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Don Guacamole's
Rating Details »
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- No
- Good for Kids:
- No
- Takes Reservations:
- No
- Delivery:
- No
- Take Away:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- Yes
- Good for:
- Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
18 reviews for Don Guacamole's
* Taco throwdown *
"Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the Vancouver Taco Championship Fight.
In the West corner, wearing 12 indoor tables, and 3 outdoor tables with a full Mexican menu we have Don Guacamole's. In the East corner, wearing 20 indoor stools at counters with a taco focused menu we have La Taqueria."
It was time to do a head to head comparison of Don Guacamole's and newcomer La Taqueria (http://www.yelp.ca/biz...) which are vying for the title of best taco in Vancouver (not a lot of competition to get over this little hurdle).
So I decided to compare my two favourite types of tacos: al pastor and arrachera. Here is the blow by blow:
Round 1: Tortillas
Both places use pre-made tortillas instead of making their own. I'm not sure why, as it would help give them an edge to go to the extra effort of having fresh housemade tortillas. Both places grill the tortillas so they are warm. Tie. Tally: 0-0-1.
Round 2: Salsas
Don Guacamole's brings you a nice platter with fresh cut limes, green salsa, red salsa, pico de gallo, and some chips. La Taqueria has 3 squeeze bottles with two red salsa and one green. The red salsa at Don Guacamole's is the definite winner hands down, with their green coming in a close second. The salsas had more complex flavours, a bit more heat, and were all around more well rounded. Tally: 1-0-1.
Round 3: Price
By standards in many other cities both are overpriced at $2.50 per taco or $9.50 for 4. But since they are priced the same, this round is a tie. Tally: 1-0-2.
Round 4: Al Pastor
Don Guacamole's has the traditional spit with a cube of pineapple on top dripping down onto the meat. They carve the meat fresh after you order it and give a very generous serving. The meat is perfectly seasoned, and has the right texture. It also is served at a very high temperature. La Taqueria seems to reheat the meat. I didn't see a roasting spit, and the meat was not fully warmed through. It had a nice taste to it. This round definitely goes to Don Guacamole's. Tally: 2-0-2.
Round 5: Arrachera
Don Guacamole's has nice large cubes of beef that are perfectly seared and slightly caramelized yet incredibly tender inside. They are perfectly seasoned, served nice and hot, and in a very generous portion. La Taqueria serves smaller cubes of beef, that are also freshly grilled and perfectly seasoned. But they are not quite as tender (perhaps due to the size). I wish both places would cut the meat against the grain though to be honest. But in any case, this round is a squeaker with Don Guacamole winning on juiciness. Tally: 3-0-2.
Round 6: Service
Every time I have been to Don Guacamole's the servers have been incredibly friendly, helpful, and constantly refill drinks, chips, and tortillas (if you have something that is served with tortillas on the side). I know some have said the service isn't good here - but I've been multiple times and have never had a problem. In fact I find the service to be not just ok - but exceptionally friendly. The order taker at La Taqueria was very professional and helped some of the customers that were not familiar with the menu items. But overall the warmth from the servers at Don Guacamole's wins this round. Tally: 4-0-2.
Round 7: Atmosphere
Don Guacamole's is a sit down restaurant that has a mix of customers, including about 50-75% speaking Spanish every time I have been. It is much more spacious. La Taqueria has ordering at a counter and then grabbing a counter seat in a cramped space. It also has mostly business types dressed for office work downtown. Haven't heard Spanish being spoken except behind the counter. This round goes to Don Guacamole's. Tally: 5-0-2.
So there you have it. Don Guacamole's wins on 5 of the 7 rounds and ties on the other 2. We have a winner!
Now that they have won the Vancouver Taco Championship they are ready to prepare to compete internationally against the taco trucks of California. But I think they better go into some pretty intensive training to prepare or they will get knocked out! First thing on the training regimen is to start making tortillas!
1 Previous Review: Show all »
-
4/24/2009
Ok, I have to preface this review by saying that I lived in both California and Texas and have… Read more »
My never-ending quest for passable Mexican food in Vancouver led to me to Don Guacamole's. It's a rather cramped space, with a large number of two person tables (which means longer waits for parties of three or more).
Because I have been looking for decent Mexican for so long the service (which was fine) is not a concern for me. No, it's all about the food. And it actually was decent. Nothing mind-blowing, but it was good, especially compared to the other Mexican restaurants I have tried (although they still don't have great chips and salsa).
Unfortunately the prices here are ridiculous. I have never seen a plate of meat with mole sauce, rice, and tortillas cost $18, CAN or US dollars.
