El Camino in Ottawa

Service is a bit slow, but the food, drinks, and ambiance are worth the visit.

Great beer selection, excellent service, quality food, and most importantly, clean washrooms.

Cochinita and Lamb tacos

Churros are everything. Get here. Great food. Music was great too. It s a nice spot. Summertime is perfect too because of their rooftop patio. Again, Churros are 10/10

DELICIOUS tacos!! Be careful, the califlower tacos are really spicy

Came in for takeout, there was a blonde girl who welcomed us in, she was very sweet and helpful. She sat us at the bar so we could order takeout. The bartender with the washed out red hair however, was YIKES!! We were kind with her the entire time we were waiting for our food but got this attitude back?? She needs an attitude check looolll. Making faces to your guests is crazyyyy. Anyways, the food was great.

We had several tacos, guac and chips, and margaritas. The food was amazing, and so was the service! Highly recommend.

too loud, tables are greasy. dark. menus dont look clean. no atmosphere whatsoever. but you spend $50 including tip on 3 tacos and one beer. no thanks. (tacos are good and service too, but the rest didnt fit the price tag).

Very bad service

We ve had an amazing experience every time we go, but Cassandra made it the best we ve ever had! Extremely personable from the second we sat down. Her knowledge on the menu & her suggestions were unreal. She took her time chatting to us while also managing many other tables. We ve been many times before and it s always a good team working but she truly stood out tonight. Amazing new addition to the menu : lamb taco. Guac is a must & the churros too.

Best Taco s ever. Best Margaritas ever. Amazing staff. Don t skip on the churros, you ll miss out. Absolute gem of spot! Shout out to Aaron, Cassandra and Roman who always go above and beyond.

My go to in the 613. The best tacos and always a good time. Amazing service, food comes quick and is always delicious. Aaron is always welcoming and goes the extra mile to treat you right. Highly recommend giving them a try.

The tacos at this restaurant are quite good, except for the pork which tasted burnt and strange, and the eggplant which was overpriced. I particularly recommend their fish tacos. However, the service here is seriously lacking. We were dining with two children, one of whom is one year old, and we requested a high chair. The server provided us with an unstable high chair, and our seating was on high stools without safety straps. The server suggested placing the baby seat on the high stool. Isn t it a concern that the child could fall? Another issue occurred after we finished our meal. It was raining heavily, and we had already paid and left a tip. There were no new customers waiting due to the rain. Yet, a long-haired male server insisted we move to the outside patio, claiming there were incoming guests. We had two small children and were waiting for an Uber outside in the increasing rain, with almost no one else on the patio. We noticed many empty seats inside the restaurant, but when we tried to return to our original table, the male server again asked us to leave and wait outside. I m curious if this blonde male server has some prejudice or racist Asians. If I had known about this kind of attitude, I wouldn t have given even a 10% tip. Feel free to adjust any details if needed Kid-friendliness: It is not recommended to bring children. The waiter has a bad attitude.

Tacos, tacos and more tacos. Really enjoyed sitting on the patio on Clarence St. There is also a nice looking roof top patio. Only problem I had was the washrooms are up 2 flights of stairs and I didnt see an accessible one.

Food was really good. Everything I had was delicious.

I got the pollo asado taco and was skeptical of the chicken being cooked enough.. and lo and behold I have food poisoning today. The texture of the chicken also made me gag it was not good. Paid almost $30 for 2 tacos and to share chips and salsa and get food poisoning. Would not recommend going here

Drinks and service was great! Recommend making reservations!

Love the food, hate the service. Every time we have visited, the staff have seemed indifferent and inattentive. Most recently, the server checked on the table to one side of us, passed over ours, and then checked on the next table - while we were actively trying to get their attention. Every once in a while we try again, but we always leave disappointed because the service is so lacking. Vegetarian options: two vegetarian options, both of which can be made vegan green papaya salad is vegetarian and can be made vegan

Love the carne asada!

Thank you Kate! You made our night amazing! The Food was fabulous and service outstanding!

Dinner was amazing! Service was top-notch and everything was delicious. Definitely going to be back next time Im in Ottawa!

Skip the guac and churros tacos are good but pricey 8-9$ per. Guac is 18$ and i make better at home. Churros aren t great but the caramel sauce with them is solid. Limited menu. Margaritas are excellent. Food

Tasty dishes, excellent service, beautifully persented. Only downside is the pricing.

The flavor was wonderful, for those who like spicy food its even better, but the portions are not that big for the price

The tacos are far from being tacos, they look good but one of them was very salty and the other sweet

loved coming to this place, always argued it had the best tacos in Ottawa. just went back recently and found out they no longer have the lamb quesabirria, which was truly upsetting for my whole party. server aaron was great though

Kat and her service were great. Leaving a 1 star because of no birria. Brought my grandpa to this restaurant specifically for it . He left disappointed .

