BajaNomad - Restaurant Reviews?

Restaurant Reviews?

DianaT - 7-6-2013 at 04:22 PM

In reading the thread about places in La Paz, it was mentioned that some people really want to read only good reports and think the negative reports should not be posted. And over the years we have met many people who have terrible experiences with restaurants and accommodations and just leave it at that. They tell others about it, but never post it on a forum.

Of course, at times it is just a matter of food preference and or tolerance for a lack of hygiene. We have eaten at some tiny road side stops with very basic good food and the hygiene is excellent. Then again, when we see fingernails that look like the last time they were cleaned was 1950 and the roaches have large families and names, well, we head the other way. For us, the bathroom is always a good indicator even if it is an outhouse --- decent, or filthy. And for taco stands and very small places in a town, we look to see if the locals are eating there. We don't always assume that the large truck drivers know best as one of our friends told us that some of them tend to stop at the places with the "prettiest" and "friendly" waitress. :biggrin:

We appreciate hearing the good, bad and ugly, especially if people have become ill, and then we can judge for ourselves. Even hints like how good the food is at a place like Jardines is, but the acoustics are awful is a good hint. One of the best meals we had there we took out and enjoyed on the hotel patio.

It becomes even more conflicted when one knows and likes the owner of an establishment where they and others have become ill and they know the hygiene is horrible.

Curious as to what others think? Only the positive should be posted and the negative left for others to discover?

ligui - 7-6-2013 at 04:37 PM

if i have had bad meal that might have made me sick i feel i should let someone know . Also who wants to spend money at a place that isn't really good ?

Give me the good and the bad , then i'll make up my mind from the review .

: :yes:

weebray - 7-6-2013 at 05:30 PM

I'm down with Ligui. We stopped eating at Gonzales brothers fish tacos a few years back because it just kept getting filthier by the day. Sad really because this used to be the standard for fish tacos in downtown La Paz. Too many other great options now. Taco's Fish La Paz on Marcus de Leon, the place on the corner of Giermo Prieto and Indipendencia, and the fish tacos "a la plancha" at Mr Fisher on Morelos.

vandenberg - 7-6-2013 at 05:31 PM

Well, there are times that you keep your opinion to yourself. Especially when it concerns a fellow Nomad who tries to make a living from tourism.
We had a very bad experience a few years ago.
A highly recommend place ended up being one of the worst places I ever gave my business to.
The restaurant food was microwaved, bad Mexican food and the accommodation were among the worst I'd ever experienced anywhere. Filthy, with the carpet so bad, you didn't want to put bare feet on it. And this at $50.00??
My wife asked me to post this experience, but since it was a fellow Nomad, I decided against it.
Right or wrong??

woody with a view - 7-6-2013 at 06:41 PM

we stopped recommending La Mijita in El Rosario back when the cartel F*ed things up. there are still good places but we are superstitious and don't want to be too obvious!

http://forums.bajanomad.com/viewthread.php?tid=59912#pid7210...

We miss you Elsa! your family is keeping on....

Bubba - 7-6-2013 at 07:02 PM

I'm a relative newbie here but this is my 2 cents for what it's worth. I whole heartedly agree with posting the good and the bad. I've been a member of other websites, mostly fishing for many, many years and it's got to the point if a person has a bad experience on a particular sport boat and voices a valid opinion that post will soon be deleted. It's all about sponsorship, IE, advertisement and money. Keep everything in moderation, voice valid opinions and let the cards fall where they will.

Lee - 7-6-2013 at 07:44 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by vandenberg
My wife asked me to post this experience, but since it was a fellow Nomad, I decided against it.
Right or wrong??

What are you comfortable with? Most don't like conflict. Personally, I'd post a negative, but fairly, and after talking with the people (nomads) involved.

The negatives I read almost seem personal: this place stinks! And the food sucks!

I think there's a good way, and not so good way, to get good to great food, and service, in Baja. Since it's not that way NOB, it shouldn't have to be that way SOB -- but I think it is.

A little attitude goes a long way in either direction.

Paula - 7-6-2013 at 08:17 PM

I agree with Lee that many of the negative reviews here seem personal or vindictive. Especially useless are those that begin with words like "Seriously" followed by multiple punctuation marks, in response to someone else's comments on a place they like. On the other hand, a negative opinion given without rancor and backed with specific details can be helpful.

