By Cam O’Toole, 11
For this magazine issue, I went to El Rayo. I had been here before, but this time I paid more attention because I had a job to do.
When you walk in you see bright orange and white lights, a bar on the left, and an ordering counter on the right. There are colorful flags above the counter that I learned are called picados. You can see them making food so you can tell that they’re very confident in their expertise and ingredients. There is classic rock playing in the background.
There are a lot of foods to choose from and they have menus set up on the counter to help you order. Most of the food on the menu is Mexican food like tacos and burritos.
I ordered a BBQ pulled pork burrito. It was big, it had pulled pork and rice, and it was very yummy. My brother had the birria tacos. They were filled with steak, cheese, and onions. My mom had the fish and rice bowl, which also had avocado, beans, and veggies.
You order your food at the counter and then you bring an order number to your table. You can choose your own table. There are colorful seats in yellow, orange, pink, and blue and polished wooden tables. The one we sat at was a tree trunk. They also have things that you can play with at your table like hook-and-rings and dominos. The food came extremely quickly and the waiters were very nice and welcoming.
There are wooden beams above the bar and bright blue lights under the bar. There were orange and white lights along the ceiling and lamps on the walls made of tequila bottles. They had orange bulbs that flickered like candles. It was darker than other restaurants. My parents would call that ambience.
Kids would like that they have a pinball machine and a PacMan arcade game. They have a milk crate so that little kids can reach the controls. They seem to welcome kids in their restaurant.
Parents would like that the food comes fast and it’s in the center of Scarborough so you can get to it easily. I liked it because the food was great and I could watch football on the TV above the bar. I recommend El Rayo to people who like fast service, tasty Mexican food, and a fun atmosphere.
El Rayo
245 US Rt 1, Scarborough
