Plaza Restaurant & Bar — Restaurant in Amarillo

I have LOVED this place since it opened a location in Amarillo. I have given them a lot of my money, and probably gained a lot of weight from it. And then you get one bad egg that makes you question ever returning to one of your favorite restaurants.....

My wife and I visited today for lunch. I've been working on that weight I've gained, so she and I often share a meal nowadays so I don't overeat (especially at my favorite Mexican food place). We decided to share enchiladas from the lunch menu, which is around $3 less than the dinner plate, but it includes a drink. I am very conscious of the fact that some restaurants either charge for or don't allow sharing of meals (which I think is dumb)...so, I thoroughly studied the menu to ensure my wife and I could share this meal (even though we have shared here before), but did not find anything posted that indicated this was not permitted.

Our waitress, CYNTHIA C., came to take our order and we asked for the enchilada lunch plate and I told her that my wife and I would be sharing. She looked up at me and said, "We don't allow sharing of lunch specials. You would have to do the dinner plate instead." Turns out the dinner plate is $3 more, so we agreed.

A few minutes later, CYNTHIA C. was walking by and I asked, "Why is it that we couldn't share the lunch meal? I didn't see the policy anywhere on the menu." At this point, her whole demeanor changed and she glared at me, waited a few seconds, and then responded: "Well, it's common sense, isn't it?" Shocked at her subtle insult, I responded, "No ma'am, it is not. Most restaurants post such a policy in writing to be transparent with their customers, and I didn't see it anywhere on your menu." CYNTHIA C. then huffed, rolled her eyes, and said, "Well, I can ask my manager if you want me to." I replied, "Please, I would appreciate that." She returned a few minutes later indicating that her manager said it would be fine, but they would just charge us for the drink (which would typically be free). My wife and I agreed to this compromise.

The remainder of our visit, CYNTHIA C. did not stop at our table to check in on us or offer us refills on our drinks (despite us being charged $3 for our Iced Tea). But I observed her interacting with her other tables in the area. Our next interaction was her offering us our check.

While my wife and i still enjoyed the food, as usual, we are not sure when (or if) we will return to The Plaza; this encounter made my wife very uncomfortable (which doesn't happen easily).

A few TIPS:

1. Questioning a policy that isn't posted or on the menu is NOT someone being rude; it is trying to understand a policy that isn't properly communicated.
2. Questioning a policy is not a license for the waitress to be RUDE, nor to avoid the customers for the remainder of their visit.
3. Poor service is NOT warranted after a policy is questioned, nor does it encourage a customer to pay a tip.*

*To be clear, I still gave CYNTHIA C. a tip despite her negative attitude, because I believe we should all be paid...

The atmosphere is nice. It is a nice building in an easy to access location.

Went on a Saturday at opening. The food was bad. I got the beef fajita enchiladas. This is not what Tex-Mex is meant to be, nor did this pass as food from The Plaza even 10 years ago.

I am going to be a minority opinion as Amarillo loves The Plaza, but I would rather eat at Taco Bell. At least there, I expect food that comes from a package. There is no way they can honestly say this was not pre-made and Ben E. Keith just distributed it. Adding water or heating up does not count as cooling anymore than if I do it.

The fajita beef had little to no flavor. The 3 red enchiladas I got were good for the sauce. Too bad I ordered 4 and got 1 sour cream. Either the waitress or the kitchen messed up, and no one caught it or cared before getting to the table. Yes, the waitress asked to fix it after she dropped it off, but I was not going to wait while everyone else ate.

The beans and rice there is no excuse. I have had Great Value refried beans and rice with more flavor and moisture. I took two bites of each and stopped.

I don't know what is going on with The Plaza, but this was the worst Tex-Mex I have eaten in a long time. They used to seem to care, but they need to rethink what brands of heat and serve foods they are ordering if this is their best.

I won't be back. Even if someone offered to pay, I would skip. Then again, they are popular in Amarillo, so maybe I have taste buds that are wrong. Still not going...

We were here enjoying my sister's birthday, had great service, food was good, atmosphere enjoyable. My cousin has a promotional item, a "bouncy ball" for a free queso at every visit. She bought it from a fundraiser. She ordered a large queso. After dinner before the ticket came, she shows the server the ball for a free queso. The bouncy ball says "The Plaza, Free Queso at every visit". It doesn't specify size. He told her it was only good for a small. My cousin understood but felt like the item should specify that and it should still be honored. He said he would get the manager. Thinking the manager would use good costumer service skills and common courtesy, my cousin began to explain. The manager turned out to be extremely rude and unnecessarily loud and causing unwanted attention from other guests. She said the item should have been put on the table before ordering. My cousin's deal was that the promotional item was not clear about that. The manager continued to be loud and rude. I finally stepped in and told her she needed to honor the promotional item and that she was being really loud. She said she'll take the queso off this time. I think the issue was minor, but she thought it was necessary to tell us that they aren't the ones who sold that promotional item and that the "ball" needed to be on the table next time prior to ordering. I don't believe we'll be back, just...