Rubio's Coastal Grill — Restaurant in Carlsbad

I have been here a few times this year at night, usually after 7pm. It's on my way home from work and closer than the Vista location I prefer. This place can get very busy on fish taco Tuesdays if you get here before 8pm so I generally go when I have the $2 coupons on other days. It has a smaller area to wait and it seems to take longer than the other coastal Rubio's locations. Even people who ordered on line one night had to wait for their orders. One lady was waiting over 10 minutes and told me she might as well not bother anymore. When I go after 7pm, the salsa bar area is rarely full for all varieties of salsa and spills are all over. I have never gotten any salsa from this location because of this. The fish tacos and plates have been fine, just as good as at other Rubio's, but this place is less clean than the other locations. It is on a very busy street in a main shopping area, South Carlsbad, that attracts people from Carlsbad and Oceanside so it's probably busy all day. I was there recently when a little girl hopped up on the counter to fill her soda since her lazy mother couldn't be bothered to help her. A worker was passing by and glanced at her and wasn't going to say anything until he saw my shocked face. He just told her to be careful, not to get off! I asked him later why he didn't say anything since that was a likely health violation and unsanitary but he said parents yell at you if you say anything to their little monsters. Luckily, the kid didn't sit too close to the salsa and contaminate it but the worker's words made me decide to bypass this Rubio's location...

The customer service at this location was amazing. There was an older gentleman in a wheelchair, and he took "forever"..... to place his order, had a lot of mix ups, questions, kind changes, and a line built up behind him (including me) waiting for him to make it through his order. They were so patient, kind, and understanding towards him. They were helpful, and answered his questions, making suggestions, and were truly kind. I am really proud of the cashier foe taking the time to show individual attention towards him. When he finally went to be seated, she even apologized to me for the delay, and I told her absolutely no problem.

I love Rubios and their beer battered fish tacos. The only issue I had with the food quality is the portion size of the fish in the tacos seems to have shrunk, or, I just got small pieces on this day for some reason. Foe my gourmet shrimp taco, which is a bit on the high side price wise, I only had 4 small shrimp in my taco, which is very stingy in my opinion. I used to get pretty packed tacos in the past. Hoping it was a fluke and not the new norm, as I definitely don't plan on stopping...

FOOD SAFETY WARNING--I've just eaten here and the whole duration of my visit the manager was grilling an employee in the middle of the restaurant, very humiliating for the employee and awkward for all guests present. I excused the poor service because I've never found myself having to demand satisfaction for such a horrible experience, no less having to leave a review! But shortly after eating my stomach was wrenched with pain. I called the store to ask for a refund--seemingly a mistake on my part--because the manager treated me like a nuisance despite the very serious claims I was leveling against them. The manager told me I could not receive a refund until I was investigated by HR. I told her I would comply with this "investigation" if she could simply refund my order after a terrible experience. She got frustrated and hung up. Very unprofessional behavior for such a serious incident. I will consider removing this review if I might receive compensation for my sickness, but until then I advise all to avoid this restaurant for FOOD SAFETY CONCERNS that are not being addressed by...