El Barco | Tacos x Tequilas

I want to start off by saying I only tried the dips. So, I'm sure their actual food is better than what I got, but this was still my experience. I shared chips and salsa, cheese dip, and guacamole, and the only one that was good was the guac. The cheese dip was okay, but still had a weird taste. The salsa was just bad unfortunately. Service was great at the bar, and the vibe was good otherwise, just get something other than the dips I guess.

Food was decent, if not notable. Pleasant area and surroundings for an outdoor restaurant and bar. Service was average, something along the lines of friendly without smiles. I took one star off for the way their credit card check out process pushes higher tip percentages. I like to tip, and I like to tip well. However, a counter-serve where you stand in line to order and come back to get your own food when it’s done loses a star for providing a minimum tip percentage option of 18% at checkout. That should be minimum for a full-service gig. It leaves a bad taste in my mouth, and I would rather go somewhere that appreciates those kind of tips rather than expects it as their due. Fair food, fair price for the area, but they lose me on the service front for that.

The food was good, but I had some of the worst service while sitting at the bar. Took them quite a while to get my first drink, and then about 10 minutes after I finished that drink, they finally checked in to see if I wanted another. First time I didn't tip in my adult life. The bar needs to be way more attentive to the folks sitting there, especially for the price.

Okay, this place is never consistent! The only time I liked my food was the first time I ordered it. The second time I ordered a burrito online I got a rice and bean burrito, once I opened I saw it was only rice and beans…. I went back in to complain and the cashier tried to tell me I was wrong until I showed her my online order. I gave them another chance recently and got another rice and bean burrito! The burrito was all rice!!!!! Probably 2 pieces of beans in there. if I wanted just a rice burrito that’s what I would order but I didn’t. They just have 0 consistency, they either nail your order or they completely mess it up. Online ordering should have way more options than it does. Very basic burritos, not much to it, if you order a steak burrito sometimes it comes with enough and other times you get two pieces if that.

I think people like this place because it’s mostly all outdoors, including the bar, which gave it a cool atmosphere. The staff was nice but, the food was not so nice. My boyfriend ordered for us while I was in the restroom (which the toilet seat was barely holding on) and when our food came, I noticed green thick sauce on my taco. The menu said tomatillo sauce, but that didn’t look like tomatillo. We asked the server if it has avocado in it and he said yes. I’m unfortunately allergic to avocado and right then told the waiter I was. Since my bf didn’t tell them of my allergy when ordering (he didn’t because nothing said guacamole or avocado in the description) I just told the waiter it was fine and gave my bf the tacos. Let me say though, I don’t understand the deal with putting avocado in everything like, verde or tomatillo salsa?! Moving on: this is long, bear with me. 1- The corn tortilla wasn’t homemade, that’s fine- it’s an island, but it was chewy from being over greased and heated on the grill. 2-My frozen margarita was more like a sloshy attempt at being frozen. 3-Now, the salsa is where it really counts for me since, I was born and raised in California. It was absolutely not salsa at all. It was essentially red enchilada sauce, red pepper flakes, and cilantro. What’s a girl gotta do to get some sort of tomato around here? 👀👀 I mean, I still ate some because, everything is expensive on MV and I had to give my taco away. So, skip the salsa, you’d be better off having their “gringo salsa” or pico de gallo.

Went for tequila-based cocktails and snacks. Excellent service! The custom drinks (no fruity Frozen drinks here!) are well crafted. Flavorful and complex. Have a seat at the bar and savor…

Tacos were pretty good. I don’t like places that make you order more than one type of taco. If you can make two, making one should be just as easy. So we didn’t get to try as many as we would have liked. They didn’t have the heaters working yet so it was cold. But the people that worked there were nice. I could see this place being fun in the summer.

Just jumping in with my review, because this place should have higher than a 4.5 overall rating... Just saying... The atmosphere is welcoming and casual. It's in a prime spot, super close to the shuttle bus drop-off in Vineyard Haven. We were doing cocktails and a light snack. So we chose the calamari. It was some of the best calamari I've ever had. EXTREMELY fresh, and the layers of the flavors were simple, but a winning combination with the cilantro, avacado cream and peppers. Truly elevated. But honestly, everything we saw come out from the kitchen looked really good! My only request is for them to add device to the menu.Of you are in to cocktails, you'll be happy to know that the drinks are also expertly crafted. I am a bit of a connoisseur when it comes to margaritas. I have to day that these are REAL margaritas, and not made with some store brought or pre-made lemonade flavored mixer. To top everything off, the service was wonderful as well! Our server and mixologist was Stewy, and he was awesome! I'm so glad we decided to stop here!

