Guadalajara Mexican grill — Restaurant in Florida

A good while ago I reviewed one of my favorite Mexican Restaurants in PCB. This is what I wrote about Guadalajara at that time. "Great food and service" and I gave them 5 stars.

That all changed yesterday. I'm a local and regular at Guadalajara. I went in to grab a quick lunch. I greeted the guys I knew at the door and a young man who I had never seen grabbed a menu and was going to seat me. I suggested since that because I was alone, I could sit at the bar. I ordered a sweet tea and small cheese dip.

My order came out fairly quickly. But I noticed that the chips were stale. They weren't as crisp and good as they normally are. So, I asked the busboy for another basket. He then asked my waiter, the young man who seated me, what to do. I was told that all the chips were the same and that they were prepared each morning. I again suggested that these were stale and not up to their usual standard. He told me that all of them were the same. He never brought me a new basket of chips which would have been the right thing to do even if I was wrong.

When he returned to my table I asked for my check and told him that he should never tell a customer that they're wrong about something so simple as replacing chips. He again stood by his story. I said to him that he should just bring me my check.

He had an opportunity to make this right. He could have brought me a check that had a zero balance because I didn't get to eat what I ordered because of the stale chips. Or he could have gotten a manager (who would have known me) and we could have discussed it and more than likely all would have been ok. Instead he charged me and brought me back my change.

I got up and walked toward the exit. A couple of the waiters who know me from past visits asked me if everything was ok. I specifically spoke to Hector and I told him that it wasn't ok and briefly told him the story as I walked out the door.

The last thing I said to him as I exited was that I was a regular and I would never be back again. And I will keep that promise.

Customer service is extremely easy if you just do the small things. A waiter had a chance to simply correct something that I said was inadequate. He refused to do so. When I was displeased, he had a chance to correct it again, but he refused to do so. When I asked for my check he took my money and brought me back change. I didn't eat anything, but I paid for cheese dip and sweet tea!

Never again!

And the fact that this review had not been addressed with an apology makes...

We were searching up street after street for a taco truck, when we spotted this place. We decided to try it in an act of desperation...and hanger.

The food was phenomenal! We forgot to say "soft tacos", but the hard tacos were so delicious we didn't even mind. The street tacos were also incredible! I had 1 chicken taco and 1 chicken street taco and he had 2 beef tacos. We also had the queso, which was some of the best we've ever had! We both left completely full!

The place was cool and I really enjoyed looking at the murals on the wall. People around us were laughing and enjoying their time, which made us smile! There were lots of tvs, so that was an option for distraction, as well, though I enjoyed my company immensely.

The service left something to be desired, unfortunately. I hate to say our waiter did a "bad job", but I can't say he did a good job either. He seemed very grumpy and he made me feel guilty for asking for anything, including refills, which I feel I shouldn't have had to ask for (or reask for when he brought me the wrong drink). There was some eye rolling, a little 'tude, and plenty of straight lipped, dead pan stares.

In the food industry, the product is as important as the service. Though their product outshined their service, those tacos were bomb and we'll...

First time. Food and service were excellent!! Our party of 8 is from Texas, so we know both Tex-Mex and "real" Mexican cuisine. We rated this restaurant a solid 8!

Their red salsa was some of the best any of us had ever eaten, and their chips were thin and flavorful. Conversely, their cheese queso was just "okay," as the flavor of the melted white cheese was just too mild for our tastebuds.

On the other hand, their tamales were tender and flavorful! I had their Mole chicken dish and I was pleasantly surprised how deep of a rich chocolate flavor the chefs were able to develop. Other dishes included some tasty enchilades and an HUGE burrito. The consumers of those goodies were all pleased with the freshness, flavor and quantity of their meals.

I waited til the end of my review to speak about the service. It was simply outstanding! Our waiter handled our party of 8 like a real pro...totally unflappable. This, despite numerous changes to our order and a steady call for refills. He handled everything with total aplomb!

I usually finish my good reviews with a "will definitely return," but the nearly 700 miles separating home and restaurant will most likely preclude that from...