Tacombi — Restaurant in Bethesda

Maybe it’s a bad night for us, but the service is horrendous. My wife and I went last night. They-server and manager-kept on telling us the service was backed up-it was busy yes, but I definitely saw our server standing around at times we were waiting for things. They also did a lot of gaslighting when we called them out on things. I say “bad night for us” because it seemed everyone else was having a jolly good time.

Here's the run-down: The restaurant ran out of clean forks. We asked our server for forks when our food arrived, but he told us 7 minutes later they regret to inform us that they didn't have any clean forks. Why didn't he just go back and just clean a couple forks instead of giving us the big bow down? Did they simply run out of forks? What kind of restaurant runs out of forks! They told us that when the restaurant was less busy than when we walked in. We complained to the manager but he simply told us "it happens". We resorted to eating our meals with our hands. The server then gave us clean forks on a big tray AFTER we finished our meals. We asked for our meals to be served AFTER our appetizer. They served them at and 2 minutes after the time our appetizer was served. We asked the waitstaff person serving us that if it could come out after the appetizer, but the waiter said “you wanted it during your meal”. And the food server then promptly left our table and visibly rolled her eyes in front of us as she was leaving. We included this as we were complaining to the manager and it took 3 times to get it into the manager’s head about what had happened, each time he just told us “I don’t understand”. It was obvious. My wife got there before me and was seated at a high-chair table outside. When I got there 2 minutes later, I asked the manager how long it might take to be seated at a table outside. He said they have a wait list and it won’t be for at least 30 minutes. I told him in that case we’ll stay at the high chair table. Tables outside opened up 7 minutes later, were cleaned in 3 minutes after that, and stayed vacant for the next 20 minutes. After those 30 minutes had passed, we just moved over to the table next to us. This coincided with the forks being given to us. We complained to the manager about this and he simply said it is hard to estimate. I didn’t say this in all fairness (we were pretty peeved), but it would have been nice for him to acknowledge that we moved over and even nicer to have at some point tell us tables were opened. This is not a knock, this is just to show the limited capacity of the customer service of the place. There was no sauces in cups for the chips. They simply had the bottles. I asked them if they do this. They (manager and server) said no. This I could live with, EXCEPT for the fact that in other reviews, there are clearly pix of sauces in dishes. What kind of Mexican restaurant doesn’t do this!! I didn’t complain about the facts the table was dirty when the food arrived or that the waiter lied to me to say the reason my beer didn’t arrive until then was because the service was backed up (I asked is my beer coming, he simply said “you ordered a beer”, I said yes an amber beer, then he said “what beer do you want, lager? I said amber and he then said sorry it’s backed up). These things, despite the facts that I asked for the table to be clean and for the beer and for the sequence of the food orders, upon being served initially. After an uncomfortable 3 minutes of complaining and back-and-forth with the manager, the manager finally offered some corn thing. (I tried it and hated it, though maybe it’s not my thing).

The waiter said they gave some discount to the meal. The manager then swooped in and said so I hope that helps. I have no idea, I stopped looking at them. I wanted to get out-maybe I should have left when they said they didn’t have forks. I gave an 8% tip-maybe I should have given instead a penny. Anyway, we will not...

Extremely disappointing experience last night. The place was crowded and they were clearly understaffed. It also means they were under-managed and poorly managed. The service was horrendous. Our waiter was simply outnumbered and poorly trained. The management did not once walk the room. The table next to us ordered drinks but their service took so long, they got up and left.

Here's what happened to us:

Wednesday 12/18, 7:30 arrival We get sat right away - 3 of us. Nobody acknowledges us for 25 minutes. We are close to getting up and voting with our feet, but give the place a little grace.... It turned out to be the wrong decision. Waiter finally shows up. We order everything at the same time, as we weren't convinced we'd see him again. 15 minutes later, the food starts showing up in no particular order and without any explanation of what we're being served. There's no flat ware that accompanies our food, just some really poor quality taqueria-type napkins in a very dirty dispenser on our table. I ask a food runner for forks and plates. She finally brings some out, 5 minutes later. 25 minutes after ordering.... Food has been on the table for 10 minutes. We still do not have any water and our margaritas are nowhere to be found. I finally flag the server down ... Water shows up 7 minutes later. The Paloma pitcher shows up 10 minutes later, or about 35++ minutes after we've ordered it. And we're mostly done with our food The food is pretty decent and tasty - this is not blow you out of the water flavoring but a solid food experience. Potions are taqueria sizing, which is expected. The dining experience itself, however, was horrible and the owners should be embarrassed by the service and their management that night. With so many amazing, considerate choices in and around Bethesda, this spot is not worth revisiting. You can be way better taken care of at Fish Taco around the corner or even Guapos up the street (if you want the full dining experience). I'd go so far as to say Uncle Julios (which I am not a fan of) would be a better choice. Final answer: If you want to try this spot, maybe go for lunch when they aren't busy? Or order takeout. They should close for dinner service until they get their act together. I fully blame management, and not our poorly trained and overworked server. (Well, I sort of blame him... He was nice but fully clueless).

Take away: Cool space. Good (not great) food. Good (not great) cocktails. Poorly trained servers. Poorly trained staff. Bad management. Ownership should be embarrassed by the events of this evening. We weren't the only disappointed diners. And I would expect this place is not sustainable in downtown Bethesda unless something changes. Quickly.

*Not sure why the date on the bill below is incorrect. We...

On a rainy Thursday, my friends and I gathered at Tacombi for happy hour on their patio and then dinner in their dining room. I liked how the restaurant gave off a chill taqueria vibes. The staff (including Cesar, Patrick, and Tony) provided excellent service throughout the night.

For drinks, I enjoyed the Agua De Sandia, 1/2 Agua De Sandia / 1/Agua De Piña, and Horchata, which were slightly sweetened and quite refreshing. I liked how the Agua Frescas were made fresh daily.

For appetizers, I enjoyed the Corn Esquites and Guacamole Con Totopos. The Corn Esquites consisted of corn, topped with cotija cheese, homemade morita mayo, chile powder and garnished fresh lime. I liked how it was served in a cup. It's the best Corn Esquites I've had in this area! The Guacamole Con Totopos consisted of fresh chunky guacamole made of ripe Hass avocados, fresh cilantro, jalapeño, onions and lime juice and served with our Vista Hermosa Totopos. I liked how the guacamole had spicy kick that wasn't overwhelming.

In terms of tacos, my favorites were Al Pastor, Carnitas, and their award winning Baja Crispy Fish Taco. The Al Pastor Taco consisted of thinly sliced Berkshire pork marinated with special chilies and spices, slow-roasted on and sliced off a trompo as it's cooked, and garnished with fresh cilantro, diced onions and pineapple. The Carnitas Taco consisted of Berkshire Pork, slow-roasted, marinated with Mexican coca-cola, beer and citrus, and garnished with cilantro, onions, escabeche and avocado-tomatillo salsa. The Baja Crispy Fish Taco consisted of Alaskan cod beer-battered, and garnished with pickled cabbage, spicy escabeche and tangy roasted poblano mayo. I liked how the tacos were made with fresh and high quality ingredients.

My favorite menu item of the night was the Avocado Tostada, which consisted of crispy fried corn tortilla topped with guacamole, black bean spread, pickled red onion, queso fresco, and cilantro and finished with a mildly spicy dried chile salsa drizzle.

My friends and I ended our night with a round of Tequila Daiquiri shots. I'm usually not a fan of Tequila but that was one dangerously...