Ordered 5 tacos, fish arrived soggy no longer crispy (i know not your fault) Portion sized keep getting noticeably smaller and smaller. Also, the amount of hot sauce given is laughable. Barely enough in the 2 containers for one taco. Not satisfied. Probably would not recommend anymore to anyone.

Good food you must try their corn

Super tasty, unusual tacos!

delicious chips & guacamole. And the best tacos ever! Try lamb and thuna

Love love love eating here! Their Tuna Taco and Street Corn are the BEST! Such a wonderful combination of flavors Food

Finally landed here after so many friends suggested this place, nachos and guacamole are ok, ordered fish and cauliflower tacos, fish taco was little under cooked and oily but cauliflower tacos definitely steal the show.

My experience in El camino at Clarence st was disappointing. The service was terrible; the waitstaff never brought us any sauces and never returned to check if we needed anything else. They completely ignored us, and we had to find the waiter ourselves to ask for the bill.

Must try for great mexican food. Cocktails are a bit on the expensive side but beer is reasonable and have many options to choose from. I personally liked the Amber and it was great. Food is a must try, quantity is less but greatly satisfies the taste buds.

Best margarita Ive had in a while, food was excellent and service was great too. Will be back for sure.

I found it to be over priced for food and drinks, meanwhile the tacos and drinks were just about average. We waited 35-40 mins for a serving of tacos. The cocktails looked fancy but didn t taste nearly as good. Subpar service.

I was disappointed with the gourmet taco experience their $10 per taco price tag gives me very high standards for the size and flavour of each taco, unfortunately i got neither. These are small tacos. The pastor was not tasty. One bite of a taco pastor should make your mouth orgasm. This did the opposite. They changed up the formula too much and made it undesirable. Chorizo was good but NOT WORTH $10

Very good food but long wait so I advise ordering all at once.

Value for money. Family dinner on the terrace! Well done to the whole team!

Taste is fine but way overpriced for portions.

Good location and good service. The food is pricey for what it is.

9 dollars for one singular taco is criminal. served on the worlds tiniest plate so good luck not throwing 5 of those dollars in your lap. worst pina colada Ive ever had (although strong Ill give em that) and service was slow (it was the weekend in the market what can ya do) all around just fine. youre definitely paying for the atmosphere and not the food. Im sure there are just as good spots a bit further out of downtown. went for an anniversary and wont be returning. cheers.

Had an amazing dining experience here! The pork belly and cauliflower tacos were too good, and the papaya salad was absolutely awesome. The guac and chips were a nice touch too. The service was friendly and the atmosphere was really great. Highly recommend!

We had a great experience at El Caminos inside and on the patio. Our server Charlize was so nice and was very good at knowing when we needed things. The food was great and so were the drinks. The Jameson was great and I would definitely go back!

The Chorizo crispy taco was tasty, as well as the chips and guacamole. Enjoyed the street coming and goings. The Marguerite was one of the best Ive tried.

The food is great, a little pricey for what you get especially chips and salsa was about $9, but chips and guacamole is $16. I know guacamole is extra but dayum. I will say though, I am very picky with salsa and this one is INCREDIBLE and everything is fresh as heck and made in house. The service is top notch but it was so obnoxiously loud that we could barely communicate with the servers and there was even a mix up because of that (they handled it gracefully). I might go again though but not at night where its more rowdy.

Ate at El Camino next to the ByWard Market Margarita and la Mañana drinks incredibly good! Tacos Pollo Asado, Beef Barbacoa and Chorizo Crispy Taco delicious. ! The ambiance is good I recommend this restaurant

Me and my gf waited 1:00 for three tacos. The restaurant was empty and everyone got served before us. Food was decent. Terrasse smelled like garbage. Music was good.

Awesome service and great environment. Ordered the Quesabirrias and were extremely delicious. Had to order a 2nd. plate. Definitely coming back soon.

- Ox tongue and pork belly tacos were tasteless and disappointing. Carne and pollo asado tacos were acceptable. - The churros were pretty crunchy (and thus either overcooked or not fresh at the very least). - $80 (incl. tax and tip) for 6 tacos and churros is ridiculous - Servers were friendly but it took a bit of time for the food to come out.

Been going here for years, big fan of El camino since they opened. Biggest issue is that the price creeps up every few months. Now its $9 for one small taco and $18 for one drink, thats just obscene.

I will start by saying the tacos were incredible. The service, however, was very off-putting. I was in a party of 3 and we each received our tacos at varying times over the course of the evening. My friend was served his taco before anyone had received drinks, and my other friend had finished her drink the the time she received her tacos. Drinks were decent but were overpriced in my opinion ($17 for a margarita with 2oz tequila). The churros were alright. Likely wont be returning.

Good food. However the service was terrible, the server was never there, ignoring us, leaving in the middle of the order then coming back 20 minutes later.

