El Vaquero

We went to Volcano/ Witch's Rock to grab a quick bite before heading to the beach since it's conveniently located. The service was fine, nothing exceptional but nothing bad either. The vibe was good since you're looking at the beach. BUT we had a terrible terrible food experience. We got their nachos and sushi. The nachos were huge but very poor quality. The shredded chicken had no flavor at all. The nachos toppings to chips ratio was way off which is common at most places but none of the ingredients tasted good at all. The cheese tasted worse than tostitos queso. The sushi was terrible as well. I got salmon, cream cheese, avocado with eel sauce and I could barely taste the salmon. Was not expecting top notch sushi but I was definitely looking forward to something decent. It tasted like biting into a ball of cream cheese and it seems like they used an old avocado that had been sitting on the counter for a while, since it was all black (yes, I disintegrated the sushi). The two items we ordered were definitely below average for us for the price we paid.

Sushi was so fresh, live music was so amazing by the sunset. The staff very friendly and kind. Also they serve great beer on draft

Our first impression of El Vaquero/Witch's Rock was excellent. We had just finished some surf lessons (with a different company) and we were happy to get two tables for our group of 10. Initially, our server was very attentive and even offered to place the kids' orders first. This is always a win. The kids' meals did arrive promptly. Unfortunately, the adults waited for more than an hour from time of order to eat. This wouldn't have been too terrible had we not witnessed other tables (who arrived later) receiving food before us. Eventually, several complimentary bowls of chips and dip arrived along with the ceviche we had ordered as an appetizer, but not until about 5 minutes before the actual meals. I wouldn't be surprised if our orders were forgotten. With all that being said, every meal ordered was delicious. Not one complaint. The items varied from whole red snapper, macho tacos (fish), beef sandwich, burger, etc. There was some significant confusion when trying to divide the bill, but overall, the restaurant was a nice midday lunch on the beach. The view is fantastic, but Tamarindo has gotten very busy, so be prepared for crowds everywhere.