I feel compelled to write this review based on an unacceptable experience. I've been a patron of this restaurant for years, with only one really bad experience which I became physically ill after eating there, as did my friend. A recent situation though convinced me that they simply do not respect their customers & have selective service. I'm a strong advocate for the restaurant industry. The positions can be strenuous & stressful. I've dined in restaurants all over the world for years & while culinary excellence is a criteria, all restaurants at any level of success are measured on their customer service. We chose to dine there because of their happy hour promotion, as in the past. Arriving at 5:20 p.m., it was busy & we were told there would be a 20-25-minute wait by the 2 young ladies at the reception who wrote our name down for the wait list. We stood quite a while as all of the wait chairs were filled & people were waiting in between the entrance doors to just get in. Since we were waiting so long, even though there were numerous empty tables, I specifically asked the young ladies if they would still honor happy hour pricing when we were seated if it was after 6:00 & was told YES. When asked about why there were so many open tables with so many people waiting to be seated, we were told it was due to "fire code."
When a couple of chairs in the wait area open up, we sat down. A waiter came into the entry area & extracted a chair immediately when someone else got up. He said it was because they didn't have enough at a table. Confusing when there were so many open tables & people waiting had nowhere else to sit. I will say, I did get the impression that the 2 young ladies up front were not necessarily attentive & proactive in seating people much less how many open tables there were.
Several minutes passed & upon checking there were still at least 5 couples still in front of us. Another couple arrived close to 5:50 p.m. & put their name on the wait list. At that point, we had been waiting at least 30 minutes. The man proceeded to walk past everyone waiting & looked into the dining area. He leaned over then to one of the young ladies & they were immediately seated in the dining room. Another couple next to us also waiting said out loud "So, exactly how does that happen?" I looked around & others noticed it as well. Selective preferential seating.
It was 45 minutes before we were finally seated. The waiter came to take our drink orders. I ordered margaritas & said, "just want to make sure that we are still covered with happy hour since we had been waiting so long." He said "No, happy hour is over." I asked him then to please go check with the young ladies up front because we were told it would still be honored as we had been waiting since 5:20 & she had us on the waitlist.
When he finally returned with the drinks he didn't say anything, obviously trying to ignore it, so I asked what he found out & he replied that he "had checked with his manager & no, they were not going to be able to honor the happy hour pricing, & he had to get the drinks from the bar." (I'm sorry but where else would he have gotten the drinks?) No apologies, just "are you ready to order?" & with disdain.
I'm confused now & said "if they you have employees stating something & you are not going to stand by what was committed, then you all need to be on the same page as this wasn't right." We then ordered dinner. I decided while waiting for dinner, to walk back up front & ask the young ladies about this. Well, the blonde one was snotty, quickly saying it wasn't her & the one with the brown hair was silent. I said I'm sorry, it was you & you told me we would be covered with happy hour & this wasn't right." A young man came over & asked if there was a problem. All this time, I have been very cordial & kept my voice low. So, I explained the situation & he said he would talk to our waiter. Well, evidently that didn't happen either.
Customer service is key to any establishment, especially restaurants. The waiter made no effort to be helpful, offered no apology. He could have nicely said "let me see what I can do" but instead cocked an attitude & I had the feeling that he also spoke to no one, much less with his manager. The ladies upfront were inefficient, made personal decisions to prioritize who was seated before others & made a commitment that would not be honored.
I am greatly disappointed, & it was a bad experience & it didn't have to be. People make decisions to spend hard earned money for enjoyable nights out when they can. I can honestly say, I will no longer recommend this restaurant as I have done countless times on social media for years. It isn't about the cost of a couple of margaritas; it is about the poorly managed customer service. It's too bad because I've enjoyed the food there for years but so be it, customers are not a priority for them. Sombero's has failed miserably - MINUS 10 STARS read more