Serrano's Mexican Grill — Restaurant in Alaska

Cool Decor, Good Music, Food Not So Good. The remodel is nice and trendy, mediocre food and service must needed improvement. From the moment I walked in, it seemed like we where in for a good experience. Staff was attentive while we waited for the rest of our party, but server seemed either to shy or unhappy to be working on a Saturday night. This place has come along ways since they first open at a small place on 36th. Cool decor, added bar and good music, But the food Quality and service deteriorated by far.

One thing I used to love about Serrano’s is the authentic flavors, salsa bar, and the amazing service. Now it seems all the attention was placed on Decor and not much on food quality. A menu that seemed promising at the end was disappointing. We order the Choriqueso, had good flavor and guacamole and pico de gallo was fresh, but only 3 tortillas and no salsa. (I never seen a Mexican restaurant that charges for salsa that should be included with the tacos or food that’s served with guacamole) We ordered a ceviche that literally was 95% onions, cucumber and jalapeños, and with a really bad bitterness taste that seemed to come from the unpeeled cucumber, the only seafood was a few pieces of long strings of fish. When server asked how everything was, I explained that that ceviche should not even been served, she did apologize but that’s as far as it go, I don’t look for free meals, but I do have a problem paying for a high priced meal that it’s so bad that we only took a few bites.

Tacos; one of the things that made Serrano’s different than other places at their small location was the authentic meat flavors and the tortilla passed through the oil, giving the special taste. Now- taco served in a small street taco tortilla that was not only dried but filled with cilantro and onions and very little meat definitely not worth $4.50 and to top it off not served with any salsa unless you pay for it.

The only thing that was a Wow! Was the French fries served with the tortas. Who would it though that a Mexican Restaurant would do much better serving an American snack than tacos. We order a few drinks from the bar and a special drink ”Rubi” suggested by the host. It was flavorful, order a few margaritas but a bit disappointed that they don’t make any blended drinks. That’s a first too in a Large Mexican Bar.

Overall we had a good time with the music that was playing and the company of family, but really missed the old Serrano’s. Often great Mexican Food can be found in little off the wall places, but it’s unfortunate when they grow to a point that food quality and customer service takes...

Me and my husband came in for dinner. My husband orders a beer and has his Id ready for the server to check. He is active duty but is originally from OK he gives his OK drivers license to the server and she says she’ll be right back to have her manager check. Totally get it I’ve been a server for over 5 years now and being up here I’ve seen so many different states due to the military base. She’s gone for awhile a comes back and says her manger is tossing and keeping his drivers license and will not be returning it. He pulls out his military id which has identical info and the server tries taking that one and I calmly tell her no and that her manager needs to come speak with us. The manger bring the his drivers license back and tries explaining how she believe it’s a fake (my husband is 26 years old btw). She points to the symbol in the corner and says it’s not reflective which is why it’s fake. We pull out A flash light and the reflective seal is more in the middle of the Id not the corner. She doesn’t apologize and just tells the server to get him the beer. I’m sorry but I’ve worked as a server/ manager long enough to know this is not how this should operate. If she had the idea it was a fake she as a manger should have came to the table and ask for a second form of identification. Not send her server to say they are keeping it. Then act like we are a inconvenience for saying she was wrong? This is in no way the servers fault or situation to handle. It’s is the managers. Further more their bar should have a book that has every states I’d and what they look like. If they had it never would have been and issue. Every restaurant I’ve worked at has had one. The server apologized more than once but her manger didn’t apologize ever. Matter of fact her manager made it a point to stand by the door as we left and still never apologized. Our server was great she was just doing her job. But management need to adjust how they respond to these Situations. Was really...

Lied to. The food is fantastic in my opinion. Our hostess took my order for the Cubano, and I was brought a torta by a different waitress. I clarified since she said "torta" and I asked what protein was on it, as it was clearly shredded. She confirmed as much and asked if I wanted to swap it. Forgiving her, since she did not take our order, I said no since I'd had the torta before and I know the food's great. It was unfortunately shortly after the waitress had left that the hostess returned. I hadn't touched the food yet, so when she asked if everything came out okay, I said "Sure, except (gesturing to the waitress) she said this was a torta?", and I expected that, since she asked if everything came out okay, she was hoping I'd noticed and she could take care of what she knew she'd mixed up. Instead, she insisted it was a Cubano and threw the other waitress under the bus as being "young" and "new". I was blown away that our hostess would take such an opportunity where all that was needed was an admission (not even an apology) and a swap and instead chose to demonstrate her character by needlessly speaking ill of the waitress who was willing to take care of the hostess' mistake. The sandwiches are very different, avocado vs jalapeno cheese being one of the more noticeable; but unfortunately for the hostess, I only pick chorizo regardless of which sandwich I order and can therefore very plainly distinguish between roughly ground and shredded meat. Lost my appetite fairly quickly thereafter and we left before the two next to us who'd been having their entree when we came in. The atmosphere was noisy, but mostly due to another party (although the table finishes are chipping and the music is rather booming). I will absolutely still return in future...