Ixtapa Bar & Grill — Restaurant in Montgomery

A party of seven of us went there after a business meeting on Tuesday evening, May 8, 2018. Three of them arrived earlier and the four remaining arrived at approx 9:40pm. After being seated, the server advised us that the kitchen closed in ten minutes. So we quickly ordered drinks and proceeded to place our food order. I was undecided and said I'll be ready when the drinks arrive. Well when the drinks arrived they were NOT what we ordered. We ordered the margaritas and asked if they could be made with the tall glasses to which she said yes; however when she brought them they were in the regular glasses. After asking about it, the server said that the bar was closed. Firstly I don't see what one had to do with the other. Since the bar was open at the time we ordered, it should have been WHAT we ordered. Secondly had she told us upon ordering that either the bar was closed or that they only come in the small glass that would have been different; she did neither. She also never asked me for my order again. By the time it was about 10:05 p.m. if that, she brought the check to the table. I jokingly said 'Oh, do we have to leave now'. She replied yes we're closed. That threw me off; especially since there were still other patrons still eating. I inquired further to which she explained that she was tired and she worked all day and wanted to go home! I was horrified at this point. While I understand all of that, from a customer service standpoint, that is NOT remotely proper as to why we were being forced to leave. I requested to speak with the manager; that was no better. I explained the situation and the only thing he said was that she should not have said that and what did I want him to do about it. I advised I don't want you to anything other than be advised how little customer service was rendered by this server. He kept asking what did I want him to do about it; the restaurant was closed. It was clear to me that he lacked in the customer service area as well. As a new business group to the area (we constantly will be staying at the Hampton Inn nearby), I will NEVER set foot in Ixtapa again. We paid our checks and left. I'm an easy going person, having worked in the industry for years. This however was by far the WORST customer service that I can recall. As we exited there were still other patrons in the restaurant at tables as well as the bar, so I'm not clear on why WE had to leave so quickly. Is that how it's done in Montgomery, AL?! WHAT A HORRIBLE FIRST...

I was debating on whether I wanted to take the time to write this review because I wanted to give the waiter the benefit of the doubt. I went in with two friends and my one year old son this past Saturday. I’m Black and my two friends are white women, there’s a reason I bring this up. Immediately after we sat down, our waiter turned his back to me and really only addressed my friend RM barely acknowledging me but that’s fine I thought as long as I get my food. I ordered of the lunch menu, two carne asada tacos and queso dip w chorizo in it…. As having had true Mexican food in intimate settings where I’m the only Black person/non Hispanic, I have tasted what homemade Mexican food tastes like, therefore I am picky when I eat Mexican food. To keep it plain, the food was disappointing. I don’t know why I try Mexican food outside of California because I’m almost always let down. Anyways, when it came time to pay, my two friends tipped him $40 for a ticket that was $40, so basically a 100% tip. He was shocked and grateful, and brought back to go cups for them but didn’t bring one for me. My ticket was $25 and I tipped $10 because I’ve been a waitress and I know how it goes. I tipped nearly 50% but I didn’t get a to go cup or even asked if I wanted one. I hate to bring the race card into it, but when you’re watching two white people get served better in your face as a non White person, it’s bothersome and it makes tipping a less pleasant experience because I didn’t feel I got the same treatment when I still tipped pretty nicely either way. I say all this to say, it was their idea to go there but I will be making other suggestions out next outing nor will I ever visit again on my own accord.

P.S I have 7 years worth of Spanish classes, I could have minored in Spanish if I stayed in school. I love the Hispanic culture of all backgrounds, good people, good food. I believe maybe other Black people may have given the impression that we don’t tip and we’re difficult but let’s try to judge people off their actions and not the color...

I'm only rating this location with 3 stars because the prices are going up, the food portions are shrinking, the quality of the food now seems to depend on the time of day you visit the restaurant, the service for the most part is usually still excellent (it depends on the crowd), and the adult beverages are still decent. I used to LOVEA this place and anytime we have fami my or friends visit and they have a "taste" for Mexican this is where we used to take them. Between Sol being in town and the location under new management a lot has changed. The guy that used to manage Ixtapa is now a waiter and as patrons we TRULY miss his leadership in there because we immediately noticed a difference. With the way things are changing I don't know how many years Ixtapa has left because the only reason we'll visit them now is if our new Mexican spot is closed for the evening, Ixtapa closes 1 hour later than our new spot so they are now the back up plan. But in all fairness, everything seems to depend on who's serving you and who's in the kitchen cooking. Other than that we still enjoy the place, we just don't enjoy not getting the bang for our buck that we are used to. I understand inflation and passing the cost on to your customers but 2 prices changes in less than 2 years I think is...