Guads @ Granby — Restaurant in Norfolk

We've been in to Guads on Granby twice in the last month. Loved their seafood burrito and seafood dip. Love their Bikini Margarita, when its made properly, but tonight was our last visit, as much as we love the food. Maybe 5 tables had customers at 6pm on Saturday night. We were the only occupants of the bar. We ordered Bikini margarita in a size not published on the menu. When we finished it and got our bill the marg was $26. Fully 3/4 of the glass was ice after we slurped down the last of the drink. I told my husband, you know we just paid $20 for ice. This is after we had to have the bartender adjust the drink twice because there was not near enough agave nectar in it. Bitter to the point of awful. Three ingredients...how hard can it be? So my husband had a talk with the manager...our dissatisfaction meant nothing to him. Cool. Maybe he's willing to lose customers who drop $50+ on lunch in a restaurant that was 80% empty at lunchtime on a Monday at noon (12/23/19). I have talked this place up to friends from Norfolk to Williamsburg and have brought them in when they've been in town. No more. You better believe they will hear now to NEVER go there again. And since the manager wanted to compare prices...that little bowl of cheese dip...yeah, twice as much at Jose Tequilas on Little Creek for the same price...and the servers...so much more customer oriented. All the manager had to say was, "what can I do for you?" But nothing except, "no one else has complained." Yeah, that should be your goal...no one complaining. Your REAL goal is for satisfied customers who rave about your place and bring friends and family in every chance they get. From the looks of the empty restaurant tonight, that's not happening. Check out Jose Tequilas same time on Saturday evening. Bursting at the seams. Good food. Excellent service. Satisfied customers are what matter. They must not get that at Guads.

One star because I...

I drove past Guads for years, and didn't think I was missing anything special. However, my mom and mother-in-law often go there often after work. We went last night, and I didn't know what I was missing. What a laid-back Mexican food foray! I loved three things about Guads on Granby: #1. Price and taste. We brought four adults and one toddler and were able to have dinner with multiple drinks and table guac for less than $100 (not including tip). For the amount of food we got (which was good!), you get what you pay for and more. I ordered the Cali Burrito with steak, and it needed nothing as far as seasoning or sauce goes. It arrived smothered in queso, was fairly large, and didn't last long. My mom got the tortilla soup, wife got the chicken fajitas, Mother-in-Law got the Cali Quesadilla, and my 2-year-old son got the Mac and Cheese 😂. They all liked their food, too!

The tall boy Tecates. I was expecting a 'lil 12-ounce can when I ordered one, but the waitress surprised me with a 16-ouncer. Madre de Dios! I'm so glad Mexican culture includes good, easy-drinking beer.

The service. The waitress was absolutely awesome. She was always one step ahead of us and was always asking if we needed anything. Friendly, polite, professional, and patient. The staff really goes and beyond at this place! I can prove it. My mom had a bunch of leftover tortilla soup that we poured into a to-go cup. Of course, we forgot it when we left. I ran back to the table to see if it was still there, but the staff had already cleaned up the table. I assumed it was in the trash, so I didn't go inside to ask about it. As I walked back to the car across the back parking lot, someone from the kitchen let out a loud whistle. One of the staff actually saved the soup and brought it out the back door to me in the parking lot. What a guy! I think Guads hired well, and I'll definitely be back to forget more soup...

The service was great, polite, quick and well mannered staff.

The food however was a little over priced and bland, I ordered the most basic things on the menu and both items lacked flavor in my opinion. I ordered the “pollo americano” better known as ACP or arroz con pollo at most establishments, and table side guac.

The chicken was fine, however the rice tased very much like boxed Goya rice that you can purchase at any major retailer and the cheese sauce was … cheese sauce, not much to comment about on that part.

The guac definitely lacked flavor for “fresh” table side guacamole. Primarily all you could taste was the cilantro.

I read another review from a gentleman who stated that he paid under $100 for a family of four with multiple alcoholic beverages but I’m unsure how that’s possible as I ordered my food to go, handed the waitress a $50 bill and received $14 in change making my total $36 for just two items but I did not receive a receipt so I am unable to determine what each item cost.

Either way, the food was edible, wasn’t terrible but certainly nothing I’d write home about.

If you’re looking for delicious, flavorful and authentic Mexican food, I highly recommend driving all of 16 minutes into Chesapeake and trying any of the three Taqueria La...