El Acapulco in Conway, Arkansas Fails to Deliver

For all that Mexican food is popular in Arkansas, it is hard to find a really good Mexican restaurant on this side of Texas. Conway alone has seven Mexican restaurants of varying quality and authenticity. They all vie for business and the coveted distinction of "The Best." A recent trip to El Acapulco in the Conway Towne Center showed that they have a long way to go to claim the title.

The décor at El Acapulco is standard for what you would expect from a Mexican restaurant that is no where Mexico. There walls are painted brightly, tile mosaics decorate the tables and sombreros and pictures of donkeys adorn the walls. I could have forgiven the garishness of the design if the food and service had been better, but it, too, proved to be a disappointment.

After being promptly seated by a friendly host, my dining companion and I waited for at least ten minutes before anyone remembered to take our drink order. We placed our order for two drinks, a side of the house cheese dip a lunch special platter($5.99) and a child's chicken plate ($2.99). the drinks and cheese dip arrived well ahead of the meal. The white cheese dip was bland, tasting like a cross between cream cheese and mild cheddar with a few chopped peppers thrown in for color. It was lukewarm and way too thick for the chips. We ended up with many broken chips littering the bowl.

Our entrees arrived long after a chip basket was empty. The lunch special platter was adequate. The taco was tasty, but the enchilada was nothing to write home about. The beans and rice were standard and tasted vaguely like they had come from a can. It was all lukewarm, as if it had been ready for a wile before the server decided to bring it to us. The child's chicken plate consisted of preformed breaded dark meat chicken nuggets. They tasted vaguely freezer burned and were all but inedible.

The lunch crowd was large, so that may explain the slow service, but it does not explain the poor quality of the food or the lack of consideration. We had to flag our server down for our check and wait several minutes at the counter for a cashier to come ring up our bill. We complained about the slow service and poor food, but no one apologized. For many years, El Acapulco was the only Mexican restaurant in Conway. Force of habit can be the only explanation for its continued popularity with locals. There are many restaurants in Conway that are much better.