Acapulco Mexican Restaurant — Restaurant in Maplewood

I and my partner have been regulars at the Maplewood Location for 7 years. We have noticed a steady decline in service over the last 8 months, and today we were so offended and disappointed in our experience, we are finally finished with it. We have been in the service industry for a combined 20 years and have never not left a tip before. We entered and sat at the bar. A woman next to us had a full beer and walked out leaving it full. We thought it odd until we received our "service." A young girl came up and asked if my partner would like a drink. He ordered a beer and she got it for him. She then NEVER came back. About 10 minutes later I asked another server, since every staff member but the bartender was behind the bar, if I could order a drink. He was kind enough to place our drink and food order. We asked who our server actually was, and he pointed to the first girl who drew the beer. She still had not come back behind the bar, and a manager looking person in a coral shirt walked by us at least 15 times and also ignored us (But she did give the diners next to us a photo in a frame, to thank them for being "fun" regulars). Our food arrived and was not to order. We asked for condiments and they gave us one. We got up and got our own. The bartender still had not come back, and we finished our meals with no drinks. We put our card on the bar to pay and it was walked past multiple times by the manager looking person. We held it up in the air, we were ignored. I got up and got my own to-go box, with the bartender standing there, watching me struggle with the boxes, which broke in my hands. Finally my partner was able to stop the manager looking (not acting) person, who was trying to make drinks because in the 40 minutes we were there, the bartender never once came back to the bar. She was cordial enough to run the card, but we were so offended at the lack of attention or even professionalism that we left only a dollar tip. I honestly feel like I could have walked out without paying and no one would have noticed. It is so confusing to know who the server is, and I should never have had to ask. We have continued to offer them a chance to increase the standards to what they once were, and we are done making excuses for the new team at Maplewood. I have been forced to write them off as a dying, inefficient and irrelevant establishment. And it's a shame, because we have been loyal to them and loved them for so long. I would have happily said this to a manager if I could have gotten any attention at all.

On Jan 1, The manager emailed me back saying she was taken aback and offended. She made all sorts of excuses that weren't even valid, and if they were as busy as she thought they were, she is sorely underskilled. I was offered an "apology" that was basically, "get over it, I was busy" and no attempt to keep me...

Very disappointing experience. We order the chipotle chicken, and the Acapulco burrito. Food was quickly prepared and we had it and probably 10 to 15 minutes after ordering.

Unfortunately, the chipotle chicken dish was prepared incorrectly and had cheese on it, which having a dairy allergy means we couldn’t eat it. The waiter insisted that it always comes with cheese but having this same meal numerous times at other locations, we never had this happen before. Either way, no big deal he offered to remake the dish and problem should be solved.

About a minute later, he comes back with the plate with all the sides and said they would remake the chicken that had the cheese, great.

Mind you the original dish for my wife and I took less than 15 minutes from ordering to show the table, we’re now 20 minutes later… the chicken still wasn’t brought back, but two visits said it was “almost done”…

At this point, we make the decision that we’ll just get the check because I’m done eating and she’s still waiting for the chicken for her dish and at this point all her sides are now cold and we weren’t optimistic they would make those quickly.

So the bill was brought. No adjustment was offered, but at this point we’re both frustrated and I’m not going to make a stink about it. I checked the menu on the way out and sure enough, no cheese anywhere to be found. So the kitchen made a mistake. Instead of remaking the whole dish if it was known the chicken would take 20 minutes to recook (not sure how), they sent back just sides. At this point, everyone else is done eating… so instead of apologizing or offering to simply remove the unfinished meal that was served incorrectly and now was pretty much cold and nearly 40 minutes after we let presented with a bill for a full meal.

I would avoid this location. Take 36 down towards Oak Park Heights and eat at the other location, it’s only about 10 minutes longer of a drive and would have never been treated so carelessly.

Edit: Management has responded the next day and the issue...

I normally do not write reviews, however after my second visit within a week with the same horrible service I must say something... I work in retail, and work with the public on a daily. I know it can be challenging sometimes to balance a quality service along with keeping a positive work environment. So I appreciate the work put into training Waite staff and effectively serving the public. Today we walked in at 4:00pm and after about 5 minutes of not being greeted, I walked into the dinning room to see there were a total of 6 patrons there. There were no patrons in the bar area so we seated our selves at the bar... it was anther 10 mins till Someone asked us if we would like anything to drink.... by the time we got our water and a drink we waited anther 10 minutes before anyone was able to take our order... after they took our order and brought us chips and salsa there were a few more patrons.. now there were 9 employees in the kitchen and no one was really attentive to our needs. I had needed a refill on water and almost done with my meal... so we finished our meal and sat and waited for our server to explain our bill and she had been over charged. I had the chicken fajitas and wanted a sour cream to go... so she explained that all sides are extra... that's fine with me but the service was awful and she was less then nice. And need I say the 2 times that she did come over she didn't take any of the empty plates or obviously didn't see my empty water that was gone mid meal.... I hope you can improve your customer service so business gets better! I will not be back and will make sure my friends know how horrible...