Mattito's — Restaurant in Dallas

I started coming to Mattitos a few years ago. The vibe and atmosphere were awesome. The manager back then was very visible. Stopping at every table, conversing with customers and upselling beverages and food. She was always energetic and enthusiastic with a great personality and treated her fellow employees with diginity and respect. Im unsure the reasoning for her departure but she has been missed by friends and myself. The vibe has definitely change since her departure, and the new manager Mark is anything but to be desired. I have seen him maybe twice since he has been managing the restaurant. Both times he has made me uncomfortable with the way he speaks to patrons as well as the employees. The first time he came up to me at the bar I didn’t know he was the manager and he was way to into my person space, commenting inappropriately. This was after the lunch rush were there was standing room only and he was nowhere to be seen. I asked the bartender who that drunk guy was, and he proceeded to tell me that was the manager. Yikes seemed kinda creepy to me. The second time wasn’t much different. While he didn’t speak to me or my party that time, I could definitely hear conversations he was having, and they were very off putting. Underlying tones I don’t find acceptable in 2023. The manager Mark should not be working in the hospitality and service industry if he is going to speak to and about people the way he was. I hope the Owners find a better manager and put this guy in the back where he doesn’t engage with others. Im not going to go back until he is removed. Mattitos, DO BETTER

ETA I also have heard the manager Mark is giving out cards begging for positive reviews for him. Only someone who is guilty of the bad reviews would do this. Seems like all the reviews recently are praising Mark. I bet he is even offering free services for positive reviews. A recent review says Mark said to an employee “to hurry and get those BLACK people out of there as soon as possible”. That’s pretty dang racist. And it doesn’t seem that the Owners are doing much about it. If you don’t condemn racism then that makes you a racist. So, Jim Lannon & Jeff Frankel, are you RACIST as well? Im also still waiting for an apology from either of you on behalf of your management. It certainly wont sway me to coming back until Mark has been dealt with properly. Maybe its time to send in a “secret shopper” and see what exactly goes on when management thinks no one is watching. Or do you simply not care. Again DO BETTER! Or you are going to lose more customers and probably even staff. Don’t be surprised if your entire staff revolts against the way they are treated by Mark the manager, and you loose them all because of one person. It would be a shame to loose valuable employees because you are allowing your management to be disrespectful.

Editied to add...

Huge difference with the manager last night 09/27/21 (Alex I believe is his name) I always sit at the bar and I see the EXTREME pressure the bartenders are under due to the increased To-Go orders. Months ago I asked Lorenzo (manager) why they haven't hired a person to handle To-go orders only. His response was bc the bar would have to share their tips. How does that make sense?! 🤔 That would mean making 1/2 the tips but more work. His second response was "You don't know what goes on behind the bar" I don't need to know, I see it every time I'm there. Everyone knows that To-go order tips go to the driver but zero to the one getting it ready. I've waited on a drink for over 20 minutes bc they are beyond slammed. Jenny (host) is the only one that helps but that's only when she can. Waiters/waitresses sometimes pour their own frozen drinks bc the bartender is overwhelmed with To-go orders. As for management they are friendly, polite and will stop to say hi but that's all you see of them. At times the bartender is washing glasses as the drink orders are coming in bc they are so busy all glasses are dirty. (Apparently Mattito's can't afford an automatic glass washer 🙄) The ONLY reason I come to this location is because 1.) not many other options near by 2.) price's are not bad 3.) bartenders are awesome 4.) I have friends that come here. I've frequented this location for just under 5 yrs and I've personally seen 5 bartenders go. All of which were excellent at their job. I visit Eddie at Mi Cosina, Miguel at Meso Maya and Bonnie at Lupe tortillas. Arturo is no longer in the restaurant industry and I haven't heard from Ivan. Mattito's has lost amazing bartenders bc of poor management, and those other restaurants have gained true talent. So to see 5 bartenders go in under 5 yrs for the same or similar reasons is something the owner/headquarters/or upper management should look into. Although this seems more like a poor review I've given it a 5 ⭐️ because Alex's presence and top management skills in the areas that I witnessed did not go unnoticed. So the stars are for him. He was in all areas of the restaurant. Kitchen, patio, dining room, bar.... helped Josue with To-go orders, seated tables and took the time to hear not only my concerns but of others as well....

Wanted to leave a review about the service I received what's my family at this restaurant. My company orders from Mattito's quite a bit! I am the chef over at Faith Presbyterian hospice. Myself and my wife love to escape for date nights and hit Mattito's it is the best food and atmosphere is great customer service usually spot on. For some reason this time it was different! I decided to take my family here on a Sunday with my kids who have never been here, one of my kids loves matitos as well she orders from the menu. My other two children are nonverbal autistic and have very specific needs when it comes to food. The manager decided to come over to the table and say that we would have to leave if we wanted to bring outside food in to the restaurant! I proceeded to explain the situation and let him know that both of my kids are autistic and have very specific likes and dislikes to make them happy we pick up their favorite french fries and chicken nuggets this is typical of all autistic / special needs people. He decided to continue to push the issue which was really upsetting as I feel that we have given this place plenty of business and we are basically regular here. He proceeded to get rude and say I'll make an exception this time but next time I will have to tell you to leave! He made it very uncomfortable for us and really explained genuinely that this is the way that autistic children are they just don't eat off of any menu. As I was speaking about my autistic children's needs a very kind waitress cut the manager off and said can I please take it from here. She explained to us that she heard the situation and just needed to step in as she can relate because she has autistic children as well. Very kind and helped ease the situation. The manager should have been the one trying to accommodate and ease the situation but he was only confrontational and very unprofessional I hope some retraining for these types of situation can be implemented. This is very important as there are more and more autistic children out there and should be exceptions...