Puerto Vallarta — Restaurant in Federal Way

I have gone here for years and always had amazing service from a super friendly staff. Went in about 2 months ago with my family and the grandparents, (8 of us total)......they were somewhat busy, but have seen much worse. EVERYONE working that evening seemed mad at the world. Took forever to get our order taken (from a "rushed", short and abrupt waiter).... when we flagged someone down for more chips and salsa, they only brought us one, even though we had 3 baskets on our long table....when our food was brought out none of the sides or extras we ordered were with it, so when we asked, his "annoyance" was obvious. Upon returning with those items, my mothers husband asked for a lemonade, because the waiter hadn't bothered to ask anyone if they wanted beverages while taking our original order. You would think the request for lemonade, and the fact that he didn't bring out any other beverages would have made him realize his error and asked if anyone else wanted something. Nope. The request was made as he was walking away....he said "yes" and just kept walking. Plates of food were given to the wrong people, so we had to try to grab those hot plates to get the right meals to the right people..(he had already walked away by the time we realized the mistakes). Overall, the worst experience I've ever had there. Since it WAS our first bad experience, I decided not to give a bad review...... BUT....returned today to take the kids out for lunch like I always do on their last day of school.....as we walked in, the bartender was just coming out of the bar. Since I knew she was the bartender, I just smiled and kept talking with the kids until the hostess came to seat us. Well after about 30 seconds, I realized she was just standing there staring at us like, "are you ready or what"....she actually never said a word, I could just tell by her body language that she was waiting to seat us. I asked for 3 adult and 3 childrens menus. (We got 3 adult menus and that was it. She never came back with children's menus). After we were seated, and she brought us our waters, I asked for a drink from the bar....and once again got the obvious "annoyance". After waiting approx 20-30 min without seeing a single employee, I went looking for someone to take our order. At the front register was a couple who started laughing when they saw I was clearly looking for an employee. They said, "Yeah, we know how you feel, we've been standing here forever". It was right after that that some other guests saw me and informed me that other than the cook and busboy, the bartender was THE ONLY ONE WORKING, and that some other employees would be there soon. About 5-10 min. later someone finally showed up to take our order. I ordered a ground beef burrito, and about 4 bites into it, I realized it was shredded beef. After the wait we'd just had, and the fact that I couldn't see the waiter anywhere, I just ate it. After our bill was put on the table, I finally just went to the front register after waiting another 15 min for the waiter to come retrieve it, (or appear at all). At the register, I brought up the error with my burrito....not only did I not get any kind of compensation, but I didn't even get a simple "I'm sorry". I'm not sure what's going on with this particular location, but I will definitely be driving the extra distance to go to "The Crossings" from now on. If it's no better there...then I guess...

This was seriously one of the BEST servers we've ever had. No joke! From the moment we sat down, she was friendly, helpful, and just made us feel welcome right away. We stopped in to grab a few bites off the happy hour menu and were considering margaritas. When we asked if they were pre-made, she said they were, but instead, she recommended soda water with a shot of tequila and a splash of pineapple juice. It was technically a well drink, but WOW—it tasted like a fresh, homemade margarita with a delicious tajín rim. So good!

We ordered the street tacos which were good, and I also had the shrimp and mushrooms. The shrimp were great, though I think the mushrooms could have been cooked a little longer, but it was yummy. It even came with a scoop of Spanish rice.

We also tried the chile relleno. AMAZING! She explained the two different preparation styles, and we went with the breaded version with the stem on. It was to die for. My husband even ordered chicken wings (at a Mexican restaurant, I know!), but she confidently recommended them and she wasn’t wrong. They were great!

Oh! I can't forget to share about Pico De Gallo was the best! It was fresh with a lot of cilantro and included avocado!! I would return just for this!!!

I think our waitress's name was Alisha. I even posted her photo because she made such a lasting impression, haha! What really stood out was her attentiveness. We were seated on the patio, and she made the effort to check in on us several times, not just dropping off food and disappearing. She was warm, knowledgeable, gave fantastic recommendations, and made the whole evening more fun.

A top notch review for a top notch waitress! We’ll definitely be...

I made a take-out order, so this review has little to do with the customer service side of the business, the people who rang me up seemed very friendly and professional. The three-star rating is simply for the food. It was okay.

Their menu says that all burritos come with a side of rice and beans, but mine did not (Super Burrito Manadero).

I understand that they have to walk a fine line between serving food efficiently and food safety issues involving hot liquids/food. However, I arrived on time for the pick up and was digging into it about 5 minutes later, but it was already half way to cold and the flour tortilla was doughy from sitting in the meat and tomato juices. I used the chips (which I was not expecting but was grateful for) to eat the burrito when I found the doughy/pasty texture of the tortilla too off-putting.

I liked their salsa (came with the chips). It had a lot of flavor and fresh scallions for a little bite.

The meat was seasoned, the size of the burrito was generous, and the dollop of guacamole on top was more than what I've gotten at a lot of other restaurants.

Overall, I would try this restaurant again, but for dine-in, not take-out, so that the food doesn't lose texture...