El Barco Mexican Restaurant

The only reason I am giving this place any stars is because of the waiter. Me and my boyfriend went for dinner and waited an hour for our food. His came out and halfway through him eating his, mine came out. He got the steak burrito and he said the steak was really dry. I ordered a chicken chimichanga but ended up with beef. I let the server know and opted to just end my meal. I knew it would take way too long to remake it ans my boyfriend was already done with his meal. The chimichanga itself was also definitely put in the fryer too long as it was burnt. The margaritas were a shocking $15 EACH! I have NEVER paid that much for a margarita and neither has my boyfriend. We were pretty disappointed and it wasn't worth the $60 spent on two margaritas, queso, and his steak burrito.

Super fun atmosphere - each time we have been, they are doing karaoke with a gentleman who has a fantastic singing voice and works the crowd well. The food is fine, service is fine. Wish the margarita was a little stronger but overall, a different experience than any other Mexican restaurant that you'll find in Columbus!

Clean restaurant, fun decor, and our service was great. The menu is pretty extensive with pages dedicated to their exciting seafood specialties. It's a little difficult to understand all the offerings for non Spanish speakers, particularly those on the seafood specialty pages that I think were build-your-own platter items. Pricing for my meal was fair, but bottles of Modelo were overpriced at $5.50 each.As for the food, my meal was fantastic. Fried snapper, covered with shrimp, and sitting in a thin spicy red sauce. It was accompanied by rice, salad, garlic bread and fries. I can't recall the name. It was offered on the menu as tilapia, but they were willing to swap for snapper. The wife's vegetarian fajitas were standard, but the veggies were a little too mushy.

El Barco is far and away the best for ceviche on the West side. My first trip was a couple of yearsgo but I've had reason to venture over here since Dad is in Doctor's Hospital a block away. This time I ordered a small ceviche Pescado, as i wasn't that hungry. I don't know how they manage to do it but there's hardly any line juice present here. Makes things a tad dry but still good. Next time 8m in I'll try the ceviche tropical for a comparison; the pineapple wedge looked interesting on the menu. Well, what do you expect from a restaurant named The Boat? Nothing but steak?

With their seafood enchiladas a creamy spinach cheese sauce pools around, over, and below two rolled tortillas, a warm sea of yellow brimming with green flotsam. It gives a milky balance to the beach broadwalk carnival of flavors, a subtropical wharf of tastes lively with crab meat, well grilled shrimp, and mild Pico de gallo embarked inside. With the fresh avocados slices and sour cream floating on top it's the best Mexican seafood combo I have had since catching Fileta Ralleno at Alegria's, a former restaurantes de mariscos mexicanos, long sunk now to Davie Jones locker. I am so grateful to have been invited here, a Mexican seafood joint worthy of its name el Barco, the boat. For it treats its seafood offering with the care of a professional fishing vessel cruising the Caribbean for bounty. Not only did I find a treasure in the aforementioned dish my pirating of a friend's shrimp, thin cut strips dripped with a spicy bbq sauce, revealed a dish just as excellent. This suggests the menu needs explored; It features the entire school of expected dishes, authentic Mexican and the usual Tex-Mex add-ons, but the real catch to troll for is seafood. After all, It is the sea that decorates the place; nautical themed ornaments are colorful on the walls. This stripmall deck is ultra clean, well dressed, and inviting. A beautiful bar with red chairs accenting its light wood counter, and reflecting shine from mosaic lamps makes an excellent date spot or a solo stop while out. There is plenty of space on this ship; Ample Booths in the stereotypical beach hut design, and tables floating between for group like ours allow for many parties at a time. Above vintage tin ceiling tiles cover half the spot. It is a nice eating environment. It has been awhile since I have been in Lincoln Village. I was really impressed with the clean, new look of the area El Barco sails. It is a favorable comparison with the area just East under 270, where an economic tsunami has washed away hope itself, leaving voids in space and time and in hearts, leaving everything covered with a light white concrete dust. It was encouraging.

