El Tesoro Closing – and then Reopening Under a New Name?
Decatur Metro | January 23, 2011DecaturMomof3 writes in…
We ate [at El Tesoro] earlier tonight and our waitress told us they had a very limited menu because it was actually their last night. She said they had new owners, but the same kitchen manager, and would be reopening in a month with a new name, but many of the same menu items. On our way out, we overheard another waitress telling her table they were out of a lot of things tonight since they were closing and would *maybe* be reopening in a few months.
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Had to be the worst service in Decatur. I gave them many opportunities but they repeatedly failed. I am very easy to please btw.
I never felt the love for El Tesoro. Mezcalito’s in Oakhurst is head and shoulders above El Tesoro in service and food.
Is it open Monday nights?
Their website says they are – monday thru friday for dinner, lunch & dinner on the weekends.
Yes, Mescalitos is open on Monday nights and it’s a wonderful place to take kids. Unlike Taqueria, they even have high chairs!
Definitely agree. Love Mezcalito’s and even several of our out of town guests always request to go there when they are here for a visit.
I for one really liked going there – but it was often empty and the food was inconsistent, I know, so I guess I’m not surprised. But it was a great place to take my difficult-at-restaurants child (who behaved there and ate her food) and I liked the $1 tacos on Wednesdays. Ah well.
Yeah, I never got the big deal with them. Yuck.
Hands down, the worst dining/service experience I’ve ever had, and I too drank the Kool Aid and tried several times. My favorite was once when we were delivered salsa and chips that I thought were complimentary. We dove in, had a few, then they were wisked away and delivered to the table that ordered them. The garden was lovely, though, and for families with squirmy kids, it could have be a risk worth taking.
They actually took them away???? I always like it there but it was more the kind of place I trundled up to alone with Junior.
Darn. We actually liked some of their meat tacos, their flan, and their margaritas. And they were one of the few restaurants in Decatur open on our babysitter night, Monday. Sigh. Plus it was nostalgic because we loved that place when it was Jake’s. Really hope something good replaces it AND is open on Mondays.
Mezcalito’s service blows. Will miss Tesoro if they go. Loved the carnitas.
Hey now, Mezcalito’s is one of my favorites!
Wondered what was going on with El Tesoro. I was there Monday night and drinks (margarita and beer) were suspiciously left off the check. When we asked the waiter about the omission (honestly being the best policy, afterall) he whispered that they didn’t have a liquor license so couldn’t charge for alcohol.
Sadly, it was only a matter of time. Like most other folks here, I really wanted to like ET, but they just degenerated from good to mediocre to flat-out awful (both in service and in food). I also second the thumbs-up votes for Mescalitos– never have had either bad food or service there (plus, fabulous blueberry margaritas in the summer…oh, my)!
That place rocked! Service was so-so but I always liked the food. Good salsas. Way better than standing in line for >30 minutes and family friendly too. I hope something similar comes back. Downtown needs another Mexican resto that is not run by the soup nazi.
Say it ain’t so! It’s the only Mexican food I’ll eat in Georgia. In fact, I had given up on finding a Mexcian place after we moved here from Texas until I found El Tesoro.
Really? I can’t imagine you’ve ever been up & down to the places on Buford Highway, then. Plenty of very authentic Mexican choices there– especially Tex-Mex.
“La Oaxaqueña” is just off Tara Blvd in Jonesboro. You’re welcome.
Try Nuevo Laredo on Chattahoochee Blvd. Best Mexican food in town. Definitely the best salsa 7 chips (complimentary btw). Love the chicken Mole and the shrimp tacos.
Yeah great place! But REALLY long wait!
Maybe they could reopen as a pub…or a diner.
or yogurt place.
Yep. But in all seriousness….if I had crazy business skills, I’d put some serious consideration into converting the place into a diner type establishment. Obviously there are enough people who would like to see a diner in Decatur. The Tesoro space has a full kitchen, a unique environment, and the diner type restaurant has pent up demand. Suppose they could regroup/reorganize in a month, make some coffee, scramble some eggs, cook some bacon….I’d definitely be a regular.
