Comal Next Door

Nice Mexican restaurant in downtown BerkeleyGood food and good ambiance. We just had a drink and a few small plates. All good inclufing the ceviche that I forgot to take a picture of. As I was leaving the party was getting started with people getting up to dance.

Burritos are tasty, there's no question. Not as dialed-in as Rico Rico but high quality ingredients, sharp, distinct flavor profiles. This review is specifically for the practice of sneaking on a mandatory 15% service charge on take out orders (while implying they are a tipless restaurant). It's the irritating like semantic exercise that's spreading among Bay Area restaurants that you'd expect from Xfinity or a credit card provider. A mandatory 15% on a takeout order (ordered online because service didn't entail answering the phone) is just a large, mandatory gratuity... as the restaurant knows. What's more - they COULD just make the menu items 15% more expensive and pass that on to employees, but of course, that would not sneaking it through as a hidden charge. Again, if this was the cable company, it would be considered outrageous... but at Comal Next Door it's branded as a movement for fair wages.ALL FOR FAIR WAGES. Just charge what it costs to provide them, don't hide the ball.

I called the store before placing the DoorDash order and clearly stated that I did not want any hot sauce and left my DoorDash name. As a result, the food I received was still spicy and I couldn't eat it at all. Now I called them but they were closed. I had to order my dinner from another restaurant again, which wasted my $27 and had a terrible night.

I am a huge fan of Comal and Comal Next Door also does not disappoint. It's a perfect spot to grab lunch or a quick bite before a show ar the Greek Theater. Pro tip. You can bring your own food into the Greek so feel free to order takeout. Today I opted for the salad as I felt like some greens. The salad was beautiful and full of flavor. The dressing was perfectly balanced, the seeds and pickled onions added just the right amount of crunch and I added the achiote chicken which is a flavor bomb in the best way possible.I love grabbing a seat at the window and watching the traffic and people on Shattuck pass on by. I'll be back soon.

We had the fried chicken Sandwich and grilled chicken burrito. Both were pretty outstanding. Especially the Torta. That's Torta w a capital 'T'. It's quite large. If you're not super hungry possibly shareable- but save for a few shared bites I ate all of mine and will get another asap!

The food was immaculate to say the least. It hit every spot. I ordered the elote which was so creamy and the corn was nice & tender. I also got the tacos dorados which were equally amazing. I LOVE their guacamole. Presentation was also nice. Service was quick & efficient. I recently started eating here because my friend works at the restaurant & I will make sure to be back!

Today I went to Comal Next Door to grab dinner to-go and was honestly a bit disappointed, mainly because of the service. I walked into the restaurant straight to the register where two workers were chatting with each other and I make eye contact with one of them indicating I was ready to order but then I was ignored and they continued to chat. I have absolutely no issue with the chatting but getting ignored and having to wait was really off putting for me. I ended up missing my train home and having to wait even longer...Usually workers here are super welcoming and nice and I just didn't get that energy today when I ordered and I was surprised to see them charge a service fee when there used to be optional tip. I also noticed other recent reviews with similar experiences so I hope this behavior isn't going to be the new norm. At the end of the work day I just want to get my food and go, and an automatic service fee for to-go food is definitely unusual. The food is good as always but it's been elevated to a new level of expense and I think I'll only be treating myself here every now and then. I'll be sure to update my review the next time I stop by.

Overall was very good and I look forward to returning. We dined in the rear garden, which is one of the nicest semi outdoor tented spaces I have seen.The quality of the food is excellent, the service was very good, the server was knowledgeable helpful patient understood, sauces, spices, and ingredients. Unusual. The roast chicken is a stand out dish The rice and red beans, side dishes were excellent, not the ordinary you often see, and the three sauces that accompany were outstanding, homemade, special flavors By 6:30 PM, the restaurant is packed and it's noisy, so you need to be up for that, but it's very well run. I look forward to going back.

Aside from the excellent mole taco, which I hardly recommend, the rest of the food we got was mediocre, especially the posole which was a special. The service was terrible and I do mean service even though it's just a counter because they automatically put 15% tip on your tab. I don't mind that except when the person behind the counter hasn't got a clue as to what the items on the menu actually are. In two cases we tried to find out what certain items were and not only did he have not a clue, but he made no effort whatsoever to go find out.

Never again! The burrito is ok but an automatic $3.50 (a whopping 25%) for one take-out item is not! The notice says this is "in place of a tip", which I noticed too late. I'll maybe tip a dollar cash for take out, but this $3.50 is nuts. I won't go back.