PALENQUE KITCHEN

OUTSTANDING. My hubby and I were ecstatic to stumble into this place today after being mistreated at the restaurant next door (Hook & Anchor). From ambience to service and food--if iwe could give them 10/10 stars, we would! Daniel treated us like VIPs as soon as we walked in, even if they were transitioning to dinner. Alicia and Laz were such amazing servers. Alicia complimented us on ordering "all of the right things". Laz took over afer Alicia's shift was over and gave us the best recommendations for entrees and desserts, as well. We ended up ordering the best Tres Leches cake. We are definitely coming back to have a big celebration here for daughter's 21st birthday since they have live music on Fridays and Saturdays. We highly recommend this place!

After much consideration, I decided to book my birthday dinner here. Party of 17. At first I was hesitant due to the bad reviews but the man helping me reserve over the phone was nice and I wanted to give them a chance. I've never been to this place before.For the dinner, it honestly had a good aesthetic but food was just ok and overpriced, took long, and most importantly what was upsetting was the ridiculous charge from the restaurant. We brought our own cake and asked them to keep it in the fridge while we ate; something normal people do and restaurants kindly accommodate. They said they could keep it no problem, but later on, halfway through our meal they said they would charge us for it.I've never in my life been charged by a restaurant to hold it, it was absolutely ridiculous. And not only was it a simple charge. They charged a fee per person!!! So after having a high bill, bringing in a party of 17, with entrees and drinks, a mandatory 20% gratuity, which is higher than some of the other options upon my decision, they added a ridiculous over $50 charge for keeping our desert. There was no additional work on their end. No need for plates, setup, cleanup of the desert, etc. and that just really shows they really just want to find ways to take your money. At the end of it, with time still within my reservation it felt they were rushing us out and wanted us to go. Overall disappointing experience and I will never come again nor recommend Palenque. Very dissatisfied by the choice and wish I had gone with a better restaurant who appreciates customers and large parties that give them business. Think twice before booking a party. Thanks!

We were at another place a few spots down in this little shopping center and were hungry. My girlfriend loves Mexican food and I've driven by this place a several times and it always catches my eye. The menu on their website is excellent and has pictures of almost every item including both food and drinks. The front of the restaurant looks very cool, especially at night, so we decided to give it a try. The parking lot out front was full but we were fortunate to grab a spot earlier in the day. They apparently have parking in the rear also.We walked in a bit past 5:30pm on a Sunday evening and were a little concerned at first because the place was empty except for one table. The reviews were good and we were having dinner earlier than most so we proceeded. The inside of the restaurant looks as nice and trendy as the outside. The big bar is kind of the focus with some neon signs around and the whole restaurant is lit by a great variety of different fixtures. The lighting is on the dim side and gives the place a great lounge type vibe. There was some Mexican music playing that was almost a little too loud but not quite.Our server Hever greeted us who was very friendly and gave great service all night. We asked if they had chips and salsa and they came right out along with some extra salt which we requested. The chips were great and the salsa was very flavorful and was a generous size. I ordered the Sandia Pepino cocktail which was excellent. It was perfectly balanced, the chile rim was great, and I loved the garnish with a round scoop of watermelon pinned between a long cucumber slice. My girlfriend just had a diet coke but it was kind of cool that they serve a Mexican Diet Coke bottle with a glass of ice. The bottle is a little on the small side and your tab might add up quick if you order several.Next came the entrees. She had the Tacos De Papa and the plate looked nice. She enjoyed them but there was a little too much cabbage piled on top. I had the Enchiladas Mazatlan which almost looked like lasagna at first because the layer of cheese on top was so thick. However I really enjoyed the thick layer of cheese and there was a generous amount of shrimp, some in almost every bite. The arugula salad on top was something I had never seen before. I pushed most of it off to the side and had it after the enchiladas. It surprisingly worked, was very good and light and was a nice way to finish off a dish that was a little heavy from the all cheese.We really enjoyed our meal here and would definitely return again.

The ambiance to the restaurant is so beautiful! It looks like you're in Cancun. We went on a Thursday night the service was excellent. The food was so delicious, and I'm not a pork person but there was a pork dish that tasted amazing. The meat literally was so soft and fell off the bone! This place has really good appetizers as well

Finally went here to celebrate birthdays and it was so nice inside. Apparently they are strict on the reservation because one of the girls kept making sure I would be able to make it since she had to reserve with her credit card. This place wasn't even busy and there wasn't even live music that my friends were waiting on. They were very disappointed and kept asking the waiters and all they kept saying was it depends on the night and the crowd. The food was good and even got the patron tower. It was super light with the alcohol so I was able to actually drink it, haha. So many photo opps which we definitely used to our advantage. I would definitely recommend this for groups.

Came here for the first time, arranged Bday brunch with my gf's. Wow! Had an amazing time! The music was great, ambience was very chilled and fun. Sunday Funday! Food was so good. We ordered tacos, ceviche, guacamole, pozole, and drinks. All did not disappoint. Will definitely be back cuz our server, Mario was awesome. So friendly and accommodating. Thank you for the a 1st great experience.

Great food and atmosphere. Came here in on a Sunday to celebrate my friend' Bday and had a great time. Music was on point! Vibe was great! Def would come back again.

They cancelled our reservation without notifying us. So upon arrival they told us our reservation is cancelled because they sold out the restaurant for the night. But, if we eat with less than 30 minutes they would seat us. Which mind you wee showed up 20 minutes early for our reservation. No apologies from them or offering to comp another night for us, the manager came over and made us feel like we were below them and showed us zero respect. If I could do zero stars I would.

Pros- This place has real potential. It's huge, not far from Newport Beach, and serves good Mexican food. For Sunday brunch they have a DJ. I got the pozole soup and it was good. Cons- there were only three groups there and the restaurant was mostly empty. There was just one server for the entire restaurant and so he wasn't at our table often enough. There was a long wait for them to bring the bill and then take our credit card to ring it up.

We ordered EVERYTHING! Every dish came out perfectly. Ceviche with mango, guac, lobster enchiladas, barbacoa, Chipotle Chicken, pulpo and more. Drinks were strong and balanced. Highly recommend pitaya and watermelon cocktails. Dj played good songs. Group of 8 for 2 birthdays. Our waitress Bella was phenomenal and all the waitstaff was attentive. Highly recommend! Highly recommend!