The food was tasty, although somewhat expensive for what you get. The roof top seating was very nice. Best thing on the menu is the beetle leaf + shrimps ( not taco section on the menu). We were more dismayed by the cheap feel of the experience; no cutlery ( I should not have to ask for basic tools), dollar store plastic bottles for the sauces, paper cups for the churro sauce ( stainless steel anyone?),... We felt we were at a student hang out. Not sure if the Elgin location is the same.

One of our go-to for any occasion! This time we took our family that was visiting from out of town. We love taking our out-of-town family and friends when they visit us .the food is always fantastic and they leave wow-ed by our food scene in Ottawa!

Amazing tacos for everyone

Absolutely love their fish tacos with that green sauce

The best tacos in the city, the polo asada (chicken) and fish tacos are our go to. Always ask for their spicy sauces on the side Vegetarian options: Cauliflower tacos

The tacos here were excellent. Two standouts for me were the Cochinita and the Pork Belly Al Pastor. The combination of flavors was on point, and everything on the tacos was well balanced. Service was fast. Despite the excellent food, I would be hesitant to recommend El Camino since it was too loud and crowded. There was so little space between the tables that it limited who could sit in the restaurant. It was so loud that we could not hear each other. Overall, there is work to be done here when it comes to the space to ensure the restaurant is inclusive and accessible. Wheelchair accessibility: The tables are too packed in this restaurant to accommodate a wheelchair.

Tacos and drinks were amazing! Only problem is that we waited one hour for 3 tacos. It did get busy but to wait an hour for tacos was a little crazy! Our server was amazing tho, very sweet loved her. It wasn t that busy when we arrived but suddenly filled up after our first round of tacos. Nothing bad to say other than the wait time for our food.

Food was decent and I can see why this place has its rep for the tacos. It s good overall but the service and wait time is pretty bad. Staff was chatting with friends and didn t check in with us. Our server told me to wait when I called her over, hella rude. Another server had to come in to give us our bill for a 30 minute wait for a bill

For those seeking a consistently enjoyable dining experience in the heart of the market, El Camino stands out as a reliable favorite. The moment you step inside, the friendly and efficient waitstaff welcomes you, creating a warm and inviting atmosphere. The restaurant itself boasts a relaxing ambiance, perfect for a casual yet satisfying meal. The menu showcases fresh ingredients, expertly prepared by the kitchen. Each dish arrives consistently delicious, ensuring a satisfying experience on every visit. Whether youre a regular or a first-time guest, youre guaranteed quality and a taste of culinary care.

Food was good. I dont eat Mexican but just want to give it a try and its good. Beef taco was good.

Came here last night with a bunch of my friends. The menu is straight forward. But the prices are too expensive. The prices on the menu are per single taco and not a set of 3 as it usually is at other restaurants. $9 for 1 taco is pretty high. The drinks are okay. Expensive but not too great. I ordered a margarita and I found it extremely salty. There was no other flavor in it. I have been to countless mexican restaurants in the US and they are so much better and their portions are huge. This place is more like a rip off.

The food is meh, quality and price has diminished these past years, not worth it. There was a 30 min gap between the time I received my food and my friend got her tacos so not the best service.

Service was confused and slow from first meeting the hostess to the fifteen minute wait for the bill after we finally got a chance to ask for it. It was kind of amusing to watch several dishes, including ours to be continually delivered to the wrong table. Two of us almost finished our main course before the other member of our party received her salad. I was charged double and told that is because the drink came with two shots of alcohol which the menu didn t really make clear Saying all that the food was good and we had a great table overlooking the market which was fun. Finally very few GF options.

Love this place. Jack is a great server and very personable. Remembers names even if you only meet him once. Highly recommend the food, the service and the atmosphere.

They wont give you a side order of gluten free tacos, because its no the chefs vision. You have a line cook dictating how people should enjoy the meals they paid for.

Amazing delicious food, knowledgeable fun waiting staff, fantastic vibes, super mezcals!

Came here because we love Datsun but this was awful. Experience was included waiting extra long for a drink then getting my taco 10 minutes before my partner. Then eating the most mediocre tacos that are $9 each while being blasted with emo-pop music. $30+ meal and still hungry. Now day after we both are both sick to our stomachs. thanks for comping the drink without us even complaining- but it s still not a worthwhile place to eat out.

Service was brutal . Bartender was putting on a show trying to be flashy but forgot the fundamental part of the job - to actually serve customers . He looked cool - but sat at the bar right in front of him for 15 before walking out cause no one asked me if I wanted a drink . I ve had the food here before and it s excellent

This is the best place for tacos and margaritas whether its a casual dinner or late night. Ive been here often over the years and its always been apparent how well managed the establishment is even with new servers- we had Jamie tonight and she was so quick and pleasant as a server! Definitely recommend checking out this location

Staff were attentive even though the place was very busy due to the long weekend, and the food was delicious. They have solid vegetarian options, I highly recommend the mushroom quesadillas and the margaritas are excellent. When one of our dishes was delayed the manager personally came and made it right and ensured we were happy.

