Topolabamba West End — Restaurant in Scotland

We met a friend for lunch and decided that Mexican would be a fun choice. The lunch menu on offer looked good, so we thought we would give it a go. Wish we hadn't. The food was pretty mediocre. The pork tacos were so greasy they needed an oil spill cleanup team. The chicken tinga quesadillas were both greasy and one-note heat. So, lots and lots of boring heat that added nothing to the very dull flavour profile (is watery grease a flavour profile?). The chips were ok but nothing to write home about.

We ordered drinks and they were okay. Again, not great. The margarita was served with table salt which isn't standard (should be coarse sea salt) and in a narrow rimmed glass (again, not great as they should be drank without a straw with enough of a rim to get salt in each sip).

And, honestly, if it had been just that, we would have left without leaving a review. Just chalked it up to a poor understanding of Mexican food (we used to live in a Mexican border town, so maybe we are just too aware of what actual Mexican food tastes like... hint... nothing at all like this).

BUT, then we come to the service. Abysmal. The server seemed to be unable to really explain what was on offer or what was in the dishes when asked. Food was unceremoniously plunked on the table. The table ephemera (lunch menu cards, etc) were just randomly left cluttering the space. We were offered sauces and then upcharged for them without any warning about the upcharge (£2.50 each on some chipotle mayo). It was frustrating because the price is both extrotionate and given that each portion was huge - the server could have just said that it was a large amount and we would have only ordered one and shared it.

Then, to top it off, it is one of those places that has decided that this is America and everyone now pays gratuity (except the level of service provided doesn't touch the side of what would be considered acceptable in the US) and added a 10% "optional" (optional if you want to look like a jerk asking for the server to remove it) service charge. Pay your employees. Don't make people have to feel weird about it. If I want to tip, I will.

So, we paid our highway robbery for a gallon of mayo. We paid for our greasy, poorly made Mexican street food that looked and tasted like no one involved had ever been to Mexico. We paid our guilt-trip-awkward gratuity for bad service.

But we won't be...

Had a very nice meal here and would definitely returnfor both the food and the drinks. The greeting on entry was great. We liked the nods to the previous "Whistler's mother" restaurant, and the decor around the restaurant was quirky and interesting. Food was all excellent and came quickly after ordering. King Prawn tacos were my highlight. Looses one star on service. Both us and the table next to us when taking an initial drinks order were asked if we needed more time for food orders which was fair enough. We both did as the menu is quite complex but I think both of us didn't take long to clearly be ready to order but then the staff didn't return for ages or we couldn't get their attention. The fact the same happened to the table next to us and they sat down 45mins after us made it stand out. The same staff member did kindly ask if i wanted another drink despite having minutes earlier already taken another drinks order for our table which hadnt yet arrived. I think they were having an off day. We also got someone else's food order, which we sent back and then when ordering desert the clearly empty main course plates weren't taken away until the desert actually arrived. We were then also presented with the wrong bill. Too many wee things to not take off a star but we will put these down to teething problems of any new place and definitely be back for more excellent food...

I ate here this evening and the service was the very worst service I've ever received in my life any restaurant. I eat out often because I live in the West End and no matter how bad things are I never normally complain 😔. The food was very slow to arrive. it took an hour to get my food. When I tried to order some additional food I was ignored buy two different staff members that went past me five times although I had my arm up and was saying excuse me. When I asked that same waiter if I could speak to the manager he got angry at me and he said "well you had two burittos." This was before he even knew what my complaint was going to be!😂 And when I spoke to the manager and explained how I was ignored she replied by saying that I should have Told her earlier? She then got agitated and started speaking about service charge and I told her I don't want to take the service charge off it's fine but I'm just trying to make you aware about what just happened so it does not happen to other customers. She was giving me a weird smile through gritted teeth. On top of everything I grew up in Texas and I would go over the border to Mexico often and they never toasted Burittos. Why do Toplabamba do that .😭 don't I am never coming ...