Red Pepper Restaurant and Cocktail Lounge — Restaurant in Bakersfield

My family and I were very excited to switch things up and try out a different Mexican restaurant. Only to be extremely disappointed and no intentions to return here. First in the waiting room there wasn’t a host at the desk so we waited for the host to return . When she came back she sat behind the counter and did not greet us or ask how many we needed to be seated. After a couple minutes of her just sitting behind the desk doing nothing. My husband then had to ask her for a table. She didn’t look happy to be there , I would assume she had a upper management position or was the manager as she was dressed in formal attire and not like a waitress. If she was management then that is very unprofessional and not a great image for the restaurant. I understand we all have bad days and long days and sometimes it can be hard to keep that smile on your face. But as the face of the restaurant it is important to greet every customer with a smile and great customer service, as this is the first impression for many.

When we were finally seated , it took about 15 minutes for a waitress to come and greet us and ask what we would like to drink. The restaurant at this time was a little busy but not extremely busy . I have been in busier restaurants and have never had to wait that long for a drink. I understand and do take into consideration they may have been short staffed, may have had new hires that are still getting the feel of working there etc. I still was shocked by how long we had to wait for a drink as this has never happened to us. Anywhere we have ever gone we are seated and immediately asked what we would to drink.

After getting our drinks my mother in law and I gave the same look after tasting our tea , I said it tasted weird and off she agreed and said it tasted rancid. My husband did not like his soda and said the ice tasted like nasty faucet water which made the soda taste gross. However the waitress was very nice, gave excellent customer service, and constantly checked in on us throughout our stay. She got our orders right and the food did come out in a timely matter .

We spent $89 for 3 adults and 1 child. Pretty reasonable prices, however we weren’t impressed with the food . It was not nasty by any means , just we have had way better Mexican food . I do feel they do not give as much food on the plate. My husband and I ordered rice and beans w/ chicken fajitas. The plates were not as huge as we are normally used too at Mexican restaurants. For the same price elsewhere we can get amazing food that we are able to enjoy in the restaurant and still have plenty to take home for lunch or dinner the next day. The beans were the best part of our meal. The fajitas were pretty bland and the rice was okay.

I had higher expectations for this place , all in all I would give this...

I would not recommend this place it's very pricey for food that isn't all that great and they have a few waitresses that don't care about their job and you can tell that. I went in one day with my husband and his grandma and I ordered a steak and asked for no onions just garlic and we'll done. When she brought me my food there was no garlic and extra onions and when I asked her to fix it she got upset and then she went back into the back she just scrapped the onions off of it and brought it back still with no garlic I was just gonna let it go and when I cut into it I swear it wasn't even cooked like at all. My husband like his best pink and even he said it was really undercooked. I then asked her to cook it all the way and to please add some garlic to it and she then wanted to argue with me that was how I ordered it and finally she told me "Ok fine I'll have them fix it" and rolled her eyes as she walked away and then brought it back to me and again had onions on it and I told her once more I asked for no onions I was allergic to them and she started to argue yet again. I finally told her I didn't want it and to take it off my bill because my husband and grandma were already done with their food and I felt I had given enough chances and I was upset and didn't even want to eat anymore so she brought the manager over. Now my husband's family had been going there for years so the manager knew who we were and had said she was sorry and was more then happy to take it off our bill and make it right. The bar however is amazing and the bartender is so friendly and knows us Everytime we come in for the bar I would give it 5 stars but...

The customer service last night was one of the worst we have ever received. We were seated at a table with the floor littered with food from previous customers ( granted the restaurant was not busy when we arrived at 5 pm). The booster seat that was given to us was loaded with tried food, which I had to clean. Our waitress was more interested in talking to her co-workers in back then make sure we were satisfied. After she brought our drinks, she didn't ask if we we're ready to order, just walked away for another 5 minutes. After we ordered, she asked if we want appetizer. We replied "no", she sarcastically replied "okay". When she came around to check on us, two of us were clearly done eating, she never removed our plates. She kept retreating to the back where we can see and hear her talk away. She took our credit card before giving us a bill, into the back. We did have it on the table, but never brought the bill first. Even the two hostess we're on their phones in the front as I was waiting for my party to finish at the table. The food was good as usual and hot. But it's the workers last night that would not...