Polanco

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1. CN

   CindyN

   Western NC

   1 review

   vip
   5.0

   1 review

   Dined on February 14, 2020

   overall5food5service5ambience5

   Excellent service and tasty food.

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2. HM

   HappyMonkey

   Charlotte

   11 reviews

   vip
   5.0

   11 reviews

   Dined on February 2, 2020

   overall5food5service5ambience5

   Great spot. I loved the vegan options.

   Report
3. M

   Moonbeam

   Atlanta

   3 reviews

   3.0

   3 reviews

   Dined on December 20, 2019

   overall3food2service3ambience3

   The restaurant only had one other couple...guess we did not need reservations. Out of many things on menu including the guacamole. Food was fair...not elevated and maybe not as tasty as our neighborhood inexpensive Mexican restaurant. At least our neighborhood restaurant has everything that is printed on menu. Will probably not return. Disappointing for a special occasion.

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4. a

   andrea

   Western NC

   14 reviews

   4.0

   14 reviews

   Dined on November 9, 2019

   overall4food4service4ambience3

   Very difficult to locate this place as there is no sign! only the old Vinzenzo's sign. Would never have found it had my friend not came out on the street to wave us in. Wine selection and quantity needs improved. Margaritas were excellent. Wonderful selection of vegan foods. I have never had so many choices. And the meal was delicious. Chips were on the oily side. Not a high point. Was very noisy due to 'food tours' coming through. Would be better without the tour groups. Overall, good experience. Our waitress was excellent.

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5. OT

   OpenTable Diner

   Cincinnati

   2 reviews

   4.0

   2 reviews

   Dined on October 18, 2019

   overall4food4service3ambience5

   Anniversary

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6. SA

   StephenA

   Western NC

   65 reviews

   vip
   1.0

   65 reviews

   Dined on October 9, 2019

   overall1food1service2ambience3

   This was possibly the most disappointing meal I’ve had in Asheville. Empanadas dry and filled only with tasteless cheese; no trace of the promised huitlacoche side. “enchiladas suizas” consisted of three tortillas filled with dry pork (“we’re out of duck”), including chunks of fat. No trace of the tomatillo salsa or melted cheese, or any evidence that they’d been in the oven; sprinkled with a bit of dry crumbled cotija. Accompanied by beans and (cold) rice, no salsa until I asked for something to perk it up a bit. No draft beer (“we’re waiting for Green Man downstairs to get set up”). A good mezcal-based cocktail, which took bartender forever to make, despite largely empty restaurant. Guy who seemed to be the chef spent most of his time entertaining three people at one of the only other occupied tables. He should have spent more time attending to what was going on in (and coming out of) his kitchen.

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7. The reviews below were submitted before July 1, 2019, when this restaurant changed management.

8. OT

   OpenTable Diner

   Western NC

   5 reviews

   5 reviews

   Dined on March 4, 2018

   overall5food5service5ambience5

   Amazing! Chef came to our table and made us feel like family

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9. K

   Kevinfoof

   San Francisco

   1 review

   1 review

   Dined on February 25, 2018

   overall2food3service2ambience1

   We had a reservation for just after they open the doors, and they obviously were not ready. They were tapped out of all their draft beers, so only bottles. The sides on the dishes were cold and they misunderstood a vegan dish order and served the meat version instead. The dining room is a hodgepodge of different decors, some held over from previous restaurants. It was, to say the least, a joke. Especially considering all the other eateries available in the Asheville area.

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10. JW

    JaniceW

    Chicago

    43 reviews

    vip
    43 reviews

    Dined on February 20, 2018

    overall5food5service5ambience5

    Oh my, where to begin! The chef greated us at our table to explain about his family and restaurants in Mexico. Instead of salsa, he brought his homemade mole (32 ingredients) with chunks of chicken and the best homeade chips you'll ever taste! We happened to be there on "Taco Tuesday", where a 3 taco plate, only $10 (normally $15). I had the chicken mole, poblano and rib eye, all great! And, don't skip the guacamole!!

