My partner and I visited Tacos Guadalajara today, choosing it as a safe option since we used to enjoy the restaurant that previously occupied the space. We were seated right away, and the staff was friendly.
When we were sat the space was warm and pleasant considering the cold outside! I ordered a house margarita, which arrived as a solid yellow color. One sip was enough to know something was off; it tasted like it was solely watered-down sour mix. I politely returned it and declined a replacement, and the server was understanding about that part. My partner's Jarrito was fine.
Unfortunately, things went downhill quickly once our food arrived. My taco salad was literally sitting in a pool of water the moment it was set down (photo attached). Despite the excess liquid, the chicken itself was so dry I needed water just to swallow a bite. My partner experienced the same issue with their tacos being extremely dry and inedible. We each took one or two bites to give it a fair chance, but the quality made continuing unappetizing.
When the server returned, we apologized and explained that the food was not something we could consume and that we preferred to leave. Instead of understanding, we were told that even if we didn't like the food and didn't eat it, we would still have to pay because it would be "wasting food" and he would be reprimanded if he didn't charge us. We understood that and acknowledged it was not his fault, but to pay the full cost felt wrong, so we asked for a manager. He stated that he was the manager, repeating, "You bought it, so you have to pay for it."
At that point, feeling uncomfortable and unheard, we just asked for the check and paid for whatever he felt he needed to charge us for (offering 20% off). We left disappointed and will not be returning.
It's so understandable for a new business to have road bumps and mistakes! The biggest issue we had was how our experience was handled, and that as a customer, our experience was not cared about. read more