El Noa Noa Mexican Restaurant — Restaurant in Denver

I have been going to this restaurant for many years but was recently really offended by my experience there. When you enter there is a huge sign on the door leading into the patio, which is the gem of the restaurant. The sign says that there is a $10 fee for requesting use of one of their heaters, of which there are many standing. It was 56 degrees and late evening, so no sun and in Colorado that means the temperature is dropping. I looked around and of course all of the heaters were turned off.

I was chilled but I had a wool wrap. People eating around me (not many given the attitude) were obviously cold, hugging themselves, wearing full winter gear while dining. I asked my server about this new and unusual policy and she said a party had been in recently and stayed too long enjoying the heated patio and apparently running up their gas bill. I was astonished. Isn't that what restaurant owners want? Customers to linger and enjoy themselves and tell people and come back over and over again?

It was also getting darker (7:40 PM in mid April) and they never turned on their draped outdoor lights either, which gives an authentic Mexican ambiance and what had attracted me to the place years earlier.

I spoke to the owner about these policy changes on my way out and she was defensive, said she might turn on the lights when it got even darker. She had a bad attitude, although she volunteered that she recognized me from having been in before. I actually only spoke to her out of respect for the longevity of this restaurant and my wanting to be helpful as a small business owner for 35 years myself.

The food and drinks also have skyrocketed in price. Guacamole the size of a side was $12.00. A side of so-so rice was $5.50. Entrees average about $20.00. No wonder the place was nearly empty. If you are going to charge prices like this maybe you should make your customers feel welcome by not depriving them of heaters.

I don't like eating out where I am made to feel unwelcome. Obviously we are all feeling the pinch of terrible inflation but this business appears to be on the brink of closing. Seriously, you cannot afford cheery candles on the table? I felt sad when I left and not sure I will be back.

Definitely don't go if it is not HOT out. Addendum: I have been there when it was over 100 degrees and no fans or cooling elements. I guess those are too expensive too. probably the reason the restaurant patio was completely empty. I guess they survive on First Friday Art Walk crowds.

Restaurant owners need to realize during this time to appreciate their customers who are also feeling the pressure of inflation and if treated badly will go somewhere else or...

Went to El Noa Noa yesterday with 3 of my friends. We were so excited to go. Atmosphere was great but service was not. We ordered drinks and a appetizer. Our waiter kept coming to the table asking what else we wanted and then tells us we only have an hour and a 1/2 to stay there even though there was a sign in the table that said 2 hour maximum. We ordered more drinks. Then the waiter David I think was his name kept coming to the table and warning us how much time we had left. It made me and my friends very uncomfortable. Then finally after 3 or 4 drinks and the appetizer we were ready to leave since we were rudely reminded of our time that we had available. David I think that was his name gives us our check and I see that he charged us a gratuity of 18% and puts in the check that we were a party of 8. When I addressed it to the waiter he tells us that is what we do on Fridays when it is very busy. To my knowledge if there is a gratuity for smaller parties there should have been a sign informing guests or the waiter is supposed to verbally let us know before we eat. This is a very busy establishment that serves Denver locals and I am appalled how we were treated and how tacky our waiter was when we tried to address our concern. It makes me wonder if El Noa Noa does this to all of their guests or did this waiter take it upon himself to make up his own rules. This was a big disappointment and I DO Not recommend this restaurant unless you want to be ripped off. That sad thing is that I always leave a 20 % or more tip and he missed out on that. I will make sure everyone that I know and that is a lot of people will know how poorly we were treated at El Noa Noa....

my experience was beyond awful. My boyfriend and i split our tab. half cash and half on card. we explained what we wanted done just incase. the waiter seemed to understand. when he returned, however, he had taken the cash and also charged my card twice. so i was charged the entire meal for two. he said he "voided" the first transaction so i signed for the second receipt, but was not so sure about the first receipt. my only indication was his handwritten "VOID" across the paper. so i checked with my bank and of course, it was not voided like i had suspected. i had a talk with the manager and he said there was "nothing he could do for me but to give him 3 business days".. i dont have 3 business days to wait for my own money. but i gave them a break. the three days had passed and i checked my account again. this time he DID void the transaction but then charged me twice so the amount came back as the same as last time. the manager then claimed he put my money in yesterday morning so what did i do? i checked my bank of course. again, there was no money put back into my credit. i am STILL waiting for my money to be returned. poor help and poor service. they are screwing with my money. and to top it off, the food was no where near good enough to go through all this trouble. i will never eat there again. this "mistake" of theirs fell into multiple mistakes and its...