Odelay Tex-Mex — Restaurant in Dallas

Rude hostess. We dined at Odelay on March 25 for dinner around 6:45. It started raining outside and my party of 5 had to go back to the hostess to ask for a new table outdoor under the covered area. There were 3 tables open ( two available eight tops and a smaller one in the center of the covered patio). All other tables that had to move due to the rain had already been reseated. To make it easy for our waitress who was busy with other people, my group grabbed our appetizers and drinks and moved a few steps over and out of the way to a large empty table under the covered space outdoors. *This is important for me to mention, this table had been cleared shortly after we arrived for our dinner (there was a party of 3- 4 adults and one baby sitting there prior). Then we were told that the table was only for large parties so we could not sit there, (weird because when we first walked in there was a smaller group at that exact table). Now feeling uncomfortable our party of 5 got up from the table, and walked up the the hostess, appetizers in hand. We were standing by the front door waiting for about 5 -10 minutes. There didn't appear to be a wait and some bar seats were open. The hostess said we needed to get back on the waitlist if we wanted a new seat under the covered patio even though those same 3 tables were still open. We had already ordered our dinner. This is my neighborhood restaurant and I always loved coming here. Very disappointed in the way my party was treated as it seemed the host just wanted to have it her way and did not care about us or her job as a hostess to put the customer first. Rain happens that is not the issue, the issue is the service. If I had her name I would have listed it here so this does not happen to any more paying customers. Our waiter did nothing to help move our food for us when it rained or when we were told the hostess said we could not sit at that covered table outside (she did tell us she had no problem waiting on us if we sat at that table for the remainder of the evening but it was the hostess who was acting strange about it). We are a pretty easy-going group of people but not one of us felt welcomed in that restaurant that night. It was very strange and uncomfortable the rest of the night. Had we not placed our dinner order we would have left due to the way we felt we were being treated. We were then seated at the closest table to the restroom with more than 40 % of the restaurant open. I also need to mention the table outside that the hostess made us move from clearly did not have any reservations booked because it remained empty our entire dining experience. Which was until around 8pm that night. As a person who goes out to dinner at least 4-5 times a week, I have never been looked at or treated the way I was that night. As I have mentioned many times my entire group was completely thrown off by the attitude and lack of accommodation from this entire team of people who were working at that restaurant that night. Lastly, my food was completely charred and black on the bottom of the skillet due to it probably being ready for at least a few minutes before we could be reseated which is not the kitchens fault since they were removed from the chaos caused by the hostess happening inside the dining area. Before this experience, this was one of my favorite places to bring my...

As a regular customer who lives just five minutes away, I’ve always enjoyed Odelay Tex-Mex on Lovers Lane—until my recent visit, which left me feeling disrespected and disappointed.

I discreetly requested an extra bowl of chips due to health concerns one of my employees, whom I was treating to dinner, had been sick, and I wanted to avoid sharing food. I even offered to pay for the extra portion. While the server initially agreed, she returned to say the manager had declined the request.

When I spoke directly with the manager, Oscar, he not only refused again but suggested I provide a doctor’s note to justify the request. As the owner of several concierge medical clinics, I found that suggestion both inappropriate and unprofessional.

No guest should ever be asked to disclose personal health information for a basic request especially one they’re willing to pay for. Oscar’s tone was defensive and dismissive. He told me I was welcome to leave a bad review and added that “unlike most restaurants, the customer is not always right.” While he eventually brought the chips, it was framed as a reluctant exception rather than a reasonable act of hospitality.

We still paid for our meals and left a generous tip out of respect for the staff, but the overall handling of the situation was disappointing and lacked professionalism.

I sent a private email to the leadership team outlining the experience in full, hoping for a thoughtful response. To date, I’ve received no reply which only reinforces the impression that guest feedback isn’t taken seriously here.

If you’re looking for great food and respectful service, I highly recommend heading just down the street to Jose on Lovers. They consistently...

We walked in at 9pm and were seated pretty quickly. One server came over and brought our water and chips. 10 minutes passed and another server came and asked if we wanted drinks. He took our drink order. He did not announce who he was. So I asked his name, it was Gustavo. He said he wasn’t our server and that our server, Karolina, was in the bathroom and she would be right with us. Our drinks came and we waited and waited for Karolina. 20 minutes after we sat down, she finally showed up stating that the kitchen was about to close and asked if we would like to go ahead and order. Of course we wanted to order. We had been waiting for her. And no other server took it upon themselves to assist with taking our order so our food was rushed. Here it is. Food looks decent but everything was bland and was overly spiced. I could barely eat my shrimp. The drinks were awful and almost tasteless. $16 for a margarita in a rock glass. Didn’t see the waitress again for another 10 minutes and at that time I asked for the check. The back corner near the kitchen smelled like sewage, possibly an old soiled mop has been used. Then the lights came on and up to full brightness. Drastic change from a dimly lit ambiance. Holy smokes. $75.00!!!! For this!!??? I am a generous tipper but the staff only got 10%. Extremely disappointed. We will not be back. It’s not worth dealing with the loudness or anything...