Patio Andaluz — Restaurant in St. Catharines

My wife and I stopped in for the first time several weeks ago (before indoor dining restarted) and ate on the patio, at that time it was definitely a 5 star experience. We decided to go back and celebrate my wife's birthday on July 24th and made reservations for us and 2 guests. Seated promptly then waited quite a while for drink orders to be taken (restaurant was of course much busier so understandable). Began to notice a total lack of organization/training with the wait staff. The table beside us left and it took 3 waitresses 5 trips to clear it (a couple of plates or glasses at a time). Never got complimentary tortilla chips until my wife had requested the at least 6 times (they finally arrived with dessert). Ordered Paiella and since we knew it took 45 minutes to prepare also ordered fajitas and tacos which we assumed would be out much faster (they were not)_ they hit our table about 5 minutes ahead of Paiella. Chicken and beef fajitas were fine, paiella was great, the tacos must have been sitting a long time waiting for the rest of the food as the shells were like cardboard and they were lukewarm at best. During this time the servers were running around like chickens with their heads cut off and accomplishing very little. Had to flag any server who came near for drink refills and dessert order. $ 200.00 for lunch for four was expected and I did tip 15% entirely out of sympathy as the wait staff are clearly over their heads and out of their depth here. I will likely try it again to see if the first time or second time there is the norm, but I would recommend to anyone unfamiliar, leave yourself about 2 hours for lunch and be prepared to get your food whenever, definitely currently not organized. I was thinking of a 2 star rating, but given how good they were the first...

I will never eat here which is sad as I live within walking distance. This place was highly recommended by my friend who has dined here before and loved it. My friend called to make a reservation for 3 people only to be told they don’t make reservations for 3 people. So we simply showed up at 7:30p on Saturday October 16 2021 to wait for a table. The hostess said that there’s a wait list and the kitchen closes at 9p so we probably won’t get in. To my dismay they do take reservations and people were being seated (tables of 2 and 4). I demanded to speak to someone else other than the hostess who was not helping at all.

I’m assuming it was the owner who I spoke with as she had a Spanish accent who came to assist. The excuse I got was they changed their policy and it was on their website. Like why would I be checking their website after being told they don’t take reservations? Then, I was told I would have to be handicapped to get a table. I asked if we could at least be put to the top of the wait list for miscommunication and they weren’t even willing to do that. They offered to book us on another day, like how does that help me now? There was no offer of us to come back so that they can “make it right”. Basically, no ownership of the error they made. We did nothing wrong as a customer and they did everything wrong as a restaurant owner. I work in customer service and I understand mistakes happen, it’s how you deal with them that makes the difference. I will never eat here, and really don’t expect them to respond to this review as it’s clear they don’t care about their reputation - so much for supporting local during a pandemic. We ended up at Chile and Agave and had a fantastic time. It’s their loss our bill was...

I really wish I didn't know what authentic Mexican food was so that I don't have to be disappointed whenever I try Mexican in Canada. I should have skipped out the moment the waiter over pronounced the word horchata. We ordered nachos which was already a steep $18 website actually says $19 but I saw the option for vegan chorizo which sounded good, I didn't realize meat or meat alternatives are an extra $6. My husband ordered us two horchatas, I didn't look at the price but knew the simple rice drink would be over priced. I asked for no Pico de gallo but for some reason the waiter made the assumption that meant I didn't want jalapeños or salsa either. I had to put more money in the parking metre or else I would have spoke up when it arrived. My husband already made a dent in it by the time I came back. If nachos are $20+ I would expect them to be loaded. It was mostly dry chips with a little drizzle of cream, hardly any cheese and mostly tofu ground, the same kind you get anywhere, it had no spice to it at all. I was hungry and ate it anyway, confused why there wasn't the same salsa verde that is given with the small batch of complementry chips offered at the beginning of the meal. The horchata was extremely watery which would have been OK but not for the $8 they charge per glass. The bill came to $46 and some change for basically dry corn chips and rice water. The waiters attitude changed completely from my best friend to resentful enemy when he saw the $2 tip but I mean I just spent $50 on something that probably cost them $5. Never again, I can't even say it was mediocre because it just wasn't up to any standard of nacho Mexican or not. Would not recommend unless you enjoying...