El Patio, Palm Springs
Location, ambience, service earn five stars. But the food...
El Patio
139 E. Andreas Rd., Palm Springs (between Palm Canyon and Indian Canyon)
Menu | Website | phone (760) 832-6332 | Mon-Sat 9am-9pm, Sun 9 am-2pm
Our star rating: 2.5 stars of of 5
On our many forays into downtown Palm Springs, we frequently peer into the festive scene at El Patio, located along the sidewalk on Andreas Road between Palm Canyon and Indian Canyon. Its outdoor dining area is frequently packed with a fun, noisy crowd enjoying margaritas, tequila shots, beers and snacks under the verdant canopy of a huge ficus tree. At night, the sparkle of overhead lights in the tree, occasional live guitar performances and a dramatic fire pit add to the ambiance.
After 18 months here in the Valley, we’ve staked out our favorite Mexican places such as El Mirasol, Las Casuelas Terraza, or Casa Mendoza down in La Quinta (ceviche tostada, por favor). We had come to the conclusion, which we often share with visitors, that it’s hard to find bad Mexican food in the Coachella Valley. Well, we are now eating those words after our lackluster dining experience at El Patio. While the service was friendly and efficient, the atmosphere picture-perfect, and our lunchtime conversation among old friends scintillating, the food was lackluster. So lackluster that we had to send some of it back.
We arrived at noon on a sunny, warm Wednesday for lunch and sat at a table right in the middle of the patio. The setting was perfect and we began to peruse the oversize menus, which include a lot of interesting and authentic dishes rarely seen at other Mexican joints, which was exciting.
But even though we know about inflation and the high cost of running a restaurant in the Valley, the prices seemed a little too high, such as $24 for a plate of shrimp enchiladas, $18 for a two-taco plate or $5 for a side of rice. A basic margarita is $7, which is reasonable; specialty margaritas run $12-$14. Guacamole is “market priced” which seemed odd. Maybe the food would be worth the high prices, we thought.
We started by sharing the Tacolgado appetizer ($15), a trio of meat and cheese tacos (really more like small quesadillas) unusually presented on something like a clothes line, with each one hung by small wooden clips. Cleverly Instagrammable. The sight elicited enthusiastic comments from a nearby table of Texans visiting for the week. We hungrily unhooked the tacos, and then stuffed them with the pickled vegetables and a spicy red tomatillo sauce underneath. These were hot and delicious, a good sign, we thought…
After that our friendly waiter helped answer our many questions about the inventive menu, and we settled on our mains: Pozole “traditional pork and hominy soup, garnished with lettuce, onions, and radish” for $21. Enchiladas de Mole “three chicken and cheese enchiladas covered in both our poblano and pipian sauces, garnished with red onion, sesame seeds, and pumpkin seeds” for $22. And Tacos Vallarta, “one fish and one shrimp taco grilled with butter, garlic, melted mozzarella cheese and bacon. Topped with lettuce, pico de gallo and guacamole” for $20. (Yes, that’s two fish tacos for $20.)
Since it was lunch on a Wednesday, only one of us dared to order the Pineapple Mezcal Margarita with “pineapple juice, lime juice, agave and a chili salt rim” for $12. My companion was not impressed. She said it had “a faint pineapple flavor, was slightly smoky but watered down and lacking spice.” Disappointed, she sent it back and did not ask for a replacement.
After our tasty starter, we were ready to dive into our diverse mains. My fish tacos arrived piled high with lettuce, pico de gallo, guacamole and dotted with a mayonnaise based sauce. Below that was a big slice of bacon and a nondescript piece of fried something… but I could not tell if it was fish or shrimp. There was no fish flavor or texture at all. It felt like I was eating a bacon taco. B+ for presentation, but D- for flavor.
Across the table, I enviously spied on my companion’s delicious-looking mole enchiladas with two types of mole. But it was disturbing to see him struggle to cut through the enchiladas, first with his fork, and then, an unsuccessful attempt with his knife. When we showed the hands-on manager the leathery meat, he whisked the plate away and later returned with a softer, edible version, which I tasted. The dark poblano mole was nice, but a little too cloyingly sweet to me…almost like a barbecue sauce. Nonetheless, my companion cleaned his plate.
His spouse was less impressed with the big clay bowl of pozole in front of her, which she described as too watery and flavorless (almost like she’d described her mezcal margarita). When the waiter asked how our mains tasted, I cringed when she motioned a thumbs down. But she was just being honest.
One key factor in my estimation of a “good” Mexican restaurant is the quality of its chips and salsa. At El Patio, the chips were fresh and crunchy and appeared to be fried in-house. But the salsa was pale pink, overly onion-y, and spent a bit too long in the food processor.
At the end of our less-than-satisfying meal, we had high hopes for dessert and decided to share a half order of the churros (yes, $10 for four little churros). But ugh. They arrived on a cute little cart placed on the table, but they tasted fried-right-out-of-a-freezer-bag, hard throughout (churros should be soft and doughnut-like in the middle) dusted with too much sugar and served with unimaginative ramekins of condensed milk, chocolate sauce and sprinkles.
Would I go back? Yes, because I know that sometimes bad days happen in restaurant kitchens and El Patio deserves a second try. Based on our interaction with the staff and the doting manager, you can tell their hearts are in it. Plus the atmosphere is so outstanding, that I’d love to bring visitors there for drinks, snacks and chats.
But unless the food improves, it will likely be a one-time experience for visitors. Locals and Palm Springs regulars will go elsewhere to sate their Mexican food cravings.
What’s your go-to Mexican restaurant in the Coachella Valley? Why? Tell us in the comments.
Tablita Mesican Food. Check it out.