André Smith
2-Feb-2012
Had the pleasure of dining at El Burro last night .Food and service was outstanding . We had the Mole Pablano and Carne Asada which I can highly recommend. Cannot wait to go back .
Lari Meyer
2-Feb-2012
My partner is somewhat tricky when it comes to food, to say the least. He's vegetarian, has a gluten intolerance and is allergic to a food thickener called Xanthan Gum (sometimes called 'stabiliser', sometimes called 'E415', sometimes called 'thickener', sometimes called 'modified starch'), so eating out is never a simple undertaking. The chef at El Burro, Paul, was so so helpful. He was very patient when we explained the problem, he personally checked every ingredient and even went so far as to personally prepare my partners meal entirely from scratch. I am very very impressed with the amount of concern he placed on making sure that every aspect of the meal was satisfactory. We will definitely be going back!
El Burro
30-Jan-2012
Dear Brendon
Thank you for your feedback. To answer your concerns, I will put it in a list.
1. Margaritas. The frozen jugs contain 13 shots of Olmeca Blanco tequila. That is nearly half a bottle. We use only freshly hand squeezed lime juice and organic Agave Syrup instead of triple sec. Both methods are used in Mexico. The current price of limes is R80p/kg. Pick ‘n Pay is selling limes at R100p/kg. When it comes to frozen margaritas, you have to use a lot of ice in order to achieve the fluffy frozen texture and look that people prefer. The problem then lies in that the mix is then diluted somewhat. There is a fine line when trying to achieve the frozen texture, if you add too much lime/tequila/liquid you end up with a liquidy slush. When you look at costs, with 13 shots of tequila, the fresh limes, imported agave syrup and ice, we are not actually making the standard mark up on the Jug at R180. According to industry standard they should be R220. As to the accusation that we are watering them down, that is unfounded. We are completely owner run, with a part time manager who does 2 shifts a week for us to give us a break. I would never allow watering down to occur. We put our life savings into El Burro and to think I would risk all of it by cheating customers would be ridiculous. If I do find that was the case on the evening of your visit, then disciplinery action will be taken. What I suspect happened is that in this heat, the barmen are struggling to achieve the correct consistency and might be adding too much ice. If that is the case, then I will not serve frozen jugs while it is so hot. Had you spoken to me on the night, I would have rectified it there and then. We are very approachable to customer complaints, and would prefer people to tell us there and then so we can make sure you are happy.
2. Food - I am very pleased to hear your friends enjoyed their mains. We use the highest grade of squid available and at R85 a kilo it is not as cheap as one would think. Possibly the kitchen messed up your portion and I apologise that it was too small. Again, if you had alerted me to that fact, I could have rectified it. I would have given you a whole other portion for free. Regarding the ceviche. We use only the freshest line fish that is caught in the morning. We have to wait until 10am to see what is available. We then finely dice the fish, which is standard practice in Mexico, and cure it with fresh lime juice, adding chilli, corriander etc for flavour. We cure our fish to order, which can only be done with sushi grade fish, and not 2 hours before. This is to avoid drying out the fish, as is often the case I had in Mexico. We have hundreds of people who love our Ceviche and it was voted in the top ten dishes of 2011 by Eat Out readers. If it was not to your liking, why did you not tell us? Again, I would gladly, gladly have substituted it for something else.
At El Burro we pride ourselves on trying our absolute hardest to make sure our customers are happy. We do not pretend to be the best of anything, we simply try to achieve the best we can. A lot of time and money has been invested by us as owners to try and create the best experience we can for our customers. That is why we urge people to tell us when they are not happy with anything. Unfortunately you did not allow me that privilege and now you would probably not come back. I do urge you to come back and give us a second chance. I am sure we can rectify your concerns, but of course we’d have to know about them first. Every restaurant has owners that care. Granted, some more than others. My Fiance and I’s life’s savings are in El Burro and our partners and us care very deeply about our business.
Once again, thank you for your feedback.
Regards Nic (owner)
Comments
Sandy Buchanan
30-Jan-2012
Too true Nic. Pity about these sites is people can be unnecssarily trashed - why don't folk have the gumption to make noises at the time, instead of leaving "dissatifsfied" and then do the nasty deed on the internet? The difference is you sound like a caring owner prepared to answer with solid facts and offer to change the perception. I wish you luck in your venture and yes will visit soon. Regards, Sandy
Brendon Lezar
23-Jan-2012
We dined at El Burro as a party of 7 on Saturday night. Generally speaking, the meal was very good on most counts. My 6 friends all either ordered the Pork Carnitas or the Beef with soft flour wraps off the main coarse menu and they were all absolutely delighted with their meals. I on the other hand, thought I'd be clever and ordered 2 starters as a main, and was actually bitterly disappointed. I ordered the Ceviche and Calamares. The Ceviche had nothing Mexican going for it and to be honest, a smoked fish paté bought from Pick n Pay would've been equally satisfying and a blind man would have had a tough time differentiating between the Ceviche and PnP's smoked fish paté. The Calamares was really good, but let’s face it, paying R42.00 for 5 baby calamari tubes is excessive! It would perhaps suffice as a starter to my 4-year old son, who, regrettably is not big on Calamari at this stage of his young life. Calamari is not an expensive seafood to procure and I felt cheated when I finished both my starters, the PnP fish paté and my 5 baby tubes of calamari whilst my 6 friends were still in the process of building their respective wraps, (their first wraps of a potential 3-4 considering the volume of their dishes) - and to put things into perspective, I'm a slow eater! So I was in for a total of R99.00 for my "main" compared to my friends who paid R78 for their dishes. I'm actually fuming as I type!
The big collective let-down was the jug of frozen Margaritas! Mr. El Burro Barman, may I ask whether your Manager knows that you are seriously screwing over your clientele or is he/she in on it with you? Come-on guys, I'm 40 years old, have been to Mexico and have eaten in every Mexican restaurant the Western Cape has to offer and as a result, have indulged in my fair share of Margaritas! So, we had 4 jugs between the 7 of us, and not one of us at any stage felt that we had indulged in anything alcoholic. We actually were responsible enough to arrange Good-Fellows to drive us all home, but when we all walked out of the restaurant more sober than when we emerged from our respective mothers' wombs, we wondered why? We have no problem paying R150 for a jug of Margarita but lets at least feel the magical caress which only tequila can embrace one with when we do so! Please Manager/Owner and whoever else is responsible for ensuring your clientele enjoy their restaurant experience, look into this as every one of us felt entirely cheated and done-over with regards to the Virgin Margarita’s. I can get over my bad choices regarding my starters, but we all feel your establishment, which lets face it, it's doing well and has some good words spoken about it in out-going circles, is seriously missing a trick here, and if you're not, you should be embarrassed about your feeble attempt at making Mexico's national cocktail, especially considering you're a Mexican restaurant. I’d welcome any reply to my mail to perhaps add some clarity.
Kind regards,
Brendon
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