El Patron Mexican Grill & Cantina — Restaurant in Gretna

With a one star review, this is going to sound nuts...El Patron's food is really good. Additionally, they've always been consistent. I've always enjoyed eating here. BUUUUUUUUUUTTTTTT, we went today for lunch and experienced a show stopper before we even walked through the doors. We tried to get there a little early to beat the rush, ~11:45am. We live in Algiers, so we were coming from that direction on Behrman Hwy. We took a left on Belle Chasse Hwy to cut into the back parking lot through the gas station entrance on Bell Chasse. This is way more convenient than crossing Belle Chasse and making a U-turn. Unfortunately, when we pulled into the parking lot, El Patron had blocked off the back entrance with cones, and put a sign there that read "Valet." Valet??? This is a Mexican Restaurant and Cantina on the corner of Belle Chasse Hwy and Lapalco. Valet??? Really??? When did this start? What a pain in the butt just to get into the parking lot if you are coming from Algiers. We eventually cut through the neighborhood next to the gas station to get to Lapalco, so we can then pull into the parking lot from that direction. Once I pull in, the back lot was blocked off with cones from that side too. I was told by a Valet that it is Valet only parking now, or I can park in the grass. Valet only??? Park in the grass??? Seriously??? You guys are good, but not that good. If I'm going to use Valet to go to a restaurant, it better be somewhere like Emerald's. I don't want some stranger driving my car just to get a burrito on a Saturday afternoon. Furthermore, I don't want to have to wait in a line for other cars to be parked just to eat at a Tex Mex restaurant. Likewise I don't want to have to wait for my car to be retrieved when I'm finished eating. So what did we do? We left, went back to Algiers and ate at El Paso. El Paso's food is inconsistent and not as good as El Patron's. But, for Tex Mex, I'll choose convenience over quality any day of the week. It's just a burrito after all. El Patron, I realize you have a parking issue situation (which is a sign of your success really), but Valet parking is not the answer. You're adding more overhead for you (cost to pay Valet's salary), while at the same time losing customers like me, who aint got time for all that. Not a great business model. I will not be coming back until I can park my own car on concrete. Please...

I used to love this spot but it's gone down in quality. Seems like they don't know how to keep good, hard working employees. No need for you to speak to the manager, he takes absolutely no accountability. He will smile in your face and call you a liar in the most polite way ever. 1st, my husband had a piece of metal in his burrito. If we were jerks, we could have made a huge deal about it. They said it was from the metal they scrape the grill with. They did comp the meal and apologize but it was very nonchalant. That was strike 1. Since then all 4 of our following orders were all wrong. They fixed them 3 out of the 4 times but the fact that it started happening everytime is very disappointing and there's just no way to really enjoy the meal when you have to wait double time for it over and over. Even after they fixed it, they've forgotten something or subbed an ingredient. You never know what you're gonna get anymore. I remember when the food presentation used to be so pretty and neat. Not anymore. They just slap it the to-go plate like dog food. We live nearby and used to be so excited to go. Now, my husband says we will never return after waiting almost an hour for takeout because the order was wrong. They fixed it but the sauce was spoiled. I told the manager that someone's gonna get sick but he just smiled and kept insisting that it was fresh. Dude really is the most polite blank that Google probably won't allow my to type. No accountability, so many different faces on staff and they never last long. Morale is definitely low. Poor ownership hire poor managers who don't know how to lead a team. So that's that. We have to find a different Mexican restaurant. I'm kinda sad about it but we can't keep spending our money at a place which stop taking pride and shows no initiative to make the customers feel welcomed and...

6/2022 A new location.. With new decoración! As you drive up, you notice the brightly colored letters... the inviting entryway.... Anyway, great looking interior, same friendly service.  The food comes quickly, is hot and tasty. THE FOOD: I had the "El Tamalitos".. (2 pork tamales) with rice and beans. Slide in a taco (molida de res) with Cilantro and onion... great! The tamales have a nice sauce, a light queso topping and some onion and tomatoes on them. The flavor is amazing. I like the presentación, with the tamales unwrapped,, sauced and ready to eat, with hojas underneath the tamales. The taco surprised me.  I've been here quite a bit, but never had a taco. Tasty, with soft meat and tortilla. Recommend!! 2/2019 Nice place on a corner. Looks better and is larger inside than it looks outside. There's an outdoor patio also. Kind of a tight parking situation.. I came in and was seated immediately. There were a lot of customers seated, and servers flying around (A good thing). It seemed busy. Families, military, cops, laborers and some suits.... A big mix of people. THE FOOD: Of course, chips and salsa. Chips were hot and thin... very good, salsa was just ok. Not much heat. I ordered the queso dip. It was supposed to have jalapenos and other seasoning, but again... Not much heat. I mean, the melted cheese is good, but not too much flavor otherwise. I also got a Mole Burrito with Tinga meat. The mole is good, nice chocolate taste, a touch of heat, but.... Not much. The burrito was good, the Tinga again, not much flavor. It's a big, clean place with friendly employees who are very attentive. The food is slightly above average, but I'll try it again.

NOTE to my server.... hey, buddy, what would you like, buddy, anything else, buddy, thanks buddy. A little over-buddied...