​My experience at El Puesto Santa Clara was a complete rollercoaster, defined by an extreme contrast between outstanding hospitality from the back-of-house staff and an utterly unacceptable, miserable experience caused by the front-of-house hosting team.
​The Highlights: Bartenders and Internal Waitstaff
​First and foremost, a massive shoutout and recognition go to the bartenders and the internal waitstaff. They truly carried the entire establishment during my visit:
​The Cocktails: The drinks prepared by the bartenders were absolutely delicious, perfectly balanced, and crafted with great care and skill.
​The Service: The indoor servers were the epitome of professionalism. They were exceptionally attentive, warm, and accommodating throughout the entire experience, ensuring that every need inside the dining room was met with a smile. Their hard work and dedication deserve high praise.
​The Lowlights: The Hosting Staff
​Unfortunately, whatever positive impression the inner staff built was entirely demolished by the hosting team, who were, frankly, an absolute disaster.
​The Treatment: From the moment of arrival, their attitude and demeanor were completely unacceptable. They were rude, dismissive, and lacked even the most basic customer service etiquette.
​The Impact: Their unprofessional behavior and poor handling of guests made me feel entirely unwelcome, turning what should have been a pleasant outing into a miserable experience.
​Final Verdict
​While I would love to return for the amazing drinks and the wonderful internal service provided by the waiters, the host staff made the visit feel genuinely awful. Management urgently needs to retrain or replace the front-of-house hosts so that they do not continue driving customers away and ruining the efforts of the hard-working bartenders and servers.

Puesto is a neighborhood staple for all the corporate employees in the vicinity. It can be good, but also inconsistent, depending on the night. The wait staff is generally friendly and attentive, but it was confusing to be told we had a limited time at our booth when more than half the restaurant was empty. Not a great start.

Wednesdays are the standout. Their “Girl Dinner” — $40 for a margarita, chips and guacamole, a fried fish taco, and a steak taco — is genuinely a great value, and the food quality across that lineup was solid. Both tacos were flavorful, and the margarita was well made.

One small but noticeable issue: they brought out chips and salsa to start, and the chips were cold and mostly broken pieces. When our chips and guacamole arrived, those chips were warm and fresh. It’s a small detail, but it should be consistent, especially when chips are such a core part of the experience.