Coyote's Mexican Grill — Restaurant in Decatur

OK. So. Cinco de Mayo and we are looking for a place for good tacos and margaritas. We don't want to drive into Atlanta, deal with traffic and a lot of drunks. I saw this place when driving up Howard one morning and filled it under places to check out later. We were headed to Little Five Points when I thought to detour and see how busy it was. Not busy at all.

What a great neighborhood cantina. The weather was mild so we sat on the deck under the umbrellas and checked out the menu. Typical Mexican fare with good drinks, ample portions and nothing too fancy. My dining companion had Tacos al Pastor and I had Shrimp Tacos. She had corn and I had flour. We also ordered the cheese dip with chorizo...so good. We started of with Sangriaritas - frozen margaritas with a bottle of sangria stuffed into it. The sangria was not sweet enough as had been the case at other bars where we have had similar concoctions. I tried a strawberry margarita after and it just did not have a strong enough flavor for me. My dining companion followed our first round with a mojito, which she absolutely raved about. It was filled with tons of fresh mint muddled to perfection. The tacos came in threes and were filled with a very fresh cabbage slaw and pico de gallo in a perfect balance with the meat in hers and and the shrimp in mine. My shrimp were batter fried, juicy and tender. The tacos were delicious. I'll order them again. I caught a glimpse or two of other's plates. Everything looked fresh and delicious. I was amused to see broccoli on what I believe was a fajita pan. Everyone around us seemed to be happy with their good. Although we had been excited to see flan, fried ice cream and mango pie on the menu, we forgot to order it and I awakened in the night lamenting the fact that I'd forgotten it. So sad. Guess I'll have to come back! A nice touch were the trinkets that they gave out throughout the evening...typical beads and t-shirts. The servers were attentive. We had no less than four servers check to see if we had been served. Our waitress was diligent and friendly, but became friendlier when we held a conversation with her about Mexico. She really warmed up. We really liked this place and will...

My family and I dined at Coyote's for lunch within the past week.

We sat at a table that hadn't been cleaned yet and our server, who had a poor attitude and constantly acted as if he was unable to serve us because he was just too busy with other tables for the duration of our time there, simply gave it a wipe-down with a NAPKIN. This was only the beginning of our totally lacking service at Coyote's. This server acted exasperated when we asked him for our salsa the second time, and at one point basically just told us no when we asked for another type of drink for the table (but then brought it later anyway?? also, we weren't even in any type of hurry to get said drink). Both my partner and I have worked in restaurants and understand how to deliver good service in busy stores with customer expectations. This was not it.

On top of that, the steak fajitas I ordered from the lunch specials menu were sub-par. The steak itself was not high quality or cooked well - it was fatty and tough, and I was disappointed that the fajitas didn't come out on a steaming skillet; the meat, veggies, beans and rice were all plated together. I heard the sizzle of the patrons' fajitas behind me while we were paying the check, so they obviously do that at Coyote's, but did they not want to do it because it was a lunch special, or simply because they didn't feel like doing it for us?

Go literally anywhere other than Coyote's for Mexican. I would have asked for management yesterday, but honestly, if these are their basic standards, I think prospective patrons...

I hesitated about ordering dinner from here tonight because my last few experiences were just so-so. I should have gone elsewhere. When I called in my order I was given a window of 35- 40 minutes for pick up. I got there at the 35 min mark. I waited another 25 minutes to get my order. During that time I was asked 3 times what I had ordered. I had 3 items in my order. All 3 were wrong. I asked for no bell peppers in my veggie burrito but except for 2 small slices of zucchini and a sprig of broccoli it was filled with bell peppers. I literally removed 3/4 cup of bell peppers. The tortilla was gummy and inedible. To top it off there was no seasoning on the veggies, even salt. There was about a tablespoon of water surrounding the cheese dip that had been poured on top of the burrito?!? I ordered queso with peppers but got plain queso, no peppers. The bean and cheese dip had maybe a teaspoon of cheese in it. Again, no jalapenos. They've become quite stingy with the chips as well although they were fresh and tasty as was the salsa. I recognize it was a Friday evening and they were busy and short staffed but it only takes a moment to write an order and then read it. This used to be my favorite Mexican restaurant but over the last 3-4 years it has really gone down hill. Actually every year since they moved to Sycamore Pl. it has become less and less appealing even though the space is nicer and larger. I feel like I threw my money in the trash along with the...