Agree with reviews below, food quality has gone down as they were too rush. 3 tacos sold out and was only just opening and didnt even mentioned it. Staff mainly absent.

Tacos are ok; a bit pricy

Food was good but overpriced. Service was good when not forgotten, 3 servers. Music too loud , could not hear a conversation on opposite side of the table. Foodies must try.

Best margaritas in town, not to mention the mojitos and their signature El Camino lager beer. Thank you, Justin, for the amazing customer service , Great experience a MUST go-to place. Amazing Food , everything fresh and friendly staff.

Great location for a patio lunch in the Byward market.

One of the best Tacos I ve had in Ottawa flavour-wise, the prices are about the same as all the other taco places, but the meat is a tad dryer than others. The drinks are delicious and the customer service was polite. The chicken taco was the best and highly recommended, when I ordered something to go they got the order wrong and I ended up overpaying for something I didn t want though.

Went here twice. Service was slow, didnt get the entire order. Even getting drinks was slow. Food was okay but not worth the poor service.

El Camino was a great time. I had the chorizo and pork belly tacos, and while the pork belly was nice, the chorizo was out of this world. It came on a fried corn tortilla, which surprised me a bit, but it was the perfect contrast to the ground meat. Service was friendly, and the place was a nice spot. Our food came out pretty fast. Drinks were great (not super strong, but well made). Overall, I would definitely go back.

Food was good. But when we got there place was empty so we thought we were going to get our food at a decent time. All in all it took over 2 hours to get our food. Hostess was very unnatentive not even checking in to see if we were ready to order. She was more interested in cleaning the table then making eye contact and actually serving us.

After several online orders REQUESTING NO JALEPENO ON MY TACOS THEY KEPT PUTTING ON IT CALLED MANAGEMENT GOT SOME SORT OF CREDIT ORDERED WITH THE MANAGER ON THE PHONE REQUESTING AGAIN NO JALEPENO AND THEN GUESS WHAT TAKE A LOOK AT THE PICTURE ENOUGH SAID . Dont know what goes trough that kitchen stuff HEAD.. or WHAT their english level is

Yes, the food is good, but be ready for an annoyingly disorganized evening. My party was asked three times to confirm our order, they brought out food we hadnt ordered, and multiple times we had to wait over 20 minutes to have someone come over to take food/drink orders. Its a poorly organized joint and while I understand the model of the restaurant is to have tacos come out as theyre made, I dont buy it. I think its straight up just not caring enough about client experience, and veiling disorganization into some cool or unique vibe. Eating a taco solo while everyone else at your table is waiting for theirs is just strange and anti-communal.

Okayish, not that great for the price we paid. The cocktails were good and I tried the cauliflower tacos which were just okay. Not a lot of vegetarian options though. Also be prepared to wait for really long time to place orders or get the food. We even had to wait a long time for someone to get us napkins.

Roman and Gabby were consistently attentive and knowledgeable. Thank you for making our night!

Terrible experience at El Camino. Paying roughly 8-10$ per medium sized taco is insane. 2oz of rum in a drink that costs 18$. The server did not provide any utensils, or plates, or napkins. Thankfully I was right by the station and got them myself while she was chatting with the barman. Cups of water that were never refilled. Not once has the server bothered to check in on us. The restaurant was cold, the bathroom upstairs was barely at 10C. Find elsewhere to eat, youll be happier.

Best tacos in town. The carne was added sometime last year - it is my personal favorite. Among other faves are the ox tongue, the crispy fish, the pig head and the lamb tacos.. the squid ap is amazing. Possibly the best margaritas in town. Roman is your guy. Thanks guys!

Late Saturday lunch ...food and service were top notch!

If you love tacos, prepared to be spoiled!!

The tacos are sick, the old fashioned with agave is sick, the staff seems to be sick too

The tacos are very good, HOWEVER, if you are at a table close to the entrance, you will literally freeze the whole time. I think a heater by the front door would go a long way

Guys, why does it take so long to get food here!? What is going on!? A lovely bar tender came up and asked my husband and I if we were taken care of and although we were, it takes over 30 minutes to get some tacos? Yall. This needs to be better.

This place is incredible. We come here every time we re in Ottawa after discovering the Shrimp Betel Leaf dish. IMHO, start with this. You might order more than one for yourself. Both locations are great but Betel Leaf might be better at Clarence location. Fantastic food, solid and committed staff. Tops all around.

Food and drinks were excellent. The pig head taco is worth trying, it is phenominal

Awesome tacos and churros, and nice service

It s more on the expensive side, the service is slow and the lights are really really dim so you have to putt on ur phone flash light to see the menu. But it s the best tacos I ve ever had. The drinks are really good I recommend the margarita and the Camino club! Parking: Dhalhousie parking garage lot 5 is a 3 mins walk and it is the cheapest parking in the byward.

I m sorry but only a fool would shell out nearly $10 for a single taco.

