Mikaela Sullivan-golbiw

Review of El ARBOL

This place is visually stunning, inside and out!

This place is visually stunning, inside and out!

If you ever went to this space when it was the former establishment, your mind will be blown! It's so open and flows incredibly well. It's rather astounding, considering that the bar area is so large downstairs. Yes. Downstairs. It's two stories oh, and the upstairs, two is decorated beautifully and doesn't feel the least bit cramped or crowded.

Both the hostess and server we're incredibly polite and personable. Having been in the service industry for so long, I always value a great wait staff. And this place has it!

The food was delicious! My daughter and I split the trio dip sampler. It came with salsa, guacamole, both of which were amazing and quite authentic to the taste. It also came with queso. The queso was the only entree / appetizer item that I wasn't totally crazy about. It tasted quite a lot like a Velveeta dip. Still tasty, but not as unique or authentic as I would have hoped.

My daughter, age 7, ordered the beef taco, which came with rice. She thought the taco is one of the best she has ever had! She wasn't crazy about the rice, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. I think it's just not quite the kind of thing that most little kids would be crazy about.

Since we had ordered the trio, I only ordered one taco. The chicken taco. And it was fan-freaking-tastic! Loved it! I'm not honestly sure how I was supposed to eat it? It came open face with a fork and no knife. So I assumed I did right by picking it up? LOL! A little bit messy, but so tasty! And, since I had the salsa, guacamole, and queso, I was able to mix up every bite, as well as incorporate the tortilla chips.

Following our meal, we ordered the churros. They came with a chocolate sauce that, again, my seven-year-old wasn't too fond of. Probably because it is not too sweet. Which is fine with me! However, neither of us liked the churros themselves. They had the taste of ordinary, low-quality cake donuts with cinnamon sugar. Granted, they were warm, which is always a bonus! But, overall, I cannot recommend them.

Being a Friday, I made sure to go directly after school. We arrived about 4:30 pm and were promptly seated. When we left about 50 minutes later, there was already a wait. Just a heads up for anyone thinking they might drop in for a quick bite during dinner hours.

The prices are about what one would expect. Maybe a little bit higher. Most of the tacos are $4- $6 each, and of the rest of the menu main items looked to be anywhere between $4 & $10, with some variation. However, you get what you pay for it as far as quality!

One of the most unique offerings is the walkup Taco window. Weather permitting, there is a limited menu that can be ordered at a walk-up take out window. I'm pretty sure that all of their tacos are offered, as well as bottled water and chips and salsa. If you are familiar with the Brighton area, you will recognize the value of this convenience. I can't wait to try it myself!