Buena Vida Gastrolounge — Restaurant in Arlington

I have NEVER ever received such disrespectful service and lack of conflict resolution at a restaurant.

We did a surprise birthday brunch at Buena Vida and picked the restaurant because of the great atmosphere, food choices and unlimited brunch options.

When we arrived it was rather empty however, food service was slow. We started with one server who was kind but she hardly checked on our table and due to the food taking so long to come out we began trying to put in multiple items to speed things up since they do have a 2-hour ordering window. We began noticing that one person in our party was not receiving more than half of the food that he ordered and when we said something to the server, her response was "Well, its basically free so if you dont get it, you can just put it in again" This issue was never resolved.

Additionally, we placed an order for food and a round of brunch cocktails which we never received. At some point, our servers switched and we were never made aware. No one came back to our table for 30-45mins when abruptly a new server approached the table and said its last call for food and everything. In which we made aware that we had placed an order for food and drinks that we never received and he was rude in saying that it wasn't true. We tried to reel his attitude back in and just asked if we could just get the last drink order and place an additional round for the last call. He became even more agitated saying no despite ServSafe Alcohol rules allowing persons to have 2 drinks in front of them.

When he returned the drinks to the table he slammed the drinks down and said a smart comment as we walked by saying "it's actually only been 10 minutes" We were confused by this comment because we hadn't even interacted with him or knew he was our server.

The manager did step over and allow us do the last round of drinks. But then the check came....their checks are confusing in how they number things and because of the lack of service and terrible customer service....we wanted to cross-check. When we asked for clarification about the check he started huffing and puffing and aggressively started trying to explain the check in when we asked about the drinks his response was "Are you serious? These drinks are only a dollar, you dont have a dollar?" Then proceeded to argue with us and get loud and even more rude, keep in mind the manager was nowhere to be found.

Our server at first refused to let us talk to the manager until he saw him walking down the stairs in which he was like fine he's right there.

The manager comes over and never offers any resolution to the terrible service we received. He removed the two drinks again that were a dollar but we were still forced to pay $150+ to get yelled at, disrespected, and called poor by our server. On top of the fact, that we were already receiving bad service at first by not receiving our food orders in an empty restaurant and being told its fine because "it's free"

I have a lot of empathy of servers, I was a server for 6+ years and I get it but I have NEVER EVER received such poor service in a restaurant. 0/10 recommend ever dining with Sai. I would love if they would have offered even a small discount on our check instead of just giving me his business card telling me to leave...

If I could give this restaurant zero stars, I would. We came in with a large group for brunch and were seated promptly but that was the end of the quality of service. We came in on a rainy day and we understand service can be slow with large crowds but we were 1 of 4 to 5 parties seated upstairs.

Since we were a larger group, the waiter offered to put in the most popular items for us. Food and drinks began to roll out slowly but we noticed quickly that it was just a bunch of the same items that kept coming out. A whole lot of eggs.... After the third round, we told the waiter that we no longer want any dishes with eggs and we would be ordering our own food.

Random items kept coming out and we had to continuously deny the food that was being brought to our table. We ordered 3 specific items and again, they continued to bring items that we did not order. We grabbed the waiters attention 3 more times to specify that we no longer wanted random items to come out and that we wanted the dishes that we ordered.

30-45 mins go by before they bring out what we actually ordered. Unfortunately they only brought a few so the entire table couldn't even enjoy the dish. We tried again to order more but again, random dishes continued to come out and it seems like they were just trying to get rid of food by putting it on our table. We decided that food was not going to work so we ordered drinks. The drinks took 30mins to come out... and it came out as we were leaving? This quality of service remained the same until the end of our meal. Right before our time to dine was up, the waiter came up and asked us for last call. We placed our orders and what a surprise! Nothing came out... what is the point of taking our order if you aren't going to fulfill it. We were even asking for water and never received it for 45 mins. We left without the ordered food, or water.

Time for the check. We were upset at the service at this point so we were just looking to leave. We asked for the check 5 separate occasions and even went to the front hostess to ask for the check. We were told "just a second" 5 times and it took 25 mins to get the check. Please keep in mind that the restaurant is almost empty at this point. There are only two parties upstairs now including our table. After constant badgering for the check, we finally received it but it was incorrectly charged. We were being charged for items we never received because of the slow and terrible service. Disputing the bill took another 5-10 mins.

Overall I would not recommend this location to anyone, friend or foe. The service was terrible and because we had a large party, it is automatically 22% gratuity. Please don't ask us for orders if you aren't going to bring it out. If I could rate this place lower than one stair I would. I have never felt so disrespected as a guest especially when they are charging a standard 22% gratuity.

Please reevaluate your training and your customer service. This is unacceptable...

I stumbled across this gem on 4/20/2022, and it was a soft opening. My friend and I were seated on the restaurant's first floor, not too far from the kitchen. Our server was training, and the individual training her was terrific. This place stole my heart because the food came out hot, and the variety of small plates just made me feel like I was in heaven. The cocktail I had wasn't the best, but the food and experience made up for it. Before leaving, I had to use the restroom on the second floor. When I arrived on the second floor, I was amazed by the decor and immediately thought of having a little gathering. So my birthday was June 23, and I usually go to places I know I will leave satisfied. My selection typically is Ruth Chris or Mike’s American Grille. This time I said let's try something different and chose Buena Vida Gastrolounge. We arrived to the restaurant and honestly I wanted to leave immediately. The atmosphere wasn't what it was the last time and I tried my best to stay positive. So the server comes over and states their is a cap on how many items you order and it was five of us. I couldn't really understand the amount of small plates we could order so we order six and three cocktails. The cocktails came and tasted better than last time. The guacamole arrived but it wasn't enough for the table. When the server came over we ordered another round and asked for extra chips because more guacamole was left over. I love chips and guacamole but I sacrificed the first batch so my guests could eat... About fifteen minutes go by and the some small plates come out. My party really didn't care for the chicken dish or corn dish. We wait 20 minutes and nothing else comes out and we had to wave the server down. At this point I'm embarrassed because in my flyer I mentioned how this place had unlimited small plates and how I enjoyed the restaurant. The chips never came nor the guacamole and all the small plates were delivered cold. Another round of drinks were ordered and only one came out. The whole dining experience was a disaster and I really regret having my party here. The energy at the table was no one was full and everyone left hungry. I had a $20.00 discount card and that was applied to the bill. The server was tipped even though I didn't feel like the experience was tip worthy. We could've had an extra two people come but I told them not to because of how everything was going. The plantain croquette came out wrong like four to five times. We simply wanted it plain and they couldn't deliver. When we asked for a box that wasn't an option. So honestly we wasted time and money. I had guests come from NJ and Hanover, MD. I really hate to leave this review but this experience really left me...