Tomate Cocina Mexicana & Margarita Bar — Restaurant in Carolina

Such a conflicted review. A few things excellent, but too many things not good or gone wrong. We were greeted promptly and friendly, and the manager quickly arranged a table for us. Great! But then they proceeded to make us wait 40 minutes to even get our drink order. We ordered several margarita flights which was absolutely gorgeous in presentation, BUT when presentation gets in the way of flavor something is really wrong. The flight is served in shot glasses which is okay, but then the ratio of salt/spice on the rim completely overpowers the actually drinks. The flight itself was made with Patron tequila, which was just a complete waste because all we tasted was salt/spice. We tried saving our taste experience half way through by wiping of all the rims. Second the flight came with no info on what flavors was given to us. We got 8 different kinds, but were unsure of most of them. A little card with flavors and their order would have been great. We also ordered two regular margaritas. One of them we did not got right despite them correcting it, only to make it wrong again. Now to the food (which we were finally able to order after an hour.) We ordered a surf and turf volcanic bowl which was fantastic (probably the best Mexican food I have ever tasted). Their refried beans also fantastic. We also had an order of fish tacos which was a huge disappointment. They basically had nothing to give moisture. The driest tacos I have ever eaten. No salsa, no crema. Took about 20 minutes to get a waiter to give me a bit of salsa Verde, by then my tacos were cold ☹️. From we asked for the bill until we got it , 20 minutes. Had to ask twice. Sad overall experience. Not sure the combined evening deserves 3 stars, but I am...

I hate to be like this, but I'm tired of good food being ruined by incredibly slow service. They seemed critically understaffed for such a busy night.

When we arrived, everyone seemed very nice and they were accommodating to our group. At NO POINT in our evening was any staff member rude or unhelpful. +1 for that.

Firstly, our section was not very clean. There was sand all over the floor, and the seat was wet. I assume a consequence of being so close to the beach.

Second, they messed up my drink that I asked for, but I'll forgive him because his English was not great. After I got my wrong drink it took FOREVER before I could get a hold of any waitress or waiter to fix my drink. Nobody stopped by to check if everything was okay. Finally, a very nice gentleman checked in and he went to get my drink fixed. It wasn't exactly quick, but it when I got it, it still wasn't right. I asked for a sugar rim and not salt. I decided it wasn't worth waiting around to get it fixed again.

Another person in our group just wanted to get a little sauce for there food because she felt it was very dry. Again, took a decade to get some help.

Asked for the bill, and again it was taking forever. We had to wave down a second waitress to give us the bill, because one time was apparently not enough.

We did have some excellent dishes on our table, and the staff was very friendly when we got to see them. Music was a bit loud, but the overall atmosphere was nice. I don't believe everyone's experience will be like this, because I see plenty of good reviews and plenty of reviews with people saying their service was quick. But with our experience, this is how...

$15 guacamole was watery and mediocre, husband’s seafood was over cooked, my entree was bland and had no flavor. You will notice that the margaritas are the only item on menu with no pricing - I think they change prices based on who they serve. Was charged $26 for a margarita flight with zero alcohol in it (found out the cost when bill was brought over and mentioned $26 is a LOT of money for juice) and the waiter’s immediate response of no one would believe me since I drank them made it sound like they’ve heard the complaint before. Admittedly, I noticed right away that I didn’t taste alcohol and that my husband who hates tequila said they tasted good (red flag), however I thought maybe it was just minimal amounts and my sipping each one meant I wasn’t tasting it if it was at the bottom, so ended up shooting them all and still tasted/felt absolutely nothing. Even if there was a 1/4 shot of alcohol in 8 minis, that would still be 2 shots worth. Even at 1/8 it would still be a full shot, and for someone who has minimal tolerance - I would have felt SOMETHING. The so-called manager who came over to discuss condescendingly told me I didn’t order tequila shots and that there are other ingredients in margaritas. I noted that I know the difference between a margarita and a shot of tequila, that I knew fully well what I was supposed to be ordering and that there was zero alcohol in my drinks. She rudely stated that there WAS tequila and walked away. I have no doubt it’s an intentional scam for tourists.

They had live music which was nice, but unless you are getting bottled beers and not wanting to eat flavorful food, I...