El Tequila — Restaurant in Broken Arrow

Took my usual Friday trip to Broken Arrow today and had my youngest along for the ride. Had a couple stops along the way but me landed at El Tequila on Elm for lunch.

TLDR: Not a great time. Food was mediocre and service was hit and miss.

We arrived just after one, so we missed whatever lunch rush there might have been. We were seated promptly and got our drink order in when the guy brought the chips and salsa. Honestly, for me the salsa was the high point of the meal.

The kid ordered beef nachos, no beans with guac and sour cream on the side. I went with the lunch special 3 enchiladas - 2 beef, 1 cheese, all with chili sauce - and refried beans and rice. We also asked for a small bown of queso to start. Pretty simple stuff, right?

Apparently not so much.

We never got the queso, and by the time our server bothered to check on us, the food was arriving, so I didn't see the point of getting it. Much like these places that bring your salad WITH your entree.... not sure which brain cells are firing there, but they ain't the right ones.

To be fair, the kid's nachos looked great, and according to her, they were awesome. She also thinks top ramen is awesome...

My order was pretty botched. I knew there was going to be a problem when the server couldn't understand I wanted the lunch special with the three enchiladas..... again, 2 beef, 1 cheese, chili sauce on top. She even reiterated to me "1 enchilada?"..... so I patiently explained for a third time. What I got was three beef enchiladas covered with queso, beans and rice. I mean if you're an optimist, 2 outta 3 ain't bad.... but I didn't see it that way. Thinking to make the best of it and just eat it anyway, I plowed in and couldn't do it. The cheese was so thick on top it was almost like eating glue. After several minutes the server stopped by to check on things and I again had to repeatedly explain to her what I ordered. She finally got it and hustled back to the kitchen, and in several more minutes a fresh plate arrived.

To be honest, I was probably disenchanted at this point and that reflects in this review but it is what it is. The enchiladas were at least correct. 2 beef and one cheese. The chili sauce was this oddly orange color that had an aftertaste that was almost asian. Not at all the earthy, chile/cumin/beefy gravy most Tex-mex joints lay down, and what my palate was expecting. This stuff missed the mark by a wide margin. The beef was barely seasoned and the tortillas fairly tough. It was obvious they were fast rolled to correct a missed order and not done properly. I managed about half of the order and just didn't care anymore. Odd thing on the check was a $1.48 charge for "cheese for salsa", whatever that is. Honestly, I didn't care... I just wanted to go.

Service was spotty at it's best. Not sure if our server was new or what, but she seemed to lack any comprehension of the menu and didn't really understand what I meant when I asked for the guac and sour cream "on the side".

Prices were pretty reasonable, until you factor in the hassle and the quality, and then it goes sideways, at least for me. I've had better enchiladas in a frozen TV dinner. Since I don't live in BA and only make it there once a week or so I don't much expect...

This is the second and last time to come to this location. For starters it's 102 degrees outside and inside of the restaurant is 96 degrees we expressed our concern to one of the waiters and nothing ever got done. One of waitresses whos name was Angie was nice, but the rest of the wait staff could use some additional customer service training every waiter/waitress had an angry facial expression the entire time that we were there. My children didn't ever get a refill on their drinks, The Monster buriito was a not a MONSTER burrito -at all- (it was more like a taquito from quiktrip with lettuce) & my childs hamburger tasted like cardboard with salt (it wasn't just his, the other two cheeseburgers that were ordered were just as horrible.) We were with a party of approximately 30 people and we waited about an hour for our food, I understand that we had a large party but considering the restaurant was not busy the wait time was unacceptable, keep in mind it was almost comparable to a sauna in the area we were seated in. I'm rating this restaurant a 1 only because it's the lowest...

I am going to give the most honest review here that I can. This has been my go to Mexican food restaurants for the past two years. I have probably visited here at least 30 times or more during this time frame. At first, the service was amazing, the food even better, and the alcohol beverages were top notch. In the last 6 to 9 months everything about this place has changed in a negative manner. The service has gone down hill, which I can deal with. But, the food is now way below satisfaction as well. When I was here a couple of days ago I watched a line chef wipe his nose and walk back in the kitchen and could see through the arch where he went right back to work back there. We are in the middle of flu season and that is NASTY anyway. I mentioned it to the waitress and she just said, "Oh, ok." Like it was nothing at all. I don't think she understood me. The refried beans had chunks of undercooked beans in them and the rice tasted watered down. I really hope they're able to turn this place back around because I used to love it and it's affordable and...