Orale Mexican Kitchen — Restaurant in Jersey City

I am not a fan of writing poor reviews -- I only hope that this feedback is received constructively.

My friend and I were planning to go eat elsewhere but Orale was much more convenient with regards to time and location. We were seated immediately by very welcoming staff, no later than 8pm. Our server tended to us quickly and answered my few questions about the menu. No long wait for drinks, not for food, not for anything. At this point everything had gone perfectly.

By the time we finished our entrees, I decided that I would order dessert to-go because I needed to be home soon. All in one go, I ordered tres leches cake to-go and asked for the check. Our server brought over the check at 8:45pm but we found no sign of him or my order for the next 20 minutes. Finally I was able to wave him down, but he was unaware that I hadn't received my order. As far as I understand, my order was mistakenly brought to another table (who got free cake I guess lol) and no one thought to check up on us, not even to pick up the check. After the issue was brought to our waiter's attention, of course, there were a lot of I'm-sorry's and we-regret-the-misunderstanding and as an apology he even gave us two free margaritas to-go. Now-- this part is a little bit awkward because I don't ever feel like I'm entitled to "free" anything just because the staff had human error-- I don't drink, I told the waiter this when he brought the free margaritas, but he left them anyway... it struck me as very odd that he did not attempt to offer any other accommodation after telling him this. What was I supposed to do with 2 margaritas?

My goal in writing this, as a former restaurant professional and sommelier, to offer constructive criticism. The issues I have identified here are: 1) communication between the staff members while taking care of guests on the floor. Were our waiter to have asked the food runner whether or not the food landed at the table, I wouldn't not have waited for longer than 20 minutes.; and 2) checking up on guests no matter where they are at in there meal (whether drinking, ordering, eating, or paying) in order to ensure that all their needs are being met. No one came over to collect the check or offer more water. If more staff were present at or around our table then I would have been able to say something sooner.

My last thought is that this menu is very expensive for American style Mexican food-- which means that the service should be consistent at all points during the meal so I won't have to ask myself "Was this worth the price?" Truthfully, we left at 9:15, and after 30minutes I would have preferred my $13 back. That said-- the food was excellent and the tres leches, late as it was, definitely satisfied my...

I really like this place and the flavor of the dishes and you also get a huge portion for the price. I don’t think the food is spicy even when you use their salsas which is a bummer. The guac is fire. Rice and beans very tasty. But this place is not vegetarian friendly. They have the chimi the taco the guac and a salad that’s all. The veggie taco is $21 and there’s no cheese on it if you want you have to pay extra. Meanwhile many of the meat tacos that aren’t specialty are cheaper $16. That seems unfair since veggie tacos are cheaper to make and they are only onion pepper and Seitan lol you could make this for less than half the cost with cheese! Further they have entrees on the menu like enchilada and flautas but it comes with meat there’s no veggie version which is so easy to do queso or papas! Huevos rancheros has chorizo when this dish is traditionally meatless and is way overpriced. I’m sure if you asked to remove the meat you’d still be paying the $17 bucks for it and not closer to $13 where the other meatless brunch options are priced. Just doesn’t make sense for an upscale joint like this in JC. Mom and pop taquerías make the menu veggie friendly where you can have the item regulares and add on carne if you want. That makes more sense and everyone wins. Please get with the times órale or do you just not want vegetarian to dine there? They also removed the strawberry salad with Tajín...

So disappointed. I’ve actually had really great experiences at this restaurant and I’m surprised I hadn’t left a review here sooner. However, tonight’s visit really ruined this place for me. We arrived at about 6:15-ish and requested a table for two. We were told there was a table available, but there would be a time cap (I don’t remember if he said an hour and half or something else). Upon receiving our two taco orders, the waiter only left one bowl of rice and beans on the table. I’ve been here plenty of times to know that each taco order comes with its own bowl. We waited for our waiter, but he hadn’t returned until it was time to remove my empty plate of tacos. My friend still had her last taco in her hand when he slid the plate right under her hand to take it with him. This made us feel so uncomfortable and rushed, even though we’re already fast eaters. We were quick to order when we first arrived and we were very aware of the time constraints. My friend was also finishing up her bowl of rice and beans when another waiter came and removed our side dish of sauces. This time my friend told him she hadn’t finished eating and still wanted the sauces at the table. Overall, our service was very unprofessional and unpleasant. We were rushed and jipped of a side dish for my meal. The food was great, but no one would want to return after the service we encountered...