Good place and good food my date just ruin for me but I ll go there again

I love tacos and these were delicious!

Lamb Birria tacos are phenomenal - so hard to choose when all the selections are so good. The housemade pina coladas are dangerously tasty.

Best tacos in town for me.

Tacos were delicious, the server forgot part of our order. Didnt check on us.

Food is delicious but soooo expensive and portions are too small. Service is slow, you will receive tacos one by one. We left still hungry and paid over 90$. Dont go there hungry.

Everytime I visit Ottawa, El Camino is always my first and final meal! It s so special to me and last night when my friend and I went, we were greeted by the loveliest server, Kate! She made our El Camino experience even more special. She regularly checked in with us, was patient as we spent time with the drink menu and just such a friendly and welcoming vibe! On top of everything, Kate went out of her way to donate to our fundraiser and truly warmed our hearts. We love you Kate! <3 Thank youuu.

Absolutely delicious Taco joint.. good vibes and food.

The food was really delicious, but the waiter we had today was acting like he didnt want us there. It took a while for him to take the order and he was lost when we needed him for the bill. Anyways, tacos were good.

They make tasty fresh cocktails. My three favourite tacos are Tuna, Chorizo, and Pollo.

Delicious. Get the Lamb Quesabirria

Love the vibe and nice terrace! A Tulum Music Vibe on the second floor will be that final small detail. Btw tacos are really good Food : 4/5

I order3d fish Tacos and it was very good but my wife ordered some veg taco which was not great and was okish . Service was not good but the atmosphere was great.

Not a bad taco I paid 16 bucks for two small lamb tacos and no sides. I could not taste much of the lamb because if how it was cooked but not a bad place. Just a tad overpriced

The taco was really good. But one taco costs $8 which is a little expensive considering tax makes it $10. The service was slower than expected. Other than that, enjoyed the patio view :)

Honestly, if the service was 1/10th as good as the food, this wouldve been pretty close to 5 stars. From the moment we got there, the staff seemed irritated that we asked for a booth (safer in my opinion to use a booster seat in a booth for our 20 month old than their bar height tables and chairs. ) It took over 2 hours to get guacamole, salsa, tacos and churros (all were fantastic tasting and fresh). When we arrived the restaurant was not busy, however, as the staff seemed uninterested in helping us, the restaurant got busier which further exasperated the situation. When I pointed out that the staff was quite rude and in a huge rush when we asked for the booth upon arrival to get us to leave to free up the booth, but made no attempt to provide good service to expedite us leaving (we continously had to call people over) we got zero apologies and were even challenged for our statements. There are a ton of families that visit Byward Market in the summer; if this venue is not prepared to deal with families, they should make that clear. The staff needs to be trained as they are exceptionally rude and make zero attempt to provide anything close to good customer service. If customers arent your thing, maybe you shouldnt be in the food service industry.

Beef tongue taco is delicious

Great spot for tacos + drinks. Got various types of tacos to try (Lamb Quesabirria, Pollo Asado Taco, Chrispy Fish Taco) and were all delicious. Especially matched well with the Margarita.

Food was ok, not as good as it used to be. Service was awful, to the point where we needed to ask for plates. Wine was obviously bad, when I asked for a different glass they poured me one from the same bottle, was still bad. Disappointing and would not return.

Best fish tacos ever!

Tacos and Tequila!

The tacos are pretty good but outrageously expensive.

Still the best Tacos in Ottawa,.fam fav.

There is nothing negative I could say about this place. Starting from the whiskey sour that was just perfectly balanced, to the calamari that surprised me with a hint of cumin and the pineapple pork belly taco that was just delicious. The murales is very pretty and the personnel qualified and friendly. Hopefully you will wash your hands before dining and you will be pleased with a sea urchin scent for the rest of the stay. I was told that the same chef cooks for other two locations that I had no chance to try out.. but you should! GG!

The ask was a beef taco with cheese for my 6 year old daughter. Nope they wouldn t accommodate the request. To be clear, they sell beef tacos (without cheese) and lamb tacos with mozzarella. Nope to much to put the mozzarella on a beef taco and the staff laughed at the request. They advised they would do a lamb taco with just cheese but not beef. So weird and disappointing because this is a spot I hit every time I am in Ottawa (this was the first time with kids). Returning on a road trip out to the east coast. This was the one place I was looking forward to and was planning to have a long evening, kids playing on tech while the adults finally get some time to enjoy on our last night. So we went next door to, El Furniture Warehouse and had a great night. They accommodated pasta with no sauce (every parent has been there) and were great to the kids. Tonight, El Camino lost a long time customer. Unfortunate but cant support that kind of ridiculousness until they earn a Michelin star lol.

Good for nothing, they never took our order. After 20 minutes they didnt even give us water. Terrible place, terrible administration, waiters chatting at the bar. The manager wasting time in the kitchen. The worst place in Ottawa.

