Don Pedro Mexican Restaurant — Restaurant in Charlotte

We visited back in July. Our server (Angie) was super delightful, our food was really good and the band was FANTASTIC (we tipped them both well!). This is the reason this review doesn’t have a lower rating.

We decided to try them again tonight. The 29$ appetizer was mid at best. The bacon wrapped prawns were so overcooked, they tasted old. They were way too tough and you had to struggle with a fork to separate the tail meat from the shell. The butterfly prawns were tender and delicious.

My companion (whose favorite fare is Mexican fare) ordered a dish and added chorizo (which he eats regularly). To him, it tasted undercooked, which is unsafe. He asked the server if he could sub it for something else. She said she’d ask, then turned right next to her and asked the manager. They stood there, within reach, and discussed it for what seemed like way longer than needed. The manager was right there. Why didn’t he take 2 steps over and ask what was wrong with the chorizo or show any care whatsoever. It felt awkward. She turned to my companion and said he could sub it for a side item. He got more beans. Regarding his dish, a 35$ dish, his chicken was dry and charred. And his original beans were dry, like they’d been sitting and drying out for a while. His “subbed” beans had much more moisture.

Within my dish, 27$, the salmon wasn’t very seasoned even after adding squeezed lemon juice and salt (which I very rarely add, or have needed to add, in restaurants). There were 2 salad mixes or shredded lettuce with my entree. The appetizer also had a salad mix. For the price, salad mix is being way overutilized.

The server was ok. Throughout our meal, she didn’t have much to do on our behalf and the establishment wasn’t busy at all for dinner time. We didn’t need drink refills and the only thing besides our food order that we needed was the chorizo switch (even then we felt this was handled somewhat rudely. They maybe should have stepped away from our table, especially since the manager didn’t regard us at all. He kept his back to us.) At the end of the meal, she dropped off the checkout device at the table with no instructions. After I completed the payment, which would normally include well past a 20% tip, this transaction was not quite 10% on a 102$ bill, due to what I mentioned about the service, she stood at the table, scrolled through the device, looked at the ticket, then scurried off. We got outta there. Saying these are hit or miss experiences is an understatement. We adore supporting local businesses and pride ourselves on being great tippers. To spend more than 100$ on a subpar meal and service to be so disappointed really stinks. And to be clear, we don’t shutter at the spending, it’s just we’re used to MUCH better food and service for it. All in all, the décor is nice, the technology is cool but this will be our 2nd...

The vibe of the restaurant was off as soon as we went into the restaurant. It was empty and it took 15-20 minutes for us to be seated. The waiter with the long ponytail that seated us had the Nastiest attitude and tried to charge me for a margarita I didn’t ask for, tried to blame my friend of age for a fake ID and asked her for her passport which of course we didn’t have at 10pm at night for a quick bite! Taunted my friends making everyone pull out their Ids to embarrass her, just for the ID to be real. This is the first Don Pedero location this has happened at, we live down the street to a different location in another city but wanted to try this one in Charlotte. Worst Experience Ever due to a gossiping staff and nasty female employee. They have cameras so of course corporate can run it back. She refused to take a $13 drink off my tab when i only asked for a cheesecake BEFORE she brought the margarita to the table to then tell me i already bought it when she had full access to change my order before having it brought! Her and her coworkers disrespectfully gossiped in a group in a corner staring at us by the computer and she skipped our table for refills until she felt like she wanted to come on her own time. I asked for the manager 10 times! She told me she was going to get him and kept lying about it. She then proceeded to lie and say she called 911 on us and we waited patiently just for 30 minutes for her to come back and say she never did call and that she did me a “favor” by taking my drink off my tab because she felt like being nice and that us not having a restaurant we don’t understand the hardwork of being a waitress and respecting policy?? She said that to 3 hard working black women who work in food servicing. She didn’t want to box my friends cake because she had a attitude nor bring her the salsa and chips like she asked, she never cane back to the table and had a smart mouth but would say it fast and walk away so she wouldn’t have to hear our mouths. She was horrible and needs to be retrained immediately. Never coming back to this location again. This happened August 23rd ,2022...

UPDATE! It’s been a while since the last time I visited this restaurant, the staff remains friendly, welcoming and professional as I remember. After socializing with the staff for a little bit we noticed there’s a lot of new and exciting additions to the menu! We started the night with a fresh guacamole made in front of us! We asked for one of the new dishes in the menu as a meal, which was the most exquisite ribeye we had ever had in Charlotte town and neighbor towns. The ribeye came on a hot stone bed with a side of pinto beans and a piece of fresh cheese ready to melt 🫠 the final touch was that the server lit the ribeye on fire 🔥 what a show! We proceeded with the newest drinks 🍹 in the drink menu. We asked the manager for suggestions and he surprised us with a tropical 🌺🦩🔥 choice lit on fire as well! He brought a cocktail called AMOR ARDIENTE (passionate love) I wanted tequila and turns out the have the newest thing! MEZCAL!!! A very smooth shot with a strong after taste of the unmistakable mezcal taste, i loved it! This was my first time trying it 😍 The manager was very nice and kept selecting our drinks to try them out for the first time! He brought us a 3rd cocktail 🍸 CILANTRITO is so good! I fell in love again! You guys, those 3 drinks are 100% recommended! Also, the bar stays open until 2am on Fridays and Saturdays.

Now we started to ask for desert and beer to keep enjoying the karaoke night 🎤 the beer bucket is now a little car 🚗 and the churros come on it’s own churro hut 🛖🥹 and this one is new, the Coco Glaze Ice Cream 🍨🫠🤤 very recommended you guys!

Being in this restaurant was without a doubt one of the many most entertaining nights of my year 2023! I will definitely come more often 🤩

OLD REVIEW: Best costumer service as always, they have an open bar until midnight and let you have your drink until 1am which is...