Las Potrancas Mexican Restaurant Arvada — Restaurant in Arvada

My family has been coming here for years, but after what happened last night, Las Potrancas has lost my business forever.

The food is always amazing, but my problem is with the waitstaff.

Our experience last night started decently: we were seated quickly, our drink order was messed up but fixed fairly fast, and we got our food in a timely manner. Here's where the problem arose.

My girlfriend ordered the fajitas, which comes with two tortillas. After eating the two tortillas, in typical fajita style, she looked to order more. The waitress hadn't been back to our table since delivering our food. With her food growing cold and 1/3 eaten, we watched the waitress standing and talking to her coworkers, only stopping to attend to a large table celebrating a birthday, ignoring us completely.

After 20-25 minutes, we decided that we were dissatisfied with our experience enough to complain. While my girlfriend went to the front desk to inquire about management, the waitress finally returned to ask if we want the check.

Meanwhile, my girlfriend was being ignored at the front desk by a man on his personal phone. Giving up, my girlfriend returned to our table and the waitress returned with the check. We asked to see her manager, "Alex," and, lo-and-behold it's the man behind the front desk who had decided that Facebook or something was more important than the needs of a customer.

We explain our situation to him and he says that he's going to go check the cameras. He stops by the waitress, once again conversing with her coworkers, and they talk for a minute before he disappears into the back. When he returns, he tells us that, "the video tells a different story. She returned 3 or 4 times." Well which was it, 3 or 4 times? He essentially called us liars to our faces.

We argued our point, reiterating that we understood that the meal only comes with 2 tortillas and that we simply wanted to order more and were unable to. We didn't want to pay, we feel justifiably, for a now-cold, 1/3 eaten fajita plate. We again said had no problem paying for my meal as it was both delicious and completely eaten, but didn't feel like we should be forced to pay for the now-inedible fajitas.

He calls the waitress over, and she gives us her sob story about how she is trying her best and that she has 3 kids to support. She literally tells us that the big table next to us tipped her $80 and that she was sorry that she was trying to pay attention to them. We explain again that we had no issue with her service before she neglected us for 25 minutes.

Between her and the manager, it felt like we were talking to a brick wall. Still voicing our displeasure, the manager then gives us an ultimatum, "we'd have to pay in full or call the cops."

Feeling trapped and like we were getting nowhere, we decided to pay just so we could leave the establishment for the last time.

Our issue with the restaurant isn't with the employees who do their job diligently or the great food. It's with the people that they entrust with management positions lying to their patrons and using their position strong-arm customers. If these are the type of people that Las Potrancas regularly employs, then we will not return until a satisfactory change has been made.

They have lost my business, my family's, and anyone I can warn about the awful way that they treat...

The food here is always exactly what you’d expect. Much like the better down the street restaurant (tequilas) it is standard tex-mex flare with quite a lot of classic and authentic food choices thrown on the menu.

I wouldn’t recommend this place for the service because it is so hit or miss depending on who waits on you and what their mood is that day - customer service here is a problem, and certainly don’t have an issue if you have that one waiter (wink). Around lunch time they are all a bit over pushy to get you in and out. Most people have an hour for lunch, let me have that hour, cripes.

But I digress, here for one reason and that’s the prices. This place and the better one down the street are so heavily overpriced it is ridiculous. If you don’t know, next to spaghetti there is not a cheaper food to produce and not an easier food to prepare than tex-mex and common American-Spanish cuisine. Most of it is just sitting back there waiting to be plopped on and sent out, it’s why it comes out so fast no matter how busy a place is at any time. But it’s the prices which are marked up here I’d say 300-400% and some times more that is the real problem.

This restaurant should be ashamed of itself for selling me a “pint “ of rice for $8.00. Carnitas (4oz) for $16. Cheese enchiladas plate for $14. That’s a joke, that’s highway robbery, and it’s also just plain bs (stopping paying these prices arvada) because we received maybe a single cup of rice for this price and that’s not even saying that $8 is fair for a actual pint either, which it’s not. Take out at this restaurant in general is a terrible idea - you really get a much smaller portion each time and the quality is 50% compared to dine-in, but $8 for a cup of rice. Nah.

Decent food (same everywhere), fun atmosphere, poor service, typically not the best drinks (again depends on which waiter makes them and their attitude at that moment), and way way...

Las Potrancas on 64th St. sits among a very unassuming strip mall and is easily missed or passed over, but I think it deserves another look. My wife and I as well as many of our friends come here on a regular basis and are always greeted with a smile and wonderfully warm comforting Mexican classics. Before I start the actual food review I am well aware this is not the most expensive or most authentic and probably not the most healthy Mexican restaurant choice in the area, but that being said they do a wonderful job and each time deliver an outstanding product. The prices are reasonable on the food and the drinks ,all though sometimes there can be a wait during peak hours I think the ladies at the front of the house handle it well and seat people in as timely fashion as they can. I normally get the shredded chicken and bean burrito or sometimes the shredded beef version and it always arrives hot and delicious, I think what I love most about their food and their presentation is more of what it isn’t… like overdone or deconstructed or pretentious, I think you get the idea. this is every day Mexican food at a reasonable price point with good ingredients delicious sauces and a nice presentation. Do some of the plates come covered in cheese ,absolutely. like I said this may not be a Michelin star situation, so if that is what you came for you may be disappointed. Overall it’s a great place to gather with friends and family and enjoy reasonable Mexican food from delicious recipes at a price that won’t rival your car payment. They even have a small bar that you may eat at as well, And many TVs. There is a large steel cage in the lobby where you can bring your own bottle of tequila and keep it safe to enjoy during your meal. Brightly colored tables and chairs and big smiles is what you will find along with wonderful food at...