Iguana Mia of Fort Myers — Restaurant in Fort Myers

Went for my Birthday, making this the 3rd year in a row. Arrived on a Wednesday, around 3pm. (Not lunch rush or dinner crowd) Was seated, waited FOREVER for the girl to come & ask for our drink order. Waited an ETERNITY for her to take out food order (I actually flagged her down & had to ask "can we order our food?"). The girl was in her early/mid 20's (I unfortunately didn't pay attention to her name). I ordered a 'pick 3' but was charged for an "add-on"...whatever. Was never brought my fried ice cream which was a little disappointing, but the service was so terrible & we had been there so long because of the slow service that I didn't have time or energy to put up a 'fight' (say something). I got home & by the end of the night I emailed them, because it was so terrible. I wasn't trying to get another free meal. I just wanted to bring the poor service to their attention because this is the 2nd time in the last 3 months that I've been there & had AWFUL service. The manager writes back the following & this is directly from the email he sent...

Sorry for your experience, but when I tried to verify your statement I discovered this: The manager on duty yesterday at our Fort Myers Store was the Director of Operations, as he was covering a vacation, and he said that he did all the Birthday speeches and was checking on staff and guests throughout the day time hours and did not have any customer issues during the day. Since you did not provide a server's name or guest check/receipt # and based on the time of day, we researched all the guest checks for that lunch day part and could only come up with the attached guest check. It clearly shows that they subtracted $22.00 for the Birthday Meal & Fried Ice Cream. I also looked at our Birthday Gallery and found a birthday picture taken at the same table which clearly shows a Fried Ice Cream served ? We researched your name and found pictures under (my name which I am removing which bear a strong resemblance to the guest in the Birthday Picture taken. At this point, I think we could both just agree that it is time to go to another Mexican restaurant as you stated.

**actually when I reviewed the guest check they discounted more than is allowed on the attached check as they took off an "add on" taco when two entrees were ordered and policy is that we only provide a free entrée as printed on the menu...which disallows "add-ons"

Dirk Atherton President Iguana Mia Restaurants

I cannot believe the audacity of this guy! Also, he attached a picture (of some random girl who is NOT me but he tried to say is me) & also a copy of a receipt (also not mine). This guy is a POOR excuse for a business owner & I honestly cannot believe this place has been in business this long with the terrible...

Went Friday for dinner, after reviewing the menu my wife and I chose the Friday special which offered one of three drink choices. As we ordered the waitress explained the (bar) draft tap system was broken and had been for about a month and that we wouldn’t be able to have the pitch of beer as our choice. When I asked if she could substitute the pitcher for perhaps a few bottles of beer, she said she would check with the manager? Amanda the (the only white waitress working at the time) waitress comes back and says no the manager will not substitute that we would have to choose between the other two drink options on the menu. Well it seemed a little odd that a manager wouldn’t offer something or address us at the table himself but we rolled with it changing our original choice to something completely different and opting out for any alcoholic beverages. We ate the food which was good and the waitress Amanda was kind and her service was perfect. However, I feel the manager could have came over to our table after we asked for the substitution and offered to make us happy or meet us in the middle at least addressing the situation himself and not placing the waitress in an uncomfortable spot but he didn’t. Then ANDY the manager stopped at several other tables in the restaurant while we sat and ate asking if those customers were satisfied- actually making eye contact with me a couple times during his rounds, the kicker being all the other customers in the restaurant at that time that ANDY spoke with were of Spanish decent as is ANDY but my wife and I are white. Clearly a white couple. Andy made us feel like he was being a little prejudice towards us for not coming to our table before eating (since we asked for a substitution) during (to ask if our meal was good) or after we finished (to ask if we enjoyed our meal or to apologize for not offering to make us happy with any kind of substitution or explanation) Very unprofessional manager with more tattoos then anyone needs to see while eating in a restaurant. ANDY gets three 👎🏼👎🏼👎🏼thumbs down as a manager and should feel bad for making us feel like we didn’t belong eating there. Amanda the waitress gets 👍🏼👍🏼two thumbs up for doing her best to apologize for Andy and had excellent customer service. Say what you will..I’m just calling it as I see it!! Won’t be going back as long as ANDY is employed...

The restaurant is falling apart...dirty and not appealing to eat in. Our booth was one where the folks who sat behind us felt every move we made and we felt every move they made. It was very annoying for all involved. It was very warm and uncomfortable where we were seated. If we wanted to be hot we would choose an outdoor dining establishment. Our waitress had a very short attention span and would start to walk away before we were even finished speaking to her. We were celebrating a birthday and the fried ice cream was soggy/stale and not worth eating. The birthday girl and her husband had no better luck with their food. The birthday girl ordered a side salad and the lettuce was slimy and wilted so she sent it back. She ordered plain fried potatoes in replacement, and they came out with spicy sauce all over them. When we FINALLY got our server's attention, she went back to the kitchen and finally brought out what was originally ordered. By then the potatoes weren't even wanted.The Chimichanga my daughter and I shared was the worst I've ever had. The chicken had a funny taste...like it was old or had been boiled. Bland and substandard. The canned black beans were the best part of the meal. Thank goodness we didn't each order a Chimichanga and waste another 14 bucks!!! As it were, half of the one we shared went in their trash because we didn't want to eat it. We have not eaten at the Fort Myers Iguana Mia for years because it was horrible. Bonita's wasn't bad. Cape Coral has a much better quality establishment. We only tried Fort Myers because of time and traffic that particular day. NEVER AGAIN. Management: If you cannot clean the restaurant properly, and repair it so that it is comfortable and safe to eat a meal in... if you cannot serve food that is fresh and worth the price that you are charging, then you need to close your doors and quit ripping people off. Very disappointing, very disgusting, very last time we will go to the Fort Myers Iguana Mia. With the experience that we had in the dining Room and the lousy pathetic food that came from the kitchen, I would be horrified to see the kitchen!!! Management do you read reviews?? You should be ashamed of yourselves. Truly pathetic. Shape up or ship out! (Why is your staff hanging out in the closed group party Room with the...