We have been regulars at Fiesta Tapatia for more than 10 years now, ubut this evening will probably be our last visit, at least for a while. We have noticed during our last few visits that the food service is incredibly slow, especially on weekdays, and the quality of the dishes as well as the portions have been decreasing significantly. Tonight was an all-time low. When we arrived, there were three other filled tables in the restaurant, making our party of 7 table number FOUR. We waited 10-15 minutes before someone came to take our order, and then it was a good 30-40 minutes before our food started coming out. Our waitress was great. She refilled our drinks and the chips and salsa and kept checking back with us, but the fact the food took SO LONG when they were clearly not busy was disappointing. Then, when the food did begin coming out, it took at least 5-7 minutes for all the dishes to come out of the kitchen because they came out individually. Weird, but ok. At least we had food! I had ordered Camarones Chipotle, and the shrimp was delicious and cooked to perfection, but the portions of rice (which was bland and had no vegetables in it like it used to and did not even seem fried) and beans left something to be desired, as did the fact that I had to ask twice for tortillas. My father received the saddest chalupa I've ever seen in my life...small and incomplete. My kids received quesadillas that tasted gross and had very little cheese on them. I was willing to overlook all of this as a bad night until the check came.
Wednesdays at Fiesta Tapatia have been Kid's Night for a while now. It is advertised in their menu as being a free kids meal for each adult entree ordered (see attached picture). We had FOUR adults who all ordered meals and only three children. Anyway, when our checks arrived, only one kids meal was taken off our bill. The waitress basically dropped the ticket and ran off, so I went to speak with the manager. It took a while for him to appear, and when he did, I politely said that I thought that tonight was Kid's Night and that kids are for free with an entree purchase. I showed him our ticket with two entrees and two kids meals, and he proceeded to explain that the new manager had changed it so that there is only one free kids meal per table. I told him that's not what the menu says, and he said he knew and changed our bill, no apology. Fine. Whatever.
Then, I mentioned that he might want to convey to the new manager that raising prices (the meal I got is listed at $12.99 on their menu online, and we were charged $14.25 tonight), decreasing portions, extremely slow kitchen service, and policy changes like the Kid's Night are going to drive their older clientele off. The man just looked at me. I tried to explain further, thinking he didn't understand what I was saying, and said that I don't think we will be back because of this bad experience. He shrugged and said oh well. Well, sir, that right there guaranteed you won't see us and our families again. Fiesta has been our go-to for all family events -- birthdays, graduations, end of school celebrations, etc. We go almost every time we have family in town and often when we don't. Carlos was our favorite waiter and our kids talk about him and his lollipops often. (He was always sure to seat our kids so the could see a TV to watch cartoons, which made them love him. ) I guess we will be finding a new Mexican restaurant to frequent because we can forgive poor service and excuse bad food every now and then (especially with thoughtful staff like Carlos around), but complete apathy and disregard for the value of our patronage? No. Our hard-earned money will go elsewhere. read more