The Mexicano Chandler — Restaurant in Chandler

Rated 3 stars but if they had 1/2 stars would rate it 2.5. This particular location at Chandler Mall just opened so it was very busy! Had reservations so we were happily seated immediately . Service started off strong, friendly welcome, attentive, etc. However, as dinner went on, our service went downhill. Dishes came out at various times, not all at once. Our server was rarely to never be found. Finally tracked her down to order dessert. We had a friend in town and wanted her to try the churros cart. Waited 25 minutes for them, they never came. We finally tracked her down again (yes, 25 mins passed until we saw her again), and asked her to cancel them. She said ok, then they ended up coming out to the table right after. A 2nd order also came out. Seemed like she forgot to order them for us. My bill came and she did ring up 2 orders of churros. There was no "sorry those took so long" or "sorry for charging you twice, let me fix that", no acknowledgement, just asked if we wanted to take them to go. I quietly mentioned this to the manager on the way out and he said he would credit us the $14, which was appreciated as I didn't ask for it. I have not seen it yet but it was Sunday night and it's only Tuesday, hopefully we'll see it back. We were going to order the build your own margarita bar (they promote over 30 toppings). We went up to look at our options prior to ordering & it's a good thing we did. We counted 13 candies you could put in your drink. Nothing like their photos show you. We opted not to order it. Our bill ended up being $89. We ordered chicken fajitas & my husband ordered tacos. My chicken lacked flavor but my husband said his tacos were great. I had a traditional margarita and upgraded my tequila. My husband had water & we had the churros. Churros were barely warm after waiting for almost 30 mins. and were not "crisp". The ones we've had at the PV location were better. They provide 3 sauces with them which are good. Overall, rating it 3/10.

Overall, food was good, not GREAT, definitely nothing close to authentic Mexican food, service was terrible, ambiance is good, we like this location for ambiance better than the PV location though. The vibe is cute, they had a DJ inside, patio is cute - if you know Hash Kitchen then you'll know this restaurant is like that, but it's by the same owners so it makes sense. Maybe a decent place for drinks instead of food, cute for a group. However, for what it is, it's definitely on the pricier side and sadly, service was not...

PLEASE READ BEFORE GO ! Big disappointment.

If you say dress code, And the plate prices are $40 and above.

1- Meat dishes should be soft and melt in your mouth. A fajita that was hard and did not break came.

2- Waiters should never talk while leaning on a chair or table. This is not a fast food place. They need training.

3- I am not a waiter friend. Their speech and addressing style are very inexperienced. There is a fine line between inexperience and sincere behavior. Teach this to your waiters.

4- The ventilation is bad and the place is full of flies. If the ventilation is broken, there should definitely be a backup plan B. This is Arizona, the weather will always be hot. Flies land on the food because of the heat, it is very disturbing.

5- Water glasses should be CLEAN. There are no stained glasses. There were strange things floating in the water.

6- Plates should not be left lying around if the meal is finished. I asked them twice to take the plates because there were fewer flies.

7- I asked for the dessert menu. The waitress replied, "Wait, I will come."😮 Teach your waiters a sentence like "I'm coming right away sir". And let them come. Some of the waiters are chatting, some are working on the phone behind the counter. 8 - In a high priced restaurant, the bill is never brought without the customer asking for it. When the customer is ready, the bill should be taken away when they ask for it. Our waitress threw it on the table before we even asked for it.😠 9 - Especially during lunch, loud music like disco music is never played. It should be light and peaceful for the customer. Loud music coming from everywhere, heat and stuffiness, badly cooked meat, rude and incompetent waiters. We ran away. I don't think this place will get better easily. The quality...

Stopped in on a Sunday afternoon to celebrate a friend’s birthday.. My husband and I got to the restaurant a bit early to check out the cocktails at the bar.. We were greeted quickly and our bartender made great recommendations! We opted for margaritas that were very yummy. Our bartender was friendly and social.. We then got to our table.. Our server greeted us quickly there too. It was nice to have silverware, napkins, plates, chips/ salsa and waters right away. My husband and I shared the queso fundido and carne asada fajitas.. Our queso was delicious and huge! Definitely would recommend serving such a large portion with more than 3 tortillas. We then got our fajitas. We were literally so excited to try them when we saw the serving. The cuts of meat were nice and thick and a very generous serving. However, they were tasteless. I ended up mainly eating the beans with chips.. The meat lacked flavor.. We asked for jalapeños toreados for some flavor and we were given chiles gueros (no spice whatsoever). My friend did get a piece of birthday flan (highly recommended by the bartender) and it was super delicious! Overall the atmosphere offered great vibes.. The restaurant itself feels very inviting and lively. The music wasn’t overwhelmingly loud but still made for a great time.. The bathrooms had no toilet paper and were messy.. (Just trying to touch on more topics..)

I feel I was mostly disappointed in the food especially at the price point. I was really hoping to be wowed.. And it lacked in so many areas. However, the service, atmosphere, and overall experience was great!

I’m happy to give it another shot. And more time to correct the issue (It’s hard to complain about something in a large group).. The queso fundido, bar staff, and the margaritas will...