Tipsy Burro — Restaurant in Charlotte

Tipsy Burro has really good Tex-Mex food, but it is not a place to stop for quick bite to eat.

First, the complaints about service: We visited Tipsy Burro on a Friday night at around 5pm because we had a 6pm appointment less than a mile away. Seems like a reasonable ask, to order food and eat within about an hour. But it was not to be, as we had to rush our way out of Tipsy Burro. Our 12 year-old ordered an appetizer and meal at the same time. The appetizer arrived in good time. After 10 minutes, my wife and I ordered our meals. But I did I have to go up to the bar to request a waiter after about 10 minutes because no one came to check on us. My wife and kid's platters arrived at the same time (a decent time after our appetizer arrived). My meal still took another 10 minutes to arrive after that (basically, my kid was done eating before my food arrived). The staff apologized for the delay in my food, which I appreciated, but I only ordered a salad, so I didn't understand the hold up. We asked for the bill when food arrived, and we did receive it in timely fashion. Unfortunately, my wife had to flag down someone on the staff to pay our bill because after several minutes, no one came to check on us. She literally stood in the middle of the dining floor trying to get someone's attention for several minutes before someone took her credit card. This might not have been a major issue for us if we didn't have something scheduled up the road. But we did and we tried to make it clear and it didn't seem to matter.

All that being said, let's get to second: the praise about the food! Holy moly is this place tasty. Our 12 year-old is a very slow eater. But their rice & bean tacos were so tasty that they finished eating before my food arrived. We have never seen that before. Technically our kid ordered a guacamole taco, but there was no guacamole on it. We didn't get charged extra, so no harm, no foul. I ordered a spinach salad and I chose the soy crumbles as the protein. The salad was wonderful! Spinach was fresh. Orange slices were peeled perfectly with no pith or bitterness. The bacon pieces were a great surprise, as they were unexpected by me and also cooked ideally (not too crispy). The avocado ranch dressing I got on the side was really tasty and wonderful for dipping crumbles into. I cannot say enough good things about this salad! My wife loved her meal as well, although I can't remember what she got because I was so focused on my delicious plate in front of me. I know she had something with refried beans while our kid's tacos came with black beans. Both of them were happy with their bean choices.

As far as atmosphere is considered, the restaurant and bar are decorated pretty kitschy. Such an eclectic collection of posters and antique signage and Simpsons toys. All three of us couldn't stop looking at all the unique sights. One of our favorite things was watching the TV at the bar - they were playing old 1970's episodes of the Gong Show. The only downside was what was on our table - a lack of napkins (which were eventually delivered to us as a roll of paper towels, but only after us asking) and silverware (which were disappointedly delivered as plasticware when our food arrived).

The food was amazing and felt authentic and we will be back to this place, even with our challenging service experience. That's how good...

Everything about this place is just really WEIRD. It's weird to have a biker bar feel to a Tex-Mex restaurant. It's weird to have rocker chicks serving you Tex-Mex. The decor is weird and cheaply done. It's weird that they charge you for Chips and Salsa.....not to mention a small ass cup of maybe 4 scoops. I thought it weird, also, that there are hardly ever any cars in the lot.....but now I know why. It's just WEIRD.

From the moment we walked in...it felt uncomfortable. There were 2 waitresses working the entire empty restaurant on a Saturday night. Service was slow....orders were not placed correctly....food was sent back and remade.....yada yada.

The menu was EXTREMELY LIMITED...and a la carte. No beans or rice come with your entree. If You order a burrito....you get a burrito.....if you order a taco....you get a taco. IF YOU ARE GONNA HAVE A LIMITED MENU.....the items on the menu better be dang good. We had a taco and a burrito. Both were somewhat flavorless and disappointing.

Perhaps the best part of the entire experience was the diet coke and watching the other diners trying to figure out the weird place too.

I hate to say it....but I dont think this joint is gonna make it. There are too many great mexican/taco/tex-mex places that give this one a run for its money.

Nothing about it...

We were nearby for the Christmas Show and were looking for somewhere to grab a quick bite before trekking back to Greensboro. This place was super close and had 4.5 stars on Yelp, so it was a no-brainer for us.

When we pulled up, it looked a little sketchy and run down, but I don't like to judge a book by its cover, so we went in. There were a few people sitting around the bar and the bartender was chatting it up with them. It reminded me of a Cheers vibe, just completely different. What an eclectic place! It looks like an American Pickers dream! They're bathrooms are pretty neat too and they were super clean. The music was awesome, a Jimmy Buffet vibe; not too loud that you couldn't have a conversation, but loud enough to dance in your seat.

The bartender was our server, which was fine because it was early and we had the place to ourselves, until others from the Christmas Show found it too. I had the Frito pie and my husband had the tacos. The food was so good! We had plenty to eat and even went home with a small box of leftovers. The chili on my Frito pie had just the right amount of kick for my taste. The queso was delicious, and my margarita was spot on too!

Our only regret is that we live...