Margarita's Mexican Restaurant — Restaurant in Ely

Let me preface this by saying it was 10;30 PM, Nothing nearby open in Ely Nevada. I'm checking in at a local hotel (Ramada)after being on the road for 11 hours. Lady at front desk was very friendly. I ask for AAA discount she say...No sir you don't want that ..its 129.00 a night and our regular rate is 99.00. I ask. is it pretty safe hear? She responds some incoherent answer and then said something really funny that I can't recall at 2am as I'm drafting this review. I say "I have a trailer and Motorcycle with me. She says, I have a room over looking the parking lot so you can watch your stuff.....She says this if if she just found the cure for cancer..... I opening laugh outside with her. I say again... Is it safe here.... She says...the police station is just down the street.... I say yes I know as a matter of fact they have someone pulled over in your parking lot searching their car as we speak... She laughs... and proceeds to whisper , I'm putting you in room 414 over looking the parking lot, then she leans in and says... it's on the 2nd floor there is no 4th floor. She say I sure hope your not hungry.... Me....I'm starving!!! She winces, rolled her eyes, bows her head , then rebounds with ...there are free snacks in the room. I said..."I take it the restraurant in the Hotel is closed".. She sheepishly says yes. I say....can you recommend another restaurant? Sure she says...there's a Carl's Junior just down the street... Me..I was hoping for a sitdown restaurant. She says the Prospect.....With keys in hand I'm off to the prospect. In side the Prospect is a restaurant called Margarita's this was my restaurant experience.

Mexican restaurant with dual menu Mexican/American. I walk in and all the staff was huddled at some corner tables laughing and having fun. I make eye contact and stand there as everyone looks at me then looks at each other. So I say "you guys open" they say yeah. Awkward!!! Then from out of the kitchen comes the host person. Say how many? I signal with my finger 1. He points at the 4 top table next to him in the dim lit dining area , I say that'll work. Tosses the menu on the table, and scurries to the kitchen, I sit down , slide what seamed like a year supply of condiments to the area across the table from me. I look up and bam he quickly shoves a water in front of me and scurries to the group of employees huddled in the corner across the room. Server approaches, nice greeting and ask if I needed a drink. Ice tea, mango please "EXTRA ICE NO LEMON " I say this in my adamant voice. Ok, she turns and heads to the kitchen. Less than a minute later the host person swoops in and bam mango Iced tea in front of me...First thing I notice Big slice of lemon, I go to stir the mango that is settled on the bottom and mix the 3 pieces of ice in the Luke warm "ICED TEA". Server comes back. What'll it be? I say rib eye, medium , baked potato loaded... she stops me says" everything on the side....me; great I take everything loaded up on the side. Veggies and salad blue cheese. She smiles and scurries off. Very quickly she is back with a premade house salad and two small cups packets of dressing... no time to ask for more as she turns a heads back to kitchen. I take time to snap a couple of pictures and transfer some ice to my tea from my ice water... I take a couple of bites, start relaxing & winding down..bam from nowhere my dinner plate is pushed in front of me. She says anything else..me; yes Hienz 57 & another iced tea and can I please get extra ice....Server sure be right back. I check out my food...looks good.. the loaded potato consisted of to butter pads and to small plastic tubes of sour cream. Bam in front of me is a new iced tea, he says you might want to mix it, turns and heads back to his co-workers... I remove the lemon and stir around the 4 pieces of ice in my Luke warm iced tea. The steak was not bad. Definately not a premium piece of meat but at 11pm in Ely after long day of driving this was like a fine Filet. It was tasty , cooked medium as requested, cold veggie and over cooked...

This review concerns my last visit to Margaritas on the evening of September 26th, 2020.

The visit started out as it should, the staff was friendly as usual. Server was attentive, we got our food in a reasonable time, the food was hot and refills were offers for drinks.

The problem started when I received the bill for the order. We both ordered from the children’s/seniors menu. I ordered a burrito with ground beef. My friend ordered a burrito and asked if could get that with carne asada. The server said yes. The price listed on the menu is $6.99. At that time, she made no mention of an extra charge for carne asada. There is also no mention of an extra charge on the menu. On the bill there was an up charge of $5.99 for carne asada. I called her to the table and asked about the extra charge. We weren’t satisfied with the explanation we got, and requested the manager. When Jorge (sp?)the manager/owner arrived at our table, he appeared to be bothered by the fact we had called for him. He stated that we ordered from the Ninos menu, and I stated that it included children under 12 as well as seniors over 55, which were both are. He accused us of trying to change his menu, that the kids/senior burrito didn’t normally come with carne asada, when the server said, yes it was. He mentioned the price of beef, and the conversation broke down shorty after that. As a business owner/manager, Jorge did not act in a professional manner.

I paid the bill without a tip, as the mistake was on the part of the server, for not mentioning a significant up charge of nearly $6.00 on a $6.99 meal , nearly doubling the price. In the past I would typically tip between $5-6.00 for a $20-25 meal, so for me, it was a wash.

I have no problem with a business charging whatever they want for their food/service, but I have the right to know what those charges are BEFORE I order that food, not after I have eaten it and have to pay more the was agreed upon at the time of ordering. And if I don’t like the price, I have the right to go elsewhere, or cook at home.

I advise anyone who eats here to scrutinize their bill before paying to verify what the are charging you.

These are the reviews I hate to leave, as any business can make an error, it is how they handle that error that separates the good from the bad.

This review in no way reflects on The Prospector Casino, where this...

Margarita's was said to be the best place to eat in town. After looking at other eating establishment reviews we think that's probably true. We stayed at the Prospector and it was very convenient to eat at Margarita's. The first night we ate and each had a different kind of steak. We had a taquito appetizer was good. It's not a traditional Taquitos but so tasty. My husband had the signature Italian margarita with amaretto in it. He said it was sa little sweet but interesting. I tasted it and thought it was good. He is a Whiskey guy and usually doesn't do mixed drinks. The meal was good the decor fun and it was busy. The service was good. We ate breakfast there the next day and I had the chicken fried steak which was good and my husband had some sort of breakfast omelette with various meats he enjoyed. We ended up having a late lunch dinner there our 2nd and last night. He got Fajitas and thought they were food but a bit heavy on veg and could have been more meat. It was a mix including shrimp. The shrimp I tasted was seasoned but tasted like precooked and not grilled shrimp. I could be wrong but it tastes that way to me. I had the 2 cheese enchiladas and a chicken taco. The plate was too heavy on beans that it saturated the enchiladas. The enchiladas needed a sauce on them, not just dipped. It made it dry on top and the cheese on top was a sprinkle and dried into the top. There should have been sauce on top and then cheese add at the end to melt. The inside of it was good but I did have to dig it out of beans. The taco seemed to be a store bought shell and wasn't great. It was soggy because of the rice and beans it was set on. The chips and 2 salsas were pretty good. The deep friend ice cream was very good. Overall it was a good experience and the food while not the best I've had it good. The breakfast being the best. So thankful for the convenience of restaurant. The decor was fun and it looks like there are price tags so if you see something you like it seems you're in luck! The servers were nice and food came out fast, but for 2 meals it was difficult to get them to return...