Guzman y Gomez - Byron Bay — Restaurant in Byron Bay

During my recent visit, I had a terrible experience and am honestly shocked by the service received. It started while I was ordering. I asked for a small meal, and the staff member told me they only had large bottles of Coke available. I agreed and paid.

I was then handed small bottle of coke. I reminded her that she said they only had large. She started hunting around, eventually admitting the only large bottles left which were warm. Another staff member stepped in and insisted I took the warm coke like it was no big deal. I declined and asked for a refund of the difference. He clearly wasn’t pleased and walked off to get someone else.

The third person I spoke to was quite rude and said, “It’s only a $2 difference,” completely missing the point — I didn’t ask for a large in the first place, it was upsold to me.

I finally got the refund and waited for my meal. After 25 minutes, I approached the counter to ask where my meal was. The staff member looked confused, couldn’t find my order, and had to make a phone call to track it down. At that point, I just asked for a refund, as it was clear the order hadn’t even been made.

She then argued with me about what I should be refunded for. By then I was very frustrated and just took the refund. After I had left, I checked the receipt and noticed she didn’t even refund me the correct amount.

Not once did anyone apologize. I paid for a service they didn’t provide and ended up out of pocket. The whole situation was handled with zero care or professionalism. Absolutely...

It’s not the first time I have had an issue since the reopening. Last night my daughter ordered for the family for me to pick up on my way home after work. After waiting for almost 30 mins past the app pick up time ( I get its summer and busy), I drove home food in hand, only to realise when we opened the food they had failed to put chicken on our “chicken nacho fries” and failed to add cheese to the tacos. So off I go, drive back into town (mind you it’s a good 15-20 min drive after a long day and an already long wait- but when you order chicken and the meal comes with everything but the chicken you get a little mad). I spoke to the young guy at the front- no apology- who went to get his manager. Managers response was less than what you would expect- oh sorry let me get those remade for you- then walks off. Doesn’t come back, doesn’t explain to the staff anything. Didn’t see him again to tell him it has taken over an hour and 20 mins to get to this point from first ordering and the fact I had to drive back into town as the main ingredient was missing! The young girl handing out food then didn’t know what to do with the food once it came as she wasn’t aware of the situation! He didn’t explain it to her. Lack of communication is probably the issue. As how can you miss the chicken on a chicken meal or cheese on a taco- don’t they all come with cheese? I think they’ve lost a customer with this one. Shame, the kids love the food when it’s made right...

I have been eating at this place in Byron Bay since its inception. I have found this place inconsistent at best. Being a transient holiday town, I can understand the difficulty in maintaining a reliable staff. For me, this can be overlooked somewhat if the food is exceptional. Notwithstanding, at the end of the day, you need to be realistic and understand it is a franchise operation. However, I also visit the same franchise at a number of locations on the gold coast. My experience north of the border has been hands down, much more positive. Ultimately, I am basing this review on the size of the tacos. Absolutely not good enough. They are so small that sometimes I am completely dumbfounded. Initially I often returned the order to the front counter in disbelief. For a period of time, I was eating at this place every second day and fortunately a cooperative employee would see me arrive and prepare the order in an acceptable way. Last night, I ordered a takeaway enchilada because I was hungry and couldn't bare a substandard serve of tacos. Reasonable size..but was unevenly cooked and a little cold. That being said, doing business in Byron Bay is difficult with the high price of rent etc due to the " money " arriving in town, so I guess one consolation is that the operation is still trading , a remarkable feat considering the high turnover rates of business!!...