Wilmington Restaurant Guide

My husband and I utilized our $25 coupon from restaurant.com at Boleros Cafe, Wilmington NC. That said, we were satisfied. Had we paid full price for the meal I'd feel differently.

Let's start with the positive...the waiter was extremely friendly. The meal was prepared and served quickly, which was convenient, as we were dining with our 1 year old daughter. The salsa is incredible. They prepare it in-house. It has just the right blend of everything. The guacamole, same thing. Perfect.

Unfortunately, the guac was supposed to be served with fried plantain chips...which never arrived at our table. And the tortilla chips, served with the salsa were store bought and microwaved. Warm chips were a nice touch, but we'd have passed on the Tostitos, had we known.

I ordered the Paella and my husband ordered the Parrallado for 1. My paella came with an unexpected surprise...conch meat. It wasn't advertised on the menu, however the cook added it. Have you ever eaten conch? Imagine ingesting a pencil eraser. Enough said. The rice was very flavorful and the muscles cooked perfectly. That's all I can say on a positive note regarding my meal. My husband, however, devoured his platter of meat, salivating over the shredded pork, chorizo, etc. Suffice it to say, the Parrallado for 1 is the way to go if you're a hungry carnivore in search of flavorful Cuban cuisine. Very tasty, smoky flavor, spiced just right and cooked perfectly.

As far as atmosphere, Boleros Cafe is quaint, modestly decorated and, for the most part, clean. We were seated at the booth to our right as we entered the restaurant. The bench cushion was so old, soiled and worn out I felt squamish. Looking around, though, the rest of the place appeared clean. Guess it wasn't my lucky night.

All things considered I'd rate Boleros a 3.5. Bon appetite.

Loved the restaurant but was disappointed with the quality of the food and the service. I had the crabcake sandwich which stated on the menu that it came with a spicy sauce but when delivered to the table there wasn't any sauce at all. The server didn't return from the kitchen for 5 minutes and when i asked for the sauce he didn't know about any sauce that it came with so I showed him on the menu. I told him that if they were out I'd like tartar sauce. He went back to the kitchen, came in and out of the dining room and then finally I flagged him down to ask again and his response was "Oh, we don't serve it anymore because it was too spicy". Then I had to ask for tartar sauce again, to go on my now cold sandwich. But there was a bright side. The mojitos was great.

My husband and I have been to Boleros on several occasions, but I think now our last. The first time we ever went the food was excellent, a change from standard mexican fare. The next few times were good as well. Their special pork dishes alway seem to be good.

One thing that is always annoying is that they state they have certain beers on the menu, but you order it and they don't have it. But one can let that go if you don't get your heart set on a certain beer.

The beginning of what I will call a slip in service was the time before our last visit, we ordered Parrillada for 2 "to go" after our meal. The next day for lunch we heat it up, and it seems to be fajitas, no chorizo, no pork, only 1 type of beef, instead of 2 as advertised. We think maybe they gave us the wrong order and dismissed the issue as a one-type mix up.

Last night we take my in-laws there for their 52nd anniversary. We order the tapas, which do not live up to the menu at all. No twice cooked plantains, no spinach croquettes (substituted instead with some sort of cheese stick which looked and tasted like a frozen mozzarella stick served with tasteless marinara).

Then all of us order the infamous Parrillada.

The Parrillada arrives, which is supposed to contain sirloin, churrasco (skirt steak), chicken, chorizo, tomo de puerco (pork), and vegetables. My inlaws dig in and say the food is good. I see no chorizo and only one type of beef, a dried out skirt steak, no sirloin I could find. I call the waitress over and tell her that the chorizo is not in the dish, she goes to the kitchen and comes back to tell me that "he said" we are out of chorizo so he gave extra pork. I didn't even bother to ask about the sirloin. There was no extra pork, I can attest to that, only seemingly extra dried out chicken. I did not make a big deal out of it since my inlaws were present, but I was not happy.

It seems apparent now that they have "run out" of chorizo for 2 weeks and have never bothered to stock up. I did not receive pork the time before this one, and there was very little pork in this dish.

I should have brought some chorizo from home to give to them as I keep it in my refrigerator. 2 weeks to be missing the same ingredient is simply bad management or lack of caring, or both.

It is my opinion that if a restaurant does indeed run out of an advertised ingredient in a dish, they should make the customer aware so the customer can decide if they still want to order that dish, instead of substituting (or not) another ingredient and expecting the customer to be satisfied.

Then we order coffee drinks. I order Cocoa Latte (with whipped cream on top) and my inlaws order Cafe Kahlua. When it arrives, you can smell the alcohol in the drinks, I am very glad we did not have a lighted candle on the table. There is of course no whipped cream on my drink. The taste was of pure alcohol with an eyedropper of coffee in it. How one could take a coffee drink and make it taste like you are drinking shots of straight liquor, I do not know, except to put nothing but straight liquor in the class and top it off with a little coffee.

Of course, I asked again about my whipped cream and was told they "were out". Again, if a restaurant runs out of an ingredient that is ordered, the customer should be made aware so they can decide for themselves if they want to order that item.

To me, the management and kitchen did not care what the customer wanted and just threw food and drink out there in whatever fashion they wanted. I do not know if there is a new kitchen staff or new management, but it will surely be a long time before I go back to spend $75 on being served what they want me to have instead of what I have orderd off their menu.

I was very disappointed and embarrassed because we ranted and raved to my inlaws on how good the food was.

So 3 stars here, if that. I could go to an average mexican place and get food that tasted the same or better, all I would have to do is bring my own mozzarella sticks and plantains. Not hardly enough reason to go back there.

Boleros Cafe has been consistantly good since they opened. The food is always delicious, tender and flavorful. The same staff has been there for several years and they are always pleasant and courteous. Very nice relaxing experience every time.

Reasonable prices and unique selections make Boleros a favorite for many locals. Clean and courteous atmosphere with good food served fast. Recommended.

My fiance and I have eaten at Boleros several times and have always had great service, hot and tasty food, and a great dining experience. The food always comes out quickly, and the chips and dip they start you with is great. The wait staff is friendly and make it a great place to eat!