Taquero — Restaurant in Dallas

I recently had a rather disheartening experience with Taquero in Dallas, a city renowned for its vibrant and competitive dining scene. Dallas boasts one of the highest rates of restaurants per capita in the country, offering a diverse array of dining options that cater to all sorts of preferences and occasions. Amidst this rich tapestry of culinary establishments, one would hope to find flexibility and a warm welcome, especially from high-end restaurants that are part of a community known for its hospitality.

Unfortunately, Taquero fell short of these expectations during my attempt to organize a family dinner for a party of 10, including three children, on what one might consider a quieter Tuesday evening. Despite the reputation of Mexican cuisine for its generous hospitality and the cultural emphasis on accommodating and celebrating gatherings, Taquero imposed a rather rigid and frankly inhospitable booking policy. They requested a $250 reservation fee or a minimum consumption guarantee of $650. This policy was strictly applied regardless of the composition of the party, which in my case, included young children—described by the staff as merely occupying space without contributing to the consumption minimum.

This approach not only felt unwelcoming but also seemed misaligned with the fundamental values of service and accommodation prevalent in Mexican dining culture. The insistence on such terms under the guise of being a "different kind" of restaurant does little to foster goodwill or encourage patronage, particularly in a city where many other establishments also strive to offer unique dining experiences but without compromising on customer service and satisfaction.

The inflexibility displayed by Taquero raises questions about the balance between a business’s operational needs and customer service, especially in a competitive market like Dallas where choices abound, and diners can easily find more accommodating venues. On a day traditionally associated with lower business volumes, one would anticipate more adaptability, not less.

This experience was a stark reminder that the essence of hospitality extends beyond mere transactions. It is about making patrons feel valued and welcomed. Unfortunately, Taquero’s policies seem more focused on serving their own needs rather than embracing the very ethos of hospitality that many seek in a dining experience, particularly in a city as rich in culinary diversity and...

Updated to respond to reply.

Update: As you can see by their response, they didn't listen to the situation at all. I got 2 cancelled reservation emails for the 2 reservations that I made. If this was an issue, they had my contact information for a month. They could have simply called or emailed to clarify. Instead, they talked over me, ignored my questions, hung up on me and cancelled the reservations. Again, I would've paid the fee I was just informed of when I talked to the host. The restaurant thinks everyone has psychic powers to know their restaurant reservations policies and takes no responsibility for communicating with customers. All that needed to happen was to clarify. Second best scenario was why not just have 2 tables reserved separately 🤷‍♂️. Instead, they chose to make it such an issue to lose a customer for life.

Original review: Unbelievable experience at this place. I made a reservation online for tonight. I made this like a month ago. The limit on line per table is 6 but I thought no big deal, I'll just make 2 separate reservations for 2 tables and then see if there's a chance they can be placed together. I also let the restaurant know this in their "comments" section on the reservation about anything they need to know. I called yesterday to inquire about the situation and they asked if I could call after 4. So I called today. The woman sounded very confused as I asked if I could have the tables together. I couldn't actually tell if they even kept the reservations because she said it was "probably" cancelled as if she didn't even know for sure. I was trying to be patient as she kept lecturing me about how they do reservations when I asked her to hear me out as I was just trying to get a clear answer to my 2 questions. She then did indeed make me angry as she said this would've not been a problem if I would've been honest. Excuse me? I simply use your system online and say what's going on and that's somehow dishonest? I even told her I would pay the large party fee. She then sent me to the manager. He basically said it's too big of a party and I asked him if I had a reservation and he said no it's cancelled. I said this is bad because as I was going to tell him this is for a post holiday work gathering he hung up on me. I will not eat here again. It's sad. They have good food. But I refuse to give my money to a place that cares so little about...

Chose this restaurant for a nice sit down taco dinner as our first time out with our family after moving to Dallas. We had a table of 6 around 7:30pm on a Saturday, was told we could not be accommodated without a reservation unless we wanted to sit on the patio. We obliged despite it being close to 80 degrees out. They had a cooler available on the patio but it was not turned on, however they repositioned a fan to help with some breeze. The menu was extensively explained and the waitress told us she would give us a few minutes, but took a really long while before she returned to take our order. This would be the trend for the duration of our meal where the waitress would disappear for 10-20 minutes at a time. Appetizers then came out at the same time as 2 of our 6 entrees. More waiting… When the second round of entrees came out, my significant other still had not received his food. We let the waitress know that we were still missing an entree and no one had received utensils to eat with. More waiting while swatting flies away from our uneaten food. We didn’t have utensils to eat with until 20+ minutes had passed with our food sitting on the table. Someone asked for salsa that didn’t come out until his entree was more than half eaten. As everyone else was finishing their food, we asked for my significant other’s entree to be cancelled as it still was not ready and to please bring the check. Waitress returned with the entree anyway while we were all waiting for the check, asked if we wanted it to go instead. We told her it seemed like there was no other choice at this point. She brought back the taco and enchilada meal scraped off the dinner plate into the box all on top of each other like slop (see picture below) and we were charged on the check for it, as well as an included 20% gratuity to add insult to injury. Someone from our party had to go into the restaurant to get us some to go boxes as we were mostly ignored. What an absolutely horrible experience we had. Waitress offered an apology that they were backed up but nothing further. Food was tasty but expensive for the portion size. Restaurant was pretty inside but the patio experience also not worth it even if the service was better. Worst service I’ve received in a restaurant in...