Chicago I.
Google
Found a damn HAIR in my ceviche!!!! 🤮🤮🤮
I am not new to Mexican seafood and eat it often so here is my honest review.
Ordered the ceviche de camaron (shrimp) and there was a small black hair mixed in deep within the ceviche. See pic below it's on the white napkin. I only noticed it bc I was mixing the ceviche and since the shrimp was a semi transparent white color the black strand stood out pretty obvious against it. I had to throw it all away and spent $20 on it so what a waste of money!!! What a bummer. They also packed it in a Styrofoam container which was odd given all the lime juice in the ceviche, which could easily spill out. They should have packed it in one of those quarts/ sealed plastic tub like they did for the soup.
I also ordered the snow crab legs (patas de jaiba) which were $24.99 for 1lb which was 3 clusters. The crab legs themselves were good the crab meat was sweet and tender but the sauce the chef put them in was terrible it basically tasted like tabasco or tapatio sauce.
It was my fault for not requesting it to be made Nayarit style but at the same time they did not ask me how I would like it prepared. Other Mexican joints I've eaten at indicate on their menu garlic sauce, diablo sauce, Nayarit sauce etc but this menu did not list it under the crab legs and I wasn't asked by the staff so I automatically assumed it would be prepared Nayarit style just like the langostinos were but they were not. So definitely ask or they will just use the sauce they gave us for the crab which tasted like tapatio and did not pair well with the crab clusters. They should add the sauce options to the menu under the crab legs description so the customer knows to request it OR they should be asking what style/sauce we would like it to be cooked in.
The langostinos de Nayarit (prawns) are a great value for $30 but the flavor was not there. It tasted purely of butter and not enough Nayarit seasoning. I've had langostinos de Nayarit many many times at Mexican seafood restaurants and even make it at home sometimes but this was definitely under seasoned and was just greasy and butter tasting. The portion size is worth the price so it's a great value but the flavor was lacking so what's the point? I prefer El Kora their langostinos are cheaper at $25 for the same portion but the flavor is definitely better! These just tasted like pure butter which was disappointing again as this is the dish I was most looking forward too.
The 7 mares seafood soup for $25 was good, loaded with a ton of seafood, generous portions, the broth was a bit spicy so I couldn't enjoy it too much but it did have a strong seafood and smokey flavor which I like and wasn't too salty which I appreciated. The broth was a rich red color but I prefer a clearer cleaner broth for seafood soup with less spice so again I would say El Kora's 7 seafood soup is better in my opinion bc it's not spicy and has a "cleaner" lighter tasting broth. The broth here although flavorful and not too salty, was too spicy to enjoy. But if you like the spice then you might enjoy it.
They also gave us tostadas for the ceviche, cueritos (pickled pork skin- not a fan of), cilantro and onion all complimentary which was a nice touch. They only gave one lime which I thought was wild given all the food we ordered so I had to ask for more. So make sure you ask if you have a large takeout order. At El Kora, they give you everything without having to ask.
Overall, crab legs, langostinos, and soup were a great value for the portion BUT the flavor was off for the crab legs sauce and the langostinos. Finding a hair in the ceviche is just unacceptable that I cannot justify coming back. In terms of service, the server was polite, why I didn't give 1 star but they need to get a qualified cook who knows what he's doing. Idk if he was in a rush or overwhelmed with the large order (think he was the only cook) but too many issues with the flavor of the food, and the hygiene issue with the hair in my entree (he wasn't wearing a hairnet either). This will be my first and last time coming here.