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11. PJ

    PeterJ

    Western NC

    7 reviews

    vip
    7 reviews

    Dined on February 18, 2018

    overall5food5service5ambience5

    Awesome place ... a must in Asheville !

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12. JE

    JesseE

    Western NC

    1 review

    1 review

    Dined on February 17, 2018

    overall5food5service5ambience4

    I took my wife here for a date, the food was amazing. She is a vegan so there was a lot of choices for her, the chef came out and spoke with use explaining what went into the food and how it was made.

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13. AK

    AnneK

    Key West

    1 review

    1 review

    Dined on February 17, 2018

    overall2food3service2ambience2

    Sadly, as was observed by others in the past, the service was awful, almost making us late to a play despite our reservation and telling the waiter. Table was not set for us. Food for six people came out piece by piece and some of it was cold. What a shame!

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14. NA

    NaeemA

    Western NC

    1 review

    1 review

    Dined on February 17, 2018

    overall5food5service5ambience5

    This was one of the most wonderful experiences. The food was phenomenal and the head chef visits each table and offers specials tastings. It was a special personalized experience. I will be back. Also, my steak was perfect and my husband's ribs were the best.

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15. P

    Polanco

    Western NC

    26 reviews

    vip
    26 reviews

    Dined on February 15, 2018

    overall2food3service4ambience4

    So many problems I really don't know where to begin. I finally had the opportunity to try Polanco, for their ten course Valentine's Day menu. I thought, what better way to try a new restaurant than in ten courses. Surely they had the kinks worked out by this time? Well, not exactly. First thing, the hostesses thought it was birthday for some reason when we came in to be seated. No biggie, it was last week. I booked through Open Table so maybe that website shares with them that my birthday was close. We're seated upstairs in a spacious room. Most of the tables are four tops, with a few twos and a couple of large tables. We are told that due to the large amount of couples that they would be seating two pairs of couples together at the four person tables. We thought that was sort of unusual on what should be a romantic evening, and asked for the one available two person table. Our server was very nice, and for the amount of guests he was assisting, he did a fine job. We really felt sorry for him as it seemed he was talking care of almost every table in the room. Within the first few minutes, multiple other workers visited us to say hello or ask how we were doing. We weren't sure what their roles in the restaurant were, and they were all very nice, but it was, as some other reviews have mentioned about this place, unusual. As the restaurant slowly filled up, things got more and more hectic. No one seemed to quite know what they were doing, or needed to do. There were lots of apologies and giveaways. It felt as though this group of people were just hired that evening, and that there was no system in place for dinner service. There were lots of overlooked minor details. Our water pitcher, which stays on the table, still had it's store label affixed mostly. That didn't look great. The music was some odd mix of Michael Buble tunes (LOTS of them) mixed with Mexican-ish music.

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16. C

    Coastaldiningduo

    Western NC

    2 reviews

    2 reviews

    Dined on February 15, 2018

    overall1food2service1ambience1

    I went to Polancos for a 10 course Valentines Day dinner and I will never go back. We are first timers at this restaurant and it was horrible. First off we were greeted by a hostess who was dressed inappropriately. She has us at a table then it took 15 minutes before anyone greeted us. A lady walked up to us asking if anyone greeted us, we said no and she told us she was the owners wife and would like to get us something to drink. We order drinks and then our server came over who was also dressed inappropriately. All she said was traditional or vegan and walked away. 15 minutes later we get our drinks and our first course. The owners wife brought us most of our courses and our server only checked one us maybe three times. The whole place was a cluster f**k. It would have been nice to have been provided a menu to know what courses we were getting instead of asking us what we just ate. The tables around us were going to the bar to get drinks because the servers were taking too long. When the owners wife or a server came to bring us our food we asked what it was and they told us it was good and had this great sauce/cream on it. We found out that our server was a host and she needed to be trained properly. The whole restaurant needed a kitchen manager, experienced wait staff, more staff and proper uniform attire. We will not be going back. Our 10 course meal took well over 3 hours. The only good thing to come from this experience was the drinks. I would recommend no more 10 course meals because this restaurant cannot handle it. I wished it was a better experience but it wasn’t.

