El Comal - Burnaby

El Comal is one of Vancouver's best manufacturers of corn tortillas.White, smooth, well made and tasty, not a speck of whole grain in sight. A fabulous lunch counter with real Mexican food and shelves full of tasty pantry essentials. The only problem is they are never open. I have visited during weekday business hours 4 times in the last year and they were open only once. As good as it is, that's it, I'm done.

This food here is very good but it is a wholesaler with a small retail restaurant in front. As a result the service is slow and the portions are quite small. The seasoning and flavours are good. They have the best chips in the city and you can buy them in many locations in the lower mainland. It's in a strip mall and a little hard to find. Parking can be a challenge too.

We heard that this place had good food .... best Mexican food around....we drive by it everyday going to work. You really will miss it as it is in an industrial area and in a strip warehouse area. We popped in on a Saturday there were a few other people there, when you enter you order at a counter and they give you a number. We ordered a chicken burrito which was good and a nice size for a meal for my husband. I ordered the Chile Relleno which had great flavours but was not very filling.....It would never have even put a dent in my husbands appetite! I left wanting more....and it was $8.50. They both came with rice and refried beans but I could have used more rice to compliment the sauce with the Chile Relleno. The sit down area was cold we ate with our coats on....no heat and the food was just warm .... not hot ....not cold. We both agreed would have been better if food was actually hot. The food did taste fresh and home made the decor is typical of Mexico sparse and worn looking, it could have used some Mexican music playing in the background. The staff did their job but I would not say they were friendly..... they did not greet us and while there they did not ask how things were and when leaving they did not invite us back wish us a good day or thank us for stopping.Might try them again but there are so many places that get it right the first time!

Excellent always fresh,tasty and wholesome Mexican cooking. The corn chips are made in house and honestly the best we have ever eaten!Love the enchiladas and the delicious sauces that they come with. The take home salsas are full of flavour and spices.Its a bit out of the way to get there in an Industrial part of Burnaby but well worth the drive ,the cafe is a large space thats comfortable to sit in eating lunch.It does get busy at lunchtime so maybe go a bit earlier or after if you are in a rush.Friendly and patient service.

We went for an early-lunch recently, arrived about 10:20am, and dined in. The floor in the main dining-in area was being damp-mopped as we walked in, but was dry and accessible after ordering (with our ordering being a touch delayed, as the woman mopping, was the same woman taking orders at the deli counter). After ordering, we chose to sit at one the larger round tables - it provided a nice 360 view of the rather cute and colourful surroundings. The table and place mats were a touch dirty though - we had to provide some cleaning before settling in. And then after waiting for what we thought was more than sufficient time for some service of water, napkins, knives, and forks, etc., to our table, once again, we provided our own service. So far, not so good, in the service department! But heh, we did get a small bowls of tortilla chips and salsa brought to our table before any of our food order arrived. Subsequent food service to our table was consistently delayed by customers coming in and ordering take-out. There was just the one person doing everything - taking orders, serving, cleaning floors, and etc. A heads-up to those who have not dined there - you pay at ordering, and no 'official' receipt (listing what was ordered) was provided. I mention this because we had what bordered on an argument later, while dining, over what had been ordered, and what had been received. I knew what I had ordered and paid (had written it down), but it took a good while to convince the server that she was in error, and we had not received one of the dishes ordered - and that was why we had come back to the deli counter asking asking where the dish might be, after waiting a good long while wondering. She eventually acknowledged fault when she found the plate sitting in the microwave oven where she had forgotten it!We ordered three of their dishes: two-tamale plate (wanted three tamales, but they only had two, they came with rice and re-fried beans) -- three-enchilada plate (which came with rice and re-fried beans) -- three soft tacos plate (chorizo sausage, pork, chicken). The tamales: were served without any banana leaves (as shown on the plate in the picture) in place (thought this a bit strange, had never been served a tamale without the banana or other leaves in place), no separate meat or other filling, just a thick, dry, and quite spicy hot masa - everything on the plate only mildly warm! The tacos: the corn tortillas (one per taco) were thin, damp, cool, and flavourless, and the fillings inside a few tiny pieces of the meat, tomato, chopped lettuce, and 'sauce' - soggy - so eating with one-hand, 'the' appropriate Mexican way, was next to impossible!! The enchiladas: thin, flavourless, and rather cold - and the pictures on the wall looked so good, the tortillas filled, and plump!! The rice was 'ok', but rather tasteless. The re-fried beans, tasted and looked like a canned product, without any real texture or flavour.In summary -- half-decent presentations, but mostly cool, flavourless, and poorly-prepared foods.We were very disappointed with our dining experience at El Comal, we had so hoped for more!