El Camino Real: My take on a new venue

I have to say I was pleasantly surprised when after the fabulous night at Top of the Park, my little crew and I drove over to El Camino Real. My first impression was a good one. Not only were the doormen nice, when we walked in they were playing salsa music. We were seated by a host immediately and had three waiters at arms length most of the time. They offer appetizers late into the evening which ranged in price from $2.50 for a cheese quesadilla to $11 for some monster nachos. Their claim is authentic Mexican cuisine and though they only served appetizers at that hour (after 11 p.m.), you could tell they were closer to authentic than many "Mexican" restaurants. My telltale sign is the type of flour tortillas they use. These looked like fresh, hand-tossed ones you might find at the tortilla factory in Detroit. From what I ate, I thought the food was good and a much needed boost after dancing in the streets for 4 hours already. The service was really great and friendly too The music was loud (but not too loud) and the variety of music was great too. Best of all, for me, was that the reggaeton didn't start until 1 a.m. Those of us who wanted to dance mostly salsa got what they were looking for. Whether or not that was the intent, DJ Sabor did a great job keeping everyone on their feet.

The dance floor was tile - which for me isn't an issue because the tiles are wide and seemed clean enough when we arrived. The dance floor is square and of a decent size. Booths line all sides, so you can eat, drink and watch when you aren't dancing. I have to say that the only complaint I really had was that the booth backs are so high, you can't really see over them. If you are looking for a partner, unless your seat was right on the dance floor, you had to walk around and peak over or around them to see who was sitting where. Other than that, a good time. I look forward to driving with another small crew to see what happens over the next few weeks - maybe this will be a good night to plan on. Especially since you can sit and have dinner first, then dance the evening away.