Tarahumara's Méxican Cafe & Cantina — Restaurant in Norman

I don't know what has happened, but food quality and service has dropped off this month. We are giving this restaurant a rest for a few months so they can get their act together.

Well we stayed away for about 3 months and things improved. We have been back about every 2 months or so. Things improved until tonight.

I was escorted out by a young whippersnapper that is one quarter my age because he said I disrespected him. I was just trying to tell him that the chicken my wife ordered was burnt. He did not want to listen to me. Grilling meat doesn't require the meat to be charred. When you char meat, you burn it.

In addition, I ordered beef fajitas and the meat was tough because they are buying a lower grade of beef to save money. The beef had grisel all through it and was difficult to chew. Yes, I ate it anyway.

Now, after a very bad experience with Tarahumara, we will never return. The young man who "escorted me out" has no idea what disrespect means. Just because someone is trying to tell you that they disagree with what you are saying, doesn't mean they are disrespecting you. It is time for the owners son to take a vacation and learn how to talk to his customers when they are trying to communicate about something he does not understand.

We can never recommend this restaurant again.

Oh, by the way, my dad was a meat cutter for a major grocery retailer for more years than I can remember. He taught me about preparing meat. He always said if you age meat, you are just letting it rot. He fed us beef more than not. When he grilled steaks, there was no char on the meat. People who "char" meat are trying to pass off bad product on you. You can't taste a rotten piece of meat if all you can taste is the "char".

The service was very good, but if service is the best part of your meal, that is not saying much for the rest of the...

Owner might try to fight you. My family and I used to come here at least twice a month (sometimes more) and spend $300 or more between drinks and food, etc. That was until one day when an employee stumbled and dumped hot cheese sauce and salsa on our table. I was in the service industry at one point, I get that stuff happens. I was however wearing a nearly $500 suit that would now need dry cleaned, my shoes needed cleaned, and my watch was literally soaked in cheese. The staff itself said "We are going to get the manager for you right now" unprompted by us. Then the young owner showed up, and asked "What do you want?" When explained what happened he said, "And?" I very calmly explained I would need to dry clean, and the other 2 people at my table who were covered in cheese would need to do the same. I didn't ask for a free plate or free drinks anything. I said, "Maybe a discount or something, just for the people who had sauce dumped on them?" He replied with an immediate "No I'm not giving out free food" and was very rude. I explained the dry cleaning situation etc, and his response was "Not my problem." So then I said "you would rather us not spend $500-$1000 in your establishment monthly than give us a $20 discount?" His reply floored me. "Yes. I don't need your business." Just wow. Then, we are trying to get our check paid in full with our card, and the young owner is getting more upset for some reason. He squared up to me and told me to leave right then and never come back. Granted he's all of 5'2" 145 lbs and I'm 6'5" 210+ lbs so his "threatening" body language definitely wasn't, but I let him have his way as a physical conflict is never justified. Completely insane behavior from a small business owner. My family and everyone I know gets steered away from this place now. Just go try Ted's or Chuy's. You won't get...

We visited on 11/13 for dinner and received the worst service we’ve ever had at Tarahumara’s.

We drive 40 minutes from Edmond because we have always enjoyed the prompt and attentive service. However, this time we waited almost 10 minutes for cheese and salsa while the standard procedure here is to receive that within seconds of being seated. But this was only the beginning.

I asked for double rice instead of beans and my plate arrived with beans and rice. So we asked for some extra rice, and that too was over 10 minutes of waiting - just for a side of rice? We were already done eating by then.

The server seemed very busy which is understandable, however the restaurant was not busy and there were many other employees walking around or sitting down folding silverware that could have helped him. The manager stopped by a couple of times to help, but at the end we asked for some tortilla chips to take home with our leftovers and were told that would be $9. Just for tortilla chips?? He then went and checked the price and told us it is $9 for chips and salsa or $8 for only the chips - seems a bit crazy considering the chips are free all night and very inexpensive.

But the worst part is how the manager rudely interacted with us when we explained how our evening went. We told him we received poor service and waited much longer than usual for things like chips and dip, as well as our meal that arrived incorrectly and wasn’t fixed for much longer. The manager had no empathy, spoke to us very rudely and offered no true apology or anything for our trouble. And couldn’t even let us have some tortilla chips for our leftovers without paying $8. This person should not be a manager, or anything in the service industry for that matter. He would be better off at a job with no interaction...