El patron — Restaurant in Alabama

It really pains me to say it, but unfortunately, my once beloved local El Patron has picked up the same deceptive practices as its sister location in Prattville.

Everyone who has been to a Mexican restaurant already knows that if you take the bait on the cheese dip and/or guacamole dip, it's gonna cost you an arm and a leg, but now they have a new tactic. Order a chicken quesadilla and you may be asked by the server, "shredded or grilled chicken?" What they don't bother to tell you is that shredded chicken is the default, no cost added option and grilled chicken is going to tack on a few dollars. Order a taco salad and they'll rattle off a few things that come with a taco salad, like sour cream, for example. Then, they mix in something that doesn't come with it, like guacamole, and like with the chicken, they don't bother to mention that it's going to cost you a few extra dollars. All they need from you is a "yes" or "ok". On multiple occasions, we have also been charged for a single refill on the small bowl of salsa.

I've eaten at tons of Mexican restaurants and the only two ones I've ever had this happen is at the El Patron in Prattville and the El Patron in Slapout. Coincidence? I don't think so. This is coming from the top.

They have also gone WAY up on prices, nearly doubling the cost of many menu items from just a couple of years ago. Sure, everyone has gone up on prices because of inflation, but not as much as El Patron. We will be driving to Wetumpka or Millbrook where there are much more affordable options for Mexican food...and without...

Cute restaurant and it was our first time trying this location. We always order from the Wetumpka location and service has only been the best so far in Wetumpka. Unfortunately, our to go order experience at this location in Deatsville was not the best. The food was EXTREMELY salty ( I think it was a mistake) … but so much so that I could not eat much if it, and they forgot part of our to go order . By the time we got home it was too much of a hassle to drive back to pick up the missing food. I called and told the restaurant of the missing food, they promptly apologized. They also said whenever we stop back by they will replace the missing food free of charge. I didn’t get a chance to tell them about the salty food because I tasted it after I called about the missing food. However, we will stick to the Wetumpka location...

I order pollo loco with extra cheese and extra rice everytime, I always have to check to make sure it is correct. Today as usual I pick it up ask if my order is correct they say yes I always look at my order before I leave threw the clear top. I said to the girl there is not extra cheese on this, 3x, I asked for more cheese and was continually told there was enough cheese. She gave me attitude and rolled her eyes till she finally gave me a half cup of cheese. I get home and there is absolutely no cheese on my order and now all I have is the half full small cup of cheese BAD BUSINESS I will gladly tell my friends to go...