As to getting sick following a meal, you don't really know for sure what made you sick, and it is unfair to poison a reputation based on your assumptions. A few months back I had a nasty reaction to lunch at a popular (and overpriced in my opinion) place down here. But was it really that food that made me violently ill within 2 hours? I know I'll never have that dish there again, but I don't really KNOW what made me sick, and I'm certainly not going to put it up here based on my assumption. I've been to the restaurant several times since, no problems, didn't order that dish, it's a great-- if overpriced-- place!

DianaT - 7-6-2013 at 08:32 PM

Interesting responses and opinions.

rts551 - 7-6-2013 at 08:51 PM

yes. it is really unfair to poison an opinion based on assumptions. But my opinion is

Everyone should provide the good and the bad. there will always be others who through loyalty. misplaced or not, who will disagree.

But I tend to take all the "opinions" and then make up my own mind. Let the reviws keep comin!

Lee - 7-7-2013 at 09:37 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by TecateRay
If you don't have to have seafood my favorite is Rancho Viejo. It is just up the hill from Papas and Beer. Great food and drinks, good atmosphere and service - hard to beat!

This from another thread belongs here.

The Rancho would be a fun place for a BD or anything else. I always get the same thing: tacos arrachera. Then a 1/2 kilo to go. Service is fast. Sometimes, though, I've gotten meat that's been on the grill awhile. Still good but not as tender. Great location to the Malecon.

Trueheart - 7-7-2013 at 12:30 PM

Negative places to the point of getting sick or that are a real turn off for various reasons (bathrooms, service, cleanliness, gouging, watering down drinks, etc.) should be divulged to help us all. That said, I usually like to form my own opinion, so if there are reviews that go both ways, I usually give the place a "go" if the circumstances are right.

We've had lots of good to great eating experiences in Baja.

JESSE - 7-7-2013 at 02:04 PM

Its been a while since i have posted here, many things have changed over the past years here in Baja, a lot specially in the food business. Most restaurants in Baja had to almost completely change their business due to the fact that the foreign tourist market simply died. For example, 70% of our business used to be foreign tourist or expat locals, now its 80% Mexican and the rest tourist and expats.

Baja is one of (if not) the most dificult place to run a restaurant in Mexico, you got super high food costs because a lot of things get brought in from the mainland or san diego, you got one of the most dificult work environments in Mexico (ask anybody that employs people in southern baja and they will tell you), you got high electricity prices, and to top it off, you prices have to be lower or the same than in Tijuana or other places with a lot less costs. People want a tender american beef short rib at the same price that you pay in San Diego or Tijuana, thinking, "hey, its Mexico, it has too be cheaper", but its NOT, its actually about 30% more cost expensive.

Now when it comes to reviews, In 13 yrs of reading this forum i know that theres many people who know their food and are pretty good reviewers, but honestly like everywhere else, most are not. If you want to find good places to eat, read the good reviews here, and see what you can find about those places in Tripadvisor and other forums, and finally, when you are here, ASK the locals, the taxi drivers, the hotel employees, the people who know. Trust me, if you ask your neighboor Pancho, you are NOT going to eat at the best places, specially if you are in southern baja.

Theres plenty of good restaurants in La Paz, they are not perfect but since i know how difficult it is to operate in this city (If you can make it in La Paz, you can make it anywhere) i understand their flaws. You have such a varied clientele that you cannot possibly make everybody happy, you have rich people complaining you don't have high end stuff, other people complaining you are too expensive, one dish that a mexican customer loves but a foreign customer might hate, others say your portions are too small, other complain your portions are too big, and all with your food and operating costs at almost 20 to 30% higher than in lets say, Tijuana or Mexico City. Trust me, no restauranteur in La Paz or many places of Baja sur is getting rich, we do it mostly out of love and because we love our home.

Finally, one thing is undeniable, THERE ARE NO DECENT TACO PLACES IN LA PAZ, sorry, but we have the worst tacos in all of Mexico.

Ateo - 7-7-2013 at 02:07 PM

What JESSE wrote makes complete sense to me.

rts551 - 7-7-2013 at 02:12 PM

Jesse. the problem with reviews on tripadvisor, this forum and the like, is that (as you point out in paragraph 4) is that everone has different tastes. So what is good to one person may be horrible to another.

JESSE - 7-7-2013 at 02:19 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by rts551
Jesse. the problem with reviews on tripadvisor, this forum and the like, is that (as you point out in paragraph 4) is that everone has different tastes. So what is good to one person may be horrible to another.

Theres always good and bad reviews, but if you read mostly good things in many different places, chances are its going to be good.

woody with a view - 7-7-2013 at 02:36 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by JESSE

Finally, one thing is undeniable, THERE ARE NO DECENT TACO PLACES IN LA PAZ, sorry, but we have the worst tacos in all of Mexico.

