The Painted Burro - Harvard Square — Restaurant in Cambridge

I went to the painted burro yesterday for my friend’s birthday dinner. I’ve been to the place a couple of times over the past year and have always raved about it and introduced so many friends and colleagues to it. Sadly, the food quality seems to be dropping, but the ambience is great, so we continue going there giving it the benefit of doubt.

Wouldn’t be the case anymore as their service hit a new low yesterday when a server came to clear our dishes and accidentally spilled my entire drink on me. She was super apologetic and came thrice to my table to apologize and I told her very calmly each time that it was absolutely okay and it was just a mistake. It was nice of her to bring me a new drink once I got back from the washroom after cleaning myself up, since I’d only had about 2 sips of my spilled drink. But it took us by surprise when our waitress got our check in the end and had charged me for both the drinks. When I very calmly told her that you’ve charged us twice for the drink and if she could remove it, she replied back very rudely, almost yelling that “it was you who ordered the second drink and I’m not removing it. You spilled it on yourself. Talk to the manager. I’m not removing it - it was your fault.” I’m usually the calmest person in the group, and I get that you might not know the story, but there’s a way to talk and you don’t cross your limits, be it with customers or waiters. She went inside the kitchen and we ended up talking to the manager, telling him it was the server who spilled it, and he went back inside to fact check as the server was inside. I’m sure he got her version as well, as another waiter came out with a revised check removing that extra drink. Of course, our rude waitress never came out of the kitchen. No apologies for the rude behavior from her or the manager. No decency of owning up to your mistake after wrongly and rudely accusing others.

Simple advice to the team - BASIC training of your employees on how to talk to people. Might save you...

TLDR: food is subpar, service is horrible - very rude manager.

I have never experienced such disrespect in my life. I made a reservation online for the patio. Then I called to confirm that at this location, there is a patio and dogs are allowed. They said yes. Once I arrived, the manager said dogs are not allowed on the patio. I said my dog is a service dog and he proceeded to claim that “service dogs are required by law to wear a service dog vest in Cambridge” and therefore, we couldn’t sit in the patio. Not only is that untrue, it’s also a violation of the ADA (American Disabilities Act). By requiring that my dog wears a vest, the manager was requiring me to basically signal to everyone that I am disabled. He ended up “making a one-time exception” and allowing us to sit in the patio, but it left a bitter taste on my mouth (even worse than their food). When I explained to someone at the front desk later that they had violated the ADA and were discriminatory, they stayed quiet. Clearly, they have no care. They’re clueless and heartless. Plus, they opened themselves up to a lawsuit… Lucky for them, our waiter was really sweet. She’s honestly the one good person there and deserves a raise. She even brought my dog a makeshift water bowl. The food was meh. Some of it is premade. The guac is bland, the lemonade is powder, and the quesadilla was premade and then they just heat it up. 10/10 do NOT recommend. It’s a shame because it was beautifully decorated, but full of ugly personalities. Perhaps it’s called the painted burro because it’s run by a...

Disappointing Service

I recently visited The Painted Burro with some friends, and while we initially enjoyed the food and drinks, our experience was marred by the service. During our meal, one of the waitresses accidentally spilled a drink on one of my friends. We understand that mistakes happen and were appreciative that she promptly brought us a replacement drink.

However, when the bill arrived, we noticed that we were charged for an extra drink that we didn’t order. When we brought this to the waitress’s attention, she responded in a rude and dismissive manner, insisting it was our mistake. This was quite disappointing, as we were supportive and understanding of the earlier incident. Her attitude was not reflective of the usually high standard of hospitality we expect from The Painted Burro.

We hope that the management addresses this issue, as the quality of service is just as important as the food and ambiance. Despite this incident, we appreciate the good food and vibrant atmosphere, but such experiences can significantly impact the overall...