Inside a shopping mall, we were immediately greeted with Tejano karaoke that at first feels super loud but we got used to it as we settled in. Per the reviews I ordered the seafood enchiladas & they were indeed amazing! The salsa, & appetizer we ordered were great as well. The real highlight of the night was ordering their house drink. At $28 it's worth every penny coming in what I can only describe as a huge pottery jug. Couldn't tell you what's in the drink aside from tequila and some sort of light refreshing fruit juice. The rim was chamoey and chili powder maybe? We would come back here for the food and drinks

The Seafood Enchiladas at El Barco are amazingly good. They take two flour tortillas that are filled with crab meat, grilled shrimp and fresh made pico de gallo and they top that with an intriguing creamy spinach cheese sauce. This dish has an amazing mix of aromas, tastes and mouthfeel that's like no other Mexican dish I've ever had. It's served on a huge platter and is almost big enough to share but don't, it's a feast you'll want to enjoy all for yourself.Other than that, El Barco has some other unique seafood dishes if you want to get adventurous. They also have all the usual Tex-Mex tacos, burritos and chimichangas etc, etc, etc that you'll find in any Mexican restaurant all over town. The food is good, the portions are huge and the prices are reasonable for the quality and quantity you get. Whatever you decide to do, come with an appetite and enjoy some delicious Mexican food.AndALittleMoreFoodForThought:** They have a Yelp check in offer for 20% off your visit. Use this to check them out.** The Giant Eagle in the same plaza has coupons for El Barco on their receipts. $5 off $30 and $10 off $50. They expire 9-15-19.** Happy hour is offered Monday-Thursday from 4p-7p with half-priced appetizers and discounted drinks.** Their draft beers are a much better value than their bottles.Recommended Dishes:(A+) Seafood Enchiladas are absolutely delicious. My absolute top recommendation for dinner here.(A+) Pollo Con Espinacas comes with a grilled chicken breast covered in the same sauce as the Seafood Enchiladas with rice, beans and tortillas. Highly recommended.(B+) The Ceviche is freshly made and has a very crisp and clean taste. Great on your chips or get some Queso Blanco and add a little in for a special taste.(B) The Mazatlán is a dish inspired by the cuisine of the coastal Mexican city of Mazatlán. You get one crab enchilada, one shrimp quesadilla with lettuce, tomato and sour cream. Worth trying!(B-) Sopes are a very thick corn tortilla from Central/Southern Mexico that come with refried beans, lettuce, tomato, sour cream and your choice of beef or chicken. It's good but the thick tortilla makes it somewhat bland. If you want to try this, get it as an appetizer and share.

We enjoyed our visit. Our server was a soft spoken, but kind and eager to please first generation immigrant. She is still working on her English, but that made it fun for me, leaning back to my High School Spanish classes. The restaurant was clean and nicely decorated. The menu had several traditional American-Mexican items and some unique dishes. The food was tasty and well prepared a bit spicy but not overwhelming. We'll be back.

If they were more stars I would give this place unlimited stars! I usually only write reviews when the place is horrible. Not this time! From the time I walked in the door I felt like I was in the right place. I watch them build this place from ground up and couldn't wait till they opened up. The appearance of the place is a WHOLE VIBE. The staff is amazingly welcoming (Yolonda)! The food DELICIOU!! I always take food home but this time I left nothing. This is the first Mexican restaurant I've tasted the seasoning on my meat. I got the 2 steak burritos and I ask them not to cook my steak well done. They did even more by seasoning it!! A+++ in my book. THIS IS NOW MY GO TOO FOR MEXICAN!! You should definitely make it yours!!

HORRIBLE! The pricing from last time I was here has gone up way high. If I pay $126.00 not including tip, I at least expect to be served real sea food! I only got 5 shrimp and 3 muscles and More then Half of the plate was imitation crab. The kids drink was $4.25 and my wife asked to substitute the salad for more rice. When we got the bill we were charged extra $4.00 for the rice we substituted for salad. There was also a $3.66 fee that I still don't know what it was for. Will never go back nor I recommend anyone who works hard for there money to go there!