Old Mexico Cantina & Grille — Restaurant in Gadsden

Stopped here because it was close to our hotel as we were passing through Gadsen. Started off well, very friendly and courteous staff, salsa and chips were great and the atmosphere was what you would expect from a good restaurant. The two dishes we ordered were: shredded chicken quesadilla and the grilled chicken chimichanga.

Lets start with the quesadilla,. Terrible.... the shredded chicken was bland. To explain this in a way most will understand. Just imagine you are cooking a big pot of chicken and dumplings and just finished boiling your chicken and shredded a piece for a good ole taste to see if is cooked properly.... yep... that taste right there, bland un-seasoned boiled chicken flesh. That was the chicken on the quesadilla. Now for the grilled chicken chimichanga. When the plate arrived I wasn't sure if I had fell asleep and went to crappy chimichanga town or it was my reality. To my disgust, it was all to real. Before I disect the horror, which was my quesadilla, I must say the rice that came with it was superb. Now for the ugly. The menu painted a picture of a delicious deep fried chimichanga filled with grilled chicken,onions and bell peppers topped with cheese sauce. About 30% of that was true. The grilled chicken had a strange texture to it, kinda like when you pre boil chicken then toss it on the grill for some color. Some pieces were like biting into a raw shrimp(texture wise not taste), so I picked the chicken out and ate the onions and peppers. The most disappointing part was the so called "deep fried" part. Not even close! I will refer Back to the chicken and dumplings, this time imangine the dough just before you add it to your pot... .Yep....that was the texture of the "deep fried" quesadilla. SOGGY, like a loaf of bread left outside in an Alabama summer storm, is how I would explain it. It was clear as day as to why this was. Apparently, this restaurant likes to water down everything from the cheese sauce(more like white cheese broth),the sour cream(looked like melted ice milk that seeped through the surprisingly crisp lettuce, and the quater cup of water on my plate. We were expecting some classic Mexican dishes but got the water downed version(pun intended). As you can see from this long winded review, We were quite dissapointed. So much so it was up there with my disappointment I had after the Government's response to hurricane Katrina and when Obama was elected for a second term. We will not go here again but will still stop in Gadsen on our many future trips to Virginia...

Ordered cheese dip and didn’t get it so I told her to just take it off the ticket because it was almost time for our food to arrive before she came back to the table to ask. We ordered it from the person who brought chips and salsa and again from our waitress. Waitress wasn’t familiar with menu items and sent steak instead of chicken when I clearly said chicken. My husband ordered steak and had to tell her how he wanted it cooked because she never asked. Didn’t come to the table much to check on us and when we left we saw her and about 4 other waitresses standing at the door talking. We needed ranch for wings, napkins, refills, more salsa and I had to ask…..when she came back forgot the napkins so I had to tell her to go get them. Too in a hurry to get back to socializing. They need to check on the customers instead of socializing. I am usually a good tipper but I just could not do it because it was so bad. I honestly should have left zero but I did a minimal amount. The food was terrible. My son’s wings were raw and the rice was dry. We will NOT be back! Wasted $45!

On 1 positive note the salsa was good and my soda was good but that...

Don't know why I even gave this place one star. First of all the chips with salsa as like an appetizer, the chips were not fresh. They were hard as a rock. Ask for another basket of chips. The second basket was as bad if not worse than the first. The tea was terrible tasted like colored river water. Then as an entree I wanted steak tacos with just a small amount of lettuce and grated cheese. I specifically told the waitress I didn't want cilantro, rice, beans etc. The plate was loaded with cilantro, beans, and rice. The tacos were very small with 3 or 4 overcooked strips of steak. Did I mention that their menu is a little pricey? Plus the waitress acted like it made her mad for us to ask her anything. LOS ARCOS I AM SORRY I TRIED SOMEWHERE ELSE. YOUR FOOD DRINKS AND SERVICE IS ALWAYS GREAT AND YOU GET WHAT YOU ASK FOR REASONABLE PRICES. OLD MEXICO MY FIRST AND LAST TIME IN...