El Tapatio on Jefferson — Restaurant in Cookeville

This was my first experience going there after family friends had wanted to meet us while we were on our way back home from the East Coast - based on this experience, whenever I'm back in this area, I'll be avoiding it at all costs.

Service: The service was subpar. It's hard to tell if the server didn't care, or if he was just too new to know what he was doing; but general consensus between the three of us was that he just wasn't good at his job. I had to ask the same questions on repeat to get a solid answer out of him - and when I had dirty silverware he reacted like I was an annoying waste of his time. On top of that, he didn't get one of our orders right, at all, and while I can absolutely appreciate that the reopening after COVID has been rough on everyone, this server was below what I call even passable for the circumstances. I'm trying not to come accross as petty, but the entire time I was made to feel like a burden he had to do his job. When getting a refill on a drink isn't even offered and they just take a glass without a word, it is made unintentionally clear we aren't welcome.

Food: The food was okay - and that's about as far as I can take it. The portions were small given the price, and at that, most of it was bland. The ground beef barely had flavor, which didn't help the fact that even the enchilada sauce had only a faint flavour of what it was supposed to be. By the end, I didn't even want the fried ice cream which is usually my favourite dessert.

Aftermaths: Oh boy. This is why I'm taking the time to review this place. I normally don't like making bad reviews, especially when a place is recommended to me and ranked so highly by people that are friends - but, myself and another in our party now have been made incredibly ill by the guacamole. I'm not sure how you can get violently sick from guac of all things - but, when all three of that had it weren't feeling great after; and then us two whom had larger portions are in misery the day after - it prompts a review.

From the start to the end this was a bad experience. I will not be returning when we come back to the area. I hope others have a better experience if they go, but I couldn't just not...

The staff were very kind and attentive. The atmosphere was very nice and everything was very tidy and clean. I went on a Friday night and the place was packed, but still comfortable. It didn't feel suffocating, even though there were so many customers.

I liked that there was an option for "small" on the nachos. When it arrived, it was much smaller than the normal gigantic portions you receive at Mexican restaurants (which I generally love, but when you're trying to exercise portion control...well, y' know...that's just impossible when presented with a mountain of delicious nachos). My point is, the "small" nachos was the perfect size for one person. The chips and salsa were delicious as was the cheese dip. The only thing I didn't like was that the seasoned chicken on the nachos kind of tasted like it was made with canned chicken instead of fresh. Other then this, everything else was great.

There were lots of families there and large groups (like a softball team and a group of friends celebrating a birthday). I was there by myself. The staff accommodated everyone, no matter the size, promptly and efficiently. They had great attitudes when doing this. I was afraid that because it was so busy, they wouldn't like using valuable space for just one person. However, they gave me a very comfortable booth and treated me with all the attention and kindness they treated everyone else with. This meant a lot to me since I had been traveling a long way and had a long way still to go. It was a very...

I hate leaving bad reviews for a place I’ve been coming for years and always had great experiences. But we ordered different “steak” dishes from this Jefferson El tap location. My daughter loves their steak rice and cheese dish! They his evening they served our meals and the “steak” tasted funny. It tasted and smelled exactly like pot roast instead of steak. The “steak” wasn’t overcooked at all to look like that picture but was instead super soft as a roast. I asked the waitress if it was in fact steak or pot roast, or if the steak was just cooked in a crock pot all night because it was falling apart but not the melt in your mouth like steak taste. She replied with “ Um, hold on please” (instead of yes or no) as she walked to the manager. The waitress returned from the kitchen and said “that’s how it’s cooked”(instead of yes or no) I said okay well that tasted nothing like steak and my daughter ate THREE pieces of her entire meal and they refused to make a new plate or give discount for not eating the meal. I restated that in fact believe 99% that most of the plate was roast based on look, taste and smell! She replied “hold on” and walked off to the kitchen. Once back she said “my manager said best we can do is 10% off of our nearly $50 bill. We obliged and paid and left. We were surprised at the lack of accountability and professionalism of a restaurant we frequent so often! We know they won’t be hurt by my family not supporting their business any longer but just wanted others...