Mezcalito Goldsboro — Restaurant in Goldsboro

I want to start by saying my son and I enjoyed our lunch, service was extremely quick and very nice. I will admit the issue for giving four stars and not five some may feel is a personal issue of mine and not the restaurant which is exactly why I I did not rate even lower. I DO NOT like spicy foods. I am aware that those that do not feel the same just don't understand why it is to me such a big deal. The Sunday football BBQ with friends were regularly held at our home for a long time. Bake Beans were often made. I am not known for my cooking ability in fact the opposite. My ex or one the guys would I was out of the kitchen add spices to what ever I was coming. I know very sad but true it was a hidden conspiracy I tell you. It was the beans that brought the truth to my attention. I like and cook my sweet but come time to eat and they were hot and spicy. Over a long period I did everything but beg them to stop. Here is my point. Hot sauce can be added to each individuals liking as plates are made and then everyone can have the dang beans. The opposite is not true. I can not remove the spice. After long time of being broken record stating my case my ugly came out as one Sunday took the entire pot and in the garbage they went. I got my point across. Since I was not able to have them again neither was anyone else. Yes probably should have been handled differently but for whatever reason I was making sure my point was heard that day. I tell this story to for a chuckle as it is funny now but to be honest about my personal taste for spicy foods is an extreme and be fair to the restaurant. So here is what happened. The waitress asked if we were ready to order and I casually let her know we needed more time it was our first time there. She gave us some chips and two different sauces. I asked why two was one spicy? She told me no but offered to bring us a spicy sauce. I quickly so oh no no no that I don't like spicy. She laughed and gave us a few to review the menu. We were ordering off the lunch menu section which is available until 3pm. There menu is full colored picture of different menu selections. One caught my eye it was a quesadilla with pineapple. It did come with french fries which personally would have rather either rice or beans. I was deciding between that or the fajita quesadilla. I went with the one on in the picture so to try something different and new over the fajita since that can be order in some version almost anywhere. My son who btw enjoys and likes spicy foods ordered the flautas. Giving her what we decided on went quickly and as normal as usual. She was nice of course not implying different just short and simple. Yes I should have asked or confirmed that my choice was not spicy especially now understand the red thing above their name is probably supposed to be a flame but just a guess. Our food cake very quickly and looked very good. I took one bite and tried very hard to get it down and like it. It was very hot my sweet boy distracted but not a bit surprised and switches lunches with me. He has been eating my spicy food since he was in elementary school. Not surprised any more just frustrated usually not tasting anything wrong with the food. He is 17 in his DNA to...

This is probably the worst customer service experience I have ever. I drove nearly 4 hours to a Birthday party on November 4, 2023. The place was reserved for approximately 40 people in advance for the event. We arrived early and was told; our eating area was not ready. The suggestion was made for us to eat outside (First mistake). We waited outside for 15 minutes only to realize the 2nd mistake, the area reserved was not even private and limited spacing. We ended up staying outside on patio that gave us the only privacy.

The situation got worst. They had only one waitress for nearly 40 people. It took nearly 45 minutes before we received our drinks. We didn't understand the reason for such along delay. The waitress had refused to take any food before receiving our drinks. It took additional 45 to 50 before food order was placed. At this point, a second waitress came out to assist. At this point, I knew. This was done intentionally by management to charge more for the food because it was outside of the lunch hour at this point.

I order off the lunch menu. The waitress came back and stated, it was after 3pm. I made it very clear that we had been here, and the reservation was made prior to 3:00 pm. We have been waiting for nearly 2 hours before she took any food order. This was after I requested order to be place with my drink (water). The manager came out stating, there system wouldn't allow them to change the price. Which I knew was a blatant lie. I refuse to pay the higher price. They were the ones that hindered our orders being placed (one waitress). Not many patrons were in the restaurant. They had staff. We didn't understand the reason for the delay.

I would not recommend this restaurant to anyone at all especially planning any event. They were ill prepared to serve 40 people. The food ended up making me sick. I would advise taking your business elsewhere. If it was not for the birthday person, I would have left because it should not have taking 45 minutes after sitting to get drinks (for me water). Let alone, placing food orders nearly 2 hours later on a reserved event. I cannot see any justification for us having to wait that long a period, especially us being the largest party in the restaurant. It was not crowded. Probably not even 25% of our group size.

My advice is not to tell customers that you could handle large groups and you cannot. My money can be spent elsewhere with better customer service without the unnecessary long wait. My lesson learned, not to eat in small cities. If they had just did the right thing, the gratuity would have exceeded the amount received. My group tips always...

Update // Aug. 3, 2025 We visited on a Sunday evening and it was packed so obviously some people love this place but it's not for me.

I've been in three times since my original visit & each time was worse than the previous visit.

The staff is fine. Everyone is friendly & accommodating. My server last night Effron was good. Very attentive without hovering. Replaced my cocktail when asked. I'd have to say the service is the only bright spot.

Highlights: The birria quesadilla we ordered was wilted & had obviously sat in the window while waiting for our ceviche. Poor presentation overall. The Shrimp ceviche wasn't actually ceviche. The shrimp were steamed and were floating in tomato juice. I ordered a Spicy Pepina margarita and it was undrinkable. The consistency was syrup like and the flavor had a strong chemical aftertaste. I asked for a regular margarita instead & they must have used the same glass because it still had the same flavor. I was able to compare it to my companion's house margarita & it was different. Afterwards, walking to our car there were three different piles of human vomit. Kind of wish I would have seen that walking in as I would have taken it as a warning. It's simple too loud in there to have a conversation.

It's rare that we get to the point that we say no more, we always assume we ordered wrong or they had a bad night. But this was our third visit with similar results and we won't be back.

Original Review // August 2024 Grabbed a quick lunch with a friend and I couldn't be more delighted with this place. I haven't been in since the place became Mezcalito and it really is leaps and bounds beyond the place that was there before. To begin, it's stylish, bright and clean with a fabulous horseshoe bar taking center stage. I ordered two carnitas tacos for lunch, which came with black beans and Spanish rice. Everything was wonderful. I'll definitely be visiting more often...