. The waitresses were rude and rushed and we even asked for regular salsa and they never brought it, nor did they ever refill are water. The margartia pitcher was watered down and skimpy on the tequila. The music was also way too loud. If you want good mexican seafood, go across the street to Mariscos El Veneno instead.
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What a great experience! We just returned from 13 days in Mexico so our standards were set pretty high on how fresh everything would be...we were not let down! El Barco delivered on appetizers, drinks and our main course. Great service (I think we had 3 waitresses checking in on us) and amazing food. There was a bit of a wait (about 25 minutes even at 6:30 on a Saturday night) but our table was perfect, even for 5 adults and a baby. The value here is unbelieveable because we had margaritas, appetizers and main courses - and our check was still under $200 even with the tip included. We will suggest this to all of our friends and can't wait to go back. This is the perfect place if you are not in a rush and want a friendly, talkative atmosphere.
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I'm pretty sure I could have just walked out without paying...
By poppycorn from humboldt park, January 1, 2009
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We were served our food quickly enough (and were oddly asked about three times in five minutes if we were ready to order), and the meals in themselves were quite tasty, but if I had known then that nearly all of our interactions with the waitresses were to occur during those first few minutes, I probably would have relished our time with them a little bit more... No soda or water refills. No questions about the quality of the meal. No additional drinks proffered. After we'd finished eating they took our plates... and then disappeared. But since we could clearly see the three or four waitresses standing around talking to each other and not doing much else, perhaps it was us who had disappeared. We waited so long for the check that my boyfriend simply put his credit card on the table in the hopes that would encourage them... it didn't. Finally I had to shout across the restaurant to a random waitress (who, despite hearing me and half-responding, didn't even make eye contact with me) that we wanted our check. A different waitress brought it over and started to walk away, at which point I shoved the check and the credit card that was STILL ON THE TABLE at her. They eventually brought us the bill and said they were sorry. No, El Barco, I'M sorry... sorry your service is horrible and your food is overrated... I will not be going back.
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My boyfriend and I loved El Barco! We found the seafood fresh and incredibly flavorful. We had the grilled garlic octopus (phenomenal; great garlic/onion balance) as an app and the adobo shrimp and garlic red snapper as mains. We both stuffed ourselves, which isn't difficult because the food is great and the portions are huge -- and beautiful, too. We went on a Tuesday in October and didn't have a problem with a wait or service; it's a great place and I imagine it WOULD get as busy as other reviewers noted. I loved the atmosphere -- colorful but still cohesive, rather than downright nutty. And yes, it's pretty cool to walk in and see the fresh fish on ice. We're experienced diners and really had a great overall visit.
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If you think ChiChis is good Mexican stay away
By ObamaIsProgress from Wicker Park , September 10, 2008
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Let’s establish one thing about El Barco - you will not be served chips and salsa and you will not get water unless you ask. I am amazed at how many posters had there whole dining experience ruined because of their sense of entitlement to these typical Mexican-American restaurant traditions. Also, you will not find items typically on Taco Bell's menu. If you are looking for fresh seafood and fresh vegetables for a fraction of what you would expect to pay elsewhere, you will love this restaurant. The fish is very fresh and prepared correctly – in many cases served whole as it should be – and is presented beautifully. The Margaritas are better than average and El Barco gets bonus points for providing baskets of limes on every table. Chips are served with very authentic chili and mole pastes that are hot, hot, hot! The atmosphere is crazy and family orientated and very casual. Patrons are a mix of large Hispanic families in the communal dining hall and the typical Wicker Park crowd. Servers are Hispanic and many do not speak English very well - welcome to the neighborhood. Service is also sporadic and they seem perpetually understaffed for the crowds. Service is no worse than many of the more authentic eateries in the UK or Wicker Park hoods but for many posters the service was a big problem. I would suggest that if you do not leave Lincoln Park often that you adjust expectations or continue to pay more for bad food and stay put. If you want a great deal and are willing to suffer a little than El Barco is worth the trip.
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They couldn't even make a steak quesadilla.... I mean they had cheese quesadillas... and steak tacos... how hard is it to mesh the two? And whomever left the post about the supposedly "hot waitresses", dead wrong. Definitely worth missing.
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My GF and I were very much looking forward to eating here as it is always seems quite lively. we waited 45 minutes for our food. My red snapper was scorched dry and her chicken fajitas were below average. Chili's or Applebees would likely be better for fajitas, seriously. I write the negative review only in the hopes that management may try to improve service and food quality, b/c it's a nice looking spot and the people were friendly, and the portions were good sized. As it stands, this is a firm "not recommended" IMHO.
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My wife and I decided to try this restaurant on review we came across and upon seeing it on check please, and we were both disappointed. The restaurant is small, and the wait time is long. We don't mind waiting to eat, but there was no where to wait, we were able to find one seat for the 2 of us at the bar, but felt like we were falling into the dinner of a table next to us. We tried to order a top shelf margarita, and were told that the margaritas were pre made, and a top shelf could not be made. I found this hard to beileve since I could visibly see all the necessary ingredients to make the Margarita behind the bar. We waited our 45 minutes (plus the 15min it took to find the person who had the waiting list, and get our names on it) and were placed at a table that I had to ask the people next to us to get up so I could actually crawl over their chair to get to mine. The table we ate at was a table for 4 people with a divider in the middle seperating two parties......nice. The service was infrequent and poor, and generally did not seem to care that we were there. We had ceviche, which was decent, and we had the seafood platter for two......bad idea. This establisment presents itself as a seafood restaurant with a latin flare, and we got a platter of the lowest grade seafood all deep fried. Even the heavy deep fry could not get the horrible smell of bad seafood off of the platter. We are the caren asada, and that's about it, as I could not identify what the other portions were supposed to be nor was I willing to consume them. All said and done the bill was roughly 100.00 for dinner. This is not a 100.00 dinner, I would think twice before venturing to this restaurant for the first time as you may leave disappointed. No parking, not worth the price, bad service, very low end restaurant.
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Thei place is too small. Though there are many waitresses the service is bad. And the drinks are just as bad as the chewy and very dry seafood.
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Review Summary
The following scores represent the average rating submitted by 56 users:
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