Las Palmas Mexican Restaurant — Restaurant in Illinois

BIZARRE…. Very strange experience here this evening. My husband and I have been visiting Las Palmas for years and I’ve been going since I was a kid. Normally love the food and the service but this time was a little bit different. Server clearly forgot to put our order in initially (look I was a server, I get it, it happens), but then instead of owning up to it just avoids our table and then comes back with a ridiculous story about how she gave another table our food and they didn’t realize. GIRLFRIEND, weve all been there, it’s easy just to blame the kitchen, but be real and just own your mistake. Bring us some guac on the house, say you’re sorry, we’re all good. But no, just lays in deeper with the weird lies and stories about our mysterious food disappearing act! The story continues. She claims to have put our food in yet another 30 minutes go by during which every table that came in after us eats, pays their checks, and goes on with their lives. Finally I get up and explain to her we have to be up early in the morning and need to get this show on the road!! She apologizes more, sends her manager who plies us with a pitcher of margaritas (we’re not trying to get turnt on a Wednesday but ok…) and assurance that our food would be there soon! Another 10 minutes later our food arrives. We eat, ask for the check, presuming something would be comped? We’re not trying to eat for free but dawg come on. The manager begrudgingly opens up his customer discount page on the POS system and I watch the gears turn in his mind as he hovers over 30% or 50% trying to figure out what our complaint was worth. He settles on 30%, prints the check, and hands it to me saying “50%!!!!!” Another strange lie! I call him out on it, and he prints another new receipt! At this point, I’m not even sure why I’m sharing this with the internet other than to say this was simply odd. Look, the food is good, the service is normally good, but this was just weird! I was hangry, tired, and lied to. Maybe we will try again? Maybe not....

CHEEPING OUT ON CHIPS AND SALSA! What kind of Mexican Restaurent will cheap out on chips and salsa? We have asked them 6 times to bring us more chips and salsa, but they didn’t. I don’t understand what is their deal with this? So we have been going here for a long time. We do take out every other week and food is nice. However we went there last night with my friends and family and spent $200. Isn’t that a pretty large amount to spend, but no chips and salsa.

After asking them for the 7th time, the guy finally brought out 4 salsas and they Charger us $7 for small salsas. Which is fine and I am not complaining. Just wished they would have brought out when we have asked them. The whole salsa thing ruined my dads bday celebration at this no experienced and no personality boring Restaurent. NOT RECOMMENDED!

RECOMMENDATION for the OWNER: When customer Comes to your restaurant for dinner and if they order something then they need that item. Weather it’s free or you charge for it. If there is a charge then you simply say there will be extra charge, is that okay? If customers says yes then it’s simple. If customer says no then it is also simple, it’s a no. But you not bringing Salsa when we asked you got six times is an Embarrassment for a customer. Your non experience, uneducated staff needs a bit of training.

We will NOT be coming here anymore as there are many other better options available in town who will gladly accept...

I had been here once before and the experience was pretty good. Based on my visit tonight I will never step foot back in this restaurant again! We visited on Cinco de Mayo, and it was busy, but not out the door busy. Our waiter Michael (or Matthew) with curly blonde hair was miserable and took it out on his tables. Everyone in our section was complaining. It took almost two hours start to finish. We waited a LOOOONG time and when he finally came he was rude and snapped at one of the children at our table for not speaking loud enough. Then yelled at a woman from another table saying “one at a time please” because she was simply telling him her credit card was ready. Checked in once in two hours and food was nothing great. Also people that he knew (he kissed them when they sat down) got immediate drinks to their table then started giving my table dirty looks.

We literally waited almost 40 mins just to get our check. I understand longer waits on busy days and the staff being overwhelmed, but to yell at your customers? Really? And to add insult to injury, he added the mandatory 18% gratitude for a party of three adults and three kids. With all the competition in Vernon Hills/Mundelein you cant afford to treat your PAYING customers this way. Hey Michael, you just cost this place repeat business douche bag!!!

Please do not go here. Try Zocalo or Casa Bonita down the street. Better food and MUCH...