Que Pasa Mex - Destin — Restaurant in Destin

Let me preface this by stating that this is the first restaurant review I’ve ever written. I don’t relish the opportunity to give negative public feedback to an establishment. However, my experience with Que Pasa Mex – Destin was so abysmal and so blatantly disrespectful I feel it necessary to share my experience with others, especially locals to the Destin area.

Monday, May 5th was Cinco De Mayo and this restaurant was hosting an outdoor event to celebrate the occasion. My fiancé and I live in the apartment complex down the street from Que Pasa Mex and upon returning home from work we saw the event included outdoor dining, lemonade stands, tents, and music, very very very loud music… as the night wore on we could hear and feel the incessant bass from their speakers rattling our apartment walls facing the direction of the restaurant.

After patiently waiting till 11:00pm (keep in mind quite hours as required by Okaloosa county law are from 10:00pm to 7:00am) our neighbors and myself had decided that we’d had enough and agreed to call the restaurant and kindly ask them to turn the music down as some of us had small children that couldn’t sleep and my fiancé and myself are active duty military and had to report to work early in the morning.

When I called the restaurant, it took nearly 10 minutes to finally get a hold of the manager because no one could hear or understand what I was saying (I wonder why). When I kindly explained to the manager that it was a Monday night and my fiancé and I couldn’t sleep - along with many of the residents in the apartment complex to include those with small children, she bluntly retorted that there was nothing she could do about it. When I asked why, all she said was they had special permission. I then reiterated the situation and again received no sympathy or understanding whatsoever. Turning the music down (keep in mind I wasn’t even asking for them to turn it off) was out of the question - this manager was essentially inviting me to go to hell. I then asked when they expected to finish for the night, but was again met with blatant disrespect, as she refused to provide an answer, not even an estimated time.

I then hung up, waited another half hour, met my limit for a second time, and finally called the Okaloosa County sheriff who told me they’d received multiple complaints about the restaurant already and were dispatching a deputy to respond. It wasn’t until well after midnight when the music finally stopped, and I’d just completed what felt like a routine Saturday night for a family neighboring a college frat house.

It is unfathomable that a restaurant would treat anyone in this fashion, including and especially locals who serve as regular customers. I’ve been to Que Pasa two or three times, and until now, serving below average Mexican food and overpriced margaritas was the only gripe I’ve had with them. I can promise you my family and I, along with many of our neighbors, will never go back. If you’re craving good Mexican food, I highly recommend checking out Blue Iguana, which just opened...

The service was horrible! My family and I sat at the bar for 32 minutes and wasn’t acknowledged. When we finally spoke up we we’re addressed with a rude attitude from the bartender in the photos provided. He never addressed again, because he totally abandoned us. My sister thought of a clever idea to walk to the cashier/waitress up front to place an order to go only to have it delivered to us at the bar. Once waitress learned that my sister was placing a to go order to have delivered to us at the bar. The waitress said that wouldn’t be necessary and that she would be right over to the bar to take our order.

Here is the kicker a caucasian couple came and sat down beside us and was acknowledged within 2 minutes. Their order was taken within that 2 minute time frame as well. The waitress came over to finally take our order after our long wait. I certainly understand the fact that they were busy, but to have not been acknowledged after sitting right in their face for 30 plus minutes is not only unacceptable, but rude on so many levels.

We ordered Quesadillas which were good, but the drinks and service were absolutely horrible. I wouldn’t recommend this facility to anyone of darker persuasion, because they will totally ignore you and if you don’t speak up they will avoid you like the plague!!!! The waiter in the photos on Yelp was the absolute worst!!!

This review nor wait time has absolutely nothing to do with Covid, because we were there 30 minutes prior to other guest being served and acknowledged after being there less than 2 minutes. They never cleaned our eating area either we sprayed and wiped down our own area. The couple that sat down after us area was cleaned immediately so it’s unfair to blame Covid for unprofessionalism and rudeness. I didn’t bother to get the waiter’s name, but did take several pics of him. He stared at us, but never said a word to us! Never again will I patronize...

Service was extraordinarily horrendous. I own a restaurant so I 100% understand frustrations when patrons show up right at closing. However, my party arrived 30 minutes prior to the listed closing time. After standing up front for a few, being totally ignored, and the hostess disappearing into the kitchen, she seated us obviously reluctantly. Jorge then came to the table, clearly irritated we even existed. We ordered drinks, cheese dip, and an app and were going to wait until drinks came back to decide on main meals. He said no! "Kitchen is closing so everything has to be ordered now!" Ok, no biggie. We order. All "courses" come out together. Once again, that in and of itself not a big deal. However, the flinging of plates onto the table and his general horrible attitude were 100% uncalled for. We also had to ask multiple times for the one margarita we ordered in the very beginning of this mess, which finally arrived sometime after all the food. And I cannot figure out for the life of me why (when obviously he needed us to leave so badly) we were never brought a ticket so we could, in fact, leave. One of our party finally had to just go into a side room to find a to go container since no one ever came back. And please don't think we were the last people in this establishment preventing them from going home to their families. There were 10+ tables seated and some were just getting their food when we were at the front counter waiting on someone to find our ticket so we could leave. In regards to the food itself, it was a 7 out of 10, but even if it was a 10 out of 10, no way I'd go back. I can't even think of a time when I've experienced such blatant rudeness. When even my oblivious teenager notices how ridiculous the waiter was behaving, you know it...