Francisca Charcoal Chicken & Meats | Doral — Restaurant in Doral

READ BEFORE COMING!!! If you do not speak Spanish do not go here. They will point at photos and say the menu is in English. Don’t walk, RUN the other way.

We were taking a flight out of Miami the next day and we decided to come here because of the awesome reviews. Well the reviews tell a different story than the experience. I’ll tell you how our experience was:

We get here and they don’t speak much English AT ALL!! I understand it’s a Spanish restaurant but they were down right rude! The said look at the pictures and pointed at the menu. They said menu in English. First of all half the menu items tell a story rather than saying what’s on the actual plate. They asked for appetizers before they even asked for drinks. What kind of place does this?! A place with over 26,000 reviews? I think this is the biggest hoax of reviews and experiences a family could have.

The service was absolutely horrendous. From not being personable to not bringing several items that we asked for numerous times. The staff was just lost and could not deal with a table of 10 people.

When the food came out 3/4 of the steaks were severely over cooked that they had to be sent back and done again. 2 of our guests didn’t even get their food for over 10 minutes too. Lol This was all just a joke. So half our party did not did not get their meal on time or their food was not the way it was supposed to be. I mean to us that’s unacceptable.

We had a party of 10 and in the beginning we asked for separate checks. Then another couple also asked into the dinner. At the end of the meal we got one check and asked for it to be split. They literally gave us a pen and told us to check off what each party had lol is this real life? I thought we were on a hidden camera show. They finally split it up after we said we aren’t paying the whole bill like that. There was a thumbs up and thumbs down on the screen when paying and I marked a thumbs down. The manager came out and asked about the experience and I had to let him know all the way from the top that the whole experiment was awful. I mean the food was good but the experience and service was underwhelming and that’s giving them a little credit.

Manager comments after we explained the whole experience. The following excuses:

We were busy! Umm this place wasn’t even half full. This was a total joke and just a line managers say. What a crock.

We don’t have our best staff because it’s hard to keep people. Umm so why not preface that in the beginning and let us know they’re running behind or something along those lines? Make it easier on your staff and give them some grace.

I was unaware you all were having this experience. Whaaaat?! You came to our table 3 times for meal complaints and had to comp a meal. Is this your average night? Does this sound like a positive experience? This isn’t a red flag for a manager to make sure the rest of the experience is positive? Come on man, I wasn’t born last night. Another BS excuse and terrible one liner.

All in all I would say the food was good but the service was atrocious. I highly recommend DO NOT GO HERE!!

Good food does not conquer...

The food is good, however the serving sizes are ridiculously small for a whole chicken, we got salad and fries for our sides and the servings are for one person. I went with my kids who are little and don’t eat much and we had to get additional sides and appetizers to make it a full meal, Which never happens when we eat out we usually have left overs from a whole chicken, we got the arepitas and maduros and it was the same I think we got 3 maduros in total with some cheese on top not sure if they check the quality/quantity of the food before bringing it to us… but 3 maduros and a salad should be shareable and not just a single serving, but I guess that’s the business the more you order the better, it is what it is but the size doesn’t justify the price. I felt extremely rushed by the waitress she seemed in a hurry, annoyed, tired, I’m not sure but I think they just don’t care to treat clients right or make them feel welcomed because the tip is already included in the check, so they know that they’ll be getting tipped either way, everyone just seems like their in a rush like someone is watching them and the more the rush the better, it’s not the greatest place to go if you want to go out and have a nice relaxed lunch or dinner.

I’m also very annoyed at the fact that as soon as you walk in the place is smoking you can literally see the smoke in all the areas and when we left we all smelled like we were in the kitchen cooking the food. We went Sunday, today is Tuesday and my hair smells like smoke. It’s gross, my daughter’s hair smells the same and we washed our hairs 3xs already. I’m not the one to leave reviews but they should really consider a better ventilation system for their kitchen or have it checked out because that’s not how you’re supposed to smell when you get out of...

Every week, I need to order takeout, and for the past few months, we have chosen Francisca because my family and I love their food. However, we have been very disappointed with the service lately.

Two weeks ago (Thursday), we tried calling in the afternoon to place a lunch order, but we were left on hold indefinitely and never assisted. We ended up having to go to the restaurant in person, only to be served by Alix, the same person who left us on hold, who had a very bad attitude and lacked the usual friendliness we were accustomed to at Francisca.

Last Wednesday, instead of ordering takeout, we decided to dine at the restaurant, but once again, the same person treated us poorly. She didn’t even take the time, as they used to, to explain the dishes. It seems like they are understaffed, which is causing the service quality to decline. My partner considered speaking to the manager, but to our surprise, we realized that the manager didn’t speak English. I have nothing against supporting Latinos (my family is of Latin origin) but having a restaurant manager in the United States who doesn’t speak English is unacceptable.

The last straw was last Thursday when we called again to place a lunch order and, once again, we were left on hold for an unreasonably long time without assistance. It is a shame that their service has declined because the food is really good.

Today, my family wants to go to Francisca, but my partner and I are debating whether to go to the Doral location, even though it is farther for us. But has the service there also declined, just like in the Miami Lakes location? Or would it be better to not go to either one at all?...