I wish the next business endeavor luck!
Remember the original concept of Einstein’s on Juniper Street? That would work there.
Or if someone was truly enterprising, they would get the folks at The Grit in Athens to open a Decatur location. We need a good vegetarian restaurant.
The Grit is an awesome idea. Dare to dream
Oh my god, that would be freaking awesome! Someone call Micheal Stipe, convince him to buy the building and open it ASAP. If that doesn’t work, it could go the complete opposite way and become a Weaver D’s West!
Amen on the Grit!
Ooh. The Grit. Yes.
El Decatur Diner Dos?
I will NEVER wait in line for a freaking taco. As far as Tex-Mex, the Big Tex Cantina is supposed to be going into the old Natalie’s Fish House space! In the meantime, you can find me drowning my El Tesoro sorrows in their free beverage service!!
My 3 year/old finally has started remembering the name “tesoro” and calling it out every time we drive by. It was a great place for him to run around while we ate at a picnic table. Best of both worlds on a fall night.
Tesoro was good for a time — charming site. But it had rally slipped. I figured it was just a matter of time.
By far the worst service I’ve experienced in Decatur, so I’m not surprised. Wish it wasn’t closing though because it funneled a lot of the parents with unruly kids away from other places.
This is the 2nd unruly kids post I have seen, so I know I am not alone here on this. Last week I took a little girl to see Tangled, all the little kids were giggling, some screamed, it was great fun! Just not in adult dining establishments please!
My single experience with management at that establishment was very negative – they relied on the blame game – everything was someone else’s fault.
I would love to see something open there b/c it’s such a great spot with a garden, but what’s a good idea? We have fro-yo, mexican, upscale burgers. Maybe a good asian place? Dunno if that fits the outdoor garden idea though…
Yeah, Asians are just not known for their gardens…
I had forgotten that they were still open, to tell you the truth, and am surprised they made it as long as they did.
INteresting. I always received great service there, and the tables seated nearby always seemed to be getting equal service quality. Never had to pay for chips & salsa. Food was good enough, though not exceptional.
I can see how the service would be bad if you sat outside with a bunch of hyper kids.
We like Tesoro a lot, although it did seem to have declined a bit over the last couple of months. It was very nice to sit outside and let the kiddos run in the open grassy area (which was designated as a kids’ play area– we always tried to keep ours corralled in there) in the warm months, and we like the tacos, especially on $1 taco night. Worked well with big groups too.
The food at El Tesoro was bland and the service was just so-so. It’s a shame because I really liked the building.
We really liked it in the beginning- alot like the original mid-town Zocalo’s from about 10 years ago, but then, just like Zocalo’s, the food started tasting “corporate” and went downhill. Funny, last time I was there- perhaps 5 months ago- service was so bad I was tempted- just tempted only- not to even tip I was so ticked- and that is hard to do to me. We don’t need Thai, pizza, or Mexican, and IMHO, a diner would work better by the MARTA (commuters/jurors/on way to work for a.m coffee or b’fast). The outside area (and old house with porch) lends itself to Southern family-style seating: what about casual seafood like Crawfish Shack? Or an updated meat-and-3 (with vegetarian options) served family style on large tables?
Southern family style or meat and three? Nah, too radical even for Decatur.
Awwwww! I thought it was a good idea
. I don’t mean a Piccadilly- but updated, healthy food. But, admittedly, Atlanta has been through an influx of the trend of revised Comfort Food. I must have been hungry and lonely for my mom when I wrote that! Maybe a casserole restaurant?????
Yawn
Is the location doomed? The Jake’s ice cream, sandwiches, and coffee place there was wonderful and the owners were great, dedicated, hard-working folks. But they had to move to the Little Shop location. The building is fabulous but maybe food establishments located off the Square, Ponce, or Oakhurst Village aren’t viable.
Feast and Wahoo disprove this theory.
And it’s right next to Twains.
Hmmm. Maybe it was all the unruly children…(Yep– pokin’ that bear, hee-hee-hee!)