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17. KS

    KeithS

    Western NC

    11 reviews

    vip
    11 reviews

    Dined on February 15, 2018

    overall1food2service1ambience4

    Arrived on time for 7:00 pm reservation on Valentine’s Day to be told they were running a little behind- understandable so we took a seat at the bar(which had an alarmingly poor beer selection for a town known for craft breweries). No food offered at the bar. After 30 minutes a table freed up but they sat another couple who must have been waiting longer than us. We could observe the whole room from the bar and no one was lingering—- they were eating—- meaning the back up reflected poor management. After 30 minutes we left—- poor management

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18. BJ

    BrandonJ

    Western NC

    1 review

    1 review

    Dined on February 10, 2018

    overall2food2service3ambience3

    Food was mediocre, service was okay. Unfortunately, we will not be a repeat customer because the food was just not good.

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19. FN

    FoodiesinNC

    Raleigh

    44 reviews

    vip
    44 reviews

    Dined on February 3, 2018

    overall4food4service4ambience4

    The server was excellent; he was attentive and personable. Our boys loved the ribs! The only caveat to our dining experience is that the server did not ask if I wanted an individual portion of the ribeye fajitas and thus assumed I wanted the large portion and charged me $35 instead of the $19. We didn’t realize this until we already paid. Since we were traveling and couldn’t take the leftovers, I ended up giving half of the steak to my son’s roommate at his school!

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20. OT

    OpenTable Diner

    Western NC

    1 review

    1 review

    Dined on January 28, 2018

    overall3food3service5ambience3

    Birthday dinner

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21. s

    stargazer

    Western NC

    1 review

    1 review

    Dined on January 28, 2018

    overall4food5service5ambience4

    I have eaten here twice; once downstairs and once in the fine dining upstairs. The chef came to our table and was very friendly. He makes the best mole ever! If you want more casual fare you can eat downstairs for their awesome taco selection. If you go upstairs I recommend the mole!

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22. OT

    OpenTable Diner

    Western NC

    1 review

    1 review

    Dined on January 27, 2018

    overall5food5service5ambience5

    Authentic and fun. Great staff, great service, great food. One of the best spots in Asheville.

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23. D

    Dawn

    Minneapolis

    1 review

    1 review

    Dined on January 26, 2018

    overall5food5service5ambience5

    Really tasty food. Great service and the chef came out and talked with us about the menu. Surprised on a Friday night there weren't more people. Really worth the try. We've been back 3 times.

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24. L

    Lewis

    Orlando

    2 reviews

    2 reviews

    Dined on January 24, 2018

    overall3food2service3ambience5

    Lovely atmosphere. The menu has great promise, but the food, I'm sorry to say doesn't deliver. Or at least not for us. One of us had fish that was dry. Portions seemed small for the high price. All around the table, the review of the food was "meh". This restaurant has great promise if it can figure out how to deliver on the food.

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25. OT

    OpenTable Diner

    Greensboro

    1 review

    1 review

    Dined on January 20, 2018

    overall4food5service5ambience3

    This place is amazing. I grew up eating authentic Mexican food and this rivals it for sure! So good! Try to get seated upstairs though. We sat in the bar and the atmosphere was just ok.

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26. BC

    BettyC

    Western NC

    1 review

    1 review

    Dined on January 20, 2018

    overall5food5service5ambience4

    The only really GOOD Mexican restaurant I've been to in Asheville. The food was all interesting, different and very nicely seasoned and cheese is not the main ingredient in their dishes. If you are vegan or vegetarian, this is heaven. Our meat eating friends loved it too.