AHH, a business opportunity just presented itself....

Reviews

J.P. - 7-7-2013 at 02:41 PM

It takes a Special kind of person to run a restaurant. A whole lot of good chef's have no business sense and most business persons are not good chef's. In todays market I would think it's almost impossible to run a full menu restaurant. because of high cost of food . I too read the Local reviews and have been pleased with some But let's face it we don't all have the same taste in food and judging from some of the reviews I have read I don't believe the reviewer has any taste.

sancho - 7-7-2013 at 02:41 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by vandenberg
Well, there are times that you keep your opinion to yourself. Especially when it concerns a fellow Nomad who tries to make a living from tourism.

Not concerning a Nomad, but read a post a couple yrs. back about my favorite breakfast/
dinner spot in San Felipe, going there for yrs., this post
by someone who would know, said his wife got Salmonella
(sp?) food poisoning there, not exactly sure what Salmonella
is, wish I never read it, I can't get myself to go in there

woody with a view - 7-7-2013 at 02:45 PM

Salmon-ella (female salmon) has long since swam upstream. don't trip on it, give it another try!

J.P. - 7-7-2013 at 02:52 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by sancho

Quote:

Originally posted by vandenberg
Well, there are times that you keep your opinion to yourself. Especially when it concerns a fellow Nomad who tries to make a living from tourism.

quote 1. I would think you would be doing that nomad a disservice if you don't confront him personally and privately.

Quote 2. I read the same post and still go there. the disappointing thing for me about that place is my favorite waiter is no longer there.

Bajaboy - 7-7-2013 at 03:01 PM

I enjoy reading the restaurant/hotel reviews...I kind of take them with a grain of salt.

BUT, I do take note of the hotels that allow dogs, though. The thought of sleeping in a hotel room shared by a mangy, flee infested dog the night before is too much for me. If my cat can sleep in the back of my truck, your dog should be able to handle a night in your car. :tumble:

Leo - 7-7-2013 at 03:06 PM

All very senseable responses. Jesse's particularly is an eye-opener. Had no idea about the cost difference here in Baja Sur.
As for the original question and the one from Vnadenberg, Nomad or not, I would appreciate some fair review. Can work also to the advantage of the reviewed, if he/she listens and improves. however for getting sick within 2 hours is hard to be judged on. 6 or 8, but even then, one has to be careful to hang that on the food or restaurant.

sancho - 7-7-2013 at 03:08 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by J.P.

Quote 2. I read the same post and still go there. the disappointing thing for me about that place is my favorite waiter is no longer there.

Interesting one would remember the same post, I would
never repeat the name of the place, out of courtesy to the
owner. Good advice I'm over it, going back. Along
the same line, took some newbies to San Felipe a
while back, having breakfast out on the HWY, the woman
we took down there, remarked 'do Mex beans always
with this', and held up a beer bottle cap, kinda funny,
owner very apologetic, didn't charge her for the meal

Paula - 7-7-2013 at 03:15 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by sancho
]

Not concerning a Nomad, but read a post a couple yrs. back about my favorite breakfast/
dinner spot in San Felipe, going there for yrs., this post
by someone who would know, said his wife got Salmonella
(sp?) food poisoning there, not exactly sure what Salmonella
is, wish I never read it, I can't get myself to go in there

There is a looooong wikipedia entry on salmonella that will tell you more than you would want to know.

I found this sentence interesting:

Most people with salmonellosis develop diarrhea, fever, vomiting, and abdominal cramps 12 to 72 hours after infection.

I think this is true about most food poisonings, though I'm no expert. But when a friend says I got sick from eating at Joe's last night, they don't really know that it wasn't the breakfast at the corner diner that got them, or for that matter dinner at home the night before. And this is why I think it is unfair to spread the word that a restaurant made you sick, because you probably don't really know what meal where caused the problem.

Bubba - 7-7-2013 at 03:35 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Paula

Quote:

You are absolutely correct here. Hanging a food poisoning accusation on a food establishment without being certain can cause a lot of damage to that business....

elgatoloco - 7-7-2013 at 11:41 PM

I want to hear all sides. If I ever have a truly negative experience in Baja I would pass it on, unless its just confirmation of what others had already posted over and over and over. Same probably goes with the good stuff I read that I concur on. No need to waste bandwidth beating a dead horse.

