Jalisco's Cantina — Restaurant in Milwaukee

I would like to start out by saying our server was very kind and understanding.

For a restaurant that just opened I would have thought that the owner would have had more understanding about hiccups. I was charged $170 for a $73 dollar bill and I gave a 20% tip. I would have given more, but I will tell you why I didn't. We sat at a table that can see into the kitchen. My daughter noticed that the cook toping the tacos wasn't wearing gloves. Don't get me wrong I understand that we don't see into a lot of kitchens, but when you see it, it's different. So we asked if the cook could put on gloves. First we got the talk about hand washing and how good the cooks are about hand washing. As a nurse living in a city where virus runs rampid, and understanding the regulations behind requirements for a cook line staff... this made me and my daughter nervous. They did eventually tell the cook to put on gloves. We thanked them for that. The 2nd things was that I didn't get my debit card when I got my check back. I had to wait for the server to find my card. She was apologetic so I gave her a good tip.

Now this is the kicker... I was charged twice for my meal. This was not a hold on my card for clearance. This was a total of $170. Confirmed with the bank. I called and spoke with the server and she told me that this happens because their was something wrong with the system and its happened before. This came from the staff!!! Just keep that in mind. I called back and spoke to the owner and he literally told me he wouldn't look at the bank statement, wouldn't talk to the bank, and would not refund me my money. Well excuse the hell our of me huh.

I called and was very understanding that they just opened 3 weeks ago... I would have thought as an owner or manager there can be a solution to fixing a problem, especially if the customer is willing to prove their deu diligence. There always a start up hiccup right... not this guy though and the arrogance was mind blowing.

So I won't be going back because I don't like knowing that the kitchen staff don't wear gloves, they are refusing to take accountability for their mistake. Mind you I was willing to drive 20 minutes to speak in person, call the bank with him to confirm and he can have a conversation with the bank so they can confirm with him it WAS NOT A PENDING CLEARANCE CHARGE. The statement of I've have restaurants before menad nothing to someone who is trying to resolve a MONEY issue. I dont see how successful an establishment can be especially if you simply can't take accountability for something this small. What do I know I'm only the customer.

Again our server was very nice and understanding so at least they have that going for them. Also your consomme was flavorless, salsa hot as ever with no mild option, the steak was very dry and chewy, but the pastor was good and you can't mess up fries. These were all things I planned on keeping to myself, but....

Unfortunately I won't be going back and I will be telling my friends about this. Not everyone would have been as nice as I was in this situation.

Bank is now looking into this and hopefully they will be able to get me my money...

Brand new restaurant, only open about a week or so! A lot of good things going for it like beautiful interior space, outdoor seating area to come, great margaritas, fantastic salsa and chips, and a parking lot so they can have lots of customers and I hope they do very well in this location. Being a vegan and a vegetarian, we usually have very good luck finding entrees on Mexican menus, so we popped in without doing our normal research on a new place to see if they had anything on the menu that was vegan/vegetarian. Unfortunately, their menu had no items for us. But we didn't give up - we asked our server if they could possibly make us a burrito, mine without any dairy, and my boyfriend's with cheese and sour cream. They said yes! She said they could use faijta vegetables. So we were off to the races. While we waited we had delicious salsa with chips, and two very, very good margaritas, peach and regular. The peach was slushy and the regular was on the rocks - both done to perfection and tasted fresh, not made from concentrates. And bonus - they came without plastic straws! Instead they had the lovely recyclable straws. Good on them!!! Now for things that need improving: the space was very loud - there is no soundproofing in the ceiling and while there were only 4 other patrons in the restaurant, the sound of their laughter coupled with the TV sports playing made the space hard to converse in. I can only imagine how loud it's going to be when the place is packed. For some reason we had two different servers waiting on us (were we supposed to give double the tip?), and when our burritos came, they came without utensils. They were very large and I was wondering if we were supposed to eat them with our hands, like at Taco Bell. We didn't wait to find out, so we asked for utensils and they came wrapped in paper napkins, a fork and a butter knife. Luckily, the flour tortilla the burrito was wrapped in was thin, so it was easily cut with the butter knife, I didn't have to struggle with it. My burrito was indeed vegan, but my boyfriend's burrito came vegan also, even though he ordered it with cheese and sour cream. There was none to be found inside or outside. The interior contained a lot of green lettuce, onions, peppers, and tomato. No rice or beans. I poured the salsa on top and dug in. That really, really made the burrito tasty - I highly recommend using the salsa as a topping. For dessert, my boyfriend ordered some cheesecake with strawberries on top and he said it was very good, although it came with two plastic forks. $50 for the whole shebang. So for us, this new restaurant was just OK. They'll get better with age, I'm sure, so I'm hoping one day they'll have vegan items on the menu, soundproofing, utensils that come with your entree, and drop...

Jalisco Cantina is across the street from where I live in the Lincoln Warehouse. Miguel is the proprietor, and he worked at his dad's restaurant, Jalisco's, for decades. He knows how to run a Mexican restaurant. The expansive space is beautiful, with a large bar and a great beer and liquor selection. The menu has all the greats and some specialty items to pique your interest. My Enchiladas with mole were delicious with perfectly cooked beans and rice. The portions were so huge that I had them for dinner later that day.

Soon, Miguel will have tables outside, and I know the Jalisco Cantina will become an integral part of our neighborhood. Welcome Miguel and the...