Autentica Taqueria — Restaurant in Florida

I normally don’t write too many reviews but this one I had to do. I went to this place with my husband and 2 year old this evening around 6pm. We walked in and were seated. There were 2 other families dining as well. When we were seated the waiter came to take our drink orders and my husband asked if the margaritas were made fresh. The waiter said that they were, so my husband decided to order one. While we waited for the drinks, I was hoping to get a high chair quick so I can seat my son, and no one brought one. I had to get up and ask the young lady at the front if I could have one and she ended up bringing one. The “freshly made” margarita arrived and it was out of the frozen machine. Not sure how you call that fresh and made in house…….. The food arrived and the tacos were cold and so were my enchiladas. Cold cold, like sitting on the counter for a while cold. Apart from cold enchiladas, they were dry. I had to call the waiter over for enchilada sauce because of how dry they were. We finished our meal, sat there, my husband went to the bathroom, walked out with the baby to let him get fresh air while I waited for the bill and nothing. The waiter never came to check on us, to refill my water, to ask how everything was, or even to pick up the dirty plates on our table. Mind you, we were the only ones in there at this point. Instead, he was too busy talking to the young lady and laughing it up with her. Then they checked their cellphones, talked some more, then he decided to clean up what another table had left when they left 10 minutes prior and then he goes back to talk, and then dries and puts away glasses. My husband then walks back in with our other kids to have some dessert (there is an ice cream stand inside the restaurant that is another business which was the best part of our visit). I get up and leave the table alone to help in ordering the ice cream and still nothing. THE PLATES ARE STILL THERE. Then I see our waiter sit and start eating and he calls over the young lady and points to us and immediately changes his face when he notices I saw him and shushes the other waitress away. We went back to the table to eat the ice cream and guess what…..the dirty plates are still there and we are still the only ones dining. After we finish I told my husband enough is enough. I walked to the front and told our waiter that we needed our bill. He said he would bring it and I said no, I will take it myself at this point. I asked him why he never picked up the plates and he said he would pick them up now. I asked why he didn’t check up on us while we ate if we were the only ones there and he just stared at me. My husband and I don’t go out much, but when we do we try to enjoy the little outings we can get somewhat to ourselves. This completely ruined it. This has been by far the worst service ever. If you come here and the waiter and young lady who were here on Sunday 12/15, are the ones running the show, leave if you want any type of service. They are too busy talking, checking their phones and complaining about the time. If there are cameras in this place, I hope the owner reviews the footage so they can see for themselves the lack of service. Thanks to this experience you have lost...

UPDATE: My husband and I were in the mood for Mexican food so we gave this place a second chance. I ordered 2 Carne Asada Tacos, and 1 Seasoned Pork Taco. My husband ordered the Flautas, they were delivered quite quickly! Makes me wonder, how authentic can this restaurant be when it was served lightning fast?!!! 🤔 My husband’s meal was served and mine was not! My husband being the gentleman that he is, waited until my meal was served…more than 5 minutes later!!! We don’t remember the name of our server but he was an older gentleman. He never came back to check on us, we had to get the attention of another server to get him to come to the table. My husband didn’t like his meal so he didn’t eat anything. 😞 Our server offered my husband another dish, but by this time my husband felt it was too late and declined. When serving the entrees at the table, it is common practice that ALL ENTREES MUST be served, so that everyone can eat at the same time!

Unfortunately, our visit left a lot to be desired. The Flautas were flavorless, they looked like they were purchased at Costco. Tacos were tasteless unlike a few months ago. The Tortilla Chips were fried with old oil, and didn’t taste good. 😞 The place was fairly empty so we don’t understand why our server was not more efficient and attentive. Customer service was just not there, he failed miserably. The only good thing we enjoyed was two iced cold beers and each other’s company. We won’t be back!

081924

Original 3-star review below ⬇️

This is our first time dining here. My fiancé had the Gorditas, he liked it and found it flavorful. I had three tacos - 2 Steak, and 1 Pork both were very tasty. Patti was attentive and provided good service.

Autentica Taqueria is a family owned restaurant nestled in a shopping center, what I would describe as “a hole in a wall” kinda place. The decor is very basic nothing fancy. Saw this “eres hermosa” (you’re beautiful) engraved on the ladies bathroom mirror and brought a smile to my face. 😃

Overall good food, beers, service, and ambience. Prices are reasonable for the location.

I do have one critique though their minimum “suggested tips” on our bill for a party of two was 20% we were thrown back when we saw this. For this restaurant’s caliber 20% is excessive! The latest rules of tipping: How much to tip in 2023 - common consensus says 15-20% is considered a normal...

My first time visiting Autentica Taqueria and you won't believe what happened next. We get greeted by this wonderful host named "Angel" 😇 yep that's her name. My family and I were celebrating a 1 year anniversary of great importance 🥳. Coincidence 🤔? I don't know you tell me. Anyway, it was such an amazing atmosphere, spot on clean, the service was top notch, so friendly and warm, like family. I ordered a lemonadeade 🍋 with no suger which is my favorite but it was not on the menu (just to be clear they do have lemonade but already made with suger). However, my Angel quickly turned around and made me the BEST freshly squeezed Lemonde with NO suger I had ever tasted, just the way I like it. Now that is service💃! We were off to a great start. We ordered our food and oh my goodness everything we ordered was such an amazing treat 😋. Delicous!!! And finally to top it off we had our desert to finalize our celebration of the day. So here goes the check marks for this restaurant: ✅1) Tasty Food. Invariably the food is tasty and well prepared. ... ✅2) Range of Beverages. ... My delicious freshly squeezed lemonade ✅3) Good Service. ... "my Angel that day" ✅4) Hospitable Atmosphere. ... ✅5) Reasonable Cost. ... ✅6) Convenient Location. ... ✅7) Culinary Expertise. ... ✅8) Hygiene and Cleanliness. ✅9) The Overall Experience ✅✅✅✅✅✅ Can't wait to go back! Highly recommend this wonderful restaurant. And remember to ask for Angel ❤️. Cheers...