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Bilbo's Festivo - CLOSED
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- Yes
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
12 reviews for Bilbo's Festivo
12 reviews in English
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Review from Jay R.
New York, NY
11/22/2010
For lunch you wait in line and order at the counter, then, they call your name up and you retrieve your food. Keep your ears open.
I had a steak quesadilla which was pretty tasty. It was very greasy though, very. The salsa was watery and bland, which seems to be a common complaint with this place. -
Review from Bill W.
Kirkland, WA
8/19/2010
The food is tasty, very fresh, and appealing, though definitely not traditional or spicy Mexican fare. Really just 3 stars, but gave an extra half star for being different and another half star just because I had to.
I tried the grilled halibut tacos, with big chunks of fish in an interesting red (?!) sauce and tortillas and other fixin's on the side to build 'em yourself. Veggie refried beans were good. She had a crab enchilada, which looked great. Her report is it was very good, with lots of crab and cheese, but a bit bland.
The shady outdoor patio is a great place to enjoy a tangy Margarita on a hot summer evening. The service was very friendly, if a bit leisurely (does island-time apply in the San Juans, too?). -
Review from eric b.
Seattle, WA
9/2/2010 1 Check-in Here
I can't speak to the other reviews as we were just enjoying the taco bar outside in the middle of the afternoon.
Cool vibe and truthfully, who cares if the food isn't all that authentic? You're on Orcas Island for crying out loud where there's only white people around!!! DUH. -
Review from Brandon S.
Olympia, WA
7/29/2008 1 photo
During the summer, Bilbo's Festivo Mexican restaurant serves up lunch on their tree enclosed outside patio as Bilbo's La Taqueria.
They grill up the food for you right there outside serving basic tacos of beef or chicken or even tiger prawns and plates of carne asada or pollo asada and a few other items. They have a very nice salsa bar complete with a couple of somewhat spicy salsas, cilantro and onions, cabbage or lettuce, sour cream and jalapenos and other toppings
I had their carne asada and it was pretty good. It's served in a big flour tortilla with guacamole and at first I thought it looked a little spare. So I went to the salsa bar and added a little bit of everything and it turned out to be a pretty good sized burrito in the end. The meat was nice and tender with a little bit of char and there were no fatty bits. My wife had tiger prawn tacos and, although they were small, the prawns were very tasty.
As is everything in Eastsound, the prices were about two or three dollars more than you would expect to pay for similar food elsewhere. And if Bilbo's Taqueria were anywhere other than Orcas Island, I'd give them three stars. But when a little taqueria exists in such an out of the way place like Eastsound that serves up good Mexican food and has a solid salsa bar, I've got to give them a little extra credit.
P.S...From what I understand, this is a sit-down Mexican restaurant for dinner. The taqueria is just a summer, lunch thing. -
Review from Neil W.
8/2/2010
I really wanted to like Bilbo's, but the food was just too bland. However, the service was good, and the presentation was good, and they have one of the better Margaritas I've had north of the border, but their adherence to vegetarian beans and rice just KILL the flavor of the food. Which is just a shame, because for what they were they was excellently prepared, just had ZERO flavor. Had to douse everything in their salsa, which was excellent, and salt to elicit any sort of exciting reaction from my taste buds.
All in all, a perfectly ok place to dine in Eastsound. -
Review from Marc P.
Del Mar, CA
8/20/2008
First, let me state that I have lived most of my life 30 minutes north of the Mexican border. That said, I like very flavorful and spicy Mexican food.
My fiancee & I went to Bilbo's for dinner. Although I found the atmosphere of this place to be very good, and the service to be excellent, I was not impressed with the food. The salsa tasted bottled, and wasn't very good. The guacamole was made fresh as they advertised, but it had zero spicy zing to it, and left plenty to be desired. To be honest, I have purchased better salsa and better guacamole from Trader Joe's. The main courses were fine as well. Although I would have no trouble going back to this place if others wanted to go, I'd rather go somewhere else for dinner in the hopes of finding something a bit more memorable. -
Review from Winston S.
Bellevue, WA
10/26/2009
This is not an "authentic Mexican" restaurant as others have panned it for not being. It is, however, a tasty and welcome break from standard island fare.
The pollo en ancho was very good. -
Review from jen b.
Virginia Beach, VA
8/4/2008
We hit Bilbo's for lunch and it was the taqueria set up as Brandon S. described. You order at the grill and then they call your name. The food was quite tasty - chicken soft tacos with rice and beans and chips & salsa. The ordering/pick up process wasn't totally smooth, but overall a good lunch spot.
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Review from Sam M.
Seattle, WA
5/11/2010
Ate dinner here after a wedding rehearsal. The service was okay, atmosphere was nice, the food was BAD. The enchiladas looked, tasted, and smelled like they were a $1 tv dinner. Soggy tortillas, the meat was inedible. If you eat here, fill up on the chips and salsa.
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Review from Jon H.
Seattle, WA
5/9/2010
Food was inedible. Had to wait a long time. Charged a 25% tip without telling us. Had a tummy ache after. Everyone in our 20 person party thought it was horrible. Avoid like the plague.
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Review from Adrian S.
7/29/2009
We had lunch there with some friends who were up from Texas. First, you had to line up outside to place your order -- and the person taking the order had an attitude. I ordered a frozen margarita, and she said "we only serve rock margaritas outside" (the inside restaurant was only open in the evenings). I said that would be fine. She then took the rock margarita and blended it for five seconds so that it had ice chips. Our friends asked me why she didn't just leave it in longer and give me a frozen margarita? She said they would call out my name when the food was ready to pick up. We went and sat down waiting for someone to call our name -- it never happened. I got back up and went to the far end of the counter, and there was our food getting cold. The cooks looked like they were seventeen and probably couldn't find Mexico on a map. The food was incredibly bland and overpriced. Even the salsa was bland. The attitude of the people working there was horrible. AVOID THIS PLACE!
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Review from Charlie A.
Kirkland, WA
8/9/2009
We have eaten here in the past and enjoyed it. It must be under new management now because it has changed quite a bit. - chips were served when we sat down and were just short of burnt - service was terrible and very slow. It took over an hour to get our dinner and the server returned twice to ask us what we had ordered. - I ordered black beans and was served refried beans. It took forever to fix this and then the black beans were terrible anyway - the carne assada was over cooked and dry We were thoughtfully (we thought) provided with lap blankets (it was a little chilly that evening). When my wife went to spread one on her lap she discovered they were severely food stained (fresh) and in need of a wash. We were very disappointed and won't return to this restaurant. It was very expensive for a Mexican restaurant anyway but this experience is inexcusable when these prices are being charged.
