Mezcal Kitchen — Restaurant in Bayonne

I am updating my review and giving this place one star (from 3 stars) for two reasons.

First reason: I placed an order online for pick-up. The email confirmation I received (11:59 am) stated "ASAP (up to 15 minutes)." I got to the restaurant around 12:15 pm. I mentioned to the female employee that I was there to pick-up an online order, and the employee stated, "Oh, it's not ready yet," without giving me an ETA when it will be ready. I waited....for about half an hour. Since I haven't heard from anyone, I decided to approach the bar area and asked if my order was ready, and another female employee said it's not ready. I asked how much longer, and both female employees thought for a moment before giving me an estimated time (about 10 minutes) just to give me a time frame since I asked about it. I asked what caused the delay, and one of the female employees told me that it's because their kitchen is working on a large order. So, either the large order came in before mine or during the time I was waiting, none of the front employees even cared to let me know to keep me posted about my order. They know I'm waiting. The restaurant is not huge and they're not busy. The employees, plain and simple, DO NOT care about their customers, or at least, if they don't know you or you don't have a large order.

Second reason: I was on a (half an hour) lunch break, and obviously, I was already way over my lunch time. Since I waited for about half an hour and I was frustrated that I still had to wait longer to wait for my order, I decided to cancel the order and get a refund. Both female employees told me that they couldn't cancel the order from their system. I have to do it online. I went back home and followed their instructions, and I found out I'm not able to cancel the order online. I called the restaurant and spoke to one of the female employees and informed them that their website wouldn't allow me to cancel the order online. So, the employee said she would let her "upper management" know, and I was told I'm supposed to get an email. I waited until 5 pm. before I sent an email.

(Previous review) Food and service are always good. They do need to do something with their chairs and the way they play background music. Chairs are very uncomfortable. And the last time I visited, the music was very loud! The music selection is good, but geez, they need to tone it down. I felt like I...

This restaurant was recommended to me by a friend because of the good food and drinks. When you walk in, there is no one to greet you, so we took a seat at an empty table. My acquaintance had to get up after around 10 minutes to seek the attention of a waiter. She didn't say anything about not spotting us at first. We were the only guests seated at a table other than a group of four, and the restaurant wasn't even full. The waitress appears to be new to the job. She didn't offer us any water or lay it on the table. She also didn't know the menu very well. I requested for brisket tacos, and she looked at me like I had five heads before telling me that they don’t sell brisket tacos there. I had to open the menu and show her that they indeed did. She didn't apologize for her error. It was no huge thing; as the night progressed, my companion and I had a drink. They were really strong, by the way, and I was immediately feeling it after only one glass. For me, it normally takes two to three drinks. The waitress quickly disappeared after bringing our beverages before we could give her our food order. The second time she did it was when she gave us the appetizer. When she got to the table, she never asked if we were ready to order or even introduced herself initially. Her demeanor was "I don't want to be here." We remain kind, and I personally understand the difficulties that come with working in the food industry, but don't let your customers suffer because some staff isn't being attentive. When I first received my "brisket" tacos, i realized it wasn’t brisket. I didn't say anything because I didn't want to be a bother. The drink had me feeling real nice, and the tacos were good despite not being what I had ordered. I ended up bringing some of the leftovers home with me. Now that I'm sober, I'm eating the taco and regret not saying anything because I'm sure I was overcharged for something I didn't even get. I've included a photo of the taco I received below. There's a lot of fat here, and the flesh looks almost like ground beef. I'd like to give this business another chance to see if the service improves, and I'd like to try an actual brisket...

If you go here,watch your money! I went here to eat when they first opened up. There was a girl sitting on the other side of the bar. She came over and started to talk to me. I offered to buy her a drink and she accepted. She had eaten some of my cevice. I had to offered to buy her some food, and then I had to go meet somebody outside for a couple of minutes. I walked back in, and they handed me four checks of her food that I guess she had eaten and owed them for, totalling over 100 dollars. Me feeling on the spot, I paid it because she said we were going to go out after my dinner to a nearby bar. I went outside for a cigarette after I ate and paid. I still had my drink on the bar to finish. Right after I walked out, the owner came behind me and locked me out at the front door. I said " What's going on, I still have my drink in there. He said we're closed and walked away. I asked the girl at the bar if she was coming through the glass front door and she shook her head no and started laughing. Then I realized I had just been taken for over 100 dollars between her check and drinks. I yelled to the owner that he only had a few Yelp reviews and they were good but that if he didn't make the situation right immediately that I would be sure to put the worst Yelp review head ever seen about Mezcal Kitchen. The owner walked over to the front door unlocked it and cracked it then handed me a hundred dollar bill, all the while as the cashier that handed me all of her checks was saying to not give me anything. He slid it through the door and I left. I never wrote my review as I said I wouldn't. Since then I've gone there to eat three times. The owner tells me he won't serve me. The last time I was there he called the police on me. You called the police on me because you tried rob me. I am sure the staff and the girl were in on it together and I am not the first or last person this has happened to. So,as I say,watch for chance encounters at the bar and review your check before you pay it. I will not ever try to eat there...