Molcajete's Lawrence — Restaurant in Lawrence

My daughter eats here all the time and she says it's not usually a bad experience... However, when we ate there on a Wednesday night, right about 6pm, we were seated upstairs in the very back. It was VERY cold up there. We were seated and got chips and salsa immediately. Then we waited... and waited... and waited. All the tables around us were being waited on by 2 different people, except for 1 other table of 2 people, who were also waiting and waiting. Neither of the other servers stopped to say anything to us, even when I attempted to stop 1 of them. We ate the entire basket of chips with salsa and never had a single drink. We waited a little over 15 mins for our server to greet us and ask simply, "drinks?" I use term "greet" very loosely because "drinks?" was the extent of the conversation. Moving on, we order our food. I ask for o ne of the enchilada options. He then says a different enchilada entrée name. I saymine again. Again he tries a different enchilada dish name. Realizing he doesn't seem to speak ANY English at all, I finally point to the picture. He scribbles it down. I ordered my 3 year old son a hotdog. The waiter said nothing. Scribbled something on his pad. I wasn't sure he got it so I waited for my daughter to order then politely asked, "Did I remember to order the kids hotdog?" He says absolutely nothing, scribbles on his pad and walks away. Food arrives. My stuffed jalapeños are burnt black. They had split open the the cheese leaked out and it was so cold, the cheese had already hardened to the plate. And then the waiter hands my son a taco! I said "oops, that's supposed to be a hotdog." He answers, "YOU SAID TACO! YOU did!" I handed the taco back and said "well, it is supposed to be a hotdog, please." He snatches the plate and walks off without asking about any of the rest of the food or oif we needed anything else, etc. He returned 10+ mins later, set down a hotdog and fries, said nothing and walked away. We did not see him again until we were done eating. I asked for boxes and the check, and we waited 10+ mins for those! We used a package of kleenex from my purse as napkins. As you can imagine, my 3 year old was dying to get up out of his seat and the waiting and bad service made what should have been a relaxing dinner out into a very stressful meal. The enchiladas, however,...

It’s really hard to have a bad experience with tacos and margs but this place made it happen. Our server was completely uninterested in being at work it would seem. There were 4 adults and one child. The tea tastes like it was brewed in an old gym sock. Only 4 adult entrees were ordered and a side of rice. We all ordered lunch menu items. Three of us received our food. One person didn’t. The steak fajitas were comparable to beef jerky. Dried out and cold. But all of our plates were burning hot. Burning hot to where my toddler grazed the plate while we were trying to move the plates away from him and burned his hand! Hot plates don’t make cold, dried out food, suddenly better. Our server, Armando, was standing up front talking with co workers. Finally he came over and asked how everything was. We stated that the 4th person never received their meal. He said “oh”. Went over to the kitchen window and dug through to find our ticket. Armando stood there chatting with the kitchen but never came over to tell us what’s going on or why it had been 15 minutes since everyone else received their food and now we were continuing to wait with no communication. But Armando and his coworkers including the host were much too busy doing shots at the bar. I watched them all take their shots and continued to wait on our other guests food. A female server came to the table because she saw me staring and asked what we needed. I said we are STILL waiting on our guests food but that I know they were busy taking shots. She walked off while I was talking. The food came out and was thrown on the table carelessly with no apologies or explanations. When the checks came I stated that I wasn’t going to pay for our guests food that took forever and was completely forgotten by the kitchen staff. Armando’s attitude was horrendous. He walked off and came back with the check adjusted. When he came to bring it back after I paid he put my tab on the bar instead of the table I was at. I signed the tab and while I was leaving the blonde host added her own sarcastic “Thank you” while I was leaving which was apparently hilarious to Armando. I warned other guests of going in based on our experience and they agreed to never go there. I’ll make sure to pass this along to...

I pray that this review garners the attention of Avery’s supervisors. I am currently sitting here, April 4th 2025 at approximately 5PM. I must say, Avery had exemplified every quality I would want, apart of any team- no matter the goal. She went above and BEYOND to support her fellow staff, assisting (and basically earning and deserving of the entire service experience.) (I say this as someone with extensive experience growing up working within a restaurant as a server and bartender - highest end to lowest.)

However, I think she managed their tables (smile on her face, so kind) and didn’t take the table on / earn the tip.

She is so much more than an asset. I have been in before and had the pleasure of meeting her. However, she, genuinely, elevated this experience beyond belief. She had such great menu knowledge - she informed me that it wasn’t happy hour (which, I was not told of upon my first drink so, I appreciate that guidance. In fact, she did a genuine job in casually upselling me to a pina colada- which I am so happy with.) she did an INSANE job serving this pina colada- making it more beautiful and delicious than some five star experiences I have had internationally.

She genuinely cared to take time in helping me, making me a drink- and promptly handling this. All, without expectation. She authentically cared and was kind. It’s rare to cross anyone of this caliber in general- especially within the business of tipping.

Avery, you are a gem and there is a reason you have me taking the time to try to leave this comment! I would hire you on any team I had. Thank you for providing a little sunshine and a damn good drink! And you are killing it running around, handling tables and getting food out- all with a smile on your face. genuinely supporting your fellow co workers...