Amaya's Taco Village — Restaurant in Austin

I pretty much stumbled across this place accidentally. A friend had posted a picture of her Friday lunch and cocktail at Amaya's. I looked it up and it had great reviews on Yelp and FB so I bookmarked it and sent the link to my roommate as I always do. Neither one of us had dinner plans so we decided to check it out as we are always looking for new places. I can't remember what time it was but I'd say it was around 6pm or so as we made it in time for the end of happy hour. We did not have to wait for a table but it was busy. There was also musical entertainment which I wasn't a huge fan as it made it hard to hear at times but not a deal breaker. After being seated we were quickly brought water, salsa, and chips. Somebody should have warned me about the salsa! I had a big scoop of it on my chip and all the hot spices that came with!! Holy mouth burn but I kinda liked it. Spice is good every now and then. I learned my lesson though and each subsequent scoop was lighter. As I mentioned we made it in time for happy hour. I was unsure of what that meant as the happy hour prices are not on the menu. However, I think it was $3 for the 12 oz margarita and $5 for the next size which I think is 16oz. The margarita for that price was pretty darn good! The regular margarita flavor was a bit sweeter than at other places but I like sweet so it was great for me. I had two of them and was left feeling pretty nice. As for the food, I normally get flautas when I eat at a Tex-Mex place. They are like my latest obsession. However, everything I read about this place told me to get the tacos. Who am I to not listen to the people! So I had the village tacos with beef! I was very excited about it especially the fried tortilla. I mean everything is better when fried. Our food arrived very quickly. I couldn't wait to dig in. I will say that they tend to go a bit overboard with the lettuce and diced tomatoes on top but easy to scoop off to the side. I must say these tacos were love at first bit!!! Greasy, well seasoned, fried goodness!!!! They are also very filling. I got a little carried away and ordered 3 but only ate one (they made for a great lunch the next day). The food is pretty inexpensive which is also great. Overall I can't wait to go back to this place and take some new people. Good food, good drinks, and great prices. That is a recipe for a...

Don't forget your credit card!!!!!!!!!!!!This morning I received a call from AMEX saying that fraud had been detected on my card. I thought my card was lost, but I actually left it and Amaya's. My card had been used several times at Burger King, and Walmart several times (Fraudulent charges confirmed by AMEX). I usually only use the card for travel. I called to speak to a manager, she confirmed that my card was indeed at Amaya's (The manager confirmed my name on the card, and she stated it had been there since the end of March). The manager proceeded to argue with me saying that the card was in her office and had not moved. She said that the card may have been cloned somewhere else. She refused to give me her name and she was extremely defensive. She was so defensive that I just ended the call. I have eaten at Amayas over 20 years, and I have never imagined that this would happen to me. AMEX fraud department is investigating this incident. This post has nothing to do with their food, it's the service and response to my inquiry about how my credit card could be used to purchase items at places I do not frequent or eat. The card was left at their establishment. The kicker is that I did not remember leaving it at AMAYAS. I was retracing my steps and the manager confirmed that the card was left at AMAYAS, she even knew my full name on the card. I am not buying her story, and I will never use any card at AMAYAS. CASH ONLY!!!!!!!!!The manager should be reprimanded for her unprofessional and inexcusable...

Usually excellent, but this trip was off. Way off. Arrived for lunch at 11:15 AM on Saturday, 7/3/21. Had to wait 15 minutes to be seated. The entire bar area of the restaurant is not being used at this time. Not the bar or the tables in the bar area.

Waitress was prompt in delivering my glass of water, no ice. I placed my order for a small queso and the #22 which is 3 Amaya's tacos. Add fajita beef ($0.89 extra for each) and no tomatoes on the tacos.

Waited 15 minutes for food to arrive! The tacos were covered in tomatoes. The waitress immediately removed the plate from the table and returned it to the kitchen. My tacos without tomatoes arrived about 2 minutes later. Fried taco shells were room temperature. Fajita beef filling was room temperature. I could not call either one of them "warm" or "hot from the kitchen". I can only assume that the plate sat at the prep counter for a while before being brought to my table.

This is not usual for Amaya's Taco Village. I come here every time I visit from Houston. It's a must! But this experience was just bad. If this had been my first experience with the restaurant, and therefore my first impression, I probably would never return. But I know this was an "off" visit. It appears that they are terribly short handed. Each waitress was covering multiple tables and simply cannot take the orders and deliver the food efficiently.

Photo is of meal #22 on the menu. Three Amaya's tacos with...