"3"^^ . . "0"^^ . "I've been here with friends four times now, and I feel I can write a review. My review is decidedly mixed. In some ways El Patio has excellent Mexican and Mexican inspired food, but in other ways its food disappoints. Also of note, new ownership begins this week (first week of November, 2015, so both the good and the bad may be subject to change).\n\nOn each visit we were seated or told to seat ourselves quickly. Little to no waiting. The place is nice, well lit, and clean. Service was excellent each visit as well, with menus, water, chips with salsa, and drink orders all quickly tended to. The menu is relatively extensive with lots of alternatives, many that are not available or at least are hard to find in Champaign-Urbana. \n\nI've had four different meals and my experience was the same each time. \n\nTHE GOOD: the main dishes were excellent. Flavorful and hot, always very tasty. I've had the ceveche, the burrito, the chile verde, and tacos. The only one I'd critique was the ceveche. Though delicious, I am not used ceveche as seafood first cooked then marinated in lime juice. Typically the \"cooking\" is done by the marinade, but some of the fish ingredients were clearly cooked first. That said, even the ceveche was good and flavorful, and I'd consider having it again after I finish working my way through other interesting items on the menu.\n\nThe drinks I ordered also fall into the GOOD category. I am not a fan of the newer style of sweet, frozen concoctions with classic names. I like my margarita made of lime juice, a good tequila, and triple sec. A lime slice and salt on the rim is fine, but I don't want it frozen. I want my martini made of quality gin and vermouth. I don't want either frozen or tasting more like a jolly rancher candy than a cocktail. And the drinks I had at El Patio did not disappoint. They used high quality liquors (at least for these drinks) mixed in appropriate proportions (leading me to believe the bartender knew what he was doing), they were served at the appropriate temperatures, and they were reasonably priced. El Patio does have plenty of fruffy drinks as well, so it's your choice. My compatriots liked their frozen margaritas and appletinis, so we all were happy.\n\nTHE BAD: My complaints about El Patio are mostly about the items that accompany the main dish. The chips and salsa were OK. The chips are not exceptional and don't taste like they were freshly made. They were a little salty to my taste, and they were room temperature. I could not tell if they had been made a lot earlier in the day or if they were from a bag. However, my first real complaint foreshadows the next ones: the salsa is ice cold. Left until the end of the meal it had warmed some and by then had become tasty enough, but served ice cold it had little flavor. Basically, anything with (hopefully fresh) tomatoes should be served at room temperature as tomatoes lose flavor when cold. You'd think a Mexican restaurant would know this! Also, I'm guessing they do not make their own salsa; why would it be so cold if they did?\n\nMy second complaint was basically the same about the salad and guacamole. Both the guacamole (dip) and the guacamole on the salad were ice cold. This seemed weird to us, especially in the salad. A nice warm entree, warm beans and rice, and relatively warm lettuce and tomato in the salad did not seem to pair well with icy guacamole on top of the lettuce. Again, it was tasty enough, but it improves if you let it warm up for about twenty or thirty minutes before eating it.\n\nThe beans and rice are a middle ground. They were fine. Nothing exceptional about them but nothing wrong with them.\n\nAnd finally, this store keeps unusual hours. It opens for lunch and then closes until 5pm when it reopens for dinner, making it impossible for those wanting an early lunch, a bite with friends on the way home from work, etc. I was told the hours will be changing under the new owners, probably staying open all day, but the waitress wasn't yet certain what the hours would be.\n\nPlease forgive the length of this review. I thought I should explain my three-star review as being four stars for the main dish and drinks, two stars for the accompaniments, especially the salsa and guacamole. I look forward to trying other menu items (assuming the menu is not changed by the new owner) and hope for improvements in the side dishes as in general I rather like this place."^^ . . . "2015-11-02T00:00:00"^^ . "1"^^ . "5"^^ .