So while the food is good (for Vancouver), the price is so high that I can't give this place any more than three stars.
4 stars for my food (a burrito)!
The food tasted really delicious and my chicken burrito in verde salsa was quite filling. The chips and salsa in the beginning served at the table were delicious. They serve them with 3 salsas, all of which have a good amount of spice and not catered towards "gringo tongues" which is what some restaurants do. Oh and the horchata was great! It was just creamy enough and cinnamony enough to be perfect!
The restaurant is kind of small so not a good place for a party bigger than 4. Which is unfortunate since I always associate Mexican restaurants with large group gatherings. :(
Some of the dishes weren't very large or filling at all. I can't remember the item that my friend got, but it was 2 small tortillas with meat on it. It was a pretty meager dinner that I thought she ordered from Appies, until she told me that was a main. hmm...
Secondly, I'm way too used to mexican food being served with rice and beans. And I like it that way. Why is everything a la carte these days? Rice and beans are cheap!
Thirdly, their dessert choices are measly too. They've got flan and fresas con crema. My friend asks the server, "What's fresas con crema?"
Server: "Strawberries with whipping cream"
Friend: "Just strawberries and cream???"
Server: "yes"
What?! $9.50 for strawberries and cream? What kind of mexican dessert is that?? And almost $10 for it!? WTF? Are they special strawberries?
So, all in all, while my own experience with this restaurant was pretty good (yummy, filling burrito--couldn't finish the last quarter of it, great chips and salsa--chips from Que Pasa Foods btw, and delicious horchata), It loses a star for being ridiculous with dessert, and having no rice and beans with the mains.
If you want to go to an upscale Mexican restaurant in Vancouver, Zocalo's does it better because their menu is clearer, esp for those who don't speak any spanish. DG's needs to update their menu to be a little more clear as to what we're really ordering (i.e. portion sizes, and strawberries and cream--really??).
I would probably come back here though because it was pretty good. I didn't know they had tortilla soup though! And yes, the wait was really long... but we were 6-8 people so.. obviously we were going to have to wait.
After spending so much time in Mexico, this little gem was a welcome addition to the hood. The food is authentic...any place that has tongue tacos wins my vote. yes service is spotty...it is more like real mexican street food, which is the best. The food is fresh the staff is fun. Yes you may have to wait, but how many of you wait over an hour to get into a over priced crappy nightclub on granville st. It is worth the wait. If your idea of Mexican food is, chain places and tex-mex you may not appreciate it. If you are looking for real Mexican street food in a pleasant setting, give it a try. Via La Tongue Tacos!!!!!!
To the owners of Don's please bring us fish tacos i beg you!!!!
today was the second time i've been to Don Guacamole's on Robson St. Nice quaint place with not too much seating but if its only 2 people the wait isn't usually that long. Service isn't that stellar either as our waiter didn't seem to really speak English that well and they never really come by to check on you. The trick is to flag them down if you need anything (a bit difficult as they scamper by really quick since its so busy!) and once you have their attention they are actually super nice and quick to get you what you need (napkins, extra salsa sauce, etc.). As you look around, you'll notice that there's a lot of native Mexican folks eating here as well, indicating some authenticity to the food?
The meal starts with some tortilla chips and a trio of salsa and sauces. We ordered a couple of daiquiris as well which were really good.. they were made with fresh strawberries. (About $8-9 each but worth it).
I've ordered other things before which were mediocre but tonight we had the last option on the menu which for about $18-20 a person (minimum of 2 people) is a mixed grill of several different types of meats prepared in different ways served with tortillas and various sauces. The portions are huge and 2 super hungry people would have a difficult time finishing it.. its a really good value for what you get and you can have leftovers for the next day. Other reviews will mention how the food is so-so but its because a lot of the dishes are run-of-the-mill.. this one is authentic and good. I peeped a few other people ordering the nachos as an appie and that also seemed like it tasted really good and you got a large portion.
Nice place to try if you are a fan of mexican.. Topanga's in Kits is still my number 1 place tho!
Not sure what the hype is all about. While there's nothing particularly wrong with this place, it's not the Mex saviour that it's been made out to be.
I guess I am spoiled by the very high level of service which is common in Vancouver, but the service was average. The food is good but not mind blowingly so. We let the server pick their favourites for us to try so it should have been the good stuff.
Maybe it was a case of elevated expectations . . . I will probably give it a second try as I lurrve Mexican food.
