De Leon Latin Cocina — Restaurant in Saint Augustine

Just got out of this restaurant right now. I am a resident of St. Augustine, and I was hoping to find in this restaurant, the perfect Latin spot for me and my family. As I was approaching the entrance, the first thing I noticed was the lack of employees (servers). The server welcomed us without any enthusiasm, and letting us know that he was alone there; that it was busy and because he was the only one at the moment, that if we did not mind waiting. We totally understood the situation, and waited around 15 to 20 minutes to be seated. Once we were sitting on our table, we told the server our drinks (water and mango juice), and that we were ready to order. We wanted some appetizers because we knew that out plate will take some time. We asked with extra chimichurri sauce because that’s the sauce that I like with any Colombian plate. The server brought our appetizers, with no drinks. My husband reminded him about the drinks, but he ignored us to attend a group of 19 people that came in. Instead of treating them the same way he treated us, (wait 20 mins until you are done with the current customers), he started serving them, and ignoring us. He brought our drinks when he was done accommodating the whole group. Don’t get me wrong, I get that they were short in staff, but common, every time we asked him anything, he ignored us, served everyone else (that came after us), then bring whatever we asked for. It is kinda sad, that this is my first time in this restaurant, and felt that I was treated so poorly. The food was descent, they missed some of the things I asked to the server (since he was paying attention to everyone else, and just to be clear, I speak Spanish perfectly), but regarding their customer service skills, the owner needs to work with the servers and give them a good training on how to treat everyone equally. Not matter where they’re from… it is a Colombian restaurant, that definitely give the best customer service to only Colombian people. If you are not Colombian, they will not treat you with any type of decency. I will take my business somewhere else, and FYI, I left him a good tip to the server, just in case he thought that we were not economically near the rest of the customers. Also, please start working on hiring more staff, it is impossible that in this tourist town, you can’t find anyone that want to work there. Unless they don’t pay enough, and that’s why locals don’t apply to work there. Good luck if you decide to spend your money there, be prepared to get...

My experience was below average and I wouldn't eat here again.

This restaurant is inside the Ponce hotel and shares a parking lot. It has a very small bar with only 3 seats. It was not crowded during dinner time on a Friday night and I was seated quickly. No reservations are needed here. The atmosphere is somehow lively even when it's not busy. It has a dark interior with dim lighting and minimal decor.

They have a small menu, but it's got a good variety of choices. Prices are fair. The drink menu didn't have much on it and when I asked for a recommendation the waiter had none so I just ended up getting wine.

I ordered chicken arepas for an appetizer, followed by the shrimp cazuela and the tres leches cake for dessert. Honestly most of the menu sounded good and I wanted a recommendation but again, my waiter had none and had abandoned me for a long time. I just picked at random.

The arepas were amazing, packed with flavor and great texture. Fun to eat too. But uh, has anyone seen my waiter? Still waiting on that glass of water.

The shrimp cazuela was alright, but very heavy and would be nice with water which I had now asked twice for... Waiter? Ah no, you're chatting with another table. Please don't just walk by me aga- there he goes!

At this point I just stopped eating and stared at him until I finally got some water. He never even asked if I was enjoying the food... and that's the last I saw of him.

A lovely young lady came by when I was done eating and helped me choose a dessert. Her and the tres leches cake that was absolutely perfect are why this is 2 stars and not 1.

It's a shame, but in the end I'll remember how disinterested my waiter was long after I've forgotten the taste...

Disappointing to say the least.

Please, pretty please please, if this would be your first time trying Colombian food, PLEASE skip this restaurant, go eat hot dogs(and I'm Vegan-ish) or something else, anything else. Just don't let this be your first Colombian experience, it will ruin it and most likely will not want to try it ever again. Our cuisine is delicious.

I'm still wondering if we just decided to go eat there at the worst time/day but I just can't figure out how they have a 4.7 star rating.

The service was no good, they were not horrible nor the worst part of our experience but it was definitely not good. The waitress was even rude to a guest(since the restaurant is inside the lobby of a hotel) because she crossed thru/by the restaurant to go to the pool section. Again the hotel is in between the lobby and the pool, plus she was buying drinks at the bar, just unacceptable in my opinion.

At the end, they bring the bill/check,, which states an amount, so we pay with a debit card and when they bring the final receipt there was an extra charge on our card, which again, with their "great" customer service they failed to let us know of this charge prior to charging us, which is just the right and obvious thing to do, and they were both unable to explain why we were charged extra after bringing the total bill/check. Ridiculous.

The worst and our main problem with this place for last, the food, oh my God the FOOD, was the worst I have ever tried in a Colombian restaurant, heck in any type of Spanish restaurant. As I mentioned before, don't let this be your first Colombian experience. It was just not accurate but did...