Ay Cocula

Ay Cocula deserves a fiesta of a review! This place saved the day on New Years Day when dining options were as scarce as desert rain. The restaurant's lively and colorful ambience set the perfect mood for our impromptu family reunion.

After surviving NYE festivities, my stomach could only manage a shrimp cocktail and it was the right decision. A burst of flavors that could rival the fireworks we saw the night before !

My date went all in with a pound of barbacoa , a taco making feast on our table. With lightly fried corn tortillas (yum!) and fixings galore, we still had enough tender barbacoa left over for a breakfast encore.. scrambled eggs never had it so good.

The complimentary chips and salsas set the stage. They were fresh and tasty and the perfect warm up for our taste buds.

Service at At Cocula deserves a round of applause , handling our party of 6 with ease. Overall it was a great experience filled with good vibes, great company and delicious eats. At Cocula has earned a spot in my El Paso dining hall of fame.

*Dined-3.22.24:
Been coming here for years! Great taco/Mexican food spot with live mariachis every Friday starting at 8p. Arrive a little early for seating. Parking lot fills up too. Good customer service & the 6 pack tacos al pastor are delicious (what I get everytime I'm in town). Spanish is ideal but you'll get by if you only speak English.

Service was outstanding. Food was excellent and the band was very good. Overall, a very good experience. Just wish it wasn't so crowded. ‍

I went here with an associate and I thought the food was very good. I did order chile rellenos with beans and rice. The food was not a problem for me. However the ambiance was annoying and loud. I could not enjoy my meal because random ppl kept approaching my table DURING MY MEAL trying to sell pastries or food items etcetera and asking for money and telling a sad hardship story which made me feel sad, cancer story etc.. I dont mind helping ppl who are in need but thought it was very rude to interrupt me in the middle of eating with food literally in my mouth and i lost my appetite and couldnt finish eating because of the depressing stories being told. I didnt even have any cash on me only credit card and had they approached me in the parking lot prior to eating or after i already finished my meal it would not have bothered me other than i didnt have money to give at that moment. Now tell me when you are at home eating a meal at the table with your family would you want to be interrupted constantly every five minutes or so with strangers coming to your front door asking for money? Usually when out to eat i dont like to use my cellphone to talk to ppl while im eating i think its also rude.

A MUST stop place for good food!
Food is amazing, everything that I tried and even off of other plates of friends and family(had to try) was amazingly great! Service of the ladies taking care of us was awesome! Never did we go empty on anything. The price for this type of good food and service is awesome! I hope they don't higher on prices. Had dinner (Mariachi Band included) and came for breakfast buffet on Sunday! Probably one of best breakfast buffets I've ever had! Beats the pants out of IHOP, Dennys, etc. nice sublet music playing background as you eat, so the ambiance is perfect!

So my wife and I were craving tacos and it was a Tuesday so off we go. It had been a while since we frequented this restaurant so we stopped in. Our server was maybe new as she kept forgetting stuff but that's a different story. So we both ordered the Birria Beef Tacos and a Caldo de Rez. The tacos were served and they looked promising but we did have to ask for salsa and chips. The meat and the consume were bland to say the least and needed a lot of help as far as salt, lime juice, cilantro and Chile. That made them palatable. Now on to the caldo, i had high hopes because it looked so good but nope, no flavor what so ever either. It seemed like they tried to make more broth by adding more water to the caldo without adjusting the seasoning and that may have been the case with the Birria consume. Normally my wife will order a dessert but she was so dissatisfied as was I that she said nope. Oh well, we will find a good Birria taco in El Paso yet.

Food was good. The service was NOT to par. Just cause the girls have nice bodies that doesn't make it for us. Especially when I'm with my wife. It's not cute to forget our order. The place looked like it was ready for a party! The band plays on weekends but we were just an hour or so too early. If it got busy I can see a whole lot of people not getting service. Oh and I asked for my guacamole to NOT have onions in it. It came with my carnitas order. Well she charged me almost thirteen dollars for a side that came with my meal. We didn't complain as we just wanted to leave as it took forever (because she forgot what we ordered) imagine that

Lunch brings us here as first timers. The inside is much larger than expected with plenty of open tables and booths. No one came to greet us at the door so we just seated ourselves. The background music was very loud in my opinion.

I ordered a Clamato with shrimp and beef jerky. And the hostess brings me a Clamato with nothing else stating the shrimp and beef jerky aren't ready yet. I feel she should have informed me BEFORE bringing the Clamato so I could have options. I accepted it anyways because I hate wasting food. The Machaca plate was also good although I don't think it was well presented on the plate. She did eventually bring me shrimp (at no charge) to add to my Clamato but they were over cooked and chewy.

We asked for water and received only mine. I asked for flour tortillas rather than corn and my wife's water again which took so long that we were finished with our meal as they arrived.

Nothing special stood out to bring me back here. Although small things that shouldn't, the hostess had a pleasant demeanor the entire meal.

Had dinner here on dec 30th 2022, everything started okay, server( women in her 30's,,thin blonde hair, hispanic, taking care of the section near the bar) took our order got drinks...great. but once the mariachi started she no longer came to our table.. to busy watching the performance to take care of her tables. We had to get her attention twice since she was not too far away( leaning on the ice cream cooler with 3 more servers) when it came time to the check..i had to get her attention so she can bring me the check, she didn't see me..one of the servers(girl with glasses told her) she came brought the check. I work in the food industry as well, and i dont think the servers just hanging out is part of their job description. Im not saying they need to be slaving around, but giving customer service is your job. We tipped her $10, and my mother who has 25 years of serving experience told her, i would've given you more but we had to hunt you down, the servers response, i just came to you not too long ago. There's so many things i could've said to her..but its a waste of time with people who clearly do not care to do their job.
Attached a picture of all servers, circled the 2 who i spoke about, girl with glasses to the right and my server on the left

Taco Tuesday, a tradition held in high regards by all those lovers of tacos and The Lego Movie alike. I found myself at work craving some good tacos, doing a quick search i found Ay Cocula nearby but got a little taken back at some of the reviews this place had.

Everything from cold tacos to not enough meat in them to bad service were a few things that made me doubt if i should give this place a try. Fortunately for me their 2 for 1 special on tacos was the winning bid for me.

Once we walked in you instantly feel the great ambiance this place has. Mexican folklore at almost every corner can be seen as well as some awesome murals that make u reminisce about home.

Once we entered we were nicely greeted by one of the servers there, once i told her it was a to-go order she promptly placed it for me. She offered me their 2 for 1 (which i took) and recommended the Pastor tacos. When my food was up she included some of their salsas and even asked if i wanted extra avocado since i would be taking twice the tacos. Overall a super nice girl that gave great service even in a takeout situation.

I gotta come back and check out their other stuff as well as. sit down and eat. But for now this place is definitely in my visit again list!