Sayulita Restaurant — Restaurant in Glastonbury

Sayulita is a quaint restaurant specializing in Mexican Fusion Food. They take no reservations, and it's 1st come - 1st served.

Parking: Got here, and the lot was mostly filled. Luckily, I found someone who was about to pull out of their spot. On a busy evening, you might want to give yourself some time to find parking.

Greeting: I was greeted at the door by some friendly staff and was told that there would be a wait of about 30 to 45 minutes. I was ok with that. They have both indoor and outdoor seating. There also was indoor bar seating and a few high-tops with chairs, but I was looking for a indoor sit-down meal, so I opted to wait.

Atmosphere: The place was cozy but lively. The bar and high-tops were pleasantly packed, and there were lots of conversations going on among people of all ages here, including children. I saw people on dates, business people in after-work casual, friends by the twos, threes, and fours, families, and jovial folk at the bar.

Seating: A mere 28-minute wait at a crowded place like this was excellent! I was seated at a cozy table in the bar area. Within a minute, Jenn, my server, came by with cold water and took my order. I don't really drink, so I stuck with water. They do have a full bar and a decent wine and beer list.

Ordering: I originally intended to get an appetizer, but I saw that they were practically full meals in and of themselves. I chose the chicken fajita dinner since the server said their chicken was delicious. When I took a look at the tables around me, all the dishes I saw go by looked well-composed and very tasty. I was looking forward to my meal.

Food: About 15 to 20 minutes later, my food arrived piping hot and fresh. Everything was wonderfully seasoned and it all tasted spectacular.

Staff: My server, Jenn, the hostess, Hailey, and a few other support folk came by frequently to check up on me as well as other tables. These people are part of a team that truly cares about their clientele. They really made me feel like a valued customer.

Dessert: I ordered the Chocolate Flan for dessert and it did not disappoint.

I got the check, paid, and left rather sated.

Seated Time: 1h 19m Total Time: 1h 55m

Will I return? Very much so!

Should you try this place?...

Ironic how the same waitress that was praised in my review 1+ year ago, is the same one who ruined our overall experience.

A group of us were very excited to visit Sayulita but to our surprise, we experienced the worst hospitality/dining experience and were thoroughly disappointed at the treatment.

My wife ordered the special marg., which was recommended by our waitress Vicky, but unfortunately found the drink to be subpar and not to her liking, so she asked if she could change her drink to the classic marg. instead. Vicky's response was "you will have to pay for both drinks because you're always sending back drinks." Vicky continued to insult my wife by saying she didn't have etiquette and claimed no one wants to serve our table.

In the 20+ times we've visited Sayulita, we've never had any issues with the staff, are always praising the food and most certainly not returning drinks. To that, Vicky hasn't served our table since 2021, so if Vicky and anyone who feels as though we've "been a problem" to serve is targeting us because we're the brown. My circle and I have done nothing but faithfully supported Sayulita, visiting every chance we get, and have countlessly recommended this restaurant to everyone we come in contact with, which is why we're in such disbelief!

We discussed the incident with the manager, Rick, and expressed how Vicky ruined our meal and dining experience with her exceptionally poor service and unprofessionalism. He appeared to be understanding and advised us he'd address it in their next staff meeting. We felt as though the situation could've been handled differently by management, even if it was having a different waiter cover our table, but nothing was done, which leaves me further to believe we're unwanted and unwelcomed.

No one deserves to be targeted and/or treated negatively. Vicky's demeanor was rude and unacceptable, leaving us not wanting to return. I'm disheartened for the way things played out and after this incident I do not recommend any person (especially of color) to support this...

I'm really sad to be reading this review! My husband and I waited for over a year to try the food at this place. We just never ended up being able to make it until last night.

We got take out, because of the quarantine situation. We started with salsa and guacamole with chips, had a specialty margarita, and then a few different tacos, enchiladas, and a tamale.

The meal started off great, the food look absolutely beautiful, I think that's the biggest strong point of this restaurant. The margarita was delicious, it was mango and chili, and tasted handmade, like I didn't come from a mix. The guacamole was delicious, just as good as any of the best guacamole I've had in my life, and salsa was great with a smoky flavor. From there it just went downhill.

Once we get into our mains, we were both pretty disappointed. The food was Bland. It was hard to taste even the slightest bit of an herb or spice in any of the food. And there wasn't even enough salt and most of our dishes. I had a shrimp taco, which was overly sweet, like a desert. My chicken mole enchiladas were sweet as well. Like there was sugar in the mole. Who puts sugar in moly? The mole was also bland, with no hint of cumin or any other spice in it. Mole is supposed to be a slurry of spices in an oil and water base, but there was no hint of flavor there besides sweetness and a little bit of chocolate flavor. In fact there was no hint of onion, garlic, or cumin in anything we ate, which seemed impossible when eating "Mexican" food.

I understand this is Mexican Fusion food, and different from traditional Mexican food, but are food really lacked any Nuance of flavor. If I close my eyes, I would not have been able to tell you what type of food I was eating. That's how flavorless it was.

I'd say based on all the very surprising positive reviews, that Sayulita serves up the perfect Mexican food for new Englanders: Mexican food for people who don't like...