Fun and relatively local place. Food was great (they only have tacos on the menu...they are doing them right :) ) The service was horrible. Our waiter was virtually never there. Gave us zero explanations on how things worked at the place unless prompted, and the answers were short and not always helpful. It is shame, will not go again. We might have been unlucky and it was busy. Like I said though, food was great...so if you are patient and in no rush, I would recommend it

Bit on the pricier side for Tacos, but good food and easy going.

Best tacos Ive ever had! Kudos to the team.

A friend suggested this place and I was not disappointed. The tacos were absolutely fantastic, though a bit pricey. Service was good. The waitress told us three tacos would make a meal: perhaps we were hungry, or maybe they were too good, but it could make room for twice that. Vegetarian options: They have two excellent vegetarian tacos.

One hit wonder, overpriced tacos, that s it

I m not one to leave a bad review but tonight was horrible. My bf and I have been coming to this restaurant for years and not once have we ever left unhappy. This evening we wanted to treat his mother to a night out due to her father passing (rip gramps). It s upsetting because we couldn t stop talking about how amazing this place is and the whole night was ruined by horrible service and burnt food. I think we saw 4 different servers through out and the bartender has absolutely no idea how to manage drinks and his time efficiently. In my opinion waiting 20 mins for a marg and having to ask multiple times is unacceptable. If you know you re going to be busy, put more staff on. Also, dessert was brought out before our food, and at the end of the evening there was no apologies what s so ever. Our server didn t even take my burnt taco off the bill . And cant forget receiving apps before the drinks. I hope this is figured out before the weekend comes.

If I could give a 0 for service I would food was good but had to go on a hunt for napkins, plates, cutlery, etc. bartender and serving staff were only attentive to bring a bill. Really disappointed overall.

If you feel like waiting 90mins for 1/6 of your order, this is your kind of place.

A pretty good find in Ottawa, the space is good with lots of seating, even for some big parties. Got there for late lunch past 2pm. They have indoor seating and a patio area as well as a roof top one. The service is great but it was quite slow though as it took like 15 minutes to receive our bill. Recommend to try: - Crispy fish taco - delicious - Ox tongue taco - THE BEST, a must try for sure! Such a wonderful smoky flavour and has such a good, tender texture - Lamb birria tacos - so delicious and that consomé is good!! Skip these: - Pollo asado taco - don t understand what this was it was chicken cubes on a soft taco. Worse one I ve ever had. - Chorizo crispy taco - skip this, it was super salty and the crispy taco made it so hard to eat as it kept falling apart. The server recommended the El Fuego cocktail and that was delicious! Has such a nice spicy kick, refreshing. The washrooms are upstairs though down a hallway with no ventilation, so it was like an oven in the summer! I didn t see an elevator so it would be something to consider for those with mobility/accessibility issues.

Wow! Talk about a frustrating visit. Kept us waiting one and a half hours for our food while the kitchen staff were going crazy serving take outs/deliveries. They had 5 cooks/preppers that never stopped but it sure wasnt for the in-house diner. What we are noticing is this is happening more and more at restaurants and we get it.....this is how they stayed alive during Covid but if they dont want to serve and make in-house customers happy then only do takeout. Talking to friends and we all agreed this was becoming the new norm for in-house dining -- 1 to 2 hours to get your food!

Perfect taco experience ever

Flavourful tacos which makes you want to order more. They have decently sized menu and selection of tacos. They didn t have the lamb quesabirria when I went but I remember it being really good. Pig head taco: despite the name it offered a tasty crunch with every bite. Pretty much a crispy pulled pork. Ox tongue: was also good and tender. Pork belly: I liked the sear in the pork belly but wasn t sold on the pineapples but it does balance the pork. Beef barbacoa: the sauce it comes with was really good.

Crispy fish , OX tongue, pork belly. Very nice taco

We ordered the 2 vegetarian options they had on the menu. It was well worth the wait as they were extremely tasty and would have again. The only thing which was off-putting was the loud blaring music which made it extremely difficult to have a conversation or even hear the servers as they were speaking to us. However food was great!

Small bathrooms henna?

Excellent table, weird tacos, ask for the polo Tacos !!!!!

We liked the place. Ideal for small portions and simple evenings with friends

Although the food is far from being authentic Mexican, their attention and service is first class.

Great texture on the meat in the tacos. Amazing flavours. Great lemonade. Easy on the rooftop patio for the evening, with a nice view of the passers-by on the street.

Really delicious variety of tacos (including particularly great veggie options), rooftop table, great drinks. Just a great evening.

After waiting 20 mins for someone to take our food order we stayed with drinks only. Would have liked a second but by the time I got up and went to get our bill it was tok little to late. Had planned to spend some $$ but in the end one drink and done. Real shame.

I went to the business alone to get a beer and the barman wasnt that warm. The music althought good was flat and lack of identity. The local beer is good but Id choice another option next time.

Jakob was great!

