Rob G.
Yelp
Restaurants are more than a way to satiate hunger with good food, they are a place to experience hospitality and remove the burden of service when you go with guests to enjoy a meal.
Carriqui was recommended by a friend as a favorite in the San Antonio area. The website looked interesting and the venue looks beautiful. I thought I would bring a party of 10 to a place that we could enjoy some food with local Latin flair.
We arrived puzzled about where the entry and host stand was. I thought there might be signage, but we wandered in the space looking for the right door. There is a smokehouse area and a dining room separated by a breezeway. A sign pointing the way would have been very helpful. We did eventually find the hostess and checked in. The bar welcomes you and is beautiful. The selection is broad and the craft cocktails were excellent. We ordered drinks and waited on the rest of the party.
We were seated for dinner and placed orders for a round of drinks, appetizers, and entrees. Let me first tell you that the drinks, appetizers, and entrees were amazing. The smoked rabbit quesadilla was amazing, the chicken was incredible, the brisket was great, and the chopped pork was just right, not too greasy and not too dry. Notice the bbq focus here. They had some latin fusion in the entrees, but do not be fooled as I was, this is a smokehouse that has enchiladas if you want them.
The disappointing thing in my Carriqui experience was the service. This was a 4 hour bbq dinner. The food was good, but not that good. Every order of something took ages to come out. When it arrived, it both looked and tasted great, but the kitchen artists or the wait staff definitely took their time. Drinks felt slow for basic cocktails. They were brought in spurts and auctioned off as we had people being tagged in to help with the service work.
Maybe my expectations are too high, but this place checked so many boxes, but missed on service. This is too important to hospitality for me to ignore. Try it, but make sure you have plenty of time or... maybe just sit at the bar!