Hacienda Authentic Mexican Restaurant — Restaurant in City of Watertown

I've really enjoyed this place since it was first opened (as Camino Real). But ever since the name change, the two times I've been, the food has been subpar and this last time the service was not great. One of my kids asked for a quesadilla, which is pretty basic, but it was made with American cheese, wut? Never seen that before, not tasty. This time out i feel like the waiter had no idea what was on the menu or is new to food service. We asked some questions about what came with the food and he just looked at us blankly. Couldn't have been a language barrier, because I tried in Spanish, and still, he seemed confused. The food wasn't great, the chicken for the kids taco and tostada was dryer than a nun in the Sahara. We hoped the molcajete, which is usually fantastic, would redeem the food, but it was meh. Five shrimp and i don't think i saw fish in it at all. Mainly the same dry chicken that was served for our tostada. Drinks never refilled, waiter never really showed up to ask how everything was, I had to flag him down for the check. I asked for smaller bills so I could tip and the waiter came back with large bills (surely he didn't think his tip was going to be that big?) luckily the hostess realized we WANTED to tip him and broke the bill we had with her own money. Listen, i know sometimes staff can have off days. Sometimes it's busier than normal, or it's late in the day and they're tired. But there were only two couples there and it was an hour after open. I'm always willing to try again, mainly because I love their ribeye with the chile relleno (although this has also been made with American cheese and i still went back) but my kids don't want to go back, and they are happy going out to eat anywhere so that says a lot,...

The moment we walked in it was a bad experience sadly. My boyfriend and I walked in around 4:30pm, there was only about 4 tables seated and we requested a booth since we noticed there were 6 open booths. We were coming to celebrate and were in great spirits, wanting to sit a little further from the entrance since we planned to be there for a little while. The host immediately rejected my request for a booth, stating he needed to sit a specific server and that the last two tables that came in already requested a booth. I had a confused look on my face. He just said he made the request for two guests but could not for us. He very rudely told us to just follow him to the table, that we wouldn't understand how it works. I, who grew up in my family's restaurant, worked in several of all different kinds in several different states and cities, and have managed restaurants myself, would not understand... We sat down not wanting to cause a problem over a table but it definitely set the tone for the evening. Our server was very sweet and did try her best I imagine. I was informed they couldn't put beef in the chalupa, which I found weird since they had beef and you could put beef in just about everything else, but I went with it. We ordered and got two drinks. The food unfortunately came out wrong. The servers were all clearly bored as they stood next to our table, talking and scrolling on their phones. That probably wouldn't have bothered me if it wasn't for me also noticing them eating in the walk way and not washing their hands before returning to their tables. My recommendation is for the manager to change the sections. It makes no logical sense to give one person all the best tables. But what do I know...

Excellent restaurant. I would rate it a 6 stars if I could. Don't judge the restaurant by the outside or the parking (it's the most meh part of the review), Hacienda is probably the best local independent place in Watertown and it's probably the best Mexican place in 4-5 hour drive radius.

I find it rare that you go to a restaurant and everything you taste is good. Even the chips and salsa was good. The salsa had a twist but it was hardly spicy in a way to hide the flavor. All the hype about the Margaritas are true. They are among the best I ever had - even in Mexico they are not this good usually. For the food, I took the chicken/chorizo/shrimp combined fajitas and unlike in a lot of Mexican places the meat portions were very generous and nothing was dry. The meat/shrimp were well marinated. The rice and refried beans were excellent, the guacamole is fantastic and the tortillas are fresh.

You got a bit of everything in the menu price-wise in this restaurant (especially for lunch some specials are very affordable), but generally as much as most plates are not cheap, the quality of the food and the large portions are worth the price.

In conclusion, you sometimes have random restaurants in some smaller cities that are hidden gems, Hacienda in Watertown is one of them. It's probably the best restaurant meal I ever had in Watertown. The only negative part of my review is that the exterior of the restaurant and the parking are pretty drab and they could be better maintained, but otherwise it's a...