Very good food. Unfortunately we waited over an hour to eat 10 tacos. The terrace has a beautiful view, but on the street there are some characters who disturb the peace of the place.

I must admit, Im typically skeptical of places charging $10 per taco, but after eating here I definitely wasnt dissapointed. The flavors and combinations along with their salsas really hit the spot. Everything was prepared well, with the standouts being the fish taco and surprisingly, the pigs head. Its not something Id typically order but with some convincing from my brother I was surprised that I enjoyed it the most - the meat was so flavorful and the textures incredible - tender while being super crispy - one of the best tacos Ive had in a long time. Service is friendly and they have a good selection of tequila/mezcal/drinks. While Im still not a huge fan of the price of their tacos, El Caminos a great spot for tacos and drinks and Im sure most wouldnt be dissapointed.

I really wanted to like this place more, given all the hype, and tried them on 3 separate occasions. Each time, I found their food to be just okay at best, mostly lacking in flavour complexity that you could find from most taco trucks. The tacos are expensive for small portions, and again, they re just okay at best. The atmosphere is fun and young, so if that s what you re after, you probably won t be disappointed. If you are craving delicious tacos, you can find much better in the city.

The food here was amazing and our waiter was great, but the kitchen was very overwhelmed. It took almost an hour for some of our tacos to come out. I recommend ordering the chorizo tacos. They were great and for some reason only take about ten minutes to come out of the kitchen. Great churros as well.

Great margaritas. Good mescal selections

Big prices, low service. Drinks not sure

Good food! The prices have gone up quite a bit in the past year ( thanks Trudeau) but despite that, the quality is still really good. For that reason, paying the extra doesn t feel so bad. The guacamole is still one of the best in the city. The tacos are fresh and tasty.

Pretty good food and nice atmosphere, the service was amazing! We tried the cauliflower tacos and they were absolutely delicious with the right amount of spices!

Food is very good but unfortunately the service takes away from the experience. The food was very slow to come and our waitress forgot to order a couple of items. Also the atmosphere is overwhelming because they play the music so loud that it s hard to have a conversation with the people you are with and need to shout at each other to be heard. Anyway, can recommend this place for the tacos. Maybe order take away to avoid the loud music and slow service.

Amazing service and delicious food. Specially the chicken tacos and the fish tacos!!

Ive been to both El Camino locations multiple times and Im not sure whats happened but the service from the kitchen has gone way downhill. We went for a later dinner last night and the restaurant was pretty empty. We were 4 of us, with one of us joining a few minutes late. We received most of our food except the chips and salsa which should have come out first but didnt and we had to inquire about it. Our friend who came late, her food didnt come out for almost an hour. They have an open kitchen and we could see they had about 8 cooks working and goofing off for the most part. There shouldnt be a reason that our food order was so chaotic. And Im saying this as someone who also works in kitchens. I felt so bad for our server. He was really scrambling to try to get us our food.

I once wouldve given this place a 5 star rating but in the last 6 months or so, the quality of the food and service has been extremely inconsistent. Weve been coming here at least once a month for years and would always recommend El Camino to our friends from out of town and are now contemplating not going back after increasingly worsening experiences in the last 6 months. The cauliflower taco used to be AMAZING and is now either way too salty or way too sweet. The chips have also been stale on numerous occasions or so salty, weve had to scrape off most of the salt. The fish taco was so wet once, when my husband bit into it, it squirted water onto his plate and my taco shell was somehow both soggy and had crunchy stale side and so salty, it was the only flavour I could taste. We walked out that time from the food tasting so bad and having been terribly prepared which was shocking to us at the time but the lack of quality food has now become an unfortunate pattern. It seems as though theyve been slowly changing their recipes for the worst and its like flipping a coin as to whether the food will be okay that time. Not to mention the terrible service weve had on several occasions and the complete lack of professionalism from the staff. Its been sad to see our once favourite restaurant become a disappointment.

Staff are useless. Walked around casually while I waited 45 min for take out for 6 tacos. I only got my food because I inquired. Hostess dropped the bag in front of my face annoyed and didnt say a word. Great tacos but because of the staff, not going to waste my time at a place so disrespectful.

Very nice. Drinks are a bit overpriced.

Ox tongue taco is an absolute try. Flavour bomb.

Overpriced for the portions of food that you get , service was weak. Wouldn t walk I d run away and try a different taco place in Ottawa.

Best Tacos in Ottawa so far food quality is top notch, food plating was amazing, customer service was great essentially recommended

Went this restaurant due to good reviews however found the service really bad. We ordered 3 different tacos which came in one plate for 3 people & we asked for side plates & napkins and waited 15 mins but still no one brought us plates and we decided to eat our food without side plates or napkins and made a mess on the table. We were going to order mains but decided not to and got the bill & left. I would Not recommend this place - too commercialised !!

