Mas Amor Cantina — Restaurant in Hickory

I am very disappointed with our experience this second go round. I had talked it up tremendously to my husband and friends after my first experience there. But this time around it really was one of the most disappointing experiences I have had in a long time. We arrived for our reservation right on time and were seated right away. We sat for a solid 10 minutes before being greeted. As a party of six I understand that because when she approached our table the server brought six waters. Our server placed them all on the table and said she would be right back. I felt she seemed very abrasive, and I was thinking maybe she thought we were all just very young and didn’t expect much of us. (We are mid twenties and three couples). She came back after a bit and just said “do y’all know what y’all want to eat”. She never asked us if we wanted to start with an appetizer, or any bar beverages, nothing. We all just looked at her and very confused tried to say well we would like a round of drinks and maybe start with an appetizer. She honestly seemed annoyed that we even bothered her to ask for some bar drinks, however she did and we waited then for about twenty minutes for our drinks to come to our table and then she finally took our order. We put in our order and then asked for refills on our waters and a few of us wanted another round of drinks. We didn’t get our second round until about thirty minutes later, and we waited a full HOUR for our food to arrive. Our reservation which we were on time/ early for was at 715. We didn’t get our food until after 830, even though we didn’t try to delay our experience. We considered that maybe our order had been misplaced as tables around us received their order before our despite coming in later than us. Even the party of 8 who sat over 30 minutes after us had received their food before we did. We would have been just fine if that had been the case, but no one ever even acknowledged that our food was taking much longer than normal. Finally when our food came out, the manager on the floor had ran it out, and a lady at our party asked her for a glass of wine to go with our meal. We never saw our server during the time our food came out. All of our food finally hit the table and we began to eat. No one ever came by to check on us; and the glass of wine was never brought. By the time the server had came to check on us, all six of us had finished eating and the wine was still never brought. We wanted to order dessert but at this time we were so fed up we just asked for the bill. Of course those were brought within three minutes. The quickest service we had gotten so far. We then cashed out with this particular server and decided to take our experience up to the bar to have dessert. Which there we had quick and personable service, ordered our dessert and drinks, and sat on the patio for the rest of the evening. I would like to point out I have been in the restaurant industry for over ten years now and I understand the ups and downs of the business. But I was honestly blown away by the lack of hospitality and service at what is one of the most popular restaurants in town at the moment. Our food was delicious and I give it five stars. But I couldn’t be more disappointed by our actual experience and money that we spent and overpaid to have it. Whether we were judged for looking young or the server just didn’t care less about her job I am highly disappointed, and as a group I do believe we will not be returning due to this...

We decided to try Mas Amore Cantina because we saw NC Foodies YouTube video on it. We went on a Thursday for lunch, after doing some shopping. Upon entering I noticed there were only three people working the restaurant, two guys doing the cooking and a young lady serving the whole restaurant. They also had a bar with no one behind it but I took note of a bottle of Buffalo Trace Bourbon as it’s one of my favorites. There were 5 tables seated including us so she was doing the best she could. I ordered the Brisket Grilled Cheese and my fiancé ordered the Chicken Quesadilla, I also ordered a double of Buffalo Trace Bourbon neat. After getting our food we started eating, I noticed my Brisket Grilled Cheese looked more like a Crunchwrap from Taco Bell but took a few bites thinking it was their take on the classic Grilled Cheese. The waitress rushed over and told me that it was the Birria Crunchwrap and was intended for another table. She took the food from me without asking if I wanted to keep it, I would’ve, and assured me that my order was about to come out. I asked about my drink and she informed me that she didn’t put the order in because she didn’t know what that was and didn’t see it on her screen. I told her it was a bourbon at the bar and she had me walk over to the bar and point it out to her. I walked back over to my table and started to eat my food. I was almost done with my food and had about given up on the drink because I figured she was just to busy to pour it. When she came back to the table she told me that the Buffalo Trace is not in her system and her manager had told her they don’t have any. I was caught off guard a bit and trying not to sound rude said “I know you have it I showed it to you at the bar and it’s clearly had drinks poured from it.” She said she was sorry and not sure what to do. I told her to forget about the drink it’s not her fault and to just bring a box for our food. It was just an odd exchange and I didn’t want to push the issue by bringing a manager over and possibly embarrassing the waitress, like I said before, she was doing her best being the only one. OVERALL, the food was good, service was bad but that wasn’t the waitress’s fault, and management seems clueless to what’s in there restaurant. I’m hesitant to try the place again, but kinda want to give it another chance when they have more staff. So far I can’t recommend this restaurant to my friends or anyone that has made it this far into my review, purely based on the service alone. Maybe today was an off day, hopefully it will be better if we ever decide to give it a...

Had it at 3 stars but had to edit it down to 2 for the following reasons. The ambience is very nice, place is very clean and welcoming. The ladies at the front were extremely nice and made accommodations for us since we had trouble making a reservation online. We only had the table for an hour which was ok since we weren't planning on staying long since they went above and beyond for us at getting us a table. These were the positives.

Negatives. Server was not rude but also wasn't pleasant since she made us feel very rushed, we kept in mind we had to leave at a certain time so we were quick at ordering, and again I know they had accommodated us but still no need to make us feel rushed. Also, her personality was completely different with the other tables. The food was not the greatest, I know it's tex-mex but I've had tex mex for far way less of a price that tasted more authentic and had good flavor. In all sincerity these restaurants typically cater to people who truly dont know how these types of plates should taste like, but sometimes you can be surprised. We had the ropa vieja the meat had no flavor, rice was mushy and not cooked right. This is a Cuban dish that is well known for its flavor and yeah did not hit the mark at all, and being that I'm Hispanic (and you may say what does that have to do with anything but i grew up with these dishes) and eaten this plate and the ACP my friend ordered, which also was not good at all, just felt disappointed. I understand if its not completely authentic but at least make it taste good, not sure if the cook or owner invested time in truly understanding what each item in the menu should taste like. If your presenting these dishes to someone who's never tried them at least come close to giving them a god experience as these dishes are full of tradition and culture that we would love many to truly experience. So if your looking for a place with good ambience hey maybe check it out but as far as the food goes , unless you just don't know how these dishes should truly taste, then maybe try...