Empanada or Nada — Restaurant in Montclair

NOT FAMILY FRIENDLY! Steer clear if you have little ones.

As my family and I entered the establishment today, there are a myriad of signs on the front door, specifically no outside food or wagon strollers. Luckily, we did not have a wagon stroller and were not consuming the cookies we purchased a few minutes ago from Chip City (delicious, by the way), so we proceeded inside.

As we are deciding which empanadas we want, my 1.5 year old asked for a piece of the cookie we just bought. As I opened the bag to break of a piece for my child, an employee shouted “Ma’am, you cannot eat outside food in here!” I explained to her that it’s for my child (who is screaming “More, please!” at this point, as we’re waiting to order. She further exclaimed that we would need to leave if she wants to have a piece. So, that’s exactly what we did. We left. It’s a shame, I do enjoy these empanadas and drive 30 minutes to get them as often as I can. I don’t think I’ll be patronizing this restaurant any longer. This interaction with the staff has left a sour taste in my mouth.

I doubt the owner or manager will ever see this. I know these policies are in place for a specific reason and completely understand why they are enforced. However, how your employees speak to customers and enforce these rules matters.

RESPONSE TO THE OWNER:

I definitely won’t be coming back after your response. Giving a piece of a cookie to a baby while standing in line trying to order food to go is not the same as sitting down and consuming outside food in your establishment. Other customers in your restaurant agreed with us that day. My mother had your employee call the manager who agreed with us as well. But not to worry, we won’t bother you with our...

I had recently went to this place and they had changed the price they had a special which was two empanadas and a choice or a drink for 7.50. I was very startled about that and questioned the lady behind the register and she stated it was only a deal that was available when they first opened which is now a lunch special between 11am-3pm. Then as I proceed to eat my food with my friend we over hear a customer asking the key to the bathroom. The lady at the register very rudely and loudly said the bathroom is for paying customers only not realizing that she was with the other guests that previously ordered. Even if she wasn’t a paying customer she didn’t have to be so rude about it. I feel that the staff have become very rude and now I don’t feel as an a consumer that my money should go towards a company that has had a drastic change in vibe and great...

Bad customer service. My wife placed an order for 9 empanadas. When she got the 2 bags she asked if they were all there. They responded “yes”. We drove home to Nutley and sat together to eat our empanadas and when we unpacked, there were only 8 of them. I called the store to let them know, their answer was “there is no way for us to verify” and that “we should have verified the bags before leaving the store”. Note that I never made a request for a refund, or asked for anything in return. I called because I was upset. The lady had a nasty attitude, a customer is always wrong attitude. All I can say is verify all the empanadas are in your bag before leaving the store, they will not take ANY responsibility for their mistakes. Really bad attitude as well. The empanadas were good but this nasty attitude really makes these empanadas not...