202 Hometown Tacos — Restaurant in Bellevue

The service was good until we were overcharged for the cheese quesadilla. The physical menu in the restaurant and the website menu both say $6, yet we were charged $7. The server and manager refused to fix it. Promising one price and then charging another is against the law in Pennsylvania.

The food itself was average. The fried cod was the main highlight and was very good. Nothing else was worth returning for. The rice in the build-your-own bowl was crunchy at times, from some of it being either overcooked or undercooked and mixed-in with a fresher batch. The sautéed onions are apparently a 50¢ upcharge (no mention of this by the waitress or the menu) and were not fully cooked (some were still raw). The side of sour cream provided for the cheese quesadilla was served runny (because it was possibly allowed to sit out too long at room temperature). A side of lettuce was inexplicably provided for the cheese quesadilla. Wouldn’t it make a lot more sense to provide salsa that I can dip the quesadilla in? What am I supposed to do with a side of lettuce?

Finally, they charge $7 for chips and dip (if the menu price is to be believed) and they don’t even bother to make their own chips in house.

You will find more authentic tacos from a Taco Bell.

• Follow Up * In reference to the owner's snarky response, they clearly don't get it.

"Why not give the restaurant a chance instead of going to the Internet?" - I gave the owner a chance to fix the problem that ultimately broke the camel's back: the restaurant overcharged for a cheese quesadilla, we told the server, who brought it to the owner's attention, who refused to honor the price listed. If you can afford to raise prices, you can afford new menus. Surely you can afford a $2 permanent marker. Had the check been fixed to match the price shown on the menu, I wouldn't have had reason to come to the Internet and write about your mediocre food. I would've easily forgotten about it and quite possibly given your place a second chance. You burned that bridge with your abysmal response.

"We apologize you didn't see the sign" at the front door - That's not a me problem. That's a you problem. Take ownership of the problems in YOUR restaurant.

"We had no choice to go up on some prices" - A truly cost-conscious restaurant owner would not be wasting so much money on single-use styrofoam cups and plastic utensils and would instead be using restaurant quality cups and silverware. You are literally throwing money away. But that's beside the point. Raise the prices all you want. Just don't lie to your customers by listing one price on the menu and charging another.

"No where do we advertise that we are an authentic Mexican restaurant" - Nor did I call you one.

The sour cream is "kept in the cooler at all times, it's a health dept regulation" - Rather than wasting your valuable time on here arguing with a customer and making excuses, you should be checking that all of your product is within its best by/use by dates and you should be taking time to check your coolers to ensure they are operating properly and cooling food to 40°F or less. This involves checking temperatures of items stored in the cooler as well as ensuring your thermometers are properly calibrated. Sour cream should not be received by a customer in a runny state if it were fresh and stored and handled properly. This is food safety 101.

It's sad that the owner needlessly goes on the defensive when provided with honest feedback instead of fixing the core problems within their restaurant. Instead they try to gaslight the customer, blaming the customer for not seeing a supposed (and poorly placed) sign, whining that the customer didn't speak up at the time of service (the customer did). We have here a classic case of stepping over a dollar to save a dime. It would've been so easy and cheap to correct the check, at the cost of a whole dollar. But they took the opposite route and blame everyone but themself.

If you can't afford to print new menus, you surely can't afford to treat your customers like...

DISCLAIMER: I'm entering a 4-star review mainly because I genuinely want to see this place succeed, and the 2 or 3 star review that I would otherwise leave would damage the average this early. Additionally, I may have unreasonably high standards when it comes to tacos.

First, a few suggestions: Have hot sauce available, like everywhere. And a variety of it. You should never have to ask for hot sauce in a taco joint. Also, have napkins available, or at least bring some out with the food. Napkins are an important part of the dining experience when the menu consists mainly of foods that are eaten with your hands. Still, though, I'm going to chalk these up to growing pains and this is not the basis of why I'd leave a 2 or 3 star review otherwise.

I visited yesterday (4/16/2019), sat at the bar and was greeted very quickly. My order was taken - one carnitas, one shrimp - just as quickly. My food was in front of me in about 5 minutes or so... and was somehow already cold. The shrimp wasn't bad; had good spice, the sauce was decent, and the cabbage was "meh", but it wasn't something I'd go out of my way for. The pork wasn't "bad" however it was one of the more bland things I've ever eaten; rice was soggy, I honestly didn't even notice the pico, and the avocado didn't really help. I used no hot sauce on either because I wanted to taste it the way that it was, and I wasn't impressed. So, in essence, my 2 or 3 star review is based only on what I thought to be the quality of the food I received.

The service was great otherwise, the price was right, and I think once the bar is operational this place will be neat little spot. The music could definitely be turned down, but I wasn't particularly bothered by it. I'm sure (or at least hopeful) the bugs will be worked out after operating for a while, and I've only tried two items from the menu so I'm not writing the place off; I will definitely be back, probably a good bit in the coming weeks to try some of the other offerings. However, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't underwhelmed by the food that I did have. I really, really do want this place to do well, and if the owner reads this I hope they aren't taking it as a knock, rather as...

Ok, so I hesitated giving a review the first 3 times. But as I've now had 4 visits. 3 take out 1 dine in. I've tried every taco hut the shrimp. The carnitas has been bland and dry every single time I've gone. It seems they had a good idea but the execution is piss poor. Same goes for the mamas tacos. So much salt, I'm worried my intestines are curing as we speak. Chicken taco was average. Steak was untrimmed and fatty, unchewable and flavorless. Jack fruit was just an attempt to jump on the a vegan trend that ended a year ago. I've had a total of 22 tacos, and not a single one came with a side of rice, as the menu stated it should. Not even offered once. Which brings me to the service. My god the service is just AWFUL. We came in sat down and were offered drinks, but no menu. I was told there was no CO2, so no mountain dew. But when the CO2 tank came in(I saw the guy walking in with them) I was not offered the soda I had originally asked for. We had to walk over to a table to grab a menu for ourselves. It was a great idea to hire someone whose tongue must have just been pierced because you cant understand a damn thing the girl says. This same girl, Jessica, according to my receipt (that also oddly gives out her last name) did not even get a new glass for my girlfriends second margarita. Just mixed it and poured it out into the used glass. The bar didnt ecen jave a backup wine key. The employee broke one while attempting to open a bottle of wine, and told the woman who ordered the wine that they were unable to serve her the wine because they broke the only one they had. The employees could be heard complaining about the owner leaving as soon as the restaurant got busy. The guy I assume to be the owner, in the backwards cap, was eating behind the bar with 2 other employees. It's obvious the people running this restaurant are jokes whi have never ran a restaurant before. The piss poor service along with mediocre and underwhelming food will ensure I do not come back and I urge others to not waste their time or money and just let this place run into the ground. Unless the owners are loaded, this place isnt going to last more than 2 years without a...