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What People Are Saying About Tesoro El
The Editor
Jonathan Baker
Citysearch
In short – The wizards who brought hope to East Atlanta in the form of the Mexican-restaurant-that-could (Casita La Cantina) deliver their magic to Decatur--transforming an old southern-styled house into a place for talking, noshing and drinking. The porch and lawn serve as perfect gathering spots and the interior is darted with saffron colored walls and antique Latin nick-knacks. Street tacos are the same delicious version from Casita and although more variety appears on this menu, the tamales seem to fall short. Expect the occasional wait to get a table, but embrace the time with a…
05/14/09
Attractive place to wait a long time for bad food
by yamwatiyam at Citysearch
The tamale I ordered was dried out and tough. The food my husband ordered was at least edible, but kind of tasteless. The cheese dip was good.
I would not go back. This restaurant has taken on more than it can handle. They can't cook and the service doesn't care.
- Pros: pretty house with patio and garden
- Cons: food and service
02/23/09
TERRIBLE!
by sb1354 at Citysearch
What a disappointment! This place is SWARMING with children. The drinks are great, but not worth everything else. The salsas were quite good. The tacos are super strange, though, and make you think of grade D meat and/or all the scary restaurant stories on dateline. The service is beyond bad - SO BAD. We waited forever for everything, and the server was unkempt/dirty and apathetic. We will never go back and I think that this place is only good for parents who are desperate to go somewhere (anywhere!) that their kids can just run wild and they can zone out.
- Pros: good tequilas and salsa
- Cons: kids everywhere, horrible service, yuck!
10/29/08
The Friday Night Disaster
by ParkerTMS at Citysearch
So....I wanted to take my date to a fun place and I heard good things about the new Mexican place in Decatur. When got there it was obviously busy so we had to put our name on the wait list. Its a Friday night not a big deal. However, the standoff-ish attitude from the hostess was not inviting. We decided to wait at the bar for our table and start with a few drinks. After waiting about 10 minutes for the bartender to recognize that she had guests waiting, the fact that she handed a beer to the chef before handling her bar guest was enough to make me want to leave. Anyways, during our wait, I decided to go outside to have a smoke. There were kids everywhere. I mean damn how annoying. Enough chaos to make anyone crazy. After waiting 30 minutes for a table, which was less time than expected, all I can say is that was the only plus for the rest of the evening. Our server was well to put it nicely less than presentable. Although the server was nice, she was obviously not the best at what she does. She had to come back and ask us what our order was 10 minutes after we actually ordered. When the food came out I had to send mine back to be recooked. It was just fish how hard can it actually be. I would expect that at any place when food is sent back to the kitchen that a manager would come by to check up on the situation.NOPE!!!! Who cares if I come back or not anyways, is a great attitude to have. After finishing our entrees, which ended up being good, all the desserts that we wanted that were on the menu were sold out......WTF!!!!!....Finally I paid the bill and left....And I will never come back again. Nor will I ever recommend this place to any of my friends. If they don't do something soon and act like they slightly care, El Tesoro will become just another business that falls into the one year restaurant statistic.
- Pros: Good drinks, nice outdoor dining
- Cons: service, management, child chaos
The Details on Tesoro El
What to Drink:
The 95-deep tequila bar has something for all pallets, plus the charismatic prickly pear margarita is a fire-y take on the original.
Parking:
With Tesoro a block or two off the square, it boasts something that most of Decatur lacks---good off-street parking.
Where to Sit:
The wrap-around porch makes you feel like you should be sipping a mint julep but margaritas are an appropriate replacement.
Know Before You Go:
This is a pretty family friendly environment so mentally prepare for a potential tike-heavy experience.
Category:
Mexican, Ethnic Goods, Restaurants
Restaurant Special Features:
Family-Friendly Dining, Outdoor Dining