Have been meaning to stop by here for quite awhile. Today was the day. Friendly greeting....excellent salsa selection with chips. The red sauce was rich and smokie, the green nice and hot....loved the pico di gallo. I had the chicken enchiladas. Nice flavour and decent rice and beans. The servers were attentive and the kitchen busy. I'll be back....having lived in both California and Texas, I'm pretty fussy.
Stupid name. Serious food.
I have to say, I found very little wrong with my experience at this good intentioned, yet retardedly named restaurant. The first glimmer of good things were seen when we approached...a healthy crowd and lots of Spanish speakers. Is it PC to acknowledge the latter element? Am I an overly sensitive American? I don't know, but in my history, ethnic restaurants that are frequented the native people are usually a notch above.
We waited about 15 minutes and then we were seated at a table that had really nice chair to table height ratio. If you're 5'6" at least. Anyway, for me it made for comfy dining. The service was speedy and we quickly had drinks (solid margaritas, delish horchata) and chips (free, as they should be) on our table. The salsas were tasty and the presentation was nice. The chips were kind of stale, however. We ordered the guacamole and found it to be almost perfect. I like a guac that's really limey and has minimal tomatoes and onions. I ordered the enchiladas, which I always do at new Mexican joints and found them better than average. Only complaint is that the chicken was a bit dry and the bean to rice ratio was off. Mexican joint 101 -- beans and rice in equal measure so you can have a little of each in each bite. Duh.
We were close enough to the kitchen to see a number of items come out that will be on the list for the next visit. The nachos looked ridiculous and there was also an individual meat extravaganza bbq thingy that looked like fun.
All in all, it satisfied this Texan and I'm happy to have it in the hood.
Great Mexican food in a city where we have no really good Mexican food. I had the Pazole with pork/hominy - kind of like a stew. Good flavours, friendly attentive service - this place will seer again to explore the menu further. This was only my first visit.
I read a review of this one that had said the name reminded them of a character from an Adam Sandler movie.. Sooo true! Every time I see this place I can't help but laugh. It made me want to go.
I was incredibly disappointed. The service was so bad. The hostess or waitresses could see us and wouldn't seat us for the longest time. There were several empty spots so we seated ourselves.
We thought, ok. Maybe it's a seat yourself kind of a place. We waited for 15 minutes and the only service we got were the chips and dips from the George, the barman, behind the counter.
We waited another 10 minutes. Still nothing. I got up and asked for a menu. We gave this look to any server that says 'hey! hello!!' It didn't work until a gentleman came by and took our order.
They forgot my drink and my friends order. My food was cold and the trio of tacos I was served was cold and too be honest a little plain. My friend asked them if they had forgotten her order and they did admit to that.
The most wonderful part of the whole experience, was George. He came up to us and apologized over and over. He said this has been a problem in their restaurant. He was quite upset with the customer service in his place of work and was more than happy to share it. I give him kudos for just being so understanding. He offered us free margaritas. I enjoyed those! MMMmmmm. It was a double, too.
Anyway, I can't tell you how much it meant to us to hear we weren't alone in our thinking.
I will say the music here is so loud! With sports playing on the screen it makes it the perfect mexcian bar lounge .
Great authentic mexican place on Robson.
Been here a couple times and I do really like it. I'm a traditional taco sort of guy and judge these places by that. The tacos are perhaps a half point behind Salsa and Agave on Pacific but are indeed quite good. The horchata is excellent.
Loses a star for service that can be a bit sporadic, had to wait at the door without acknowledgement for quite some time once.
Hey Don! You're out of Guacamole!
Things happen, I get it, sometimes you run out of the ingredients to make the "Guacamole for two - prepared table side" that I was looking forward to all day.
So, I ordered a glass of horchata (which was huge & delicious) and chicken mole enchiladas (which were more like luke warm chicken tacos with mole sauce on top) and was ready to move on with my life until I realized that you served a garnish of avocado with my meal. What? You have avocados? And you have pico de gallo, and there are a bunch of limes...so what in the what???
Still I moved on because the music was so darn loud that I couldn't wait to get out of there so I could carry on a conversation with myself and avoid the migraine that it may induce.
If I walk by and it's a bit quieter I would give it another shot. It has a lot of promise and they offer things like Sopes and Mulitas so it can't be all bad, plus they have pork roasting on a stick for their Al Pastor tacos and who can pass up meat on a stick?
Ole! I say! An authentic Mexican restaurant on Robson Street? No way! With big screen TVs broadcasting Fox World Sports (looked like soccer to me) and tune-age reminiscent of a tequila sunrise, I knew I was in for a treat.
If your name is Guacamole, I betcha you've got some delicious-o chips and guac on the menu. And yes they did! Too bad they were out of guacamole :-( . But the complimentary salsas and chips reduced the pain.
