Recently, The New York Times rated Port Chester's Bartaco restaurant a "Worth It" and gave the hip taco joint an overall thumbs up:
"it’s Ralph Lauren filtered through a surfer’s haze. The plank walls are whitewashed and hung with photos of sandy beaches, lightly clad women and Formula One race cars…
The food is simple and tasty and cheap. The tacos, on soft, four-inch tortillas, arrive nestled together on paper-lined trays and showered with a rough-cut salsa (they are far more carefully composed in photos on the Web site than they were on our two visits, when they seemed thrown together). For fillings, I had my favorites — the delicious tongue, lightly battered “Baja fish,” tender veal cheek, pork and pineapple, and spicy chicken — and there wasn’t a dud among them."
The Times rapped the service a bit, and we have to agree. During a recent visit sans reservation, the hostess practically turned us away, saying it would be "an hour" and took our cell phone. It rang five minutes later… table ready…
Then the guacamole. It kept coming. We ordered a small guacamole. We got one. Then another – we turned it away. Then another – we told them something was terribly wrong. Then another – a really big one – as if someone it the kitchen said "oh yeah send it out again, only this time, make it bigger"…
The food was excellent. Once they adjust the attitude and the service, they have a winner.
Have you been to Bartaco? What do you think? Leave a comment below.
Funny, my husband and I had a very similar experience. Our order was served incorrectly, and then when we notified the server, she denied it (meanwhile it was written on the menu card).
Then, she replaced it with something totally different.
Then, she double charged us. When we notified her of the mistake, she ripped up our receipt and went back to the register.
Then she came to our table requesting the original receipt (which she ripped up) in order to re-do the transaction.
When I told her she ripped it up, she denied it.
All in – it took us 45 minutes to PAY for our meal. LOL
The food and atmosphere were great but I am reluctant to go back for a while — at least until they improve the service.
This is such an easy place to go during the day – the vibe can NOT be beat! When the weather’s nice you can be outdoors, indoors, or at the edge – it’s glorious. Food is good, inexpensive, there’s always parking. Service is definitely spotty and often slow. I’ve been there three or four times and haven’t had the disasters discussed above. But if you prepare yourself for that, it’s just FAB. But I haven’t been there during the hopping night scene.