You never know with food poisoning. First Baja camping trip with the woman who became my wife we ate the same tacos de carne at the finest dining establishment in San Vicente. She spent the first night camped in Cataviña sick and did not feel very good until the second week of the trip and I never had an issue. One of the millions of reasons I married her was the way she soldiered on when others may have wimped out and run for the border. :dudette:

To this day she can't ride thru SV without feeling a little hinky, and no we never went back to "that" place. :saint:

grizzlyfsh95 - 7-8-2013 at 08:42 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Bajaboy
I enjoy reading the restaurant/hotel reviews...I kind of take them with a grain of salt.

BUT, I do take note of the hotels that allow dogs, though. The thought of sleeping in a hotel room shared by a mangy, flee infested dog the night before is too much for me. If my cat can sleep in the back of my truck, your dog should be able to handle a night in your car. :tumble:

What he said!

rts551 - 7-8-2013 at 09:09 AM

Quote:

Thats OK. My dog does not like flee infested people either.

Lee - 7-8-2013 at 11:36 AM

Quote:

Simple for me. My dog doesn't like sleeping alone. And I never take a dog room because I don't like other dogs. And don't care if a no pet policy is in place. I ignore it. Nothing personal.

And I like critical restaurant reviews. I only consider a review as negative when the reviewer doesn't know how to critique food and service. Most ''negative'' reviews sound like they're written by cranky people.

CortezBlue - 7-8-2013 at 11:57 AM

Trip Advisor, that's all you need

monoloco - 7-8-2013 at 12:47 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Lee

Quote:

I'm sure that all the people with pet allergies will be happy to hear that.

Bajaboy - 7-8-2013 at 03:30 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Lee

Quote:

maybe sleep with your dog in the truck :?:

It Ain't Just About People's Tastes...

Bajahowodd - 7-8-2013 at 05:02 PM

Quote:

I admit to reading Tripadvisor, But I do so taking it with a grain of salt.

The deck can be stacked by people on either side of the issue. Tripadvisor has no way to check who is writing the review, or if they ever even visited a particular hotel or restaurant.

I had this same discussion with Jesse several years ago, as he complained vehemently that the number one rated restaurant in Cabo at the time, out of hundreds, was a taco stand.

Alan - 7-8-2013 at 05:38 PM

I was raised to believe "if you can't say something nice it is best to say nothing at all". Any business has so much riding on their reputation now-a-days with the internet. One employee simply having an off night can scar that reputation for years and some companies may never recover

Welcome back Jesse!

monoloco - 7-8-2013 at 06:18 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Alan
I was raised to believe "if you can't say something nice it is best to say nothing at all". Any business has so much riding on their reputation now-a-days with the internet. One employee simply having an off night can scar that reputation for years and some companies may never recover

Welcome back Jesse!

That would make reviews essentially worthless, almost every restaurant receives bad reviews on a site like trip advisor, you just have to look at the number of bad reviews vs. good reviews and try and determine if there is some common thread that would make you want to or not want to eat there.

Bajahowodd - 7-9-2013 at 04:08 PM

Not specifically. You have to read between the lines when viewing a site such as Tripadvisor. Proprietors can post there anonymously, and can do so from multiple e-mail addresses. They can pressure their customers to do the same. They can use their relatives and friends to stack the deck.

In connection with my discussion with Jesse a few years back, (he actually told me he was going to remove his Tripadvisor plaque by the entrance....

But, around the same time, the number one rated hotel on Tripadvisor was a place operated by a European ex-pat who was a criminal and a sex offender. Some Pacenos know who I'm mentioning here.

This guy had zero scruples and got into some trouble for allegedly siphoning off funds for the local Cruz Roja.

The dump he was running could not possibly have been the top rated hotel in the La Paz area, but it was.

monoloco - 7-9-2013 at 04:19 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Bajahowodd
Not specifically. You have to read between the lines when viewing a site such as Tripadvisor. Proprietors can post there anonymously, and can do so from multiple e-mail addresses. They can pressure their customers to do the same. They can use their relatives and friends to stack the deck.

That's exactly why I think that negative reviews are more helpful.

Bajahowodd - 7-9-2013 at 04:46 PM

I agree with you up to a point. Sometimes negative reviews can be coming from a very weird perspective. Remember that the world has its full share of nut jobs.

Reading the reviews on a site such as Tripadvisor requires one to think about the reviews they are reading and the reasonableness of the complaint.

monoloco - 7-9-2013 at 05:37 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Bajahowodd
I agree with you up to a point. Sometimes negative reviews can be coming from a very weird perspective. Remember that the world has its full share of nut jobs.

