El Tucan Restaurant

what gets the extra star is the bar, chips, salsa... that's all. The food is passable but it's like most of the restaurants around the Space Coast area - many server FROZEN FOOD. El Tucan is no different. What gets me is ok maybe the locals (sorry locals) are of uneducated palate.... but there are a lot of people living here that are not! It is actually insulting. more

We have dined at this restaurant ever since they were located in a Publix shopping center on North Courtenay Parkway in Merritt Island. The food has always been very good as well as the service, but we have noticed some things our last few visits that have been less than satisfactory.\r \r For instance, my family had a get-together there for my 63rd birthday in January 2012 with a party of eight. It was a Friday night and we expected the place to be quite busy, however we waited a full hour and a half to finally be seated when several smaller parties had much less wait time, even though their arrival was considerably well past ours. To make matters worse, as we waited outside on the porch with others, not one waitress assigned to take drink orders stopped to acknowledge our presence and take our order. One of my sons finally had to go inside to inquire why I had not been asked if I wanted anything. Once we were seated things did return to normal.\r \r On at least two other occasions we ordered enchilada dinners (our favorite) and specifically requested NO jalapenos on the food. Guess what ....there were jalapenos on the food. Used to be you had to request these peppers at just about any Mexican food establishment but nowadays there seems to be an assumption that everybody just loves jalapenos so you get them on the food anyway, even if you ask that they leave them off. Why not just serve the food with with a souffle cup for the peppers on the side?\r Everybody wins that way.\r \r Tonight we ordered enchilada platters for takeout over the phone and again I requested that there be NO jalapenos on the food and when I picked up the food and brought it home, uh-oh....jalapenos on the food. When we called the restaurant. to point out the error the \r manager apologized and said she would speak to the Hostess who took the order....NO offer to rectify the THEIR error! My wife called back and pretty much had to shame them into doing the right thing. They agreed to replace one of the dinners at a future visit. I rarely go out of my way to write reviews but, for an establishment of their caliber, El Tucan needs to stop acting like they are all that. Enough is ENOUGH! more

My wife and I go here 1 or 2 times a month. Great food, portions, and staff. My wife loves the atmosphere. I love the pollo picante. Great drinks, too. more

My husband and I have been enjoying El Tucan since the restaurant was located in the plaza on the corner of North Courtenay and Crockett where Publix used to be also. We always enjoy their dishes! I think we've tried just about everything on the menu, except the fish tacos (just not our thing!). The chips and salsa are great--ask for their hot salsa! Our favorites are the house specialty and the burritos. The staff is friendly and willing to make your experience great! Try it out ... more

My companion and I were very dissapointed. He ordered the ""house specialty"", some kind of dish consisting of overcooked mysterious pieces of chicken in a funky minimal buttery-gravy like sauce with ""fresh"" (??) garlic, and tossed onto the plate were a few pepperocini peppers, the ones from a jar that are used on Italian beef sandwiches....his very words were, ""I don't get the concept"". I mean who wants to eat a plate of over cooked chicken pieces with little italian peppers from a jar in a Mexican restaurant? Also, the chips have no visible grains, are greasy and the salsa is not salsa, it's some type of tomato base fitting for lasagna or spagetti, no cilantro, no lime, no red onion- it tasted like thick canned italian seasoned tomatoes. We also had the ""yellow"" cheese dip, which I swear tasted like Velveeta with a few mysterious spicy peppers buried at the bottom. My dish was ""chilles reneros"" (spelling?) bland and flavorless. I swear, I was tempted to go back in the kitvhen and ask if they've ever heard of cilantro, lime, cumin, chiplote, mole sauce- ever read a Mexican cookbook? It's not hard to cook decent Mexican, I'd be embarassed to offer these dishes at my home trying to pass them off as Mexican, let alone to the public, under the guise of ""Mexican"" restaurant. There are three Rick Bayless Mexican cookobooks at the Cocoa Beach library- I hope they check one out soon. We won't be back till then. Pros: Above average servers Cons: Not authentic, not even spicy more

Not authentic in the least. Trying to figure out what folks like about this place, it was very crowded on an early Saturday evening. It was clean, decent service, low prices, BUT come on!! If you know what authentic mexican food taste like, skip this place, you will NOT be happy here! Pros: Cost Cons: Everything else! more

I have eaten here about 12 times.....greea tfood,great chips and grea tservice....my only complaint is with the cocktails..........lousy strawberry and mango cocktails.....sometimes they taste great and you can taste the rea lfruit and other times it taste liek a sugar bomb.maybe they use old fruit.....even the regular margaritas are inconsistant.........they do have a nice kick but the over all quality should be improved for the prices you pay........ Pros: great chips and salsa Cons: lousy cocktails............ more

I have eaten at El Tucan nearly 50 times. During my wifes pregnancy, I tried everything on the menu and it was all wonderful. The food here is very authentic and cooked with a lot of flavor and spice, making everything very tasty. They offer a wide variety of entree's and have the best chips and salsa around. Everyone who complains about the chips obviously know nothing about FRESH tortilla chips. The chips are served warm and delicious. The staff aims to please and will do what it takes to ensure your visit is one that will make you come back. I highly recommend El Tucan. Pros: Pulled Pork fajitas!!!! and everything else on the menu. Cons: Nothing! more

Service was good. Tortilla chips are really greasy. Three pepper rated salsa has too much salt in it. Rice was dry and appeared to be a little over cooked or was allowed to sit out without a lid on the pan, thus allowing the moisture to escape. Great tamales and enchiladas. Tacos (corn tortilla type) are okay. more

The food, drinks and staff are all great! This restaurant is very popular and rightly so. Pros: Food, Drinks, Dessert more

Chips are slightly greasy, but they are warm, and the salsas are delicious! The food is wonderful, but as others have stated, the decor is MINIMAL...at best. This is a polpular place and you can expect a wait to dine here. All in all, my wife and I LOVE this place!!!!! Pros: Excellent food, Friendly service Cons: Parking, Decor more

Food selection is very good, plan to wait as they never open before 5PM. Chips are fresh but often greasy. Many of the other dishes are terrific! Pros: Hot food, Friendly service Cons: Greasy Chips more

This looks like a franchise Don Pablo style place, where everything would be safely standard and monotonous. However, we were pleasantly surprised to find it very good! We asked for extra-hot salsa - and did we get it! And the fresh from the fryer chips were great. Entrees were excellent - we had beef enchilladas and soft tacos, and everything as fresh as could be. Fresh tasting tortillas and very good guacamole. We will definitely put it on our HIT LIST! Pros: great food, fast service, reasonable prices Cons: franchise style decor more

this resturant has its pros and cons. one default that i found was that it is in a shopping plaza, but at the same time you could do your shopping while you wait for yoor take out order. Pros: on courtney pkwy Cons: in shopping plaza more

Best Food, Best Service, Best Everything! You must go! You won't be sorry! more