I was nearly hit in the head with a frisbee there once!
Truly?? Dang! Did the tosser’s parents apologize, or look at you like it was your fault that you got in the way of Junior’s Frisbee (or apologize but then look at you that way)?
I kid you not, I was hit in the head by a ball (some kind of football-shaped beach ball) from the front patio and I was just passing by on the way to Twains!
Restaurants not viable in Oakhurst? Really? Um, the U-Joint, Mezcalitos, Matador, Mojo’s and Palate have been open for YEARS. Plus new newer ones like McGowan’s, Steinbeck’s and Saba.
You misinterpreted the post.
Wow…surprised to hear some of the bad reviews. I’ve eaten there a dozen times and have NEVER experienced bad service. Even if I did, I would continue eating there because the food was so frickin awesome IMO. The carnita’s were unlike any anywhere else in ATL and delicious, and don’t get me started about the churros. Even the rice, which is a space filler at most restaurants, was something I enjoyed eating. The habenero sauce was great, etc. etc. I for one am very saddened by this news. I’ve eaten all up and down Buford Highway, and many many other mexican restaurants in town and felt that El Tesoro was at the top of the heap. Yes….La Oaxaqueña is a treat also, but a different type of place altogether and unless their new location is closer to town…too much of a hike for me.
Agreed. I love Tesoro. Really enjoy the chill front porch vibe when the weather is nice.
+1.
I feel like I must have been going to a bizarro world version with all these comments.
I love the comments on DM. There are often 57 different opinions on any given topic, but luckily the conversations usually stay civil. Just goes to show that everyone sees things a little differently (sometimes A LOT differently) so we should all be respectful.
PS, I liked El Tesoro ok, and since I have kids of the right age, I usually liked the patio/yard.
For those who want real mexican food, arguably the best in town: El Rey del Taco on Buford Highway. Ask for your corn tortillas “heche a mano” (handmade.) Best fish tacos in the universe.
For the freshest, tastiest mex, drive to Tacqueria Los Hermanos in Tucker on Hugh Howell. Their food is slap-yo-mama good. Great tortilla soup, grilled meats and veggie tacos. And when you order a shrimp taco–you get 6 big shrimp in the taco, for like $3. crazy deal.
But Tesoro? i never understood how they stayed in biz. We sat for 45 minutes waiting to order one day, then another 1.5 hours as the orders gradually trickled out. half the orders were wrong, and none of us were able to eat at the same time. another half hour asking for the check. uncannily bad. we gave them 3 chances, and then never returned.
The great porch and mediocre margaritas were never enough to overcome the salt flavored ummm, everything. Yes, everything I ever ate there tasted first of salt, and then perhaps of something else.
Not surprised in the least. Once ordered a taco salad and it arrived with no lettuce. Yes a taco SALAD with no lettuce.
That is so funny to me! I mean, WTH.
I thought it was just so-so. I’d add some specific complaints but it’s really no fun piling on a restaurant when it’s already on the way out. It’s much more fun to decide that a place sucks/will suck/is a money laundering front etc… before it even opens.
That said, I will support any new, local establishment that opens in this space. Unless they redecorate it in a way that offends my specific, delicate aesthetic sensibilities
Es hora de cenar!
When your vegetarian guest has to stop the car to be sick on the way home from there, and you find out that the “vegetarian” option had lard in it, you tend not to trust the people with your stomach any more. Just saying.
Changing the name….
Yes. Certainly that will fix all of the problems.
Terrible service. Terrible.
Mescalito’s is good and I also enjoy Matador in Oakhurst (and the other location in Glenwood Park).
Good place for great cheap churros … now I’ll have to stick with the (admittedly great) churros at Iberian Pig …
My abiding memory of El Tesoro was going shortly after it opened and being seated in the little hallway by the bathroom at a table next to a table that had a screaming toddler standing on it.
Better to convert it back to a law office from the 80’s. My husband rented it as a Law office and it worked well for him. That site was the original corporate office for Huddle House, so there is a connection to food of some sort.