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27. OT

    OpenTable Diner

    Charleston

    2 reviews

    2 reviews

    Dined on January 20, 2018

    overall5food5service5ambience5

    Incredible food - especially vegan options! Meghan was our server (she is vegan herself) and we absolutely loved her.

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28. OT

    OpenTable Diner

    Western NC

    1 review

    1 review

    Dined on January 20, 2018

    overall5food5service5ambience4

    Fabulous food. Very nuanced, complex flavors. Very friendly staff.

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29. L

    Lavinia

    Western NC

    28 reviews

    28 reviews

    Dined on January 19, 2018

    overall2food2service3ambience2

    The house margarita was good - not too sweet. And the flan was excellent. But I'm not sure what Polanco is trying to be. It positions itself as kind of gourmet Mexican, but the food was anything but. While my husband's ribs were indeed tender, you can get fabulous ribs for much less at any Southern barbecue. His "roasted potatoes with rosemary" tasted like they had been sitting on a counter for a while, and certainly had no rosemary flavor at all. My chili nogada was sadly flavorless, served with some spicy beans (the kind you get at any Mexican greasy spoon) and dried out, inedible rice. The sauteed vegetables were quite tasty and fresh. Both the waiter and the chef treated us like uneducated diners, the room was so cold, I left my coat on for most of the meal, and in general, not a thrilling dining experience, so sad to say.

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30. OT

    OpenTable Diner

    Raleigh

    2 reviews

    2 reviews

    Dined on January 19, 2018

    overall5food5service5ambience5

    Wow. Just wow. Server AND chef are just fantastic. Experience it. Enjoy!

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31. OT

    OpenTable Diner

    Charlotte

    7 reviews

    7 reviews

    Dined on January 14, 2018

    overall5food5service5ambience5

    I took my sister here after having dined here last year. When we arrived, there were many tables available, which surprised me because it’s usually full. It turns out there was a broken window in the dining room that was letting all this freezing cold air inside. The waiter suggested if we still wanted to have dinner, we should sit at the end with other tables to stay warm. I was trepidatious, but he convinced us it would be ok. It was better thank ok, it was simply lovely. Great food, excellent service, such an enchanting menu. Though it was a little chilly, we barely noticed. The warmth from the waiter and bartender that night made up for it all. This place is so beautiful inside, too. The owner transformed this restaurant into a cozy, beautiful experience.

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32. c

    cheersmj

    Western NC

    6 reviews

    6 reviews

    Dined on January 14, 2018

    overall5food5service5ambience5

    I had a great experience at Polanco with my family! We also attended their soft opening, and it was clearly that everything was MUCH improved. The chef brought us out mole to start with as a treat, and the ribs which were my main course fell right off the bone and were incredible. We had great service and overall a tremendous experience. Love the old building and will DEFINITELY be back.

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33. OT

    OpenTable Diner

    San Francisco

    2 reviews

    2 reviews

    Dined on December 29, 2017

    overall5food5service4ambience4

    It's the true flavors of Mexico. Chef Roberto brought them to El Norte. We will be back to try his other dishes.

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34. s

    steaksnob1

    Western NC

    9 reviews

    9 reviews

    Dined on December 29, 2017

    overall3food3service2ambience3

    I was excited to try this new restaurant. We arrived for an early seating and found the service to be slow, with barely any other diners at that time. The drinks took forever the first round, and we were almost done with our dinner for the second round. The drinks were not consistent either. My tuna was overcooked, and clearly started out as frozen, not fresh, my fault for not asking. The apps were great, I should have stuck to Mexican specialties. I would try this place again for lunch next time.

