Mad Dog & Beans Mexican Cantina — Restaurant in New York

I came in today for my Mom's birthday and I have to say I was disappointed. I have been here before and had a great experience the first time. Today, however was a little different. When we first came in we had a hostess who seated us in the back of the restaurant. I saw a spider and went back to the front to ask could we sit in a different seat. The hostess we had a few minutes prior had apparently left and a new host was now working. I explained to him the situation and asked if we could sit in the front. After walking to the back, he said we couldn't sit at the bigger tables because it was for bigger parties and it was only three people in our party. Although that table area was completely, I didn't make it a big deal. What I didn't care for was that he tried to sit us at a table that wasn't clean and where someone had spilled something on the floor. I said this isn't clean so we definitely won't sit here. He says "it's not my fault". I said I never said it was your fault. I wasn't in any way blaming him for the dirty table. But it was my mom's birthday she was uncomfortable sitting in the back where she saw the spider and we just wanted a clean place to sit and eat. Rather than asking a janitor or bust boy to clean. He just stood there looking at me like it was my problem. No attempt to find a resolution whatsoever. Another worker saw what happened and came over and helped to resolve the situation. The food was okay but I am big on customer service. A smile and just positive vibes go a long way. The host looked like he was tired and just over the day before his shift really began. I didn't want to make it a big deal being my mom's birthday plus she's a little older. However, his attitude is the reason we will not be back. Should the owner read this. Please let your hosts know that they're the first face your customers see when walking in. Our first interaction before we get a server. If they can't be gracious and welcoming then perhaps they should be in a different...

The restaurant said we needed to be vaccinated to be able to eat indoors... we agreed to enjoy the outdoor seating because our friends raved about the food. Our server was Michael (but we didn't find that out until we viewed the bill). Michael was very to the point when he came to the table. I felt very uncomfortable but we ordered our drinks and appetizers. We received our drinks and one of our appetizers when Miguel (I think he was the Bus Boy) brought them out. We sat waiting but enjoying our appetizer when we realized that Michael must have forgot to place the full order. We got his attention because he was working several tables so that we could ask about the other appetizer. He said ok and walked away. He never asked if we needed anything else or were we placing an entrée order. Miguel brought out the appetizer and we asked him to please get Michael. When Michael approached the table he seemed frustrated (maybe because of the workload). We placed our order and that was the last time Michael came to our table. Whatever we needed we had to ask Miguel to please get it for us. We sat and noticed that Miguel was doing a lot of running. Running food, drinks and cleaning tables. They were all busy, but Miguel always have eye contact to see if anyone needed anything. Even when Michael was dealing with the two tables right next to ours he still didn't give eye contact or stopped to ask if everything was OK or if we needed anything. The table right next to ours complained until they left adding that they weren't leaving him a tip because he gave horrible service. When we finally stopped Jennifer and asked if she could get our check (because Michael still hadn't returned to the table) I asked Miguel for his name because we really appreciated his hard work and attentiveness. The food was good I just really couldn't enjoy it because my energy was thrown off by Michael's...

A great spot to get some bites of food with your tequila. I came with friends for lunch, so we had much less crowds to compete with. We got seated quickly and the food and drinks did not take long at all. This cantina is a nice spot off the busy main street, hidden by large offices. However, the colorful outdoor seating makes it easier to see. Inside, colorful murals, paper decor, and an overall dim interior makes it feel strangely cozy and intimate. High chairs are at the front, with lower tables at the back, and a bar opposite the high chairs. Despite the larger than usual amount of space for a restaurant in Manhattan, this place gets packed at late hours. The menu is not too big. It is entirely via QR. So you scan and look, then order. There are sections for quesadillas, enchiladas, tacos, and appetizers being mostly chips. I ordered the elote (street corn) and flautas. My friends got Margheritas, the chivichanga, and enchiladas de pollo. Songs in Spanish blared in the background, but not so loud that we couldn't hear our own voices. The food came quickly. Because of the dim lighting and me not wanting to use my flash, I couldn't exactly see how good the food looked. But the taste was enough. The elote corn had grill marks, though the actual taste of smoke was lacking. The sauce and tajin on it was very good and lingers on your tongue. The flautas come arranged in about five pieces, cut from two actual flautas, I think. It's on a plate with salsa verde and rojo, topped with queso fresco and crema. The skin was nice and crispy. The salsa pretty much takes over the palate so I didn't taste the filling too much, but it wasn't so acidic with salsa that I didn't feel some filling richness. It was overall a very good lunch for a decent price...