169 Church St

Burlington, VT 05401

We really liked the tacos and the margaritas.

So we’ve been going to El Gato since the opened and previously have been a place we’d strongly recommend. This may be anecdotal but last night we ate there again (at the Church St. location), for the first time in a long time. Our experience was not great. Timeline: 6:25: we arrive and are promptly seated, given waters, chips, and salsa: awesome, so good. “Your server will be right with you.” 6:45: chips and salsa gone. 6:55: “Your server is busy but I will get your food in.” Food ordered. 7:35: Food arrives. Some of it, burned. My wife ordered a pork burrito and it was cubed charred bits of pork; a far cry from our previous experiences at El Gato. They gave us $10 off for the burned pork. Overall, the service just seemed overloaded and uncoordinated. It used to be a well-oiled machine with good food. Some of the food was just fine, but really just not what we previously would have expected from El Gato. I know the food service industry is having a hard time right now, but for how many bodies they had on staff, it seemed poorly managed. I’ve worked in food service before and know the challenges, but there were a lot of people with El Gato shirts on not doing much besides waters/chips/clearing plates. This seems like a kitchen and management issue, but I won’t be going back any time soon which is really disappointing. It was a favorite for a long time.

(Translated by Google) The food was awful. I ordered chicken tacos. My plate was full of broths. The pita breads were wet. No flavor. I asked for sour cream on the side to have taste… It was not famous. (Original) La nourriture était horrible. J’ai commandé des tacos aux poulets. Mon assiette était remplie de bouillons. Les pains pitas étaient mouillés. Aucune saveur. J’ai demandé de la crème sure à côté pour avoir du goût… Ce n’était pas fameux.

There seemed to be confusion amongst the servers about which options were unavailable for food tonight, but overall the experience was good. The chicken was great, but the steak was definitely overcooked. Chips and salsa are great and offered as soon as you sit down! A decent place, especially given how many places are closed here on Mondays/for the Fourth.

(Translated by Google) The service is pretty good but the food is horrible. I have never eaten a taco with so much water. The consistency was unpleasant on the palate and no flavor. There was no atmosphere, only a little background music with big lights. I do not recommend the restaurant. (Original) Le service est plutôt bon mais la nourriture est horrible. Je n’ai jamais mangé un taco avec autant d’eau. La consistance était désagréable en bouche et aucune saveur. Il n’y avait aucune ambiance, seulement une petite musique de fond avec de grosses lumières. Je ne recommande pas le restaurant.

Ordered a chimichanga took a bite and OMG, beans inside were old and already fermenting.🤢

Girl's night out it was amazing as always great food and service!!!

Quaint little Mexican place! The service was slow for the amount of people that were in the restaurant. It was just my group of 7 and we still waited a while for our food. It wasn’t ridiculous amount of time though:) they were friendly and the chips and que so was a HUGE highlight:)

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