El Barco is a great addition to the casual yet tasty dining scene on Martha's Vineyard. You order at the window, given a buzzer, find a seat, get yourself a drink at the bar (or water for yourself or your dog) and wait for the order. Everything we've tried has been very good, especially the smash burger taco, carnitas (in tacos, burritos, or burrito bowl) and the quesaburria. I think they make their own corn tortillas, and they are legit. It's not a huge menu, but everyone we've brought has found something to eat. Also it's right by the Vineyard Haven ferry terminal so you can see the ferries come and go. My only negatives would be that it's a little pricey (but it's the Vineyard!) and the menu is hard to read! Have also heard good things about the cocktails.

My order: Margarita The Review: I wish I had better things to say. El Barco did not have any way to mitigate cross contamination with gluten, so I could only get a margarita. It was expensive and very watered down, with flecks of something else that contaminated the salt rim. The only table we could get was dirty, and when we finally got someone to help us out, she squirted me with the surface cleaner (I totally would've moved if given a heads-up!). Very very subpar experience at El Barco, but there are several other great restaurants in the vicinity!

Got off the ferry and it was right there, open available and DELICIOUS! We had quessabirria, guac and chips and carnitas tacos. Everything was so good! Fresh and warm. Ordering was easy. The staff were polite. I loved the outdoor seating. Highly recommend!

Small portions especially for the price, food was just ok. I've tried different things several times and nothing impressive. Ok for VH but the food is nothing special, outside seating is nice,

If you're on vacation and you're looking for an amazing marg come here and get the house marg made by the best bartender, Tyler. She made the absolute best marg I've had on the island by far!

Unbelievable Mexican food. The Smashburger tacos were to die for. You have to come here and get the soft serve as well!

Super fun ordering a 48$ margarita for 4 people only to be given a tiny bottle that my grandma could chug in 2 seconds. Prices here should be illegal. BTW doubled checked the bottle oz. They one they gave us was 12oz, not 16oz

Absolutely killer place down in MV! A must while waiting for the ferry. I love the vibe here. Keep rocking

Great idea - walk-up order food and drinks at the bar, and a great ambiance, with outdoor seating and a fun vibe. However, that's where it ends. The food and drinks are way over-priced. An order of blackened shrimp tacos had three shrimp for two tacos. The drinks were mostly ice and mixer, and finished in a few small sips. We will not be returning.

Delicious tacos!! I got the mushroom tacos and they were insanely good. The birria tacos were also yum. Margs and guac were also solid. It's also a great place to sit and enjoy being outside but also sheltered from the rain (if you had a day like us!).

Fabulous location. Fun vibe. The wait staff is very nice. They just opened but the drinks are good and the food is delish. Can't fail in this location. The elote was tasty. Margaritas flavorful. We'll be back for sure.

The ambiance is amazing I want to be there every weekend. The food is just okay small bites. Needs more variety. But the view is worth it. Eat somewhere else, drink and nosh at El Barco.

A wonderful new addition to Vineyard Haven. The Good - great space, good birria, solid menu, dog friendly, pleasant staff. Fun music. Awesome location and view. We enjoyed the Flautas. Chips and salsa is very large. The needs improvement- weird proportions in burrito bowl - I've never seen so much rice, but like only 8 black beans. My dad's carnitas had a substantial hunk of inedible fat. Weird flow with bar separate from food and no table service.

The margaritas were absolutely amazing! It's such a treat to be able to drink and enjoy the outdoors in Vineyard Haven. The bar service was lacking, the bar tenders ignored us despite sitting at the bar, did not check in on us and ruined the atmosphere by only taking to each other and not interacting with any guests despite being packed on a Saturday. I looked forward to coming here more for the food and drinks alone.

These small under filled tacos were 21 dollars with a tiny drink cup, and one of my friend's tacos had a long hair in it. Environment of the restaurant is nice, but definitely not nice enough to warrant the ridiculous portion sizes and prices.

The tacos were very very good and the churros were some of the best we've had. The restaurant was very fun with a great atmosphere. Definitely worth the stop.

Great addition to Vineyard Haven! Went on their first day and was impressed by how smoothly things were already running. Great food, great drinks and incredible service.