El Vallarta Mexican Restaurant — Restaurant in Gretna

We visited El Vallarta in Gretna tonight for the first time, hoping to find a new go-to spot close to home—but unfortunately, our experience fell short.

Right off the bat, we were greeted rudely by the man at the host stand, who made us feel more like an inconvenience than welcome guests. That tone continued throughout the night with our server, who seemed irritated by even the simplest requests (we only asked for some extra sauce). Customer service just wasn’t there.

The restaurant was also uncomfortably hot. We were all sweating through dinner, and by the time we left, my 3-year-old was completely drenched—her hair literally soaked and sticking to her face. To make matters worse, our drinks were refilled without fresh ice, so everything got warm very quickly.

The chips and salsa were probably the worst we’ve had—bland and disappointing. However, the main dishes were much better. My husband had the verde enchiladas, which were flavorful and tasty. I ordered a carne asada taco, a beef fried shell taco, a quesadilla, and rice and beans. Everything I had was enjoyable, though the fried shell taco could’ve used a bit more seasoning on the beef.

Overall, the food was good enough that we wanted to like this place, but the poor service, unbearable heat, and terrible chips and salsa are deal-breakers for us. Disappointed, because we were really hoping this would become a regular spot...

I have visited El Vallarta in La Vista on several occasions and found the food and the staff very good.

This is my second visit to the Gretna location. The other visit here was when they first opened a year ago. The experience was ok, but the food was not quite up to the La Vista location.

It was new so I always give a second chance. Tonight, the food was much better. I had a favorite, Camarones A La Diabla. It was just as good as the other location. Also enjoyed a house margarita which was about what I expected but suitable. I normally spend the money for top shelf, but wanted to see what the standard was like.

Now for the wait staff, I had Wolfman Jack without the long hair. No name tag that I could see and he did not introduce himself. In fact, he was rather lame. He had no personality and acted as though he didn’t want to be here. Maybe he got called in for a shift that was not his, but hey, be courteous to your customers. So Mr. Jack was as about as excitingly watching the Waltons sort cranberries. This place could do better.

So overall, I would have scored this higher but the waiter (server) is part of the review...

I’m being generous giving it two stars, only because the food was really good. If it wasn’t for the food being good it’s not even worth any stars from my experience.

Me and a friend of mine went here this afternoon around 12:15 and we were really excited. Our waiter was nice, personable and made sure we were taken care of, all up until he left for the day it seemed.

We were done eating by 1pm and we were socializing so it wasn’t a big deal, and we saw no one else able to help us until 1:45pm. I was waiting for our waiter to come back and he never did. I tried getting someone else to help us and he seemed completely bothered by the fact that someone needed something. He got annoyed when I asked for two separate tickets since he did not even ask beforehand. Instead of that, he went and got someone else to take care of it for him.

After another gentleman helped us, it took him another 10 minutes to come back for our money. There were only three tables at this time. It was not busy, when we got there it was reaching their busiest time so I see no excuse for service this terrible. I will...