When we walked in, there was someone at the counter who neither greeted nor acknowledged us. We…read morelooked around, found a table, and sat down. After several minutes, one of my brothers got up to get menus, and we still had not been approached by a server. During our wait, the employees appeared to be having a great time amongst themselves talking, laughing, and enjoying each other's company while we waited to be acknowledged.
After about 15-20 minutes, a woman finally came to our table and asked, "Are you ready?" Her manner was very forward, but we placed our order. At the time, we didn't think too much about the long wait or the lack of service because we were busy talking, laughing, and joking around like brothers do. The restaurant appeared busy with takeout orders, which may have contributed to the delay.
Our food arrived about 15 minutes later, and this is where the experience changed considerably.
We ordered pupusas, tamales, and three main dishes: the Salvadoran chile relleno, beef guisado, and beef with onions. I have to say, the food was very good. The guisado and beef with onions were prepared with a traditional pumpkin, sesame seed, and tomato-based sauce that was rich and full of flavor. The handmade tortillas added an especially nice touch and complemented the dishes beautifully. The curtido served with the pupusas was also excellent.
Overall, the food was well prepared, authentic, and full of flavor. Based on the food alone, I would highly recommend giving this restaurant a try.
However, when I got home and finally read the reviews, I was surprised to see that many other customers had experienced similar issues with poor service and rude or unwelcoming employees. What concerns me most is that these complaints appear to have been consistent for quite some time, with little apparent improvement. The restaurant also currently has a "C" rating.
This is unfortunate because this restaurant clearly has the potential to be an excellent eatery. The food demonstrates that there is real talent in the kitchen, but good food can only take a restaurant so far. I would strongly encourage the owner and management to address the customer service issues, improve how guests are greeted and treated, and take the recurring feedback seriously.
If the service matched the quality of the food, this could be a truly outstanding restaurant.