Marc M.
Yelp
Mariscos El Charco is a hole in the wall business in a strip mall, family-friendly, there was a bar, there were TV screens showing Spanish music videos, some wall decorations but not much. For the atmosphere you might expect pretty basic Mexican fare. The flavors are far more sophisticated, worthy of fine dining, not only for my Carne Asada but the flavorful refried beans and rice side too. Clearly I've never eaten rice and beans made correctly before.
The restaurant was almost empty when we were there, so we had very prompt service, no competition with anyone else to get service. Can't tell if that's typical when it's busier too, but for us, the server was very attentive.
We struggled with the unfamiliar Spanish names of the foods, items like "camarones" "aguachile" "alitas" and "machaca" but because we're English-only speaking gringos, we didn't understand what we would be ordering. He offered us the lunch menu, which had food more familiar to us (tacos, enchiladas, etc.), but we did find a couple of dishes on the regular menu that we were familiar with.
What would make it better? I hate to even suggest it because it's such an authentic Mexican restaurant and the language is part of the culture! But English explanations or translations of the foods on the menu would have been helpful. I would have ordered more if I could understand my options.