Aquino's Birrieria & Brunch

1116A Forest Ave, Pacific Grove
(831) 224-6760

Recent Reviews

Kali V.

The atmosphere was definitely weird. The gal at the front wasn't the most friendly nor was she welcoming. There is much room for improvement in the customer service department. You order at the front and there are several menus, but the lady wasn't very helpful in informing us which is the correct one. I asked for a cup of water and I guess I was charged for a bottle because they only have bottled water. You have to get the drink yourself from a fridge. You seat yourself after ordering. The dining room is large, but was very empty when we got there. I think it would function better as a standard restaurant where a hostess seats you and takes your order at the table. A waitress brought us our food then did not check on us again. There clearly was no effort put into decoration as it looks like a Chinese restaurant on the inside. Maybe there are still working on it? The food was pretty good, but I don't think I'll be back due to the weird ambiance. I had the chiliquiles.

Jennifer Fleming

It's set up like a restaurant, but it's really just a grab & go type place. You can sit, but we were made to feel like it was inconvenient. Their drinks were can or bottles, so there were no refills. Had to pay for chips & salsa again, no refills. Their birra tacos were not soaked it juice which is the way I've always seen it & you have to buy 2 or more birra tacos to get a side of consomme. I went with a party of 4 & none of us have anything positive to say. It's Not worth the price.

Atmosphere: 1

Food: 1

Service: 1

Joshua watkins

Outstanding food and a huge variety. Definitely try the brunch menu on the weekends.Service was also outstanding

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Valentina G.

The service is terrible. The staff is very rude. And the food was alright. I asked if I could try it the horchata and the lady said " no you have to buy it " in a very rude tone/voice. They have no hospitality.

La-vie-est B.

I ordered through Uber eats some quesa birria , and the meat was looking like carnitas , no flavor , also was really cold the cheese wasn't melted , and have onions all over.

Santana P.

So good!!! This place deserves NO hate. It's great for brunch and lunch/diner. The staff was nice and cooks are hard at work.

Shawn Warehime

PLEASE read the reviews. The bad ones are true. The staff at front are cold and rude and clueless. There is no table service. They charge you up front and force a tip even though they don't wait on you or check on you. There isn't enough menus for more than a couple people to look at them at once. There isn't a menu on the wall either. No free chips and salsa as is customary, no soda fountain so you have to buy bottles with no refills. Over-priced even for the area, especially without the frills you expect for the prices. Hopefully they won't last long, we really need a good restaurant in this spot. It is HILARIOUS that the owner wants to take over the Grill at Lover's Point location that just opened up.

Atmosphere: 1

Food: 1

Service: 1

Isaiah Foulks

Wished I had read the reviews before coming here. Yes, the two girls working their are sitting down chatting behind the counter when you walk in. No, they do not greet you nor even smile as you walk up to the counter. Just a cold, blank,"Take out or dine in?"Brr.30 dollars for a Quesadilla and 2 sodas? Jesus.Food? Meh.Decor? I differ to the other reviews. But yeah, it *feels* awkward in there.No other costumers, and it's a big place.I was actually on my way to Michael's Taquerria (4 doors over) walking from my house. Their Blackened Shrimp Quesadilla is one of my favorite things to eat in the 831 area code. Saw this place and thought "Oh sweet, a Birrieria!" I looked inside and saw it was empty so I felt bad and thought, hey, I'll give them a shot. I regretted my decision the second the lady looked up and blankly said, "Dine in or take out?"The only reason I write this review (I'll feel bad and delete it in a few weeks) is because they need to read this feedback, and the owner needs to look around and realize that if they don't get their **** together they're 100% going to fail.

Atmosphere: 1

Food: 3

Service: 2

Alix Pantoja

The food was delicious, I got a birria burrito and it was spectacular. Flavorful, juicy, big. The only reason this isn't 5/5 is because the atmosphere was super weird. The employees didn't greet us when we walked in, and seemed to not care that we were even there. The place was empty the entire hour we were there. It just feels weird there. Other than that, I'll definitely go back to get a burrito to go

Atmosphere: 2

Food: 5

Service: 4

Recommended dishes: Birria Burrito Supreme

sophia lausen

amazing ate there two days in a row sooooooo good I live like 6 hours away and im gonna be dreaming abt the birria and Al pastor

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Quesabirria Cheesy Taco

Patricia J.

My daughter wanted to try this place--we are from out of town and always go to Michael's grill in the same building. She spotted the Birria sign and asked if we could try it. My kids got the hot Cheeto burrito and the birria quesadilla. They really enjoyed their food. I got the nachos and they were good. The space is a former Chinese restaurant with a lot of the Chinese decor (ceiling tiles, round tables with the center part that spins, golden throne, etc). Had the service been better and had the heater been on, I would have given more stars. My mistake was to give a tip when we paid for the meal, which was before we were even seated. I like to support local businesses, and I'm happy to leave a tip for good service; however, I get fairly irritated when service is just absent. This was my mistake in this case--the tip culture is out of control. I should have waited until after the meal and left the appropriate tip. But I left 15% assuming good service since the place was pretty empty, and we had spent a little over $75 on food and drinks. My mistake. One of the young people who took our order brought our drinks and later our food. She was nice. But nobody ever came back even once to check on us. Again, we were one of two tables, so it's not like the place was super busy. I eventually had to ask the kitchen for some boxes to go. The water for the table wasn't free--we had to buy a bottled water--another mild irritant because water at a restaurant should always be free and served in a reusable glass or cup. So next time, I'll get the kids what they want, pay cash to avoid the 4% up charge for using my card, take it to go, leave no service tip, and eat dinner a few minutes down the street at the beach. Food: 5/5 stars Ambiance: not yet -- maybe they are working on it? Service: nope.

Dave W.

Amazing tacos!! My family and I really love their tacos and nachos. More of a surprise is just how good the burgers are here. Defined one of our go to places when we are ordering out for dinner. Highly recommend.

SONIA R.

My husband and I ordered our food on a separate bill, and my daughter was going to order hers on her own separate bill. They added 20% to the bill because we were eating at the same table. They don't have any waiters. You have to clean your own table when you are done, get your own drink out of the fridge. So what's the 20% for? To lean on the counter and take peoples order. WTH. You have been 86'ed

Thalia Cress

Birria quesadilla is

Food: 5

Service: 5

Kitty A.

Found this spot that was a ghost kitchen during the pandemic, and their customer service and food were so awesome and yummy! Fast forward after the pandemic and new location at a huge and pretty restaurant in PG. Quality and customer service have gone down so badly that we really wouldn't be ordering from them anymore. Seriously, they messed up my joyful craving for chicken quesidilla as well as burrito for my hubby. Sorry, but no more, which sucks, because they were our to-go Mexican restaurant (including my family). The menu looks good, though, but the food doesn't taste that good anymore at all.

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