De Nada | Mexican Eatery & Tequila Bar — Restaurant in Albert-Eden

Dining with friends, we've been looking forward to trying this place out as we are local. We started with taco chips and dip, standard fare. Tacos came out with an oily look, we had beef and ribs, or was it chicken and pork, to be honest we couldn't tell what we were eating, no Mexican flavour it was just a meat. Chimichanga was chicken, I think, we just found it bland, same as the other proteins, lacking mexican spice flavours. Steak with refried beans was ok. Drinks we got 1 round, the wait person never asked us if we wanted another. Sauce pots had no spoons so we had to use our eating utensils to get sauce. Drinks? Had pineapple coconut margerita, tasty, though a small serve for $20. My glass stem was sticky, why? Dishes weren't cleared, we had to put our dishes on the bar as dishes arrived to get room on the table. Wait person didn't clear till the very end. We sat on the high chairs and bar table, we found them uncomfortable as the foot supports were low and the blood in the legs got cut off, I'm 5'6" or 168cm high, so average height, these chairs were just not good for me or my girlfriend who is shorter than me. There were no hooks for handbags, either in the toilets or at the table... Had to put jackets and handbags on the floor. Wait person did not offer to take our coats either. Had to flag down our wait person to get refill of water, extra water glasses, we got 3 glasses for 6 people, and to order dessert. Service got a 4 out of 10. All in all, the husband said not going back again.

Visit number 2. .Gave De Nada another try 4 weeks later, giving them the benefit of the doubt, as last time went they were pretty busy and newish. Sadly nothing changed. Water seems to be a scarce commodity, had to ask for it twice. Drinks were very slow arriving, we were halfway through the meal when they arrived. We had taco chips with dip, very sparse guacamole serving $14. Chicken with focacia, beans, corn and sauce was better but wasn't very exciting. $22 This Europeanised Mexican, light on flavour and lacking in all the freshness and punch of true Mexican food. Lunch for 2 came to $76. Pretty average fare...

My friends have been wanting to take me to try this Mexican Eatery for weeks and I’m not sure I would like to go back until they improve the quality of their food, their service and also reprint their menus with proper Spanish.

I had asked for sparkling water and our server took a moment to check with the bartender if they offered sparkling water? I didn’t think I was ordering anything extravagant but OK.

When I asked about the enchilada sauce whether it was red or green the server looked unfamiliar with the dishes and not confident to answer my question without showing nervousness or hesitation. This situation didn’t make me feel confident about the food.

When my enchiladas arrived they were so dry (they reminded me of my Hometown of Monterrey, Mexico on a fine 50 degree summer day) I actually went for it and covered them with the green sauce available at the table (now, that sauce was about the only thing that really tasted like proper Mexican).

I’m not sure what the deal was about topping the enchiladas with rice rather than sauce but I was really hoping I’d have enchiladas for dinner - instead I got a deconstructed American-style burrito.

The strawberry margarita barely had any tequila in it at the whooping cost of $20. I don’t drink out much as of lately but I was disappointed at the size of the drink which was more of what I and some of my fellow reviewers would call a “tasting size”. And believe me, I really needed a drink after that dry enchilada, but OK.

I strategically ordered the 1L of red wine sangria which at $30 a litre would offer better value for money and enjoyment. The sangria wasn’t bad, it did get our table hot and frothy, so good on you.

The number of spelling mistakes on the menu and the bad Spanish used to describe some of the dishes just shows that google translate isn’t your ally when you are trying to save on translation costs. I really don’t want to read “cow’s meat” on a menu. It’s very off-putting.

I personally wouldn’t call this establishment a Mexican Eatery. However, if you do head over, visit the restaurant with the idea that you will be presented with...

Really disappointed with my experience here, tonight was my first and last time at Denada. Firstly 5.50pm staff says they can ‘fit’ us at a table-but we had to leave by 6.30pm, we sat and waited to order… 6.10pm the person who sat us decided to take our order, 6.25pm our food comes out, then 6.38pm they tell us to leave. The waitress that asked us was super apologetic- it seems the manager that seated us and took our order, had no respect to come up to us and advise us that time had run out even though they had wasted time taking our order and bringing in the food. To top it off the Manager had spoken Ill of us to the party who booked for 6.30pm as the customers were speaking loudly explaining what the manager had said to them. If you cannot organise your timings of orders, food to table and time for your customers to eat within a 40 minute window- then don’t seat someone and take the hit of an empty table until your booked group comes.

We were more than happy to wait until a table was available that didn’t impact on their bookings.

Instead we were left feeling really disappointed at that experience when it was due to mismanagement of the manager.

The price of the food was a little high for what you got- to be fair we didn’t even get to eat our meal fully, the only great thing was the waitress who was lovely to us and apologetic after having to ask us to leave (girl with brunette curly hair).

Your manager on tonight needs some training and basic costumer...