La Tropicana — Restaurant in Lawrence

Not good.

Went there for the 1st time running away from out teen boys one night. We decided to stop here for dinner because imI had been flirting with this restaurant everytime I drove pass. The appearance of the place is lovely inside and out. Love the decor. Love the plants and the lights, I was attracted to the deck. The night we went was raining. We walk inside, stood for about 10 minutes before greeted. They couldnt find the hostess, and finally the young waitress guided us to a little table in the corner.

We ended up walking out before the food got there. Service was slow, felt ignored, no eye contact from the waitress, it wasn't even that busy. We ordered our food and ordered a queso to dip with chips. We got nacho cheese!!! My husband ordered a beer, it wasnt even cold. I ordered a margarita- no salt rim very little ice. They serve water in these small cups. I needed more water and we sat there for so long we ran out of chips, and salsa too. The entire time my hisband and I were observing that this place was not busy at all, there was an older waitress there to seem the only one who knew what she was doing. Our waitress was trying but seemed overwhelmed, you could tell she was actually trying. So I figured maybe she was new. This is why we remained patient, but after waiting for what seeeemed the loooooongest with an empty chips tray, no salsa and empty water cups warm beer and margarita with no ice (at this point it was warm too) I kept looking to get anyone's attention at that point to get refills and ask how long until our food got there no one seemed to notice us even though we had 2 other employees (we assumed it was another waitress and the hostess, young guy that couldn't keep his eyes off his phone laying back on the chair he was sotting in, not a care in the world, and not dressed very well either unless he was the dishwasher?) Finally we decided to pay for our drinks and queso and leave, as I approached the register where out waitress was standing, I asked to speak to a manager, supervisor or owner, (all i wanted to do is give feedback) I immediately received attitude and eye rolling she went to the back, all I saw was a head peak around the corner, I made eye contact with the guy but he never came out and I was charged for chips and salsa (yes they charge u for the chips and salsa most mexican restaurant s don't) nacho cheese and she was trying to charge the drinks, when I told her my husband dint drink his beer because it was warm and pointed to my margarita still sitting on the table pretty intact. She got flusttered and asked for help from the older waitress. They made it very clear that if I didnt pay for the drinks it would come off the waitress pocket, at that point I didnt care and looked straight into her eyes and said "I am ok with that" We walked away in the pouring rain very...

We have visited this restaurant many times and have especially enjoyed the patio during the summer. So today we brought a party of six people to celebrate a birthday. Despite us being one of the few customers in the restaurant, the young lady on duty was completely uninterested to us. We waited patiently and placed our order. The order included 6 meals, 4 drinks and an appetizer for a total of $133 plus a $20 tip which I left at the time of ordering. One item we wanted could not be ordered because the lady had neglected to change the specials from the previous day.

It became apparent we needed 2 baskets of chips because of the size of our party. NOPE, said the lady in an completely indifferent manner, we charge extra for chips. When I pointed out the $153 order I had already placed and paid for, she bluntly said no again, it's just policy, we don't hand out free chips. She was almost defensive about it, like we were asking for something not customary in literally EVERY other similarly themed restaurant. We have asked for extra chips during prior visits to La Tropicana and it's never been an issue, but apparently it became one today. When I went inside to pay for the chips and commented that maybe the $20 tip was excessive, she promptly thrust the original receipt in my face and told me to feel free to change the tip if I wanted. I returned to the outdoor table without changing it, though I wish now that I had.

We never did see any wait staff again. A man brought us our meals, but that was the only staff interaction we had. Nobody asked about refills, satisfaction with our meals, if they could get us anything else, nothing. The food was pretty typical for La Tropicana ... just fair, good enough to eat but not good enough to make a special trip for it. The appeal of this restaurant is the outdoor patio, although the treatment we received more than offset the patio's presence.

I doubt we will be back anytime soon. If we ever go back and the same woman is taking orders, we will turn about and go somewhere else. I recognize that everyone walks in different shoes and perhaps hers were taking a difficult path today, but that doesn't excuse treating customers poorly and then ignoring them when they point out the poor treatment. Maybe if enough people choose to avoid a similar experience, this restaurant will improve its customer service and the...

Location prevents us from going here more often but of the few times we've gone I've decided it's the best Mexican food in town. The service is hit or miss, however. We went with a group of about 8 people one evening and two of our plates got mixed up. My girlfriend got her plate and noticed immediately that it wasn't what she ordered and then a guy we were with realized his wasn't right either. Unfortunately, he had already taken several bites of his food. Instead of offering to correct the problem, the server suggested both people just eat what they have or swap plates...like it was normal to just finish eating someone else's food for them and pay the full price for it. The guy didn't mind too much but my girlfriend ordered something completely different and didn't really want what was given to her but was made to feel guilty for wanting what she ordered without someone else having eaten 20% of it already. I was pretty pissed off by the poor service but the server seemed like it was a completely...