On The Border Mexican Grill & Cantina — Restaurant in Fort Worth

As someone who has worked in service 90% of my adult life I have never done this. I am so disappointed in our experience today my husband said he personally will never be back. We came in the door at 3:10. We were sat with in 10 min. Which is why I gave it a star but everything after just kept rolling down. The building was over 1/2 empty. It was 4:55 before we got our meal and we ordered with in min of sitting down. At one point we sat for 15 min with empty cups. Finally food arrived and whatever you do DO NOT get monterrey chicken fajitas or steak for that matter. They are expensive and not even worth 1/2 the charge. Chicken with onions and topping was so small it covered only 1/2 the plate. The chicken was dry and flavorless. Steak was so tough we could hardly chew it. The shrimp taco was so bad my husband said "It's hard to explain, it just tastes so cheap!" I asked the waitress to get my son a refill of diet coke and she never brought it. Honestly- I have always tipped well. I know the job. Last time just 2 off us went out we tipped $25 on a $55 ticket. But we were furious that we paid $72 for 3 meals that made taco bell look good. Even though we were sitting forever in an restaurant that's not full. The manager came by 1 time asking about drinks. 3 seconds after she said she'd get them.

So no I didn't leave a good tip. She made 0 effort to let us know what was taking so long on the meal. She forgot what our 3 drinks were each time. It wasn't hard to remember. She didn't remove empty items like chip basket or empty cups when she did bring a refill. Our table was a mess.

This is also the 1st time I had extra food and didn't take anything home. I was not going to flag the manager. I'm not going to throw a fit. I shouldn't have to. I do not want anything for free. I understand so many factors because as I've said I worked in food service from hostess to manager and even bar. If it's that far gone letting the manager know would not benefit anything. Maybe I can save some other hard working people from wasting their money. My husband works 12hrs a day 6 days a week, 7th day he only has off once a month. I work hard every day as well. Our money comes from consistent hard work. Giving our hard earned money to a business that didn't seem to want to cover their bases on any level makes us more than disappointed. We have both worked hard to ensure our work environments thrive. Excuses aren't needed. I'm just hoping to save someone else from wasting over an hour and $72 in food for 3 people that you wouldn't pass...

We stopped here on the (long) way home from a medical appointment on a broiling hot Monday, for a late lunch (3pm). Restaurant was nearly empty. Our server was a young woman who was entirely too chatty and unable to read clues from her customers - we're tired, we're hot, we're hungry, we don't want to talk with you about the medical appointment or what we did this past weekend. And we certainly don't want to hear from you on how bad the customers are at this place - they don't tip enough, they're rude, they make you cry, you barely made enough to pay part of your electric bill, and on and on. The girl did just not know when to shut up.

She did fine with our order and making the guacamole live. Not long after bringing our entrees out, she said she'd be bringing the bill since she would be off soon - and quickly departed, missing out on a chance for more tips, as we were thinking about dessert or another drink. When she brought the itemized tab, we gave her a credit card right away, since she seemed to be in such a hurry. She brought back the receipt for signature - but NOT the itemization, as most restaurants do. When I asked for it, she wanted to know what was wrong. Nothing, I said, I just want to have the itemization. "I threw it away." Well, can't you print out another? She huffed away and returned with a new printout, which she dropped on the table before stalking away.

Arguing with customers is NOT the way to get a good tip. Trying to guilt your customers into giving you a good tip with stories of bad customers is not the way to do it either. And talking too much about your personal problems is also not helpful.

Food was OK - chips were stale (normally I would take leftovers home, not this time), guacamole live and my husband's enchiladas were good, border chicken was so-so (vegetables were burnt). Kitchen was slow for the place being mostly empty. Manager just walked around with hands in his pockets, when plenty of tables (and menus - icky) needed cleaning - no point complaining to him! Music was too loud. Take-home containers are round and made of a thin, weak plastic. And by the way, we left an 18% tip anyway - although our normal minimum is 20% for...

I grew up eating at On the Border regularly. This week I took a staycation from work to spend Spring Break with my kids. I hadn't been to On the Border in years, but my husband had some vouchers because he had a bad experience last time he went to this location. This was on my list bc I used to LOVE OTB. I couldn't imagine it not being fabulous. Our server was very nice. We placed our full order right away. Chips and salsa arrived immediately, but drinks and queso took 10 minutes to arrive. My son ordered a cherry slushie shown on the kids menu, which took 20 minutes to arrive. Not fun when kids are eating salsa. We sat eating chips for quite some time. Three orders took 45 minutes to arrive. My daughter's chicken tacos were cold. My son got mini tacos and fries... There were about 8 fries on the plate. My "bowl" was terrible... tough steak, drowning in black beans and shredded lettuce. I went back to eating chips and salsa and cold queso. When I paid with the vouchers, the manager came to check to see how it went. He was very nice. He could see I didn't eat my bowl and he agreed he wasn't a fan either. I didn't want to embarrass my 13 year old daughter by complaining further. She could see he was trying. He also apologized for the delay with getting our food, he said the kitchen was backed up. I'm not in the habit of leaving negative reviews, you can check my profile, but I was sincerely disappointed yesterday. I thought about it a few times last night. I've worked in restaurants in my youth so I know some things just happen. I don't think my issues were the manager's or server's fault, but whatever is going on in the kitchen needs to...