Bandera — Restaurant in Newport Beach

I had every respect for Bandera's before dining at the Corona Del Mar's location recently, what a horrible experience.

It wasn't the food that knocked this place down, it's the snobby attitude and poor service.

When I arrived 5 mins before my reservation, I checked in and was told that it will be another 15mins or so without a blink or smile. From my experience, restaurant would at least pretend to get your seat as soon as possible at your reservation time and suggest you wait on the side or bar. I completely understand there's a little bit of wait when the restaurant is busy, but why the attitude? I've known Bandera's for their excellent service, so I was taken aback. I think the receptionist noticed and added that I had priority seatings since I made reservation. I don't want priority seating, I just wanted to be seated near my reservation time.

After that ordeal, we were greeted by our horrible waiter. The whole negative experience started when I asked if I can replace my mashed potatoes with the fries...I mentioned that I dined at the West LA location and asked if it's different. The waiter could've just said, I'm not sure and apologized that they didn't have fries at this location. Nope! Instead, he started flaring his attitude and started naming the different cities and told me that he didn't know how those restaurants were run and what other places provided; adding that every location is DIFFERENT!

So as we ordered, I asked if my dish can be split into two plates since we're sharing. Am I asking too much? This is a highly rated restaurant, so shouldn't I expect excellent service? Well, I was told no, but he would provide us extra plates. From my experience in the past from Bandera's, the waiter would always split a plate if requested with no problems...another difference. At this point, I didn't want to ask the waiter for anything...actually, I was ready to walk out of the restaurant.

Due to time I've wasted waiting and starvation, we stayed. The food came along with the extra plate for the artichoke waste...we used that plate to split our dish since we didn't want to bother with the waiter for anything. 15 mins into our dinner, the waiter brought our plates and pointed out the one we were using was for the artichoke. At this point, I was already irritated and responded to him that we knew, but was just working with what was given to us, he apologized half-heartedly.

At the end of our meal, our main dish was finished, but we were still working on our artichokes and asked the waiter to box the last one (3 in total).

The waiter dropped off the bill without a word and started taking our plates away without asking if we were done. Before we even noticed, all of our utensils were taken as well...we were still working on the second artichoke! At this point, we gave up on the second one and dinner in general.

As we were ready to leave, the waiter dropped off the box for us to box; and as we were writing out the tip, the waiter came over and hovered at our table to fill our water for the first time, argh!

The service was absolutely horrid here and I would never want to come back. I'm so disappointed with this location and I've never felt discriminated against...the crowd here looks like the cast of the real housewives of OC and perhaps I don't blend in, but I don't need to be disrespected or mistreated. Good bye and good riddance Bandera of Corona Del Mar! I'm never...

Our recent visit to Bandera in Newport Beach was nothing short of a nightmare, and I feel compelled to warn fellow families before they make the mistake of dining here. As loyal customers of Bandera for years—both at this location and the Brentwood/West LA spot before it closed—what we experienced this time was shocking, disheartening, and, frankly, unacceptable.

We arrived at 5 pm on a weekday with our two children and another couple, a group of six in total, and had a reservation. The restaurant was far from busy, with many tables open. Despite this, the hostess told us flatly that they “don’t accept parties of six.” Imagine our confusion! We’ve dined here countless times before, often with even larger parties, and never had a problem. After some back-and-forth and reminding them of our past experiences, they begrudgingly seated us. From that point, the night went downhill fast.

No sooner had we sat down than the assistant manager approached us with an unprovoked, condescending warning: “We do not allow outbursts in our restaurants, so please make sure it doesn’t happen.” His attitude was aggressive and insulting, and frankly, left us stunned. Our children were seated quietly, not disturbing anyone, and no other guests seemed remotely concerned. Yet, we were singled out as if our mere presence was unwelcome. It was the first time dining out that we felt such blatant hostility.

The situation escalated when I returned from the restroom with my 4-year-old, only to be approached by Danielle Johnson, the General Manager. With an unapologetic, cold expression, she asked me to take my children outside. The lack of empathy, coupled with her tone, was shocking. This wasn’t a casual request—it was a clear message that our family was not welcome at Bandera. After that, we had enough. I requested the bill immediately and asked for the untouched drinks to be removed, which they did without so much as an attempt at a real apology.

To say that Bandera ruined our night would be an understatement. We came to enjoy a peaceful dinner with close friends, only to leave feeling humiliated and disrespected. Not only did their poor treatment of us overshadow the meal, but it also cast a shadow over what was supposed to be a memorable evening out with family and friends. The fact that we’ve spent years dining here makes this experience all the more painful.

The food, once a highlight of our visits, has also gone downhill. It seems the kitchen is cutting corners, and the quality simply isn’t what it used to be. Coupled with the abysmal customer service, it’s clear that Bandera—and perhaps Hillstone as a whole—has lost its touch.

For families, especially those with children, I strongly urge you to reconsider dining here. The staff's lack of kindness, coupled with their hostility towards families, is shocking. It’s clear that children aren’t welcome at this location, and we will never return.

Hillstone Group, if you’re reading this, I hope you take a long, hard look at what’s happening at Bandera Newport Beach. Long-time customers like us should never be treated this way, and it’s a shame to see how far your once-reliable...

Had a horrible experience due to the employee Ben, who stated he was a manager. We stopped in to get some drinks before dinner and saw an empty spot at the bar. Ben said don't sit there to our friend before we got there, apparently, even though it was empty he said he was holding those spots for someone, which is something I've never heard of at a bar. My wife didn't hear him say that and saw the empty spots and went to sit down, but she slipped on a wet spot and stumbled a little before she went to sit down.then Ben rudely said I just told you not to sit there. Our friend said it's okay, she didn't hear you tell me that, we'll go to the front and order drinks. We went to sit on a bench at the front while waiting for our drinks but they only brought three of the four drinks we ordered. Our friend was sharing her drink with my wife and Ben came up and snatched the drink out of her hand and said I don't feel comfortable serving her and since your sharing your drink with her I'm taking this drink too and I'll adjust your bill. Our friend was mortified and embarrassed after being chastised like a little kid and her and my wife left. My friend's husband asked what was going on and when she told him what happened he went to Ben and asked him what was going on he said he felt my wife was already drunk (which she wasn't) and so wouldn't serve her and that's why he took the drink from his wife too because she was sharing. He said it was up to him to protect their liquor license and wouldn't explain why he felt she was already drunk. He only had one quick observation of her when she slipped on a wet spot and then sat in a seat she didn't know was being held for someone. My friend's husband then said we weren't going to stay and have drinks if both of our wives weren't allowed to drink and we gave back our drinks and asked Ben to adjust the bill for those as well. Ben then said he couldn't do that but my friend's husband insisted so he finally agreed. We then left and went across the street and spent a lot of money on food and drinks, which we would have spent there if Ben hadn't run us off. My friends said they had been going there for over 20 years and were so offended they will never return now so not only did Ben lose business that night but future business as well. Not a good business decision when there are so many places to choose from and he chases off...