The tortilla soup was the perfect amount of spice, and topped with feta, helping to mellow it out; funny, it also came with a slice of avocado (isn't that the main ingredient in guacamole?)
Nevertheless, I was easily distracted from that by the tacos (served as singles or in fours) which came with a choice of meats - I was swayed by a slow roasted pork, a little plain, but still tasty.
I most certainly plan on going back soon but hope I can persuade some Mexican friends to join me - maybe they can tell me if the rotisserie (is this the right way of phrasing the metal bar o' pork?) is authentic.
Another Yelp recommendation that I found really helpful !! I love this place and really think it is easily one of Vancouver's best places for Mexican. The service was great and the selections were huge. We ordered the tacos and chicken burrito. If it wasn't for eating at two other Yelp recommended places before Don Guacamole's I would have tried more....lol. I did manage to put away a few Pacifico's before we left though. We sat on the patio and got to enjoy the fantastic weather.
The food was tasty and portions were great. Made me think of the yummy Mexican food in LA and was happy to have found a place.
Thank you Don Guacamole for coming to Vancouver !!!
We were hardcore craving margaritas, chips & salsa after a long day of shopping on Robson and remembered passing this place so we came back ready to kick up our heels and relax.
We stood at the door waiting to be seated for 10 min. No one so much as said Hi to us, but passed us several times serving an otherwise full house. Thinking that by sitting at the bar would get us quicker service, we hopped on to the wobbly bar stools and waited. Another 10 min later (all while watching another patron who was clearly ready to order but ignored as well) we decide to say eff this and left.
How was it so busy when the staff had the WORST customer service I'd ever experienced in my life? Maybe they were so busy that they didn't need my business, so I didn't give it to them. It's too bad, because the food looked damn good.
Walked in to a packed house of Mexican international students let out after school. Loud, clubby music. Big open kitchen/bar area where the chefs serve up sizzling tortas and other authentic Mexican goodies.
Started off with a complimentary (I think) trio of salsa and jalapeno, habanero dips and chips. There was a $1.50 extra charge on my bill that I'm not sure was it was for.. It's well worth the $1.50, but I don't appreciate non-gratuitous items being placed on my table without being told of it.
However, I fell head over heels in love with the Al Pastor torta - a slow roasted pulled pork sandwich. The meat was delicious, the bread was just a touch crispy from frying but still soft and warm on the inside, and the melted layer of cheese with a crispy edge put the whole thing over the top. Plenty of fresh cilantro and onions inside as well.
Also tried the Mexican sausage quesadilla - mixed feelings about it. I couldn't quite place the taste.. the texture reminded me of corned beef though.
I don't have much experience with Mexican, but this place seems like the real deal. Right now, it's definitely my preferred place for Mexican in downtown.
Perhaps I don't really enjoy authentic Mexican food... maybe I wouldn't know it if I tried it. All I know is I didn't like anything here, other than the alright sangria. My friend had tried the cactus, which was a novelty but not really anything amazing in terms of taste... it had a lot of cheese all over it and some sort of sour cream.. not really something I'd run to when eating out. The nachos had a lot of beef on them, and no cheese - they were kind of dry... I've had tastier nachos at pubs. Every table gets chips with salsa, green and red chilli sauces. All but the salsa were way too spicy for me, and the salsa too runny and insufficient. I also got a soft chicken tortilla, which came to me as just white, plain chicken with lettuce and sour cream - blah. I didn't even want it. Sorry, but after all the amazing food I've gotten used to, I can honestly say I will never come here again.
Although I avoid stupidly named restaraunts like the plague (hello.. Or should I say goodbye Macaroni Grill?) I decided to go here on a whim after my gig on Monday night. Luckily, it was around 1030 on a Monday night and it wasn't that busy, as I usually am not in favor of huge crowds. After a tiny wait for a table at a half full restaraunt, I was seated and then the service was trouble free after that. While I was waiting, the waitress brought around tortilla chips with three kinds of sauces which were all hella spicy. The red sauce especially, holla! After much decision making, decided to go with the nachos. I confirmed the steak ones did not have cheese but the sausuge ones did. So I went with the sausuge ones. The food didn't take any time at all and what I got was huge. It tasted strange at first (not the typical bar nachos here) but then it got really good and tasty and unusual and flavourful. It was also damn filling. I tried, but gave up after finishing a little more then half of it. I had the option of taking the rest home, but a doggie bag of nachos didn't quite picture. Bill payment was no problem. Definitely will be coming here again, as the prices were ridiculous cheap for the nachos that I got.