El Kora

The gentlemen working was so accommodating and competent, he handled 4 large tables without missing a step.The food was casual and fun.Nice place to bring kids.

Cute place w Mariachi music playing.
Ordered the Queso fundido w chorizo; took 20 minutes to arrive however, it was excellent.
Also the shrimp fajitas. Perfectly cooked, very tasty.
Prices were medium.
Dislikes: wait for food and no beer on draft.
Will definitely go there again

In Spanish, I would refer to El Kora as "así así".
Translation and summary: Meh, just alright. Not worth the price or the wait.

My boyfriend and I ventured to El Kora this afternoon, wanting to try something new. The place was clean and well-decorated, adorned with twinkling icicle Christmas lights dangling around the bar, a Tiki Hut style thatched roof over one table, and various theme-related items hanging from the ceiling. A soccer game played on the perfectly located large-screen television.

A for ambiance.

Despite its festive interior, the restaurant was fairly deserted. We ordered the shrimp tostada appetizer, vegetarian burrito, and pork burrito...and waited for what seemed like an excessive amount of time, considering the lack of business.

To El Kora's credit, the free chips and salsa we snacked on (um, inhaled because we were so hungry while waiting) were quite delicious.

But when our meal finally came, we were disappointed--and that's what I base my Yelp food reviews on. The food itself. I don't need to spend $9.95 on an average-sized burrito that lacks flavor and ingredients, just so I can be surrounded by fancy decorations.

Yet that was exactly what we did. While eating my vegetarian burrito, I ended up with more mouthfuls of soggy tortilla than actual ingredients. Its vegetables were small and scarce, and its spices were absent. What a waste of carbs. My boyfriend had a similar experience with his pork burrito: just tortilla, rice, pork and a little cheese on the top--but mostly tortilla. His burrito didn't even have lettuce or tomato, despite its description on the menu.

The shrimp tostada appetizer, which was served at the same time as our meal, was actually quite decent...aside from its small size, which made the $4.95 price seem excessive. $4.95 is the price I pay for a huge, delicious vegetarian burrito from Super Burrito on Willamette.  

Slow service, and our server didn't check up once to see how we were doing. We packed up our own boxes and finally found the server, who had been busy chatting with his wife, to ring us up.

I don't understand the Yelp reviews that boast of "low prices". Lunch specials ($6.95-$7.95) and dinner combos aside, how is $15-$20 per dish inexpensive?

If you want awesome Mexican food, I'd recommend Super Taco on W 11th or Super Burrito on Willamette. These places don't have the same spiffy decorations, but they do have delicious burritos for college student budgets.

Adios y nunca mas, El Kora.