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35. JW

    JenniferW

    Baltimore

    29 reviews

    29 reviews

    Dined on December 28, 2017

    overall2food2service1ambience3

    Dining at Polanco was a very bizarre experience. First, we had a reservation but the hostess didn't seem to have any system for tracking them. I said, "We have a reservation for 8," and she walked off for 5 minutes scrambling around the restaurant. Turns out, she thought we meant 8 people, not two people for 8:00...why didn't she just ask and why didn't she have a list of the reservations? The chef/manager/expediter(?) offered us a delicious soup as an apology for the confusion, and we thought all was good. But I ordered a shrimp dish ($19) and it came out with five tiny shrimp that tasted old. The same guy (we later came to nickname him The Chief Apologizer) came over unprompted and brought me a plate of tacos, explaining that the shrimp dish didn't meet his expectations...if they didn't, why was the dish allowed to leave the kitchen? So I sent the shrimp back and dug into my tacos, but I was feeling disgruntled at this point that I wasn't allowed to choose a replacement dish and instead had it thrusted upon me. The tacos were pretty good, but my husband's mole was room temperature and under seasoned. And then the kitchen sent out a free flan as a third apology, and at this point we were just fatigued by the whole experience and wanted to run. The Chief Apologizer asked us if we liked anything except the tortilla chips....so uncomfortable. I don't know if it was just a bad night or what, but this place felt chaotic and poorly managed.

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36. OT

    OpenTable Diner

    Western NC

    1 review

    1 review

    Dined on December 23, 2017

    overall5food5service5ambience5

    Absolutely delicious authentic Mexican food for vegans and non-vegans alike! Finally a place where vegans can get real Mexican food with sauces and plant-based meat instead of just settling for vegan options at a traditional restaurant. The fried cauliflower with chipotle aioli is absolutely amazing! I also loved the mole, Chile en Nogada, zucchini boats, and hash brown fritters. Everything was wonderful and the chef, Ricardo, and our server, Amy, were delightful!

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37. AV

    AVLFiona

    Western NC

    44 reviews

    vip
    44 reviews

    Dined on December 23, 2017

    overall5food5service5ambience5

    We have eaten in Mexico City and feel that this restaurant compares very favorably to those we experienced there. This is not Tex-Mex Mexican food so don't expect standard tacos and burritos. They have tacos, of course, but they are, uh, better. I had a dish with the mole sauce. This is the best mole sauce I have encountered since Mexico City, and I have tried quite a few, hoping to get the "same stuff" I had that first time. At last, here it is in my hometown. Thank you Polanco!

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38. J

    Julie

    Western NC

    17 reviews

    17 reviews

    Dined on December 15, 2017

    overall5food5service5ambience5

    A best kept secret in this foodie town! If you think all Mexican food is alike then you haven’t been to Polanco! This food is fresh and creative, and the service is friendly and prompt. Good value too! Spread the love!

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39. OT

    OpenTable Diner

    Western NC

    1 review

    1 review

    Dined on December 15, 2017

    overall5food5service5ambience4

    Unique, beautiful space. Many options. Friendly, knowledgeable chef/owner. Meals with a variety of flavors. Excellent night here.

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40. F

    Foodie28714

    Western NC

    32 reviews

    vip
    32 reviews

    Dined on December 14, 2017

    overall5food4service5ambience4

    Our first visit to Polanco was a wonderful experience. The food was extremely tasty, and included both traditional Mexican preparations of dishes and also more inventive ones, such as a side dish of roasted poblanos and corn which was served in a sauce almost similar to a light alfredo. Quite an inventive fusion of cuisines. Not only was the food good, the service was absolutely outstanding. Our server, Jackson, was top notch and enjoyable to chat with. The chef even visited our table twice to chat as well and we had a great conversation with him also. Polanco is an inventive, eclectic restaurant in a quirky and wonderful old building on Market Street in Asheville. So fantastic to see a new restaurant breathe new life into such a great space.

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41. N

    Nick

    Naples

    15 reviews

    vip
    15 reviews

    Dined on December 3, 2017

    overall3food2service2ambience4

    Extremely skimpy portion sizes. Full sized fajitas came with a small dollop of rice and an equally small serving of refried beans that was supposed to feed 2-3 per the menu!

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