El Mariachi Mexican Restaurant & Cantina — Restaurant in Lexington

To start off, my food was good. I had the Carnitas dinner with a side of guacamole. My food was served warm and fresh and even the beans and rice were excellent. I like the fact that the had an assortment of mixed vegetables in the rice. However, my service was spotty at best. My server rarely checked on me and I had to ask multiple times for drink refills. After I finished my meal, I sat for about a half an hour to finish some work on my tablet, drinking tea and munching on chips while I finished my work. When I asked for one last tea to go, I was told I would have to pay for another tea. This infuriated me! I said in disbelief, “I just spent $30 at this place on my meal and tip and you want to charge me for another tea?” My waitress told me that that was policy and I would have to speak to a manager, to which I responded “I would love to speak to a manager!” A few minutes later I received a tea to go with nothing else said. I was satisfied that I got my tea but I was very unhappy, and felt insulted that I was told I would have to pay for another tea. I have owned a coffee shop and know quite well the expense of making iced tea. We were able to make 3 gallons of tea for 50 cents just a few years ago. I know that food costs have risen significantly lately, but as far as I’m concerned, they have lost a repeat customer in me over 10 cents...

I've lived in this part of town for 8 years. This place used to be excellent and has gotten worse and worse over the last 3 years.

Last night was the last time we'll go. They close at 10, we seated at 9:30. I ordered a large draft Dos Equis and our server Arnulfo said he'd only serve me a small because "they were closing soon." He was super rude, unwelcoming, and acted like he didn't want us there.

My partner and friend both ordered large margaritas on the rocks. Mind you these are $12.50 each. They came out and VERY obviously had no tequila in them. I mean not a drop. My buddy ordered another so we could watch our server make it behind the bar. He got the cup, scooped ice, picked up the bottle of frozen margarita mix, and filled the cup. NO TEQUILA WAS PUT IN. As he was doing it, we watched him and the bartender laugh to each other, dap each other up, and the server put his fingers up to his lips doing the "shhhh" gesture while laughing. He brought it up and said "there's tequila in here." Again lied to.

I've never felt more disrespected by a restaurant and its employees. Skip this place. Go somewhere else. The food isn't good anymore and after that experience I can't wait for them to close and that building to sit empty until another...

We are new to the area and tried this place. The service was great. Friendly staff with quick service. Very clean. The salsa was pretty good. The chips did not seem like they were made on site and instead looked and tasted like they were bought premade. If you like cheese sauce you will probably enjoy the food. I am not a fan of cheese sauce. I ordered a taco salad and was surprised it was served with cheese sauce in the bean layer. It was very salty and made it inedible. We also ordered a pork dish that we have always had come with some sauce (not cheese sauce) and this had no sauce so it was very dry. The flavor was good but the dryness of the meat made it just ok. The kids quesadilla was a hit. We also tried some virgin daiquiris that were ok. Tasted watered down. Parking was also not great. We parked behind and walked through the path beside the restaurant. This meant we had to walk through the patio diners that were smoking and we are non-smokers so I didn't like having to walk myself and kids through the smoke. Overall we will not be going back. Again, if you like the cheese sauce you will...