As you know, my critic of mexican themed restaurants in the city has been…critical but when it comes to Banditos it felt different. Very different and that could be a good or bad thing…here is my honest review of bank street Banditos.
1. Food
I ordered the Chef’s Special (steak), fish and Gordita tacos and yes this was the highlight of Banditos. Yes El Camino was trash but it was because of value and overall taste, what stands out here is the exact same thing. The Gordita is so good that it flips the entire script, why? Because of the mix of cheese (cheddar and mozzarella) and the ground beef. The sour cream mixed with tomatoes slices makes the taco stand out. The Fish tacos weren’t meaty enough and the steak taco didn’t have enough veggies but that’s why I bought two Gorditas.
Gordita (7.25$)
2. Drinks
Nothing special to mention, mostly because this was a tuesday night but if it was a weekend I’d have more to critique. The bucket of Corona (5 beers) for 35$ felt standard, almost expensive too.
3. Customer Service
One of the biggest highlights here is the overall venue, the patio is amazing and that lead to great customer service. It felt like the hosts and servers cared A LOT about us, even putting us near the TV screens when they heard us talking about sports (Raptors in 7 ). Was it outstanding service? No, but it was great compared to most places in Ottawa.
Final Score: 8.9/10
Yes, restaurants aren’t about drinks or service they’re about food and the Gordita made me realize…wow, Banditos is a the sh*t. I recommend this spot to anyone.
The Bytown Blog 