Frida Cocina Mexicana & Tequila Bar — Restaurant in Waitematā

Ok so invited here by friends and family. I had high hopes as I don't really have Mexican out, and it was in the Viaduct. I hope the people running the restaurant take thos as constructive feedback to up there game. Provided with food menus but not drinks. Asked for drinks menus and then ordered drinks. Other f&f were inside at a bigger table so we asked to be moved and accommodated by the older gentleman, which we appreciated. Cocktails were a winner with all who drank them. Our food came in reasonable time. We had corn chips and guacamole which was nice, the Calamari was poor. A bit chewy and the coating was tasteless. I would avoid this from the menu. I ordered ensalada Mexicana with braised beef barbacoa (beans, corn, rice etc) and it was very good, the beef was superb. My wife ordered chicken enchilada and it was very bland. She ate 2/3 and I ate the other 1/3. A couple of others also ordered and took one mouthful each and left the rest, very average, tasteless. Everyone who ordered beef dishes like the tacos were very happy with what they got, the pork tacos also went down very well. We did not order desserts. We were inside and it was very warm, a little uncomfortable. They opened the back door to try and get some airflow and that helped a little. The wait staff were rushed off their feet, but to give then credit the two ladies were very good at coming to you when you caught their attention. Imo they needed 1 or 2 more to ask how the food was, take top up drinks orders etc. When we went to pay the bar staff were very good in taking individual payments. I thought the prices would have been reasonable if the food overall had been excellent. Personally I would not go back here through choice, but if you do go have the braised beef or pulled...

Oh my god, had one of the most off putting experiences ever coming here on Saturday. There was some older man who seated us, didn’t give us any menus so we sat there waiting for a while and while we waited we watched him yell at employees in front of us and customers. Something about being short staffed among other issues. This happened a few times. It killed the whole mood of the night and made a lot of us so uncomfortable. We finally get our menus after I asked a stressed out waiter and when our food arrives after close to an hour, our calamari is cold and rubbery, the rest of the food lukewarm. Our margaritas tasted so much of some sort of sweetener - we went to Holey Moley after and had a much more authentic margarita which is crazy to say about a place like Frida. And then when we tried to pay our bill to leave, the place doesn’t have table numbers or anything so you have to try to physically describe where you’re sitting which is incredibly frustrating when the place is packed and dimly lit and the waiter can’t see where you’re pointing to. He gave us 3 different bills before he finally found ours and before he got it right he got so frustrated and yelled at us that “THIS IS YOUR BILL!” to some random docket when it truly wasn’t and it had twice the amount ordered on it as we did. I almost just wanted to pay the $200 more just to get out of there. This place seriously needs to conduct some more training for their busy nights, learn to be collected and professional when you’re busy and treat your employees and customers with...

I've been to this place many times, whether to dine or just have a quick drink, and had great experiences. The staff have always been friendly and prompt.

This Friday night, the entire Viaduct was packed, and my friend and I showed up without a booking to Frida's - they quickly set up a new table for us despite being packed and clearly under the pump, just as all the restaurants around seemed to be. It took some time to get menus, drink and food orders in, for a few other tables as well - but clearly they are understaffed both in kitchen and front of house, and you could see they were doing the best they could. Every encounter with staff was great, they were very apologetic for any delay and kept us updated on timings, appreciated since again we had not made a booking! The food, fajitas and enchiladas, was delicious when it arrived as usual.

The only real issue I could see was that perhaps they overbooked, but even then I can't blame them. As restaurants right now need all the business they can get, I cannot blame them for taking every table they can, even if it means added pressure on their staff who are short of hands, delays and staff having to explain them to so many people. As a customer post-lockdown on an incredibly summer Friday night, I just remember that I can't expect perfection! Just happy to see a restaurant that always provided me great service and food for years is able to open after lockdown, considering all the great businesses that have been killed by...