Tio Carlos Mex-Latin Grill — Restaurant in Irving

The first thing I noticed about this place was one of the trucks out front had a new sign which said, "New Management." Therefore everything else in this review may be subject to change. I took this into account when I went into the place, because it got good reviews from Google, Yelp, and Trip Advisor. What could go wrong? The parking lot wasn't full, but it also wasn't empty. Most restaurants have packed parking lots around meal time but this wasn't the case. So, I went inside, and the first thing I saw was one of the employees setting up a portable AC unit near the walkway, which made me wonder if they were anticipating problems with the main AC unit. Thankfully the place was cool on the inside. Not much of the decor lept out at me, which comprised of wood slat walls and a stained particle board ceiling. There already seemed to be a crowd of people listening to live music in the bar room adjacent to the dining area, so I wasn't bowled over with loud singing where I could barely hear my guests across the table, which was good. However, the song choice included "Fly Me to the Moon," and "Route 66." Older songs which fit the current audience, as most of the people in the restaurant were in the 60+ range. Good songs, but it really didn't fit the "Tex-Mex" atmosphere. The only time when people got up and started cheering the singer was when he started to sing "La Bamba." Feeling in the mood for mariscos, I ordered the Shrimp and Spinach Enchiladas. Paired with Mexican rice and beans, it seemed like a good choice. The shrimp was cooked well, except the cheese that was used was mozzarella and the sauce was marinara which made it taste more like a confused Italian dish wrapped in corn tortillas. One thing I will give credit to was the manager on duty, who came to the table to check to see if everything was ok. So, I'll give him that. However, I'm honestly sure if I would go there again, as there were too many things that seemed out of place. But again, it's under new management, so hopefully the details will get worked out...

The service was not all that great. My mom ordered queso as an appetizer. I ordered a margarita for happy hour only $5 and my mom ordered coffee. The chips were not fresh she had to get up and look for someone to bring her chips. Walter was our server and usually does awesome but tonight not so great. I ordered camarones mojo de ajo and my mom ordered brochette camarones both of us didn’t get our beans before I noticed Walter walked away. He never came back to the table. Our entrees were delicious just missing the beans. We didn’t have napkins, my mom never got her coffee she ordered. We didn’t have the opportunity to let Walter know we didn’t get our beans because he never came back until we were done. I would have loved another margarita. When he did come to the table I asked him about the beans. He said he forgot his got a personal call with his x wife and had to answer the call. By now my mom was ready to go so I didn’t order my margarita. We still payed full price even though we didn’t get our whole entree. Just disappointed in the service. They weren’t even busy. I only saw Shelly once she must have just arrived she went straight to the back and I didn’t see her come back out. She normally is out talking to the customers making her rounds at the tables snd checking on the tables, Not tonight. Maybe next time I will...

I and my family are vegetarian. We have ate at Tio Carlos 3-4 times in past. When I had initially inquired, they said their beans, rice, queso, etc is vegetarian. A month ago when we went there for dinner, our server seemed very disinterested in our order. As soon as we told him we are vegetarian he said they dont have anything vegetarian....and we asked him if he was sure, so he went to check in kitchen. When he returned, we said we will skip other stuff and just do vegetable enchiladas with cheese and ranchero sauce, so we dont have to worry about chicken broth/lard etc. This guy comes back and tells us that everything they have is non vegetarian?? I asked him about salsa, flour...he was like its vegetarian, but ranchero sauce is not?? Ranchero is a completely tomato based sauce and it sounds unbelievable that anyone would have to make it using non veg ingredients...I haven't had this problem with any other mexican or fast food taco places. Chuys, matitos, anaemias, mi cocina, torchys taco, etc... all these places are accommodating of vegetarians. They even have vegetarian items marked on their menu. I am very disappointed in this place and specifically in the server we had that evening. He clearly wanted us out of there. I wish I had asked his name, but we had a hungry 2 yr old at our hands so we...