Angry Owl Southwest Grill & Cantina — Restaurant in El Paso

Spread the word...Truth is never bitter.

I would give Angry Owl -5 stars if I could...

My last straw was the constant use of the "N" word by non African American people in the back of the house aka the kitchen.

There's no excuse for having others or me personally be subjected to such poor values.

Upon being hired here at Angry Owl, I informed the main manager, Kimberly that I lost my wife. What I didn't tell her is that my wife was black. When I brought the use of the "N" word up to her, her response was that the word was being used in the back of the house so it didn't matter. In other words, if the customers couldn't hear it, it didn't matter.

Have you the main person shouting the N" word left and right was the other manager, Tyler (Caucasian) along with mostly all the cooks and expo.

This place I hear used to be great. If you look around you can tell it definitely was great. Not anymore. Now the walls are splattered with some type of white paint. I've noticed it for weeks back in the "Sunroom." The old tile floors appear grimy. Atmosphere aside, the service is subpar.

The common excuse will be "we're short staffed and never catch up" or "we have poorly trained newbies." I wonder why they can't keep their staff... I was actually one of the newcomers. They had me train extensively on the menu and had me taste some of their different categories. Let me just say that if you are going to pay an arm and a leg for below average food and be ok with it, fine. What you will not be ok with is the secrets the back end of the house, the kitchen holds.

Mushrooms and black mold grow from neglected water filters. Don't drink the water. Their ice machine filters are the same so really, don't drink anything water and ice related.

The soups, well, be careful eating them. I won't go into detail but the way it's handled with leftovers and such is questionable and guaranteed to make a sensitive stomach ill. Not to mention super low quality heated in thin plastic bags. They also heat up all soups and sides in styrofoam cups with plastic lids. They come out of the microwave melted. Then they pour that crap into the little hard plastic or ceramic bowls. Super not good for you. Shame on them for cutting so many corners at your healths expense.

They claim they make the best burgers in town. LMAO 🤣. Maybe at one point. Not so much these days. More so not so much during lunch. To be honest, an ultimate bacon cheeseburger from Jack in the Box tastes much better and you get much more bang for your buck. That's sad.

Don't believe me, go ahead and try any of their burgers or any of their other low quality, high price items. You'll be sure to eat the crap they serve cause your there and all but will not agree to any of their burgers or rest of their menu to be the best in town.

This restaurant pays it's servers $2.13 per hour which it gets out of paying completely. You, the customers pay our wage via your tips. That's all we get. But that's not all, servers and cooks have to do an insane amount of what they call "sidework" once your done serving and the microscopic moments inbetween serving.

Please note that all this extra work is NOT paid. Not even one cent. All it does it further drive down the amount you actually make per hour. Not to mention distract the server from providing the true, great customer service experience deserved.

All the staff here is struggling to make ends meet. If you're ok with knowing the above, then yes, please go support this modern day slavery and taking advantage of people who have to work here and if lucky barely scrap by.

And no, CHICO, I don't care to email you. You can't ever make this right. I blame ownership. They got too comfortable thinking they were great. All while in reality it was and is all heading down.

*Hats off to, Mike, the dishwasher. At one point he offered to buy me food from there during a shift cause he noticed I had no money and was starving. I declined because I know he is also struggling but the offer touched my heart forever....

UPDATED REVIEW 6/21/2024 After a disappointing first visit, Angry Owl completely redeemed itself during our recent dining experience on 6/21/2024 at approximately 6:20 PM. The transformation was remarkable, and it was all thanks to our outstanding server, Victor Munoz.

Victor mentioned he was still learning, but his service was absolutely the best we have ever received. His attentiveness, professionalism and genuine friendliness made our evening truly enjoyable. From the moment we were seated, Victor ensured we were well taken care of, making sure our drinks were promptly refilled and that our orders were taken without delay.

His positive attitude and dedication to providing excellent service were evident throughout the meal. Victor's attention to detail, from suggesting menu items to checking on us regularly, showed a level of care and commitment that is rare to find. He is truly a star in the making and his efforts did not go unnoticed.

Additionally, one of the cooks even walked out to the tables to ensure the food was up to standard. This was a very different experience, but we really liked it. It demonstrated a level of care and customer service that greatly enhanced our dining experience.

Overall, we are blown away by the transformation in service. Thanks to Victor's exceptional service and the proactive efforts of the staff, our perception of Angry Owl has completely changed. The management clearly listened to feedback and made significant improvements. We are thrilled to have given Angry Owl another chance and will certainly be returning. Highly recommended!

INITIAL VISIT My recent visit to Angry Owl was marred by incredibly poor service, leaving me thoroughly dissatisfied. Here's why I wouldn't recommend this establishment nor will I be returning:

Unwelcoming Atmosphere: The ambiance was lackluster, and the staff seemed more interested in their own conversations than attending to customers. It felt as though we were an inconvenience rather than valued guests.

Slow Service: Despite the restaurant not being busy in the bar/table section, it took a long time for our orders to be taken (later taken by the bartender as Gilbert never came to our table until the middle of our meal).

Inattentive Staff: Throughout the meal when Gilbert took over, it was difficult to get his attention as he was no where to be found nor did he check on us. Requests for assistance were forgotten entirely and we had to get the attention of another gentleman that was running out the food. The level of attentiveness was severely lacking.

Poor Management: There was a noticeable absence of management presence. It seemed as though there was a complete disregard for customer satisfaction.

Bartender Serving as Server: The only staff member who did display a positive attitude was the bartender. She informed us that our server was going to be Gilbert; however Gilbert never appeared to our table until the middle of our dining experience which is where it went downhill. Unfortunately, we didn't catch her name; however, she did take our drink and appetizer orders and brought it to us and then later taking our lunch order.

Overall, my experience at Angry Owl was extremely disappointing due to the abysmal service we received after the bartender assisted us. The bartender and hostess were a gem; unfortunately, I am unable to say that about the rest of the staff that day. I would advise others to steer clear of this establishment until significant improvements are made in the quality of...

If I could rate with a negative star I would. I went there a year ago and can't eat spicy food and told the waiter this as I ordered, and he never said what I ordered had any pico in the guacomole, so I ate a chicken sandwich and was very ill that night and the following two days. I gave it another chance today and it was terrible service. I sat in the bar area because that's where the hostess put me and there was a table of four who drank way too much and couldn't stop laughing, getting out of their chairs, and just being way too obnoxious. The food took about 30 minutes to come out and the manager comes out and apoligizes and says we are short-handed, and I will give a discount and will be right back with the rest of the food. The food finally came out and it was seasoned again after I told them I can't do spices and was cold. I didn't even attempt to eat it and the waitress never cared to ask why I did not eat it. Again, the only reason I gave this place a second chance was because I won a gift certificate in a fundraiser. When I handed the waitress the gift certificate she was just like, "Oh so you will use the gift certificate plus the discount we gave you". Then she proceeded to print two tickets to show what should have been paid and then show a measly 10% discount for having to wait to place the order, get your meal in sections, and having to wait way too long when not all tables were filled. After that I asked for a soda to-go where the waitress appeared to make it a point to do other things like sweep and bus tables and check on others when it would have taken all of ten seconds to get the drink to go. Even with all that, I still tipped 15% but can safely say that I will never go back to this place again and would rather rip up a gift certificate than spend any...