M'tucci's Twenty-Five — Restaurant in Albuquerque

Absolutely the worst experience I’ve ever had at a restaurant, and on my birthday. Let me just start off by saying I have been a server and bartender for a few years at different restaurants so I understand how most things work behind the scenes but there is truthfully no good excuse for what we experienced tonight. When I booked the reservation they told me that I couldn’t come in at 6 but they could do 6:15, ok no big deal at all. I’m on my way tonight and get a text around 6 saying that my table has been ready and urging me to be there soon. Why couldn’t I make the reservation at 6 like I originally wanted then? Ok again not a big deal, things happen. Me and my family rush into the restaurant and r met with multiple hostesses who give us attitude when we tell them that we r here for a reservation and say, “well do you wanna be seated now?!” Uh… yes. We get seated and we order but are ignored by the server for at least 30 minutes, multiple people in my party have empty glasses and the manager walking around isn’t even checking in on us. We finally order our refills and then wait 20 more minutes for them while every other table around us has gotten multiple refills while we wait. We think maybe our server forgot because hey, things happen, so we wave him over to say, “hey, just so we know we are still waiting on our waters and coke” and he barks back at us with, “well yeah I already know the only reason I haven’t brought them out was because we are out of glasses ok?! That’s the only reason! I can fill up the waters I guess” wow. We just stared at each other in disbelief. Then as we are talking out of no where my boyfriend’s chair breaks from underneath him because of how flimsy they are! He falls to the floor and a server comes up and calmly says, “oh yeah that happens, these chairs can get pretty wobbly” so this has happened before?! Then the general manager comes up with a JOKING demeanor and asks my boyfriend if he’s ok and says that all they can do for us is a free dessert OR chicken bolognese?! What?! Appalling. We get our bill and they still tried to charge my boyfriend for his meal until we asked for it to be comped. The general manager comes back over to fill out an incident report and gave my boyfriend attitude as well. They had the audacity to still add gratuity to our bill after all this! Whatever we just wanted to get out of here at this point so we just paid it. Forgot to mention that my cousin asked a different waitress for a refill (which we usually don’t do but we were getting no service otherwise) and our initial server pulled said waitress aside and started yelling at her in front of everyone in the dining room!! For what?! So many flies flying on and around our food and in the kitchen as well. I am in shock and frankly angry, will never go back...

My wife and I went today with a friend and her son. The food wasn’t anything like we’ve had in the past.

Fried Brie is served differently than in the past as it used to be pre cut squares and fried to the point it’s melted. This wasn’t melted fully and was fried as a whole wedge. The apples it was served with were sour to the point it they couldn’t be enjoyed on their own.

Carbonara was very dry. Not like it was overcooked but as if it’d been sitting at the pass for awhile.

Lamb ragu was very bland. Also it’s served with pea’s and red onion which isn’t listed on the menu. I’m unsure if the red onion is supposed to be what flavors the whole dish as I don’t care for red onion.

Our server was a ghost the whole time. We ordered water and it took about 15 minutes to receive it. The water was right behind our table and if there’d been glasses I would’ve just served ourselves. Our server also had an issue with listening or clarifying if she didn’t hear anyone clearly. My wife ordered the mushroom risotto. She got brisket ravioli. When she mentioned this to the person bringing out the food (not the same person as our server) she said “oh well I’m not your server” and we just kinda stared until she said “I’ll let her know”. When this was brought up the server brought up a menu and asked “which one did you want?”. There’s only one risotto so not sure where the confusion was. My friends son was given sprite when he asked for water.

The plus I’ll give our server is she comped the items we didn’t like and immediately offered to give us something else.

We also overheard another server telling a table behind us that they use this location to try out new items before rolling them out to the other locations? I’m gonna assume this isn’t true as idk why they’d use I25 as a test kitchen. If this is true that’s an interesting approach.

Management must be content with throwing out food because they didn’t bother come out of the kitchen to ask about the situation. It is what it is. I got a margarita pizza as an alternate and it was fully cooked but soggy in the center due to too much oil and diced tomato but flavor wise it was good. Wife’s risotto was great! And bread and oil was great! Hence the 2 star instead of a 1 star.

We’ve come here for all special occasions or to meet with friends we haven’t seen in awhile but this will likely be the last time we go to this location. Maybe we will give it a few months and try again. I understand everyone is short staff and quality has gone down everywhere but the experience is...

I’ve been a loyal customer of M’tucci’s Twenty-Five for over seven years. We’ve hosted family celebrations there, used them to cater major events, and regularly held business meetings at this location. I’ve always respected the restaurant and never felt the need to leave a review — until now. What happened today, particularly with the manager on duty named Shelley, was unacceptable.

To start, the food at lunch was subpar. The salad came with wilted lettuce, the bruschetta bread was completely soggy, and overall the meal felt carelessly prepared. Disappointed, yes — but I decided to let it go. Later this afternoon, following a meeting next door, my sister wanted to order pasta for her husband. I mentioned that lunch hadn’t been great, but we still placed the order, thinking the pasta might be better.

When we got home, it wasn’t. The pasta was soggy and completely overdone — just a mess. I called M’tucci’s to let them know, not to demand a refund but simply because, if I were the manager, I’d want to be aware. Shelley answered the phone, and instead of showing any professionalism or concern, she laughed. She literally mocked the situation and continued to make fun of my comments. She wouldn’t stop talking over me, and instead of handling the issue, she escalated it with an attitude that was completely inappropriate.

At that point, I told her to forget about the refund. This was never about the money — it was about principle. I let her know I’d be in tomorrow to speak with the general manager, and that I would be leaving this review.

Every restaurant has an off day — I get that. But what cannot be excused is how a longtime, loyal customer is treated. Shelley’s behavior was unprofessional, dismissive, and frankly, embarrassing for a restaurant of this caliber. She’s a poor reflection of what has otherwise been, for years, a solid experience at M’tucci’s.

We’ve brought our business here consistently and with trust. Unless something changes at the management level, we will not be returning — and we’ll be moving our business meetings elsewhere. Shelley word of advice — get a grip on your out of control emotions — this was not a personal attack as you took it as one — you’re loosing your bosses money. You’re what’s considered a liability for...