Beef quesaberra was good. I didn t quite enjoy the fish tacos, didn t match my expectations as lot of people raved about it prior to my visit. The drinks are perfect, I enjoyed my margarita The place was super busy, make sure to get there early to save a spot.

Great place. Been here before. They play jams so it is a great vibe. The staff are amazing and so attentive. Food is really good. I had the chicken asado and the tuna tartare. Their margaritas a strong.

Great guacamole, and the pork belly tacos were amazing! Vegetarian options: There s two taco varieties for Vegetarians, both of them are good Recommended dishes Beef Taco, Pork Belly Tacos Al Pastor

Delicious tacos. A little overpriced but you pay for the ambiance. Highly recommend the fish taco and the birria tacos.

I recently found myself in town for work, and my buddy and I, both taco aficionados, couldnt resist the temptation to try El Camino. The moment we stepped inside, we were greeted by an inviting open concept where you could see the bustling kitchen and the lively bar. Our introduction to this Mexican gem came in the form of Roman, who turned out to be an exceptional guide through the menu. Since it was our first visit, his explanations were invaluable in helping us navigate the delightful culinary offerings. We kicked off our journey with a classic starter - chips and salsa. To complement our evening, we ordered a Pina Colada and a Whiskey Sour, which paired wonderfully with our impending feast. We opted for the Pollo Asado and Chorizo tacos, the Lamb Quesabirria, and Betel leaf Prawns. Each dish was delicious in its own right. The hot sauce, in particular, was a revelation, adding an extra kick to every bite. The experience at El Camino was the perfect culinary crescendo to our trip. The flavors were on point, the ambiance was vibrant, and the service, thanks to Roman, was top-notch. If youre in town and in the mood for exceptional Mexican cuisine, do yourself a favor and make a beeline for El Camino. Its a taco lovers haven that you wont want to miss.

I ve come to this location a few times when travelling for work, each time bringing more people with me. The tacos here are simply awesome and everything you want at a taco joint: fresh, tasty, classic, slightly messy. Margaritas are on point. Staff is friendly and helpful. Recommend the chorizo and the pork belly. Can t be beat! Parking: Sometimes you have to drive around the block to find a spot.

Nice atmosphere, variable service depending on the person you spoke with, rather high prices, good quality of food.

Best fish tacos you ll ever have. The hot sauce is 10/10. Make sure you ask for hot sauce! El Camino fish tacos are famous and you ll eat until you want to pass out.

I wish the menu had descriptions for their menu items. The salsa is spicy and it s garnished with a bunch of cilantro. The pork belly is pretty good but a little over done for my liking.

Food was good, but did not justify the high expense for a taco. Service was not good. No one even asked us how our meal was...

Introduced by one of my friends, we went to El Camino without any expectation since my last experience with Taco didnt really impress me at all. We were there a bit early and so wait a few minutes around. The two young waitresses were very polite and attentive and served us quickly with a brief introduction of the menu. After we tried the first round of ox tongue and beef tacos, we cant stop but starting to ordering another round. The wrap tastes fresh and the seasoning is quite to its best, with the beer, El Camino Leger, it gives the best taste combination. In the second round, we also tried pig bbq and Japanese eggplant, but personally I still prefer ox tongue and beef ones. Well definitely come back next time when we are in Ottawa.

Spend a nice moment but princes went up. 1 margarita, 2 tacos = 44$. Tacos not worth 9$. It seem way too expensive for me Service is nice, music is loud. Vegetarian options: Tacos aubergine, chou-fleur

I rarely eat out and I m really not a taco person at all but El Camino s is my favourite place to eat. Their whole menu (food, drinks, desserts) are 10/10. I ve been so many times that i ve gotten the chance to get almost everything and it never disappoints. The vibes and service are always top tier as well. If ever there s any mistakes made, they rectify it on the spot, no questions asked. Once, i had dined in and they forgot our Mexican corn. They discounted our whole bill for the mistake. How sweet! Another time, we got takeout. They had forgotten one of our tacos. We had called in to notify them. Within 5 minutes, they had the taco made and packaged ready for us at the door with sincere apologies. The staff are on point! It s always a good CONSISTENT experience. I m very picky and opinionated, but I really have nothing bad to say. Whoever owns/manages El Camino s is very smart and understands what it takes to make a successful business. Their sister restaurant, Datsun, is equally as amazing in all aspects. They really know what they re doing and it shows. Good job guys!

Best Ox Tongue Taco I ve ever had.

The food here is not great. Gentrified Mexican restaurant who also opened a gentrified Chinese restaurant. The staff and management are so rude. Honestly sick of white people stealing and over charging.

Fun joint. We tried the cauliflower tacos , the daily mushroom quesadilla special and the chips and salsa, and thought it was decent, mixed and matched w sauces a bit to make it nice. The peanut sauce on the cauliflower tacos was nice! They seem to have a nice drinks menu too, and if they re not too busy they take requests as well. Vegetarian options: Not a lot of them, unfortunately, but the cauliflower tacos are nice!