Reading the reviews on a site such as Tripadvisor requires one to think about the reviews they are reading and the reasonableness of the complaint.

It's usually pretty easy to tell if someone's ranting or has an ax to grind.

mike odell - 7-9-2013 at 05:45 PM

First thing, Welcome back Jesse! I enjoyed your post, and agree with you
100%. I have a small restaurant/bar here in La Ribera at my R.V. park, we
have managed to stay open for the last few years in spite of only being open
on weekends. My client base is Expats and local homeowners from the East Cape.
I am not a Chef as is Jesse, so I rely on my Ladies in the kitchen, I provide
the best and freshest products I can. This means weekly trips to San Jose and
Cabo usually a full and long day to buy, load coolers,ice down,transport, unload,
and stock the refers and shelves prior to opening. As we are mostly a steak
and seafood operation,I have source out, Local providers as a general rule,
don't have the products that I put on our menu, I do buy some produce and
seafood from local providers when it's good, trying to keep money spent locally,
if you will. I get a lot of clients that take the remainder of their dinner to take
home,as we tend to over plate! I tell everyone that I would never want anyone
to leave my place feeling underfed. We have many, many folks say that our
salad and soup bar is by far the best on the East Cape, yes I am proud of that.
We also include dessert with the meal included in the price. Are we expensive?
By La Ribera prices, at our few other eateries, yes,but here a night out for
dinner, and drinks, and sometimes dancing to live music is a full evening.
Do I make money? Yep, a bit on the food,drink a lot, and I do a hella lot
better! This is a tough gig, as anyone in it will tell ya,food in a restaurant is
a small paying hobby, money gets made behind the bar.
Jesse is spot on about costs here in Baja, I can attest to that fact.
If I did not enjoy this I could prolly do better plucking chickens!
Just my dos pesos,
Mike

vandenberg - 7-9-2013 at 07:02 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by mike odell
First thing, Welcome back Jesse! I enjoyed your post, and agree with you
100%. I have a small restaurant/bar here in La Ribera at my R.V. park, we
have managed to stay open for the last few years in spite of only being open
on weekends. My client base is Expats and local homeowners from the East Cape.
I am not a Chef as is Jesse, so I rely on my Ladies in the kitchen, I provide
the best and freshest products I can. This means weekly trips to San Jose and
Cabo usually a full and long day to buy, load coolers,ice down,transport, unload,
and stock the refers and shelves prior to opening. As we are mostly a steak
and seafood operation,I have source out, Local providers as a general rule,
don't have the products that I put on our menu, I do buy some produce and
seafood from local providers when it's good, trying to keep money spent locally,
if you will. I get a lot of clients that take the remainder of their dinner to take
home,as we tend to over plate! I tell everyone that I would never want anyone
to leave my place feeling underfed. We have many, many folks say that our
salad and soup bar is by far the best on the East Cape, yes I am proud of that.
We also include dessert with the meal included in the price. Are we expensive?
By La Ribera prices, at our few other eateries, yes,but here a night out for
dinner, and drinks, and sometimes dancing to live music is a full evening.
Do I make money? Yep, a bit on the food,drink a lot, and I do a hella lot
better! This is a tough gig, as anyone in it will tell ya,food in a restaurant is
a small paying hobby, money gets made behind the bar.
Jesse is spot on about costs here in Baja, I can attest to that fact.
If I did not enjoy this I could prolly do better plucking chickens!
Just my dos pesos,
Mike

MIKE,

As a retired bar/disco/restaurant man, you got it right on the button.
The money is in the booze, all other stuff is for your own satisfaction, and maybe a little to satisfy your ego ??

Skipjack Joe - 7-10-2013 at 12:03 AM

I enjoy and value critiques on restaurants that are honest and objective. I don't like it when they are done out of a sense of loyalty.

There is also a personal side to these evaluations. For example, I, for one, never understood what was so special about Rice and Beans in Mulege. We've eaten there several times now and none of it was memorable. Yet it's much admired by nomads so I just keep my opinions to myself.

Last winter the best thing we had came from someone who showed up with a cart in the 7 sisters area the day before Christmas and made fish tacos. This despite eating at numerous restaurant up and down the highway and Asuncion. And so it goes ...

woody with a view - 7-10-2013 at 04:20 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Skipjack Joe
Last winter the best thing we had came from someone who showed up with a cart in the 7 sisters area the day before Christmas and made fish tacos.

mmmmm.....