Iama C.

Iama Critic Rating - El Taquito - 2 Stars 3017 White Horse Road, Greenville, SC 29611 Overall: As a restaurant critic I could choose to dine at only the finest places. I could go to only the restaurants that I know have a reasonable change of providing a five star experience. And as a result all my ratings would all be nearly five stars. Oh sure, every now and then some place like Rick Erwin's West End Grill will surprise me, charge me a fortune and serve me two star junk I wouldn't feed my dog, but for the most part all my ratings could be five star. But I got this morbid curiosity! I just love eating at dinners and dives. I love to go to places that some people just don't go to. Why? Because sometimes you discover a true five star gem like the Smokin Pig in Anderson SC, and then sometimes you discover a true dump like the El Taquito buffet. Now believe it or not I have gone to numerous Mexican buffets for under $7.00 and in fact I just reviewed La Fiesta, a four star buffet for under $6.00! But sadly El Taquito is just a dive. A genuine two star dump. MISERABLE SERVICE! The service is non-existent. I was literally the ONLY patron in the restaurant the entire time I was there, and after I was served my drink, my waitress was pointless and provided no service whatsoever. I RARELY stiff a waitress entirely, but this woman deserved nothing, and in fact should have paid me a tip for having to suffer through her worthless service. AND THEN THERE WAS THE BUFFET! In over 20 years of reviewing literally hundreds of restaurants, this was the second worse Mexican buffet I have ever eaten. Believe it or not I once ate at a $5.00 buffet, ironically also on White Horse Road, in Greenville SC, but it is now out of business. And I suppose El Taquito will be soon! Never have I seen a Mexican restaurant without chips, salsa, hot sauce, pico de galo, guacamole, onions or peppers of any kind! Instead they served Green Eggs! Yes, actual hard boiled eggs in a green sauce! What the heck it was supposed to be I have no idea. And they had chicken legs in a red sauce with potatoes! At least half the buffet wasn't even recognizable. And the other half was empty or inedible. But they never freshened a single dish nor offered me a fresh sample of anything! Even as they watched me take pictures of the "food" I got off the buffet. The management must be entirely inept! However, they had these tiny enchilada rolls that were so old that I threw one on the floor and watched it bust into a dozen tiny pieces. hahaha The horrid thrills were endless. The buffet had no cheese, no tortillas, no shredded lettuce, no Mexican salad tortilla bowls, no taco shells, no sour cream, and no condiments of any kind! And everything they did have was OLD, BLAND, BORING AND COLD! I give it two stars because of one reason and one reason only. $1.99 - Melon Drink - 4 Stars I ordered a El Taquito melon drink and it was fabulous. Oh sure, it didn't save me from the gastronomic distress I got from the buffet, but the flavor of this drink was wonderful, and it is the only reason to even go to this horrid dump of a restaurant!