Tequileria — Restaurant in Charlotte

The very model of a rip off, “Tequileria” (though the use of the word sullies the good name of Tequila) is an archetype of the American tradition of jacking up prices and lowering quality in inverse proportions.

I get it, airport services cost more. Understandable. They probably pay a great deal just to exist there. However, they can probably pay the monthly lease in a day when they charge,… wait for it… $24 for a truly average margarita. No, I’m not kidding. Of course, one wouldn’t order such a thing if the prices were listed on the menu… but guess what? No prices. Go figure. Hmmm. I was assuming at least a modest degree of ethical boundary… but silly me. This was clearly my fault.

Let’s continue.

The “salsa”?… from a jar. Enough said. How could you? Really….

Made with unripe avocados and missing on every level of technique, the bland guacamole continues to advance Tequileria’s” clear goal of serving mediocre food at a luxury price. Of course Guac can be glorious (in Oaxaca… it’s a near religious experience) with a little care and some ripe ingredients if the “chef” (and I use the word lightly) bothers to even taste it before it is sent out. But no… not st “Tequilareally?”. Silly me. (More horrifying, of course, is the notion that the chef DID taste it and then sent it out anyway.. but I digress).

Moving on…

At $24 each, the Disney grade margaritas are criminal. Try one at Tortas at the Chicago airport and you can see what IS possible at an airport restaurant (in a much more expensive city mind you) at half the price! (Oh that’s right, they actually care about what it tastes like there… silly me… my fault). Poorly balanced and made with regular old bottom shelf $8 ingredients, I wouldn’t be surprised if this were made with bottled Margarita mix. If it weren’t, the mishandling of the ingredients is perhaps even more troubling.

The gold medal of disappointment though, goes to the so called “Queso”. Born in Texas, I’m aware that “Queso” in the states is largely a tourist/carnival dish. Still… try it at Z-Tejas in Austin and one quickly learns why it’s popular. At “Tequileria” at the Charlotte airport however, this is truly a breakdown on all levels.

Stunning in the scope and breadth of its failure, this vulcanized “cheese food product” is missing even the most modest of pleasures - anything resembling “cheese” in any form chief among the list of absentees. Both bland and yet somehow aggressively forward with the aftertaste of an L.A. school bus muffler, this stuff is a perfect example of why Mexicans often don’t even recognize the American version of one of the worlds truly great cuisines. Bland, grainy, and devoid of any level of standard, this product should show up on a first year cooking school test as an example of how not to make a roux (if they even bothered… the whole thing may have been from a 20 gallon can from Sam’s club).

2 low grade margaritas, “Queso” and Guac? $75.

I suppose I have no one to blame but myself. I should have known from the name… but for anyone on the fence about patronizing this establishment, may I instead suggest emptying your wallet into the toilet and then having a drink from it? I think you’d save money and it might be more flavorful.

On the plus side, our server was lovely and prompt :) I hope that she is soon able to find a job at a place that doesn’t make her look at herself in the mirror each morning before work with the dull heaviness of shame that “Tequileria” doubtless inspires. It’s not your fault Mam. I...

Horrible experience. First, they have scan codes on the table to do ordering online. I love that because I have control over what I’m ordering and can see costs prior to food coming out. I was in the menu about to order when a waitress came over and told me to just let her put in the order because she didn’t open the table. Odd and suspicious because I was able to select menu items m. I’m thinking don’t take away a convenience to make it inconvenient for me, but ok fine. I order chicken tacos and a strawberry margarita. The food came out and was absolutely the most HORRIBLE tacos I’ve ever tried to eat. It has a hair on the plate, but because I’m not too much of a germaphobe, and it wasn’t on my tacos, I brush it off and try to eat the tacos. The corn tortillas were just falling apart. I couldn’t even pick them up to eat it. Ended up having to eat the meat from the middle with a fork which was also very bland and not good at all. Just really gross food, especially for the airport price. Now the margarita was $27.50! That shocked me because they don’t list prices for drinks on the menu, just the food. I’m used to airport price inflation but at $27.50 that’s insane for a simple margarita. I travel all over and am used to paying 15-18 for drinks, but not nearly $30. The waitress was extremely busy and I had to keep stopping her and asking for things like silverware, napkins, my check. This all added to my frustration that I could have just ordered and paid through the app, from the barcode on their tables. To top my experience off, I had an issue with my card during payment. While working it out with her, I wanted to confirm I would be refunded for a nearly double charge and she assured me I wasn’t charged twice because she had a manager help her and she canceled out the check before it charged me. When I looked I in fact was charged so because she was giving me bad info I asked to speak to the manager (who helped her) to confirm I would be refunded. When I spoke to him he was clueless and made me explain the situation twice. He goes and gets the waitress who comes out super aggressive and starts trying to argue with me. I had to stop her and explain again I’m just trying to confirm I will be refunded when a light goes off in the managers head and he says oh yeah I know … you’ll get refunded and if not, look us up.

What a horrible experience all around. No way will I go here again and I suggest you...

Well, where do I begin? After half the day traveling, we felt we needed to sit down and have a drink and something to eat since we hadn't had a chance to do so prior. As we were walking through the Charlotte Airport, we passed by theTequileria. Looked somewhat inviting so we went in. Well to start the experience, we stood in line while the hostess, who you could tell was so thrilled to serve and seat people, finally cleared a couple tables and reluctantly seated us. Seems she was a bit put off if someone didn't want to sit at the bar and opt for a table instead. We weren't the only ones however. We were seated and a waiter came over to ask our drink order, which we gave without difficulty. We did tell him we were looking at food and would probably have questions for him. He left, served a few more tables and forgot our drinks. We finally got our drinks, which actually, were very good, but he didn't take our food order. We continued to sip on drinks and watched as others were sat, orders taken and food delivered. The waiter passed by us 4 times and kept going, still no food order. We finally decided to cut our losses and find something else for dinner as it was going to be a long evening. Imagine my surprise when I got the bill and 2 margaritas were $52.00. I damn near shit. Now I know stuff is more expensive in an airport but good grief!! BTW, there are no drink prices on the menus, only food prices. I checked the bill multiple times to make sure I hadn't made an error and was misunderstood, but no. I even verified the amount with the traveler with me and someone sitting next to me. After picking myself off the floor and paying the bill, we went on our way. Now, I don't usually leave reviews because times such, everyone is short staffed and no one wants to work but that had to be one of, if not the worst restaurant experience I...