Yesterday morning, my party of seven walked into Ah Huevo! hoping for a good brunch experience. Things started off rocky right away. After being seated, it took quite a while before anyone even came by to get our drink order. When we finally placed it -- three waters, one coffee, one Sprite, one cucumber lemonade, a flight of mimosas, and two horchatas -- the drinks still took a long time to arrive. By the time they showed up, we had already been waiting long enough to notice the lack of attention from our server.
It took about another ten minutes after the drinks for anyone to take our food order. We asked for three chilaquiles, one all-meat lovers omelet, one molcajete, and one breakfast combo. From there, we were mostly left alone. No check-ins, no follow-up, no basic service you'd expect when dining out. Things got even worse when the restaurant decided to cram a party of nine people directly behind us, so close that we couldn't even push our chairs back without bumping into someone.
When the food finally arrived, it came with problems. One of the chilaquiles was made with onions even though we had specifically asked for no onions. The molcajete wasn't even served properly -- instead of walking it around the table to the right person, the waitress just set it down and expected us to pass it hand-to-hand across the table, which could have easily led to someone getting burned. We also asked for napkins multiple times, and straws weren't even available.
During the meal, my coffee sat empty. Refills took forever. Same with napkins and water -- each time I ended up having to get up myself and go ask. Each request took another ten minutes or so before it was actually handled. At one point, I even noticed the waitress on her personal cell phone toward the back instead of checking on tables.
When it came time to pay, things only got worse. We had three separate tabs for our group, but the bill included an automatic 18% service charge because, according to the waitress, we were considered a party of eight. We were seven. The first part of our group paid without realizing the charge was added. When I caught it on my bill, I questioned it. The waitress argued, saying there was nothing she could do, and even claimed she gave us her best service. She told me that the only way to remove the charge would be for her to pay it back out of her own pocket. That response alone showed how poorly the situation was being handled. After going back and forth, another waitress finally stepped in and offered to return the service charge in cash, which came out to around $45 to $50.
At the end of the day, the food was decent, but service is what makes or breaks a restaurant, and the service here was downright terrible. From slow drinks to wrong orders, unsafe serving, being crammed into tight spaces, and then being forced to argue about an undeserved service charge, this was an experience I wouldn't wish on anyone.
This was my first time at Ah Huevo! and it will definitely be my last. Stockton businesses used to pride themselves on genuine customer service, and this place is the opposite of that. This is exactly why businesses don't last: overcharging for food and then delivering the worst service possible. read more