Taco Mama — Restaurant in Hot Springs

Go for the food but DO NOT waste your money on ANY of their "drinks."

Horrible pre-mixed margarita's & VERY RUDE management.

First and foremost, food was very good. Our waitress was AMAZING! I truly wish I could say the same or something even remotely synonymous about the drinks & management.

Upon receiving our margaritas that we were told were $4 during happy hour, I immediately noticed that it tasted like cheap margarita mix. (Kool-Aid) We even ordered an extra shot of tequila for $3 apiece to try and cover the flat, stale taste. (It still tasted like flat mello-yello) I sent mine back immediately realizing that it was DEFINITELY not going to sit well with my stomach. (This isnt my first rodeo with "supposed" hand-made margaritas.)

Within two minutes, the bartender was out on the back porch with my drink in hand asking what I didn't like about it & insisting it was "hand-made." I had literally only taken two sips through the straw & I was catching flak because I wanted it adjusted off my ticket. After that the manager comes out & wants to know what I didn't like about it & if I would rather pay $12 for a "different" margarita. I opted for a water with lemon.

When the ticket came, we noticed that the other margarita which my companion had opted to keep was billed at $6, plus the $3 for the extra shot she'd added.

I finished my meal & took the ticket inside to address it with the manager. At that point, the manager argued with me and said that they are $6.

At this point, a woman I would safely assume to be "Taco Mama" herself (as she had grabbed the mail from the mailbox on her way in during our lunch) walked up and asked what the problem was. I explained to her that something wasn't right with the margarita's & that I had even added an extra shot of tequila to try and fix the flavor.

She rudely replied "we can't comp alcohol!" to which I replied that was fine, I was just told they were $4. She rudely replied "No, its $6 and it's normally a $12 drink."

It was pre-made garbage that they were insisting was the same margarita they charge regular price for, but then what kind of margarita did the bartender offer me for $12 if that was truly their "$12 margarita?"

My companion is now suffering from severe stomach cramps & nausea & she didn't even finish her drink.

Would have gladly went back to give them a second chance in the future, but don't lie to me & say the drink is "hand-made" when it CLEARLY isn't & don't argue with a customer when they return something having BARELY ate or drank any of it....Whether you're the OWNER or NOT.

And food for thought....IF in fact the drinks were "hand-made" and tasted THAT flat & LITERALLY caused stomach cramps....then how long were the ingredients sitting that made these supposed "hand-made" drinks so...

06.22.2019 See new review at bottom

06.12.2019: Sitting here for over 30 minutes since order taken and still no food. This is 1 in the afternoon, place is half empty. Seated tight away, 10 minutes for someone to take drink order but they never arrived. Another waitress showed up to take order, but we still had no chip, no salsa, and no drinks. Ordered drinks and asked for chips. Finally came and ordered food. Later asked for more chips and was brought a basket full of broken pieces from bottom. 25 minutes later we stopped or waitress and asked her were my food be was and she left. Been here a total of 55 minutes. 5 minutes later she comes back says we're terribly busy and it should be soon. The place was half empty. Told her I been here over 1 hour and to cancelled order, ring up our chips, pop and beer because we're leaving. She asked if I wanted a no-go box? For what! 30 minutes waiting on a torta and 2 tamales.

06.13.2019: received a reply from a Shane, guessing from Taco Mamas. I will call back and see what is said. I called and no answer so hung up. Owner called me back shortly and we talked for awhile. Was a very good conversation. In the end he offered us a free meal to which I responded, that I am not giving reviews for a free meal, but letting people know of my true experiance. I then told him that based on our conversation I will come back in the next 2-3 weeks and try it again and then repost my findings. Also, if were there after 3 pm I will introduce myself to him after the service & meal to tell him face to face.

06.22.2019:. Went back as promised and greeted by same waitress as 1st visit. Brought use to table where we stood and waited until booth was cleaned. After cleaning we were brought to another booth ???? Chips and Salsa we're great. Lot of fresh flavor with a good heat. Ordered a margarita and beer. Waitress brought out a Cranberry Margarita and said order was right but she made this by mistake and asked if we wanted instead. Wife took it, but wasn't impressed as we always drink lime based, but was okay. Ordered shredded quesadillas and tamales with fried egg. Quesadillas were excellent in serving size and flavor, but the serving of guacamole was so small and basically served little purpose. Tamales were very dry to me and small in size but tasted great, and loved the fried egg topping. Rice was excellent with the taste of cilantro. However, the pinto beans while a bit chewy had great flavor.

I raised my rating from a 1st experience 1-star to 4-star, and I will return to try...

So my husband and I took a vacation for his birthday, just a week ago. We were so excited to go to Hot Springs, as it would have been our first time. I booked an airbnb. There it allows you to set up an itinerary, you know, to kind of help plan a full trip out. They offer suggestions to certain places, and what do you know, Taco Mama popped up! I'm like awesome, I love tacos, lunch! Well when we get there we see about 5 women pull up and are seated outside. They received immediate service. Awesome. So far so good. My husband and I had just parked. Yay....mouth set for tacos. We go in and stand at the counter to place a to go order. The young lady that was working the front told us that we needed to place a to go order at the bar. So we walk over to the bar. Now mind you, the older lady that worked the bar, was on one phone as we approached. And there's an older man, I guess he was the cook.....he stepped out gave my husband and I a nasty stare and walked away. The lady that works the bar then walked over to the bar and answered the phone again. Completely disregarding us standing there waiting to place our order. The helfer didn't even speak or say, " I'll be with you in a bit". Just plain out rude and made us feel very uncomfortable, so we just left, after standing around looking stupid for a bit. As we walked out, the first helfer that could've helped us, now wanted to assist us. She could have did that in the first place!! She wasn't busy at that moment. It would've only taken a freaking minute to say, " what would you like?", write it down, pass it to the cook. Smh....Sad, pathetic service, if I ever seen it. I was so disappointed. And it was his birthday. 😥 I would've given zero stars, if it was possible. This is why I don't eat out. Poor customer service, but you're spending your money with the establishment. Smh... That's sad. It makes you wonder if our darker hue played a part in it. Though I'm Black, Spanish, Navajo, Cherokee and Indian, my family originates from Albuquerque, New Mexico. Where authentic Mexican food is made. Lol I'm still dark skinned and so is my husband whom is completely African American. It's a fact that that sort of foolishness exists. Not sure, but we'll never go there again. We found a more respectful, customer oriented place to go. I'm sure the food was better, because service was better. When they're rude as Taco Mama, you better be mindful of what they would do to...