La Nayarita — Restaurant in Toronto

We came for Valentine's day last night. The staff were very pleasant, live music was nice and the food was good. I would like to point out a few things they could improve on:

It was clear that lack of effective management of tasks and efficiency was an issue. Many people were waiting well beyond their reservation times, tables were occasionally empty for 15-20 minutes prior to seating new diners, and we didn't get menus or even asked if we would like to order until we waved a server down.

It was somewhat of a bizarre feeling like we had walked into a chaotic scene. The first time we asked to order the waitress said sorry, system is down can you wait 5 minutes? She did not return. I had to wave down the manager 1 hour after our reservation time to order.

We had to argue that as a 6:30 reservation, we should be seated prior to someone who arrived for a 7:00 reservation. We were seated at 7pm and only after I asked twice was our order take at 7:30. Food arrived closer to 8:15: it's ok, they were busy. But it is not an ideal experience to eat close to 8:30 after making a reservation for 6:30.

The manager should be properly trained on how to handle reservations as well as moving people in and out in an efficient manner. She was very nice but clearly her and the entire team were beyond overwhelmed and unsure what to do to improve the situation.

Everyone was lovely but the kitchen had to handle the regular menu and a Valentine's Day menu. Many diners waited far too long or simply got frustrated and left. I think it was too much for the kitchen to handle.

We enjoyed the food, restaurant, and kindness of the servers and will go back. I am just trying to give some constructive criticism here so that the restaurant can improve its inefficiencies which would result in a better experience for both diners and staff. I am certain this is not a common occurrence here, but feel that a top rated restaurant in Toronto should be able to handle a busy night a bit better than this.

I would encourage people to try this authentic Mexican restaurant. The mole was very good. The Molcajete was decent: I would like to try their Carne Asada, Enmoladas and many more authentic dishes that looked and...

We might've had a one-off situation, but the lack of accountability or urgency for all of the chaos that ensued is what influenced my rating for this restaurant. The service from our three servers weren't great by business standards, but they were nice people, so nothing against them. However, drinks that were sent back from our neighboring table were disguised as fresh ones (the server told us they were remade when my mom and I were watching the bar the whole time after the drinks had been sent back, wondering if they were our drinks that had been mistakenly delivered to the wrong table)—also, we weren’t planning on getting drinks but were told by our server that the “$5 taco Tuesdays” deal I saw advertised on their Instagram was only eligible with the purchase of drinks, which was not mentioned on their Instagram page; they served our mains first and while we waited for our two apps (ceviche and guacamole), another server asked if everything was okay and we said that we still had two apps?? She must've forgotten but said she'd check (never to return with an update). At this point, we had been seated for over an hour with no apps, waiting with our mains for 30 minutes, when a third server comes to us to tell us that there was "something wrong with the guacamole" so they can no longer serve it. He did offer us a complimentary app instead, which was nice, but also took an extra 30 minutes to arrive. So basically we got our mains first, and then our ceviche (which was also a disappointment in terms of flavors and freshness compared to other Mexican restaurants' ceviche) came about 45 mins later, and then our complimentary app at the very end, another 30 minutes later. All the while, an older lady who looked like the manager or owner was obviously also expressing signs of frustration via side conversations she kept having with each of our 3 servers to understand what was happening/why all the confusion and delays. However, it was disappointing that while she was able to step in and serve other tables including the table next to us, or help the bartender with prepping the drinks, she never once came to us to apologize or express sympathy. Overall disappointing and...

We waited 2 and half hours with NO FOOD before leaving!! I don’t ever leave bad reviews for places since I know how some days can be stressful in the service industry but the service we had today was insanely unacceptable. We booked a reservation for 2 people for the 3 course Valentine’s Day menu for 6pm for the bar area, but they proceeded to seat us in their patio which was very poorly heated and left everyone keeping on their winter jackets. We asked if we could be seated at a table near the heater and they told us that’s it’s reserved–but 20 minutes later they sat 2 people who were walk-ins, at that table. Then we waited 1 hour for our cocktails to come, and as we were waiting a long period of time for our food, we had 2 different servers ask us what food we ordered, which seemed very unprofessional. We seen 2 tables (who came after us) get their food before us and it seemed like everyone on the patio was getting frustrated, as tables decided to just get their drink bills and leave. We asked several times when our food would come and they kept saying “they’re working on it” or “I’ll check” and nothing, 2 hours later. We would’ve left earlier but knowing it’s Valentine’s Day–most places would be full and it’s freezing outside so we decided to wait, stay optimistic and give the benefit of the doubt.. but in total we waited for 2 and a half hours… with absolutely no food and decided to leave. I’m not sure how the service was inside the restaurant but it looked like they just neglected everyone in the patio. It’s sad because their promotions and photos online looked very promising but their service needs a tremendous amount of work. Respectfully, please take care of your tables first before you seat...