Zapoteca

I will start by saying this is some of the best Mexican food in Vancouver. Each dish was packed full of flavour with generous portions...but the service...was terrible. I'm not sure if it was the staff on the particular Friday night we went but, I've never experienced such terrible service. The staff were friendly but ridiculously slow and forgetful. It started with when we arrived. We were left standing at the door for 5 minutes while the door staff pottered around doing seemingly nothing, fixing lights and what not. The place had multiple empty tables too, we still had to wait in the cold to be seated. The women who took our order started to take it, once we listed out appys she just turned around and walked away...said absolutely nothing and didn't come back. It took 5 minutes to flag down someone to take the rest of our order. We thought it was random misunderstanding and enjoyed our appetizers. But it took 55 minutes from us finishing our appetizers to get the main course, and when we got it, we needed to request cutlery twice. During that almost hour, our glasses were regularly empty, and it was difficult to flag staff down to request a refill, and once we did, it took even longer to get the next glass. I usually wouldn't complain about something like this only for the place was half empty, the staff stood in the hallway to the kitchen chatting and it wasn't just one staffer, it was multiple bad interactions. We paid almost $150 for food and drinks and only for the food was that good I'd be leaving 1 star. Please speak with and train your staff, your food is too good to have such poor service. I really want to come back and try more, if there is guaranteed better service, especially because almost everything on the menu is gluten free which is rare in Vancouver.

I’ve been to Zapoteca many times and have always been impressed, but last night, they truly went above and beyond. I was there with a group of 23 people, and despite the restaurant being packed, the service was incredible. The staff (especially our server Maya) was so attentive, making sure our drinks were refreshed quickly and that everything ran smoothly—impressive for such a large party! And the food? Absolutely amazing. We started with the Chicarrones de Calamar (one of the best items on the menu!!), along with the Costillitas de Maiz, Oaxacan Salad and Totopos. Every bite was packed with flavour. We also had the Tortilla soup, Choriqueso, Quesabirria tacos, Carne Asada and Chicken Pastor tacos, and the Barbacoa and Cochinita Pibil molcajetes — each dish perfectly cooked, well-seasoned, and bursting with authentic Mexican flavors. Not to mention, almost everything on the menu can be made Gluten Free! Whether you’re dining solo, on a date, or with a big group, Zapoteca delivers every time. I highly recommend this eating here —you won’t be disappointed!